Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In all three of these games - Slay the Princess, Deltarune, and Undertale - the metacontext of the character (the vessel), the narrator (the designer), and the player (you) are front and center in the games themselves. They games are about that relationship.
Presented at Super #magfest 2026 on Saturday, exploring #modernity and #metacontextualism in #videogames and #gamedesign.
Games can be viewed through the lens of the environment in which they were made. The same as film, literature, and art in general. We commonly see parallel artistic and philosophical movements with the same name and many shared ideas. E.g., Classicism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, and… what?
What’s after Post-Modernism? Perhaps “Metacontextualism.” This is a movement of art and design, unique in and catalyzed by the existence of videogames. Remember that videogames are a literally new form of art. They were invented in the lifespan of people who are attending MAGFest today.
Panelists: Rym DeCoster [Producer of GeekNights, frontrowcrew.com] Emily Compton [Art Director, 3D Artist]
Full lecture:
youtube.com/watch?v=12xey7NqSFg
In all three of these games - Slay the Princess, Deltarune, and Undertale - the metacontext of the character (the vessel), the narrator (the designer), and the player (you) are front and center in the games themselves. They games are about that relationship.
Presented at Super #magfest 2026 on Saturday, exploring #modernity and #metacontextualism in #videogames and #gamedesign.
Games can be viewed through the lens of the environment in which they were made. The same as film, literature, and art in general. We commonly see parallel artistic and philosophical movements with the same name and many shared ideas. E.g., Classicism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, and… what?
What’s after Post-Modernism? Perhaps “Metacontextualism.” This is a movement of art and design, unique in and catalyzed by the existence of videogames. Remember that videogames are a literally new form of art. They were invented in the lifespan of people who are attending MAGFest today.
Panelists: Rym DeCoster [Producer of GeekNights, frontrowcrew.com] Emily Compton [Art Director, 3D Artist]
Full lecture:
youtube.com/watch?v=12xey7NqSFg
