Magnifying with Bogost
Wow, Bogost! I really like this book.
Here's what I was thinking from the beginning: how is Bogost's conception of procedurality in video games differ from an advanced board game? There are rules, and people act within them to explore the system of the game. Often the rules must be creatively navigated in order to succeed. Some card games function similarly. Why would Bogost need to "create" a whole new field?
As I read on, my skepticism switched to confidence in The Bog. Bogost admits that procedurality exists outside of video games (46), so I can't fault him for that, and the more I read the more his point seemed to be that computer games allow rules to be multiplied and overlaid in such a way that the "real world" is more closely approximated. This magnification of simple games in VGs is very interesting, and this systems-overlay perspective certainly allows for another lens through which to view rhetoric. It's funny, though- none of it feels totally new. It seems like you could get a lot of his thoughts from systems theory, the notion of primary and mediated audiences, and how Wikis work. Still, I guess it is his ability to synthesize that stuff into an unusually coherent andn interesting proposal that deserves him props. So props to you, Bogost!