Philosopher Tommaso Ariemma uses video games to teach philosophy on YouTube

Tommaso Ariemma, a professor of Aesthetics at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Lecce, has created a YouTube series titled "Filosofia del gaming – La Serie" in collaboration with Dolly Boys Production. In the series, Ariemma enters the settings of famous video games to discuss both how games work and philosophical concepts. In the latest episode, set in a saloon from Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games, 2018), he explores player choice within the "magic circle" defined by Eric Zimmerman, Frank Lantz, and Katie Salen, referencing Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens (1938). He also cites Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream, 2018) as an example of games that let players explore consequences, linking to Spinoza's concept of "affect." Ariemma highlights that player choices are monitored, communicated, and stored as data to optimize experiences, making the player the experiment. He has also written a book titled "Filosofia del gaming. Da Talete alla PlayStation" (edizioni Tlon, 2023), which the series promotes. Ariemma argues that philosophy can be explained through video games because they are deeply connected, tracing the lineage from Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, and Leon Battista Alberti to modern gaming.