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The Ideology of Games (Rettberg, 2008; Aarseth, 2008) V Exploitation, by Developer Companies, of the Players’ Unpaid Labour (Nieborg & Van Der Graaf, 2008)

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The Ideology of Games (Rettberg, 2008; Aarseth, 2008) V Exploitation, by Developer Companies, of the Players’ Unpaid Labour (Nieborg & Van Der Graaf, 2008) 18-08-16 Game scholars have shown concerns for the: v pervasiveness of the capitalist ideology in video The ideology of games (Rettberg, 2008; Aarseth, 2008) v exploitation, by developer companies, of the players’ unpaid labour (Nieborg & Van der Graaf, 2008) By: Gabrielle Trépanier-Jobin, phd v exploitation of players’ personal data for advertising Professor in Game Studies Université du Québec à Montréal and commercial purposes (Bonenfant & Genvo, 2014; Whitson, 2013). “Playbour is suffused with an Presentation overview ideology of play, which effectively masks labor as v Explain what this ideology of play consists of play, and disguises the v Identify different functions and mechanisms on the basis of process of self-expropriation which it legitimizes exploitation and surveillance as self-expression” v Show how it permeates various types of discourses in the game culture v Provide a glimpse of how game scholars can challenge this Julian Kücklich ideology of play Ideologies are sets of “concepts and premises Ideologies are sets which provide the frameworks through which of open and apparent we represent, interpret, ideas, but their roots understand and ‘make and foundations tend sense’ of some aspect of to stay hidden (1977) social existence” (1981: 259) Stuart hall Stuart hall 1 18-08-16 Capitalist ideology Ideologies rely on the articulation of Freedom = free market & individualism different concepts into chains of Freedom vs equality of condition meanings (1981) Stuart hall socialist ideology Ideology of play Set of ideas according to which play is more valuable than anything else and can justify: vunpaid labour Freedom = equality of condition vcollection and use of players' personal data (that lead to breaches of privacy and surveillance) Traditional association & oppositions “Amusement [play] is a , since it is Play = leisure, relaxation & pleasure relaxation a rest from work” (4th- Play vs demanding & productive work century BC: book VII, chapter VII) Aristotle 2 18-08-16 “ When it comes to work, the activity is not pleasurable Play is a in itself, but we undertake it for another purpose. In contrast, the activity of play is itself pleasurable without any activity (1938/ 1954) need to pursue a goal” (my translation, 1803: 147) Immanuel Kant Johan Roger Huizinga Caillois Real living Imagined living conditions: conditions: exploitation of the Equality & VS worker's labour Free Market Mutual exchanges ideology game developers exert power over players Real situation: Imagined situation: Exploitation of the Pleasurable, voluntary , , by coaxing them into believing that the players' labour unproductive and And personal data playful activity actions of the companies are taken in the Ideology of play of the players, to in the game and enhance their gaming experiences 3 18-08-16 The ideological role of discourses NEWS You can afford it! Ideologies operate There are tons of mortgage calculators on the Web. Most simply calculate your monthly payment after you enter your loan amount and interest rate. While interesting, that’s not going to help you answer the question “How much house can I afford?” “I actually teach my clients… to determine their comfort level for monthly payments and work backward from there to a purchase price/loan amount, so they can be sure they don’t borrow more than they can afford,” says Peter Boscas, a real estate broker in Columbia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. “I’ve seen quite often — and even more so than usual this year homebuyers are qualifying for up to hundreds of thousands more than they actually want to spend.” through language, the Guest l and — that younger first Consumer freedom on non-profit -time while The Center for Organizational Research-profit and entity Education founded (CORE), by Richard formerly Berman the that Center lobbies for onConsumer behalf of Freedom the fast food,(CCF) meat, and alcohoprior to that Tips on how to Choice Network, is an American non tobacco industries. It describes itself as "dedicated- toprofit protecting status in consumer The Chronicle choices of andPhilanthropy promoting and common other publications,[3][4] sense."[2] Experts law have questioned the validity of the group's non Public Interest, sicians discourses, images, commentators from Rachel Maddow to Michael Pollan have treated the group as an entity that specializes in astroturfing.[5] Phy The organization has been critical of organizations including the Centers for Disease Control, the Center for Science in the negotiate your salary! e he was Mothers Against Drunk Driving, The Humane Society of the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the Here's a secret: Employers rarely make their best offer first, and job candidates who negotiate generally earn much more than those who don't. Committee for Responsible Medicine.[2] also onprofit And a well-thought-out negotiation makes you look like a stronger candidate -- and employee. s set up in In a document released by The New York Times on October 30, 2014, from a talk Berman gave to the Western Energy Alliance whilwa pany to "We found that those people who attempted to negotiate their salary in a constructive way are perceived as more favorable than those who unaware of being recorded, Berman described the approach of his various organizations as one of "Win Ugly or Lose Pretty." He didn't negotiate at all, because they were demonstrating the skills the company wanted to hire them for," says Robin Pinkley, coauthor of Get reassured potential donors about the concern that they might be discovered as supporters: "We run all of this stuff through n ition of and representations Paid What You're Worth and an associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity."The group that became CORE in 2013d by companies of Business. 1995 by Richard Berman, owner of the public affairs firm Berman and Company, with $600,000 from the Philip Morris tobacco comner fight smoking limitations in restaurants. In 2005, Berman told The Washington Post that the organization was funded by a coal Do Your Research: Before the interview, learn about the company's salary ranges and benefits as well as industry salary ranges. Also learn restaurant and food companies as well as some individuals.[2] As of May 2015, according to the group's website it is supporte about the company, its competition and the industry. Then think about what you want from the job, both in terms of salary and benefits, as and individual consumers.[8] Sponsors as of 2005 were reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the ow Stuart hall Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's. Rhetorical figures Rhetoric: the art of using speech Phrases in which the words are or discourses to not used in accordance with persuade, manipulate or their conventionally accepted seduce (aristotle; meaning or denotation Plato) Discourse analysis of the Discourses Functions Rhetoric figures rhetorical Game culture's discourses Discourses that make one thing Camera obscura (Hall) Inversion look like its contrary constructs in... Discourses that make one aspect of something look for the whole thing Fetichism (Hall) Synecdoche Public Terms of Privacy Discussions Gamification statements of between evangelists' Service policies community managers players articles Discourses that mask the roots of Concealment (Hall) Ellipsis or something Hyperbole Analyzed by: Analyzed by: Analyzed by: Analyzed by: Analyzed by: Alexane Couturier Lilian Escomel Mathilde Savoie Mathilde Savoie Antoine Jobin 4 18-08-16 Players can create content with the games’ √¢∫ assets “ for non- commercial uses only ” Most companies' terms of service Players grant the company the “ Valve or the applicable developer may irrevocable, right to use, reproduce, make modifications to Workshop modify, display, distribute it, in any Contributions that are accepted for in- √¢∫ √¢∫ way the company sees fit and Application distribution as it deems accept that they may not get a necessary or desirable to enhance credit or attribution for this gameplay ” Most companies' terms of service “Don’t just rip art resources The ideology of play is subtly and pass them√¢∫ around, conveyed by rhetorical that’s no fun” constructs that fall into the category of 5 18-08-16 “We use personal data to improve and optimise √¢∫ the games to ensure the best player experience” We collect players’ data for “creating the well-designed, highly enjoyable We use personal data “to √¢∫ entertainment experiences enhance your experience √¢∫ you can find within our epic and enjoyment using our games!” game” Since one of our “core values is: Play Nice; We gather personal data Play Fair”, we use to “prevent toxicity” and √¢∫ personal data “to minimize “offer players√¢∫ a fair, fun, fraud, cheating and abusive and competitive gaming behaviour” experience” 6 18-08-16 The rhetorical figure of works in concert with the rhetorical figure of “We love what the community has done with “This also guarantees that all mods. Modding ensures content works together. √¢∫ √¢∫ tons of continued content Allowing paid mods “would and experiences for our likely cause a ton of issues” games” These sentences are based on the rhetorical figures of and since The relationship between game developers Bethesda conceals its exploitation of and players is often depicted in terms of players’ unpaid labour by giving the instead of exploitation impression that the quality of the game is that matters to them and to the players. 7 18-08-16 “There’s a constant demand from our fans to add more official “These tools are for you and high quality content to our we’re looking forward to games, and while we are able to seeing where the community create a lot of it,√¢∫ we think many takes us in developing √¢∫ in our community have the talent content for the expanding to work directly with us Dota universe.
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