Contribution at the conference Mondes possibles, mondes numériques, Université du Maine (Le Mans), le 18/06/2014
Video games are more and more often created, sold, and experienced as “worlds” (rather than games or narratives, for example). The novels try to include this perception of video games in their description, focusing on their topography and their immensity. The video game space is often central in the intrigue because it offers the ground for an interrogation about the difference between reality and simulated worlds. The game universe is described as a place which aims to reproduce reality (while constantly failing), but allows an escape from the real world. The players are depicted as being absorbed by the virtual world so much that it alters their perception of reality.