Alternate Reality and Canons

Regarding our recent conversations on canons and what is accepted as part of a canon and for what reason can lead to questions of video games entering a canon of literature. In Jones's post this week about alternate gaming realities creating engrossing stories and well-visited places like Hogwarts, the question can be raised "If a game based on a canon of literature that both draws from and expands on some sort of popular literature, such as Harry Potter, would this game be accepted as part of the canon or merely as an extension of the story in a different medium?" I think that this question is relevant in many current games that are based and mirror popular books or movies, but what is most important would be some sort of video game, like the one based on The Matrix, that actually told a part of the story and was and is considered part of the canon, similar to the graphic novel and the anime Matrix films. I suppose that a video game would then have to expand on the story rather than simply repeat it in game form, but it is an interesting idea that games could some time become part of canon that includes both paper text and mechanics of games.

Speaking of mechanics of games and consoles, it is interesting that something that is not an episodic saga could be considered something similar to a canon, specifically Final Fantasy. As the universe, characters, plots, etc. change from game to game, all games could be considered part of the Final Fantasy canon because their link is the game mechanics and the way that the game is played and the player interacts with the story. It is interesting and I think lends to the validity of textual studies (in the way that our class examines video games) as it illustrates the importance of the simple text of the game and what makes a game important in the eyes of the eyes of the players as well as the developers.