This article explores comparative criticism and video game software development through the figure of the bricoleur, the handyman who assembles units of preexisting meaning to form new structures. An intersection of these two domains—what the author calls comparative video game criticism—suggests a more intimate interrelation between criticism and production. The author offers a critique of functionalist approaches to video game analysis and argues instead for a comparative analysis of the expressive capacity of games and how they relate to other forms of human production.
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