ABSTRACT
The very last chapter of the book specifies what our findings and arguments mean for understanding transgressive games in contemporary society and combines our three main theses into a coherent theory. The chapter reiterates on the ideas concerning the fallacy of play, the paradox of transgression, and the ludic sublime, and makes a final argument formulating the relationship between these three ideas into a consistent theory. We stress that the existence of transgressive games is in itself an indication of the fallacy of play, as it highlights the fact that games can indeed be uncomfortable and provocative, but also highly serious and have consequence for life outside games. This also connects play to the second idea – that transgression is in itself a paradox in an aesthetic context, because once we experience something as aesthetic it stops being profoundly transgressive, and vice versa. However, it is here that the ludic sublime finds its place: The aesthetics of that which at once is overwhelming and playful can excite players due to the anticipation of being able to not only experience, but potentially master and control the awesome and overwhelming. Considering that play is about high stakes and emotional engagement, it comes as no surprise that transgressive aesthetics are at the core of game structures, game experiences, and game content.
