Mckeown, Conor (2018) Videogame ecologies: interaction, aesthetics, affect. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/8878/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/
[email protected] Videogame Ecologies: Interaction, Aesthetics, Affect Conor Mckeown MA, MPhil Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD School of Film and Television Studies College of Culture and Creative Arts University of Glasgow 2 Abstract This project is driven by omissions at the intersection of ecological game studies and media- ecology. Although authors have studied videogames from a variety of ecological approaches, few have attempted to develop a holistic methodology, embracing videogames' specific attributes while recognising their role within larger physical systems. This thesis is an attempt to address this, reading videogames as simultaneously about and functioning as ecologies. My methodology draws on the agential-realist philosophy of Karen Barad whose theory of 'intra- activity' is abundant with ecological ramifications. Adapting Barad's 'intra-active' framework for use with contemporary videogames, I read them as assemblages of hardware, software and their human players.