Artifact Functionality and the Logic of Trash in Videogames

Abstract:This article works out a logic for trash in videogames through its consideration of the ludic artifact. Defining videogame trash as that which graphically outlives the execution of its ludic function, the essay distinguishes trash from objects that signify as real-world refuse, like Mario Kart’s banana peels, and the merely decorative. It also addresses the correlation between technical capability and a graphic verisimilitude that generates trashscapes. Examining videogames from Super Mario Bros. to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, this article’s philosophical, technical, and art-historical approach departs from narratology and garbage studies to offer a prolegomenon for further inquiry.