A week ago, I reached another important milestone in my life. I got my Master Degree with a historiographical thesis on video games! The translated title is “Birth of a giant. Forms of production and consumption in video games from the origins until 1999”.
I still find it hard to believe that I managed to find a supervisor and a co-supervisor who supported me throughout the whole writing process, and that I was able to make video games the main focus of my research rather than a secondary topic, as is often the case in Italian universities (although things are finally starting to change).
I already knew that I didn’t know enough about the issues I would have to tackle, but what was even more disconcerting was discovering what I didn’t realise I needed to know: an awful lot. It’s been a very long year of bibliographic research, reading and summarising. I couldn’t include everything I found, otherwise I really would have had to write a separate book; who knows, maybe one day…
Either way, figuring out how deep this rabbit hole really was made me realise just how crucial it is to have someone who is truly committed to unravelling the complex world of video games with rigour, method and diligence. Mine was merely a thesis, but I would really love to have a much greater part in the cultural awareness of a medium often dismissed by the general public, treating it both as a work of art and, particularly in my case, as a product.
If you’ve managed to read this brief essay all the way through, I’d like to thank you very much. I hope this is just the beginning of something bigger (wars and crises notwithstanding) and that it will encourage more university nerds like me to openly express their passion without fear of judgement. Thank you again.
IPSA SCIENTIA POTENTIA EST. PER ASPERA AD ASTRA, AD MAIORA SEMPER