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Games as the Ninth Art
An open discussion of games, narrative, and world-building
Introduction
I have long wanted a session on games. Video games may be among the most complex artistic media of our time, combining literature, music, painting, film, architecture, programming, interaction, and systems design. They also let an audience act within a work, participating in choices and consequences.
Their distinguishing feature may be that the player must participate rather than simply observe a story.
Narrative in games can therefore differ sharply from film or fiction. Worlds, maps, mechanics, character progression, quests, combat, and the limits of possible actions all shape experience. What stays with a player may be not simply enjoyment, but a feeling, an ethical predicament, or an imagined world they inhabited.
Beginning with particular works, we may consider how interaction and choice change narrative, how mechanics relate to world-building, and why independent games matter increasingly.
Drawing on different experiences of play, we will discuss design, aesthetics, technology, narrative, and their relation to people.
You might also share a feeling, piece of music, character, or imagined world that a game made memorable.
Art & Architecture / Philosophy & Society
Read the original article (Chinese) Original Event Information
Topic: Games as the Ninth Art—An Open Discussion of Games, Narrative, and World-Building
Date and time: May 29, 2026 (Fri) 7:30 PM
Location: Sun County, 13407 NE 20th St suite 2, Bellevue
Format: seated group discussion
Capacity: 30 people, including ten speakers and twenty observers
— Schedule —
Introductions and recent interests
Open sharing and discussion—
Registered speakers: prepare a related recommendation or discussion of about 5–10 minutes.
Group photo and informal conversation
— Registration —
https://forms.gle/ipi4PjE9zTfPMecd7
Please use the registration link above.
We will email the address and entry instructions on Thursday.
Find the account “别处读书会” on Xiaohongshu.
Find out about other events.
— Venue support —
The venue is supported by A17, an architecture and engineering alliance serving Greater Seattle, bringing together design, construction, and engineering from concept to completion. Its members include:
ARCADIA SPACE MAKER provides site planning, architectural, and landscape design services.
SUN COUNTY USA provides general contracting, project management, and building-material supply for commercial and residential projects.
NW HVAC MECHANICAL specializes in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning engineering and solutions.
MTD ELECTRIC & PLUMBING provides electrical and plumbing engineering services.