Representation Matters: Video Games in Mainstream Media
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Representation Matters: Video games in mainstream media Nave Barlev Abstract This study aims to explore how the medium of video games is being represented across several mainstream media forms. It will unfold some of the complexities of the medium using theories constructed by video games scholars such as Henry Jenkins and Jane McGonigal, and place them against what most video games fans consider as misrepresentation of the medium. While video games were considered in their early commercial days as a novelty, a niche hobby or an entertaining pass-time, they are used today as an essential tool in advanced science, health care, fitness, warfare and education, and are being played or watched online by billions of people around the world. In order to understand the dynamics between mainstream media and the medium of video games, a multi-perspectives approach has been devised that includes cultural, historical, technological, and commercial aspects, and is explored using content analysis of news reports and TV shows. The approach thus includes both quantitative content analysis based on a movies database created for the purpose of this study, and a questionnaire aimed to examine if and how media representation of video games affect the decision of players and non-players to engage with the medium The study has found that the representation of video games in mainstream media has evolved considerably in recent years and reflects to some extent the evolution of the medium it intends to represent, yet despite such progress video games, partly due to the medium’s own faults, are still often being either misrepresented or underrepresented. While video games have yet to receive the same attention as traditional and more established media forms, the medium is developing its own trajectories for recognition in the online sphere, where it is a dominant form that dwarfs its mainstream counterparts. Representation Matters: Video games in mainstream media Nave Barlev Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Part one Chapter 1: The impact of video games on global culture ............................................. 6 1.1 Pokemon Go ....................................................................................................7 1.2 The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony .......................................9 1.3 The case of Apple events and mobile market ................................................. 10 1.4 Watching games - online streams ................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Theory .................................................................................................... 18 2.1 McGonigal’s four categories of intrinsic rewards ........................................... 18 2.2 The cultural status of video games ................................................................. 24 2.3 Possible negative implications of engaging with video games ....................... 27 2.4 Henry Jenkins “myths about video games” .................................................... 33 2.5 Theory in context ........................................................................................... 38 Part two Chapter 3: Research methods ................................................................................... 39 3.1 Content analysis ............................................................................................. 40 3.2 News outlets ................................................................................................. 41 3.3 Television ...................................................................................................... 42 3.4 Movies .......................................................................................................... 44 3.5 Questionnaire................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 4: Analysis ................................................................................................. 50 4.1 News analysis ............................................................................................... 50 4.2 Television shows analysis ............................................................................. 59 4.3 Movies analysis ............................................................................................. 69 4.4 Questionnaire analysis ................................................................................... 83 Part three Chapter 5: Discussion .............................................................................................. 94 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 103 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 106 Appendix 1: Apple’s Keynotes .............................................................................. 111 Appendix 2: Movies database ................................................................................. 111 Appendix 3: Questionnaire .................................................................................... 117 Introduction Video games are a unique medium, capable of creating a sense of immersion through compelling narratives, audio-visual experiences and environmental storytelling elements unmatched by any other medium. Video games enable players not only to perform or witness preset narrative events, as do literature or cinema, but also to interact in an experimental and exciting way with the unfolding narratives and texts, thus blurring the line between reality and fiction more than any other storytelling device. In a relatively short period of time, video games have matured from niche entertainment form to a world-wide, highly profitable industry, and have evolved from pass-time activity to essential tool used in advanced science, health care, fitness, warfare and education. As of 2013, more than 1.2 billion people around the globe play games for over 3 billions hours each week (Spil Games, 2013: 4, Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al. 2016). Despite the presence of video games in so many aspects of our daily lives, as well as their commercial success and variety of utilities, the medium still struggles for acceptance as a legitimate cultural form along-side films, literature and television. Representation of video games in mainstream media I argue, plays a significant, mostly hindering role in the medium’s recognition as such by the general public. This type of false, inaccurate or offensive representation of games can be found in nearly every major mainstream media form, whether traditional press and news outlets, blockbuster movies, TV shows or late night talk shows. Other traditional media forms such as literature and music often ignore video games, unless they are serving as the main theme or in the case of literature, as a device to support the plot. This leads to numerous misconceptions regarding the medium, which in turn alienate gamers towards mainstream media and the general, “non-gamers” public who often criticize them. The goal of my study is to examine the way video games are represented in mainstream media, how such representation holds against the complexity of the medium and what effect, if any, it has on gamers and non-gamers. The study addresses the following questions, among others: (1) What is the significance of video games? (2) What are some of the positive as well as negative aspects of the medium, and how are they being represented in mainstream media? 1 (3) How has video games representation in mainstream media evolved over time? (4) Does representation of video games vary across different media forms, and in what way? (5) Does representation of video games in mainstream media effects users attitude towards the medium? (6) What are some of the possible reasons for video games struggle for cultural legitimacy and what responsibility does the medium itself holds? What are “video games”?: A working definition The digital interactive games industry is a highly fragmented one and comprised of arcade (coin-operated) games, home console games, handheld console games, social and online games, mobile device games and computer games, each with unique business model, marketing, development and publishing method, as well as the way in which the public perceive each segment. Defining the meaning of what is meant by “video game” is more complicated than it first appears. Different aspects, such as technology and the nature of the experience, need to be considered in defining the term. In its basic sense, it is possible to first note the two criteria present in the name of the medium: its status as “video” and as “game.” According to Wolf, the “game” aspect should provide us with elements such as conflict (against circumstances or an opponent, either human or computerized), rules (determining what can and cannot be done and when), use of some player ability (such as skill, strategy or luck) and some kind of valued outcome (such as winning vs. losing, or the attaining of the highest score or fastest time for completing a task) (Wolf 2002: 14). Those elements take place in a “video” format, which refers to the use of an analog/digital signal displayed on a monitor (television set or computer monitor, as well as mobile devices with integral screens). According to these definitions, most arcade video games and home