Games of Empire Electronic Mediations Katherine Hayles, Mark Poster, and Samuel Weber, Series Editors
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Games of Empire Electronic Mediations Katherine Hayles, Mark Poster, and Samuel Weber, Series Editors 29 Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games Nick Dyer- Witheford and Greig de Peuter 28 Tactical Media Rita Raley 27 Reticulations: Jean-Luc Nancy and the Networks of the Political Philip Armstrong 26 Digital Baroque: New Media Art and Cinematic Folds Timothy Murray 25 Ex- foliations: Reading Machines and the Upgrade Path Terry Harpold 24 Digitize This Book! The Politics of New Media, or Why We Need Open Access Now Gary Hall 23 Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet Lisa Nakamura 22 Small Tech: The Culture of Digital Tools Byron Hawk, David M. Rieder, and Ollie Oviedo, Editors 21 The Exploit: A Theory of Networks Alexander R. Galloway and Eugene Thacker 20 Database Aesthetics: Art in the Age of Information Overfl ow Victoria Vesna, Editor 19 Cyberspaces of Everyday Life Mark Nunes 18 Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture Alexander R. Galloway 17 Avatars of Story Marie-Laure Ryan 16 Wireless Writing in the Age of Marconi Timothy C. Campbell 15 Electronic Monuments Gregory L. Ulmer 14 Lara Croft: Cyber Heroine Astrid Deuber- Mankowsky 13 The Souls of Cyberfolk: Posthumanism as Vernacular Theory Thomas Foster 12 Déjà Vu: Aberrations of Cultural Memory Peter Krapp 11 Biomedia Eugene Thacker 10 Avatar Bodies: A Tantra for Posthumanism Ann Weinstone 9 Connected, or What It Means to Live in the Network Society Steven Shaviro 8 Cognitive Fictions Joseph Tabbi 7 Cybering Democracy: Public Space and the Internet Diana Saco 6 Writings Vilém Flusser 5 Bodies in Technology Don Ihde 4 Cyberculture Pierre Lévy 3 What’s the Matter with the Internet? Mark Poster 2 High Techne¯: Art and Technology from the Machine Aesthetic to the Posthuman R. L. Rutsky 1 Digital Sensations: Space, Identity, and Embodiment in Virtual Reality Ken Hillis Games of Empire Global Capitalism and Video Games Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greig de Peuter Electronic Mediations 29 University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis / London Chapter 4 was previously published as “Armed Vision and the Banalization of War: Full Spectrum Warrior,” in Fluid Screens, Expanded Cinema, ed. Janine Marchessault and Susan Lord (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007). Copyright 2009 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dyer-Witheford Games of empire : global capitalism and video games / Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greig de Peuter. p. cm. — (Electronic mediations ; 29) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8166-6610-2 (hc : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8166-6611-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Video games—Social aspects. 2. Video games—Economic aspects. 3. Capitalism— Social aspects. 4. Imperialism—Social aspects. I. de Peuter, Greig. II. Title. GV1469.34.S52D94 2009 794.8—dc22 2009029170 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal- opportunity educator and employer. 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: Games in the Age of Empire xi I. Game Engine: Labor, Capital, Machine 1. Immaterial Labor: A Workers’ History of Videogaming 3 2. Cognitive Capitalism: Electronic Arts 35 3. Machinic Subjects: The Xbox and Its Rivals 69 II. Gameplay: Virtual/Actual 4. Banal War: Full Spectrum Warrior 97 5. Biopower Play: World of Warcraft 123 6. Imperial City: Grand Theft Auto 153 III. New Game? 7. Games of Multitude 185 8. Exodus: The Metaverse and the Mines 215 Notes 231 References 239 Index 277 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Nick Dyer- Witheford thanks his colleagues in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario for the crea- tion of the exceptional academic program that has incubated Games of Empire, especially Tom Carmichael and Catherine Ross, for their leadership as present and past deans of the faculty; Gloria Leckie, for her mentorship in the black art of associate deanship; James Compton and Bernd Frohmann for years of academic comradeship; and Tim Blackmore, Jacquelyn Burkell, Jonathan Burston, Grant Campbell, Norma Coates, Ed Comor, Carole Farber, Amanda Grzyb, Alison Hearn, Keir Keightley, Sandy Smeltzer, Daniel Robinson, Daniela Sneppova, David Spencer, Sasha Torres, and Sam Trosow for collegial inquiries, suggestions, and conversations. An indispensable part in the composition of this book has been played by graduate students, as research assistants or participants in the “Games of Empire” seminar that was a laboratory for many parts of the project. Sarah Coleman was an early and extraordinary guide to online virtual worlds; Derek Noon, an ongoing example of gaming integrity and intelligence, whose insights inform the text at many points; Jeff Preston, a source for invaluable recommendations for Ferrari laptops. The research of Trent Cruz and Jen Martin underpins our analysis of virtual gam- ing in China; Stephen Swain supplied mind- bending facts about sports games; Henry Svec developed an outstanding analysis of Guitar Hero as a game of multitude that has found independent publica- tion; Michael Schmalz endured the Marxist analysis of the industry in which he is a leading entrepreneur with enormous grace and good humor; Owen Livermore pointed out ominous connections between vii viii Acknowledgments games and German expressionism; and Brian Brown rapidly made the connections between video games and the wider ranges of Web 2.0 aesthetics and politics. This book is a political project: salutations are therefore given to the student and faculty members of the Counter- Stryker collective, whose opposition to the University of Western Ontario’s involvement in the production of Stryker light- armored fi ght- ing vehicles for the U.S. Army in Iraq was, during somber times, an inspiring instance of struggle in and against Empire. Beyond all these acknowledgments, Nick thanks his wife, Anne, not just for abiding the rigors of this book’s composition but for a life lived in common. Greig de Peuter thanks Mark Coté, Richard Day, David Firman, and Sharla Sava, for many memorable, and evidently inspiring, read- ing groups in Vancouver; Yuezhi Zhao, his doctoral supervisor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, for being so consistently supportive throughout the preparation of this book; Adrian Blackwell, Christine Shaw, and Marcelo Vieta, for excellent conversations about theory and politics in the context of the Toronto School of Creativity and Inquiry project; Enda Brophy, for ongoing discussions about autonomist thought, from which he has learned a great deal; Roberta Buiani, Tanner Mirrlees, Todd Parsons, and Scott Uzelman, for a rewarding reading group in which some of the currents of theory driving this book were explored and challenged; students in political economy classes in the communication studies department at Wilfrid Laurier University, for reading parts of this book in early form and for their feedback on it; Albert Banerjee, for his sustained encour- agement; and his parents, for being so tremendously supportive of his seemingly ludic pursuits. Most of all, Greig is immensely thankful to Sheila, for a contribution beyond measure; and, though he arrived late in this game, our son, Kieran, whose utopian joy is evinced each time he effortlessly diverts from work to play. Nick and Greig together thank Stephen Kline, for his collaboration on our previous coauthored book, Digital Play; the many Canadian game developers who took the time to speak with us about their work and their industry; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, for fi nancial support for portions of the research that informs this book; Timothy Lenoir and Zach Pogue, for invit- ing us to present our work in their games lab at Duke University and for invigorating discussions; Catherine McKercher and Vincent Mosco, for facilitating the publication of our research in other venues; Siobhan McMenemy, for tremendously helpful comments on an early Acknowledgments ix draft of this manuscript; Sebastian Budgen, Michael Hardt, Peter Ives, John K. Sampson, and Stevphen Shukaitis, for support for this project at various phases in its life course; Mark Poster and the other Electronic Mediations series editors for their enthusiastic reception of our initial proposal; Alberto Toscano and the anonymous review- ers for the University of Minnesota Press for their instructive remarks on the manuscript; and, fi nally, Douglas Armato, our editor, and edi- torial assistant Danielle Kasprzak, not only for welcoming this book into such a good home but also for their generosity throughout the publication process. This page intentionally left blank Introduction Games in the Age of Empire Ludocapitalism, Militainment, and Digital Dissent A million avatars inhabit this archipelago. At any given moment thou- sands are navigating pixilated islands, fl ying over open waters, wan- dering among rococo architecture, imbibing at house parties, bending their gender, chatting with friends, attending rock concerts, enjoy- ing erotic encounters, and much else besides.1 You are among them. Curiosity excited by the massive publicity surrounding Second Life, the virtual world created by Linden Labs of San Francisco, you signed up, hoping in this new society to escape the getting- and- spending spin cycle of your everyday existence. Yet soon you discover your getaway was hardly clean. “Basic play” in Second Life is free. But Linden Labs charges a monthly fee for the ownership of land. And sale and rent of virtual buildings are the major source of wealth generation in this online domain.