Espen Aarseth
Espen J. Aarseth | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth year and age Norway |
| Occupation(s) | Scholar, professor |
| Known for | Video game studies, electronic literature, Cybertext |
Espen J. Aarseth (born 1965) is a Norwegian scholar with expertise in video game studies and electronic literature. He completed his PhD at the University of Bergen and was instrumental in establishing its Department of Humanistic Informatics, where he held a full professorship until 2003.
At present, Aarseth holds the position of full professor and leads the Center for Computer Games Research at the IT University of Copenhagen. He oversees a €2 million project funded by an ERC Advanced Grant, titled Making Sense of Games. Aarseth serves as Editor in Chief for Game Studies, recognized as the longest-standing peer-reviewed journal dedicated to game studies, and he is also a member of the advisory board for G|A|M|E, a journal emphasizing comparative analysis of video games.
Cybertext
Among Aarseth’s significant contributions is Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature (Johns Hopkins UP 1997), which originated from his doctoral dissertation. This publication highlights the structural mechanics of texts, arguing that the medium plays a crucial role in literary communication. It introduces the concept of ergodic literature, describing texts that demand considerable effort from readers to traverse, and offers a "typology of cybertext" that categorizes ergodic texts based on their operational characteristics. This classification was later expanded into "a multi-dimensional typology of games" through collaboration with Solveig Smedstad and Lise Sunnanå.
Non-linear media
In his essay "Nonlinearity and Literary Theory," included in both Hyper/Text/Theory and The New Media Reader, Aarseth investigates nonlinear textual forms extending beyond conventional hypertext. He characterizes nonlinear texts as verbal communications where the sequence of words changes upon each reading and outlines various categories within this framework. The paper introduces fundamental writing units called textons and scriptons, and analyzes examples such as hypertext fiction alongside interactive narratives like Colossal Cave Adventure and MUDs.