DOCSLIB.ORG

Propagaming Uncovering Propaganda in War Videogames

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Propagaming Uncovering Propaganda in War Videogames Department of Informatics and Media Digital Media and Society Two year’s Master’s Thesis Propagaming Uncovering propaganda in war videogames Student: Andrea Andiloro Supervisor: Else Nygren Spring 2017 Abstract This thesis deals with the issue of propaganda in contemporary war themed videogames. Considering the current geopolitical situation on one hand, and the pervasiveness and widespread use of the videogame medium in general, and war videogames in particular, together with the collaboration between the military and the videogame industry, part of the wider military- entertainment complex, on the other hand, it cannot be excluded that military propaganda might be present in such digital media. This study explores through which persuasive techniques is propaganda manifest in war-themed videogames. The answer is achieved using theories of rhetoric and persuasiveness in videogames and by conducting a textual game analysis of 10 different war-themed videogames A great number of persuasive techniques at work were found within the videogames, each of them working based on certain principles identified by previous literature. Through a limited set of options, players are exposed to the normalization of morally questionable acts such as civilian shooting and torture of enemy prisoners. The war videogames in question are not neutral in their playworld, mechanics, and playformance, and heavy and widespread use of propaganda can be found within them. Keywords: videogames, war, propaganda, persuasion, persuasive techniques, rhetoric, game rhetoric. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank my parents for supporting me both morally and financially throughout these two years. I hope I made them proud and I hope that I´ll be able to give back even just half of what they gave to me. I would also like to thank my supervisor Else Nygren, for guiding me excellently through this thesis, for supporting my ideas and making me believe in the value of my work. I would like to thank Silvia for supporting me during these last months. Living together as two thesis-writing students is not always easy, but we somehow managed, as I was sure we would. I would like to thank my fellow Digital Media and Society colleagues. Much of what I have learnt in these two years has been thanks to them. Now it’s finally time for some drinks, Risk!, and Time’s up! I would like to thank my Nonna for believing in me and for helping me throughout my stay in Sweden. I thank my brother who is soon graduating as well and of whom I am proud, wishing him the best of luck for the future. I thank my sister who I am sure supported me in her own special way. I hope I can inspire her to reach her goals, be they academic or athletic. Last, but not least, I want to thank all my lecturers at Uppsala University, and all the staff at the department of Media and Informatics, who have taught me much more than what I could´ve expected before starting the program. iii Table of contents Abstract ...............................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................... iii 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Setting the context ................................................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Propaganda, Persuasion, and Rhetoric ............................................................................................... 3 1.3 Gaming Private Ryan – the Military Entertainment Complex ......................................................... 5 1.4 Relevance of the topic and Aims .......................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Research Question ................................................................................................................................. 8 1.6 Disposition .............................................................................................................................................. 9 2 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Research on Propaganda .................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Research on Games and Videogames ................................................................................................ 13 2.2.1 What Is a Game? ............................................................................................................................ 13 2.2.2 What Is a Videogame? ................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.3 Influencing Player Behaviour– Serious Games ............................................................................. 15 2.3 Research On War And Propaganda In Videogames ....................................................................... 16 2.4 Contribution to the field ..................................................................................................................... 19 3 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................ 19 3.1 Persuasion ............................................................................................................................................ 19 3.2 Rhetoric ................................................................................................................................................ 21 3.3 Rhetoric In Videogames...................................................................................................................... 24 3.3.1 Game Rhetoric ............................................................................................................................... 24 3.3.2 Playworld ....................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.3 Mechanics ...................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.4 Playformance ................................................................................................................................. 27 3.4 Persuasion Techniques to Maximize Effects and Their Principles ................................................. 28 3.5 How Will Propaganda Be Studied in This Thesis? .......................................................................... 30 4 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 30 4.1 Different Approaches to Studying Videogames ................................................................................ 31 4.1.2 Humanities approach – Textual analysis ....................................................................................... 31 4.1.3 Game analysis - A practical toolkit for game textual analysis ....................................................... 33 4.2 Choice of methods and critical reflection .......................................................................................... 35 4.3 Methodological Implementation ........................................................................................................ 35 4.3.1 Data Collection .............................................................................................................................. 35 4.3.2 Validity and Reliability .................................................................................................................. 38 4.4 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................................................ 40 5 Data and Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 40 5.1 Playworld Data .................................................................................................................................... 40 5.1.1 Playable characters and “good guys” ............................................................................................ 40 5.1.2 “Bad guys” ..................................................................................................................................... 42 5.1.3 Starting scenarios ........................................................................................................................... 43 5.1.4 Soundtrack – effects and music ..................................................................................................... 44 iv 5.1.5 Dialogues ....................................................................................................................................... 44 5.1.6 Space and time ............................................................................................................................... 45 5.1.7 Objects ........................................................................................................................................... 46 5.1.8 Camera ..........................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Image of the Turk in Early Modern Board Games and Playing Cards
    THE IMAGE OF THE TURK IN EARLY MODERN BOARD GAMES AND PLAYING CARDS ÖMER FATİH PARLAK PHD THESIS Directed by DR. MARÍA JOSÉ VEGA RAMOS and DR. LARA VILÀ TOMAS Literary Theory and Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Literature Faculty of PhiLosophy and Arts BarceLona 2019 In memory of my father, Adem Parlak (1949-2014) TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... 5 TABLE OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... 10 RESUMEN ......................................................................................................................... 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. 12 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 15 GAMES INDEX ................................................................................................................... 23 Germany ...................................................................................................................... 23 Italy .............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • From Synthespian to Convergence Character: Reframing the Digital Human in Contemporary Hollywood Cinema by Jessica L. Aldred
    From Synthespian to Convergence Character: Reframing the Digital Human in Contemporary Hollywood Cinema by Jessica L. Aldred A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural Mediations Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2012 Jessica L. Aldred Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94206-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94206-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • Massively Multiplayer Online Games Industry: a Review and Comparison
    Massively Multiplayer Online Games Industry: A Review and Comparison From Middleware to Publishing By Almuntaser Alhindawi Javed Rafiq Sim Boon Seong 2007 A Management project presented in part consideration for the degree of "General and Financial MBA". CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT This project has been agreed as confidential between the students, university and sponsoring organisation. This agreement runs for five years from September, 14 th , 2007. ii Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge Monumental Games management for giving us this opportunity to gain an insight of this interesting industry. Special thanks for Sarah Davis, Thomas Chesney and the University of Nottingham Business School MBA office personnel (Elaine, Kathleen and Christinne) for their assistance and support throughout this project. We would also like to thank our families for their constant support and patience; - Abdula Alhindawi - Fatima Alhindawi - Shatha Bilbeisi - Michelle Law Seow Cha - Sim Hock Soon - Yow Lee Yong - Mohamed Rafiq - Salma Rafiq - Shama Hamid Last but not least, our project supervisor Duncan Shaw for his support and guidance throughout the duration of this management project. i Contents Executive Summary iv Terms and Definition vi 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Methodology 1 1.1.1 Primary Data Capture 1 1.1.2 Secondary Data Capture 2 1.2 Literature Review 4 1.2.1 Introduction 4 1.2.2 Competitive Advantage 15 1.2.3 Business Model 22 1.2.4 Strategic Market Planning Process 27 1.2.5 Value Net 32 2.0 Middleware Industry 42 2.1 Industry Overview 42 2.2
    [Show full text]
  • E-Commerce News: Gaming: Di
    E-Commerce News: Gaming: Disney's Solo Video Game Strategy http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/66492.html GAMING E-Commerce Times > Technology > Gaming | Read Next Article in Gaming March 16, 2009 10:41:31 PM Please note that this material is copyright protected. It is illegal to display or reproduce this article without permission for any commercial purpose, including use as marketing or public relations literature. To obtain reprints of this article for authorized use, please call a sales representative at (818) 461-9700 or visit http://www.ectnews.com/about/reprints/. Disney's Solo Video Game Strategy By Jane Wardell Back to Online Version AP E-Mail Article 03/13/09 9:43 AM PT Reprints Enticed by the lure of a recession-resistant entertainment genre, Disney is trying its hand at self-publishing video games. Rather than license its characters and franchises to some other game maker, Disney is planning to release a racing game titled "Split/Second." Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is taking the wraps off an advanced new car racing video game that the entertainment company hopes will bolster its success in the lucrative gaming sector. As sales of video games prove relatively resilient in the economic downturn, Disney is betting that it can prosper broadly from new games that it makes on its own. Rather than licensing Disney content out to game publishers, Disney's in-house gaming team wants to generate video game characters and story lines that can be the basis of movies as well. "That is the Holy Grail for video games, to see them successfully become franchises," Graham Hopper, head of Disney's game division, told The Associated Press.
    [Show full text]
  • “Tracy Fullerton's Game Design Workshop Covers Pre Y
    “Tracy Fullerton’s Game Design Workshop covers pre y much everything a working or wannabe game designer needs to know. She covers game theory, concepting, prototyping, testing and tuning, with stops along the way to discuss what it means to be a professional game designer and how to land a job. When I started thinking about my game studies course at the University of Texas at Austin, this was one book I knew I had to use.” —Warren Spector, Creative Director, Junction Point Studios “This is a break-through book, brimming with ba le-tested ‘how-to’s.’ Aspiring game designers: you will ‘break through’ to the next level when you learn to set, and then test, experience goals for your game players.” —Bing Gordon, Chief Creative Offi cer, Electronic Arts “Game Design Workshop is without a question the most important (and best book) on the topic of game design. Its unique approach is both deep and practi- cal and draws students’ into the very heart of what game design is all about. The emphasis on paper-and-pencil prototyping encourages students to think, quite literally, “outside the box,” and stretch themselves to innovate beyond simply rehashing commercially successful game genres. If the author’s students are any indication, this method has a proven track record of producing both original and successful games. Game Design Workshop is ideal for those starting new educa- tional programs as the book is structured around a design curriculum that can be easily implemented by instructors with no prior game design experience.” —Celia Pearce, Director, Experimental Game Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology “This book off ers a thoughtful and comprehensive look at the fi eld of game design.
    [Show full text]
  • Event Transcript
    Merrill Lynch London Media Conference JUNE 8, 2006 Disney Speaker: Andy Mooney Chairman, Disney Consumer Products PRESENTATION Jessica Reif-Cohen – Analyst, Merrill Lynch The focus of Disney's presentation today will be Consumer Products. In recent years, Disney has sold nearly all of its physical stores, developed exclusive products for key retailers, is overseeing a new leg of growth with a well laid-out strategy in China, and is focusing on building up its games capability internally. It is a pleasure to introduce Andy Mooney, Chairman, Disney Consumer Products Worldwide. Andy Mooney – Chairman, Disney Consumer Products Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Jessica, for the introduction and for the opportunity to speak here today. Increasingly, The Walt Disney Company sees itself as being in the branded content business with three strong brands in Disney, ABC and ESPN. Today I want to focus on the Disney brand in general and Disney Consumer Products - I’ll just use DCP for short - in particular. I would like to begin by briefly showing a couple of perspectives on the power of the Disney brands. First is an external perspective from the Landa Company's most recent brand asset valuator ranking Disney in third place behind Coca-Cola and J&J. Second is an internal perspective of the time measured in hours that consumers spend immersed in the Disney brand, which last year accumulated to a pretty extraordinary 9.3 billion hours. So for example, consumers spent 7 billion hours watching Disney Channel around the world, 800 Page 1 Merrill Lynch London Media Conference June 8, 2006 million hours at our parks and resorts, 300 million hours watching Disney movies in theaters, and another 350 million watching them at home.
    [Show full text]
  • Welcome to the Issue
    Welcome to the issue Volker Kluge Editor Our Journal to mark the 25th anniversary of ISOH features It has long been established that the victors in the the story of two strong women. The first, Barbara Rotraut ancient Games were seldom amateurs. The Greek Pleyer, went into history as the “Peace Angel”. Her failed cities granted them privileges, but also played a role attempt to combine the opening of the 1952 Games in fostering talents. Until now this aspect has not with an appeal for peace, prompted the IOC to explicitly been examined. Professor Christian Mann reveals the forbid any form of demonstration or propaganda within motivation and financial backing for this practice. Olympic sites. Her story remained largely unknown Don Macgregor, himself an Olympic marathoner, until now but Pleyer’s life as a “peace worker” began spotlights an earlier era in his sport. His article on the in Helsinki. “Fantastic Four” is the story of British marathoners Ferris, Our second strong woman made headlines 50 years Harper, Robertson and Wright. The quartet enjoyed later. Swedish heptathlete Carolina Klüft was the world’s considerable success in the twenties and thirties. Ferris best from 2002 to 2007. Leif Yttergren and John Hellström and Harper both came home with medals, Wright and examine the change to her media profile. Klüft began as Robertson achieved top ten finishes. The author is well carefree as “Pippi Longstocking”. Enjoyment was more qualified for this task, he finished seventh in the 1972 race. important than victory. But by at the end of her career Environmental issues are a central part of the Olympic her serious side had come to the fore.
    [Show full text]
  • Owning the Olympics
    Owning the Olympics Owning the Olympics Narratives of the New China Monroe E. Price and Daniel Dayan, Editors THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS and THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LIBRARY Ann Arbor Copyright © by Monroe E. Price and Daniel Dayan 2008 All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper 2011 2010 2009 2008 4321 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13: 978-0-472-07032-9 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-472-07032-0 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-472-05032-1 (paper : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-472-05032-X (paper : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-472-02450-6 (electronic) Contents Introduction Monroe E. Price 1 I. De‹ning Beijing 2008: Whose World, What Dream? “One World, Different Dreams”: The Contest to De‹ne the Beijing Olympics Jacques deLisle 17 Olympic Values, Beijing’s Olympic Games, and the Universal Market Alan Tomlinson 67 On Seizing the Olympic Platform Monroe E. Price 86 II. Precedents and Perspectives The Public Diplomacy of the Modern Olympic Games and China’s Soft Power Strategy Nicholas J. Cull 117 “A Very Natural Choice”: The Construction of Beijing as an Olympic City during the Bid Period Heidi Østbø Haugen 145 Dreams and Nightmares: History and U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • You've Seen the Movie, Now Play The
    “YOU’VE SEEN THE MOVIE, NOW PLAY THE VIDEO GAME”: RECODING THE CINEMATIC IN DIGITAL MEDIA AND VIRTUAL CULTURE Stefan Hall A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2011 Committee: Ronald Shields, Advisor Margaret M. Yacobucci Graduate Faculty Representative Donald Callen Lisa Alexander © 2011 Stefan Hall All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Ronald Shields, Advisor Although seen as an emergent area of study, the history of video games shows that the medium has had a longevity that speaks to its status as a major cultural force, not only within American society but also globally. Much of video game production has been influenced by cinema, and perhaps nowhere is this seen more directly than in the topic of games based on movies. Functioning as franchise expansion, spaces for play, and story development, film-to-game translations have been a significant component of video game titles since the early days of the medium. As the technological possibilities of hardware development continued in both the film and video game industries, issues of media convergence and divergence between film and video games have grown in importance. This dissertation looks at the ways that this connection was established and has changed by looking at the relationship between film and video games in terms of economics, aesthetics, and narrative. Beginning in the 1970s, or roughly at the time of the second generation of home gaming consoles, and continuing to the release of the most recent consoles in 2005, it traces major areas of intersection between films and video games by identifying key titles and companies to consider both how and why the prevalence of video games has happened and continues to grow in power.
    [Show full text]
  • Disney Channel Reinforces Our Belief That Digital Distribution Can Broaden Audiences
    MARCH 2007 Q1 FY07 SELECTED EARNINGS REMARKS “The keys to Disney’s success are the quality of our content, consumer affinity for our brands and our ability to leverage creative success across the scope of our businesses. Our company-wide focus on these competencies has resulted in the earnings growth, strong cash flow and improving returns you’ve seen us deliver for four straight years now and will, we believe, always remain at the core of Disney’s success.” For further detail, continue to page 3… DISNEY ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF CRUISE BUSINEss Disney plans to expand its cruise business by adding two new ocean liners. Scheduled to launch in 2011 and 2012, the ships will more than double the passenger capacity for Disney Cruise Line. For further detail, continue to page 7… BRAND NEW DISNEY.COM RELEASED Disney.com, the number one online entertainment destination for kids and parents, has launched an updated version with exciting new features for Disney fans of all ages. The new Disney.com is a result of a company-wide effort to create a broadband-centric, category-breaking online experience that delivers highly personalized entertainment offerings that appeal to a broad audience of kids, parents and Disney fans. For further detail, continue to page 13… DISNEY RENAMES VIDEO GAME BUSINEss UNIT At its investor conference, Disney recently announced the renaming of its video game business unit to Disney Interactive Studios. For further detail, continue to page 14… TOUCHSTONE TELEVISION NOW ABC TELEVISION STUDIO The Disney-ABC Television Group will rename its in-house production company, Touchstone Television, as the ABC Television Studio, it was announced recently at the 2007 Disney Investor Conference by Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney-ABC Television Group.
    [Show full text]
  • British Children No Longer Have 'Stars in Their Eyes'
    BRITISH CHILDREN NO LONGER HAVE ‘STARS IN THEIR EYES’ Submitted by: Cow PR LLP Wednesday, 19 March 2008 Despite February’s Lunar Eclipse and the UK historically being a maritime nation, it seems that British kids’ celebrity star knowledge is eclipsing their ability to spot some of the major stars and planets in the night’s sky. Research out today, to celebrate the launch of the new Power Rangers Operation Overdrive DVD, shows that British children can’t identify the Moon (72%), Mars (57%) and Saturn (44%) but are three times as likely to be able to identify a celebrity star than one from the cosmos. More worryingly, the research also found that two in every five (39%) kids thought Mars was a type of chocolate bar and almost a third (30%) thought Winston Churchill was the first man to walk on the moon. Two-thirds of the 1,400 kids surveyed were also unable to answer basic questions such as how many planets are in the solar system (60%) or could name the planets in order (59%). A third of kids also believed the Earth wasn’t an official planet (35%) and thought the surface of Mars was blue (33%). Famous UK astronomical figures such as Stephen Hawking and Sir Patrick Moore should take heart though as nearly three-quarters (73%) of the kids questioned wanted to learn more about astronomy, although only 15% believed that their parents would be able to help them learn about the night sky. To help boost kids’ knowledge of astronomy, the Power Rangers brand has teamed up with the British Astronomical Society to create a guide to the stars using the popular TV characters to help teach kids more about the night sky from finding the North Star to spotting shooting stars this summer.
    [Show full text]
  • Buena Vista Games Se Incorpora a Adese
    La asociación empresarial del sector de los videojuegos en España representa más del 85% del mercado nacional Buena Vista Games se incorpora a aDeSe • Buena Vista Games, la compañía de entretenimiento interactivo de The Walt Disney Company, ha cosechado éxitos internacionales con muchos de sus videojuegos de consola y PC como Disney / Pixar’s Buscando a Nemo, Piratas del Caribe y Kingdom Hearts. • Con la incorporación de Buena Vista Games, aDeSe -cuyo objetivo es el desarrollo de la industria de software de entretenimiento- cuenta con 16 compañías de primer nivel en el sector de los videojuegos. Madrid, 3 de noviembre de 2005.- La Asociación Española de Distribuidores y Editores de Software de Entretenimiento (aDeSe), única asociación empresarial del sector de los videojuegos en España, ha anunciado la incorporación de Buena Vista Games (BVG) a esta agrupación de empresas. Con esta nueva incorporación, aDeSe sigue reforzando su representación del mercado nacional, que supera ya el 85%. Buena Vista Games, la compañía de entretenimiento interactivo de The Walt Disney Company, ha cosechado el éxito internacional con muchos de sus videojuegos de consola y PC, para diferentes edades, desarrollados directamente o a través de licencias. Estos videojuegos, algunos de los cuales han vendido millones de unidades en todo el mundo, maximizan las oportunidades que aportan las distintas líneas de negocio de The Walt Disney Company como: los clásicos de Disney (Mickey Mouse, Princesas Disney o Winnie the Pooh), las películas de cine (Disney / Pixar’s Buscando a Nemo o Los Increíbles y Piratas del Caribe) o las series de televisión (W.I.T.C.H., Kim Possible o Power Rangers), sin olvidar los videojuegos de nueva creación como Kingdom Hearts.
    [Show full text]