As I was scrolling through Instagram this weekend to catch up on the Milan menswear shows, I received an ad from Louis Vuitton highlighting an app-based game the company is developing as part of its extensive collaboration with artist Yayoi Kusama had developed. After downloading it, I colored in various objects — Kusama-esque faces, the LV logo — as they floated around my living room in augmented reality on my phone screen. I went back there several times to complete the challenges and water the seeds I got from each to unlock more games.
Later the next day, I was watching the premiere episode of The Last of Us, the post-apocalyptic new HBO series based on a 2013 game of the same name. It’s worth noting that it’s arguably the first video game adaptation for the world of prestige television, and not another of the artless, big action productions that audiences typically get when games are the source material.
The two experiences were very different, but they have something in common: both are examples of video games entering rare areas (luxury, prestige TV) that until not long ago they ignored.