Agency as Art by C. Thi Nguyen: Games and Player Agency

Overview of Nguyen's Argument

C. Thi Nguyen's "Agency as Art" is a chapter from his book Games: Agency as Art, published by Oxford University Press — a world-renowned and highly reputable academic publisher. The chapter is certainly worthy of the publishing house and is a finely written scholarly piece that fits comfortably within the conventions of academic writing. The field it engages is game studies and philosophy, and its intended audience appears to be scholars, students, and enthusiasts in game studies, philosophy, and digital humanities.

Nguyen's main argument is that games are a unique form of art that allow players to explore different forms of agency. Essentially, Nguyen is referring to the idea that games provide a space for players to exercise control — a space where they can make decisions about their own play and experience the consequences of those decisions interactively, in a way that is wholly different from other art forms. Nguyen argues that games are not just about achieving arbitrary goals but are also about the process of working towards those goals. This process, according to Nguyen, is what makes games a distinctive art form. As he states, "A game uses all these elements to sculpt a form of activity. And when we play games, we take on an alternate form of agency" (p. 1). Just as a film or a play is a collective work of art, a game is also a collective art form in which the player brings his own agency to the work — much as a dramatist brings the script, an actor brings the performance, and a set designer creates the stage.

Agency in Games vs. Other Art Forms

In the context of games, "agency" refers to the ability of a player to make choices and take actions within the game world — as an actor might on a stage, or as a director might in an editing room. The agency is the player's own. From deciding which path to take in an adventure game, to choosing how to interact with characters in a role-playing game, to developing strategies in a strategy game, all of it falls within the scope of individual agency. For this reason, Nguyen also defines games as a "social technology," since gaming involves world-building and interaction with other minds, other players, and other ideas (p. 1). The player connects to the game's makers through their creation and works within those confines to bring the game to life. Unless the player engages, the work remains inert — just as a Shakespeare play requires actors to bring it to life on stage, or at the very least a reader to animate it in the imagination.

What makes this art form unique, according to Nguyen, is that it allows players to explore different forms of agency within a structured environment. The rules of the game are situated within a framework in which players can exercise their agency. This distinguishes gaming from performing a play or making a film, where agency is constrained by stage directions or a script. The goals of a game give direction to the player's actions, but the player is far freer to develop his own path toward those goals than in any other art form.

Structured Environment and Alternate Agency

What sets Nguyen's perspective apart is his emphasis on the structured environment of games. This structure, he insists, is not merely about achieving set goals but is about the journey toward those goals. As Nguyen puts it, the player is harnessing an "alternate form of agency" that cannot be harnessed in any other art form (p. 1). The rules and objectives of a game do not eliminate freedom — they shape and give meaning to the freedom the player exercises within them.

This conception of games as structurally enabling rather than structurally restricting is central to Nguyen's broader philosophical claim. The game designer, in this view, functions as an artist who sculpts the conditions for a particular kind of experience, while the player — operating within those conditions — is a co-creator of the final work. The analogy to other collaborative art forms holds, but the degree of player autonomy is, for Nguyen, categorically greater in games than in any comparable medium.

Conclusion

Overall, Nguyen's "Agency as Art" is a well-written exploration of games as a unique form of art. His work is well-researched and his arguments are supported by a range of sources, making it a valuable contribution to the field of game studies. The complexity of his thought, the style of his writing, and the academic nature of his work could all limit its accessibility to a broader general audience. But for a student of the topic, of the field, or of the philosophy behind the theory, it makes for a very interesting and insightful read.

References

Nguyen, C. Thi. Games: Agency as Art. Oxford University Press, 2020.