Puzzle and adventure games, action RPG, shooter and fighting games. There is something to suit every taste and age. No doubt, Italians love video games. Suffice it to say that over 25 million people, every other day, play either alone or with friends. A social phenomenon that, letting aside the stereotype, is increasingly popular among adults. Curiously, 7.9% of the players are over 65.
Let’s imagine that there are many players among lift people too, who, once they get home and relax in front of a TV screen with a console in their hands. But apart from this, what relationship could be between vertical transportation and video games? We questioned a young sector expert, Francesco Toniolo, born in 1990, a research fellow at the Catholic University of the Sacro Cuore in Milan (Italy), who deals with new media and, in particular, with the connections between video games and other types of art.

THE EXPERT OPINION
Elevatori: Why should we study video games?
Francesco Toniolo: Video games, in addition to being an extremely widespread product, which is also becoming a new artistic and expressive genre, are key to understand
contemporary life. The gaming mechanics are increasingly placed in different contexts by the gamification, ie. the introduction of gaming practices, such as scores or challenges,
in non-playful contexts.

E.: Which role has the staging of the scene?
F.T.: In some video games, characters are set in a context which generally does not affect them and it has the primary purpose of adding a colour shade.
In other cases, the environment is a fundamental part of the game, especially when the player is required to explore that world.

E.: Are vertical mobility means common or rare items?
F.T.: These means are a constant presence
in video games involving vertical movements, not only when they are set in contemporary or futuristic environments, but also in medieval fantasy worlds.

E.: In the virtual world, are the lift functions traditional or out of the ordinary?
F.T.: Lifts have the same features as in the real world, with the addition of specific video game features. A lift, for example, can be used to cover the waiting time for the loading of the next level of the game. Another function is the “safe place”. In many cases, enemies can not enter lifts for reasons of playability, so the hero can escape from an attack by using the lift system.

E.: From a theoretical point of view, what are the concepts related to verticality?
F.T.: Verticality is related to the challenge and the overcoming of a goal. When it is ascending, it is usually a path of growth. The descending verticality, on the other hand, tends to refer to a psychological digestion in one’s self and in their past.
The meaning can also be negative: ascendancy as idolatry and descent as escape or concealment.
The final clash of many video games is usually placed at the end of a climb (the last floor of a tower…) or a descent (the deepest cave…).

For those interested in more details of the video game culture, we recommend that you visit the website of the Aesvi Association (Italian publishers and video game developers): http://www.aesvi.it./