DOCSLIB.ORG

Not of Woman Born: Monstrous Interfaces and Monstrosity in Video Games

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Not of Woman Born: Monstrous Interfaces and Monstrosity in Video Games NOT OF WOMAN BORN: MONSTROUS INTERFACES AND MONSTROSITY IN VIDEO GAMES By LAURIE N. TAYLOR A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2006 Copyright 2006 by Laurie N. Taylor To Pete. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have many people to thank for this dissertation: my friends, family, and teachers. I would also like to thank the University of Florida for encouraging the study of popular media, with a high level of critical theory and competence. This dissertation also would not have been possible without the diligent help and guidance from my committee members, Donald Ault and Jane Douglas, as well as numerous other faculty members and graduate students both at the University of Florida and at other institutions. Thanks go to friends and loved ones (and cats): Colin, Jeremiah, Nix, Galahad, and Mila. And, thanks go always to Pete, for helping with research, discussion, giving me love and support, and for being wonderful. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..............................................................................................iv ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1 Introduction..............................................................................................................1 The Gothic................................................................................................................5 Horror Films...........................................................................................................11 Ludic Gothic and Horror Games.............................................................................14 Gender and Textuality ............................................................................................18 Game Studies..........................................................................................................20 2 ENEMIES, MONSTERS, AND THE OTHER IN VIDEO GAMES .......................23 Conflict, Opponents, Enemies, and Monsters..........................................................24 The Player-Character and Her Opponent(s).............................................................27 Monsters and Horror...............................................................................................29 Monstrous Focus in Resident Evil and Fatal Frame ................................................33 Monsters and the Other...........................................................................................41 Conclusion .............................................................................................................43 3 FRACTURED INDENTITIES: SIBLINGS AND DOPPELGANGERS IN VIDEO GAMES.....................................................................................................46 Siblings in Structure: Player-Characters and Enemies .............................................51 Siblings in Narrative...............................................................................................55 Sibling Worlds: Chaos of Changing Structures .......................................................60 Sibling Worlds: Enemies and Monsters...................................................................66 Characters...............................................................................................................68 Doubles, Shadows, and the Other............................................................................70 Conclusion: Survival Horror and Family Border Crossings.....................................74 4 GOTHIC SUBVERSIONS OF GENDER: WOMEN HEROES IN VIDEO GAMES..................................................................................................................76 Gothic and Gender..................................................................................................78 v Gender as Style.......................................................................................................79 Conclusion .............................................................................................................99 5 REMNANTS, RUINS, AND RUPTURES: HORROR VIDEO GAMES’ SUBVERSION OF CAPITALISTIC CONCEPTIONS OF SPACE......................102 Introduction..........................................................................................................102 Video Game Spatiality..........................................................................................104 Typical Video Game Spatial Construction ............................................................106 Space in Ludic Gothic and horror games...............................................................111 Gothic, Horror, and Spaces of Memory.................................................................118 Gothic’s Discontents.............................................................................................121 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................123 6 DOCUMENTING HORROR: VIDEO GAMES AS INTERACTIVE, AND UNREAL, DOCUMENTARIES...........................................................................126 Introduction..........................................................................................................126 Documentary and Docu-games .............................................................................129 Mock-documentaries for the Voiceless and Invisible ............................................133 Docu-games for the Undocumentable ...................................................................138 Documentary Traditions in Fictional Games .........................................................145 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................147 7 PLATFORM DEPENDENT: CONSOLE AND COMPUTER CULTURES .........152 Introduction..........................................................................................................152 Game Culture Platform Dependence.....................................................................155 Academics and Computer Vs. Console Games......................................................156 Internal Divisions: Console Wars..........................................................................160 Gaming Interface..................................................................................................163 Consoles are for Kids............................................................................................166 Places and Ways of Play: Living Rooms, Online Hints, and Game Play Conventions.....................................................................................................167 Game Genres........................................................................................................173 Conclusion: Platforms for Academics...................................................................174 8 SEQUELS, PREQUELS, AND SERIALITY IN VIDEO GAMES .......................176 Introduction..........................................................................................................176 Continuing Narratives, Closure, and Character Development................................178 Serials and Series..................................................................................................180 Sequels, Prequels, and Seriality in Games.............................................................187 Defying Closure: Serial Functioning of Ludic Gothic and Horror Games..............192 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................199 LIST OF REFERENCES.............................................................................................203 vi BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................217 vii Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy NOT OF WOMAN BORN: MONSTROUS INTERFACES AND MONSTROSITY IN VIDEO GAMES By Laurie N. Taylor May 2006 Chair: Donald Ault Major Department: English Not of Woman Born combines an examination of the structure and genre of horror within video games to analyze how horror video games operate and the significance of those workings to video games and digital media, horror across media types, Gothic literature, and gender. The majority of texts on games—like Espen Aarseth’s Cybertext and Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman’s Rules of Play—have focused on founding the overall methods by which games operate, either in terms of other media forms or solely within games and new media. Not of Woman Born focuses on the particularities of horror games to illustrate commonalities in video games, and to illustrate how certain conventions fail or can be subverted in order to produce particular effects. Running through the chapters is an awareness of games and their current placement as mass-conglomerated media, even as games repeatedly diverge into alternative projects like independent and political games and movements like the Serious Games Initiative and the Games for Health projects. Not viii of Woman Born configures game and new media
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Video Games: Changing the Way We Think of Home Entertainment
    Rochester Institute of Technology RIT Scholar Works Theses 2005 Video games: Changing the way we think of home entertainment Eri Shulga Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses Recommended Citation Shulga, Eri, "Video games: Changing the way we think of home entertainment" (2005). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Video Games: Changing The Way We Think Of Home Entertainment by Eri Shulga Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Information Technology Rochester Institute of Technology B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences Copyright 2005 Rochester Institute of Technology B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences Master of Science in Information Technology Thesis Approval Form Student Name: _ __;E=.;r....;...i S=-h;....;..;u;;;..;..lg;;i..;:a;;...__ _____ Thesis Title: Video Games: Changing the Way We Think of Home Entertainment Thesis Committee Name Signature Date Evelyn Rozanski, Ph.D Evelyn Rozanski /o-/d-os- Chair Prof. Andy Phelps Andrew Phelps Committee Member Anne Haake, Ph.D Anne R. Haake Committee Member Thesis Reproduction Permission Form Rochester Institute of Technology B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences Master of Science in Information Technology Video Games: Changing the Way We Think Of Home Entertainment L Eri Shulga. hereby grant permission to the Wallace Library of the Rochester Institute of Technofogy to reproduce my thesis in whole or in part.
    [Show full text]
  • UPC Platform Publisher Title Price Available 730865001347
    UPC Platform Publisher Title Price Available 730865001347 PlayStation 3 Atlus 3D Dot Game Heroes PS3 $16.00 52 722674110402 PlayStation 3 Namco Bandai Ace Combat: Assault Horizon PS3 $21.00 2 Other 853490002678 PlayStation 3 Air Conflicts: Secret Wars PS3 $14.00 37 Publishers 014633098587 PlayStation 3 Electronic Arts Alice: Madness Returns PS3 $16.50 60 Aliens Colonial Marines 010086690682 PlayStation 3 Sega $47.50 100+ (Portuguese) PS3 Aliens Colonial Marines (Spanish) 010086690675 PlayStation 3 Sega $47.50 100+ PS3 Aliens Colonial Marines Collector's 010086690637 PlayStation 3 Sega $76.00 9 Edition PS3 010086690170 PlayStation 3 Sega Aliens Colonial Marines PS3 $50.00 92 010086690194 PlayStation 3 Sega Alpha Protocol PS3 $14.00 14 047875843479 PlayStation 3 Activision Amazing Spider-Man PS3 $39.00 100+ 010086690545 PlayStation 3 Sega Anarchy Reigns PS3 $24.00 100+ 722674110525 PlayStation 3 Namco Bandai Armored Core V PS3 $23.00 100+ 014633157147 PlayStation 3 Electronic Arts Army of Two: The 40th Day PS3 $16.00 61 008888345343 PlayStation 3 Ubisoft Assassin's Creed II PS3 $15.00 100+ Assassin's Creed III Limited Edition 008888397717 PlayStation 3 Ubisoft $116.00 4 PS3 008888347231 PlayStation 3 Ubisoft Assassin's Creed III PS3 $47.50 100+ 008888343394 PlayStation 3 Ubisoft Assassin's Creed PS3 $14.00 100+ 008888346258 PlayStation 3 Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood PS3 $16.00 100+ 008888356844 PlayStation 3 Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Revelations PS3 $22.50 100+ 013388340446 PlayStation 3 Capcom Asura's Wrath PS3 $16.00 55 008888345435
    [Show full text]
  • Strategy Games Big Huge Games • Bruce C
    04 3677_CH03 6/3/03 12:30 PM Page 67 Chapter 3 THE EXPERTS • Sid Meier, Firaxis General Game Design: • Bill Roper, Blizzard North • Brian Reynolds, Strategy Games Big Huge Games • Bruce C. Shelley, Ensemble Studios • Peter Molyneux, Do you like to use some brains along with (or instead of) brawn Lionhead Studios when gaming? This chapter is for you—how to create breathtaking • Alex Garden, strategy games. And do we have a roundtable of celebrities for you! Relic Entertainment Sid Meier, Firaxis • Louis Castle, There’s a very good reason why Sid Meier is one of the most Electronic Arts/ accomplished and respected game designers in the business. He Westwood Studios pioneered the industry with a number of unprecedented instant • Chris Sawyer, Freelance classics, such as the very first combat flight simulator, F-15 Strike Eagle; then Pirates, Railroad Tycoon, and of course, a game often • Rick Goodman, voted the number one game of all time, Civilization. Meier has con- Stainless Steel Studios tributed to a number of chapters in this book, but here he offers a • Phil Steinmeyer, few words on game inspiration. PopTop Software “Find something you as a designer are excited about,” begins • Ed Del Castillo, Meier. “If not, it will likely show through your work.” Meier also Liquid Entertainment reminds designers that this is a project that they’ll be working on for about two years, and designers have to ask themselves whether this is something they want to work on every day for that length of time. From a practical point of view, Meier says, “You probably don’t want to get into a genre that’s overly exhausted.” For me, working on SimGolf is a fine example, and Gettysburg is another—something I’ve been fascinated with all my life, and it wasn’t mainstream, but was a lot of fun to write—a fun game to put together.
    [Show full text]
  • The Video Game Industry an Industry Analysis, from a VC Perspective
    The Video Game Industry An Industry Analysis, from a VC Perspective Nik Shah T’05 MBA Fellows Project March 11, 2005 Hanover, NH The Video Game Industry An Industry Analysis, from a VC Perspective Authors: Nik Shah • The video game industry is poised for significant growth, but [email protected] many sectors have already matured. Video games are a large and Tuck Class of 2005 growing market. However, within it, there are only selected portions that contain venture capital investment opportunities. Our analysis Charles Haigh [email protected] highlights these sectors, which are interesting for reasons including Tuck Class of 2005 significant technological change, high growth rates, new product development and lack of a clear market leader. • The opportunity lies in non-core products and services. We believe that the core hardware and game software markets are fairly mature and require intensive capital investment and strong technology knowledge for success. The best markets for investment are those that provide valuable new products and services to game developers, publishers and gamers themselves. These are the areas that will build out the industry as it undergoes significant growth. A Quick Snapshot of Our Identified Areas of Interest • Online Games and Platforms. Few online games have historically been venture funded and most are subject to the same “hit or miss” market adoption as console games, but as this segment grows, an opportunity for leading technology publishers and platforms will emerge. New developers will use these technologies to enable the faster and cheaper production of online games. The developers of new online games also present an opportunity as new methods of gameplay and game genres are explored.
    [Show full text]
  • [Japan] SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1000 Miglia
    SCHEDA NEW PLATINUM PI4 EDITION La seguente lista elenca la maggior parte dei titoli emulati dalla scheda NEW PLATINUM Pi4 (20.000). - I giochi per computer (Amiga, Commodore, Pc, etc) richiedono una tastiera per computer e talvolta un mouse USB da collegare alla console (in quanto tali sistemi funzionavano con mouse e tastiera). - I giochi che richiedono spinner (es. Arkanoid), volanti (giochi di corse), pistole (es. Duck Hunt) potrebbero non essere controllabili con joystick, ma richiedono periferiche ad hoc, al momento non configurabili. - I giochi che richiedono controller analogici (Playstation, Nintendo 64, etc etc) potrebbero non essere controllabili con plance a levetta singola, ma richiedono, appunto, un joypad con analogici (venduto separatamente). - Questo elenco è relativo alla scheda NEW PLATINUM EDITION basata su Raspberry Pi4. - Gli emulatori di sistemi 3D (Playstation, Nintendo64, Dreamcast) e PC (Amiga, Commodore) sono presenti SOLO nella NEW PLATINUM Pi4 e non sulle versioni Pi3 Plus e Gold. - Gli emulatori Atomiswave, Sega Naomi (Virtua Tennis, Virtua Striker, etc.) sono presenti SOLO nelle schede Pi4. - La versione PLUS Pi3B+ emula solo 550 titoli ARCADE, generati casualmente al momento dell'acquisto e non modificabile. Ultimo aggiornamento 2 Settembre 2020 NOME GIOCO EMULATORE 005 SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1 On 1 Government [Japan] SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1000 Miglia: Great 1000 Miles Rally SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 10-Yard Fight SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 18 Holes Pro Golf SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1941: Counter Attack SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1942 SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1943 Kai: Midway Kaisen SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1943: The Battle of Midway [Europe] SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1944 : The Loop Master [USA] SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 1945k III SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 19XX : The War Against Destiny [USA] SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 2 On 2 Open Ice Challenge SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 4-D Warriors SALA GIOCHI ARCADE 64th.
    [Show full text]
  • Reader Agency and Intimacy in Contemporary Horror Fiction
    “This Is Not For You” Reader Agency and Intimacy in Contemporary Horror Fiction Aslak Rustad Hauglid A Thesis Presented to The Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Master of Arts Degree UNIVERSITETET I OSLO Spring 2016 II “This Is Not For You” Reader Agency and Intimacy in Contemporary Horror Fiction Aslak Rustad Hauglid A Thesis Presented to The Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages University of Oslo In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Master of Arts Degree Spring 2016 III © Aslak Rustad Hauglid 2016 “This Is Not For You”: Reader Agency and Intimacy in Contemporary Horror Fiction Aslak Rustad Hauglid http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo IV Abstract This thesis examines how recent/contemporary horror fiction uses the establishment of reader intimacy and challenges to reader agency in order to create experiences of horror. The discussion focuses on a selection of horror texts from different media published between 2000 and 2016. The thesis argues that these two techniques have come to be increasingly important horror tropes over this period, and examines how they are applied in order to propose a new perspective for understanding how contemporary horror operates. Two central arguments structure this discussion. The first argument is a claim that the aesthetic, narrative and in some case interactive dimensions of the examined horror texts illustrate how these texts seek to shorten the distance between reader and author, while simultaneously questioning the power the reader possesses in relation to the text. All of this takes place in the pursuit of creating an effective experience of horror.
    [Show full text]
  • Page 22 Survival Horrality: Analysis of a Videogame Genre (1) Ewan
    Page 22 Survival Horrality: Analysis of a Videogame Genre (1) Ewan Kirkland Introduction The title of this article is drawn from Philip Brophy’s 1983 essay which coins the neologism ‘horrality’, a merging of horror, textuality, morality and hilarity. Like Brophy’s original did of 1980s horror cinema, this article examines characteristics of survival horror videogames, seeking to illustrate the relationship between ‘new’ (media) horror and ‘old’ (media) horror. Brophy’s term structures this investigation around key issues and aspects of survival horror videogames. Horror relates to generic parallels with similarly­labelled film and literature, including gothic fiction, American horror cinema and traditional Japanese culture. Textuality examines the aesthetic qualities of survival horror, including the games’ use of narrative, their visual design and structuring of virtual spaces. Morality explores the genre’s ideological characteristics, the nature of survival horror violence, the familial politics of these texts, and their reflection on issues of institutional and bodily control. Hilarity refers to moments of humour and self reflexivity, leading to consideration of survival horror’s preoccupation with issues of vision, identification, and the nature of the videogame medium. ‘Survival horror’ as a game category is unusual for its prominence within videogame scholarship. Indicative of the amorphous nature of popular genres, Aphra Kerr notes: ‘game genres are poorly defined and evolve as new technologies and fashions emerge’;(2) an observation which applied as much to videogame academia as to the videogame industry. Within studies of the medium, various game types are commonly listed. These might include the shoot­‘em­up, the racing game, the platform game, the God game, the real­time strategy game, and the puzzle game,(3) the simulation, role­playing, fighting/action, sports, traditional and ‘”edutainment”’ game,(4) or action, adventure, strategy and ‘process­orientated’ games.(5) These clusters of game types tend to be broad, commonsensical, and under­theorized.
    [Show full text]
  • Ludological Dynamics in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
    Catch and Release: Ludological Dynamics in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly William Huber University of California San Diego, CA Abstract Videogames are software-based artifacts, and their nature as such affords researchers the opportunity to study a range of stable semiotic interface elements. Players engaged with a game become increasingly skilled at decoding these games over a range of semiotic registers to navigate through the game, interpret elements in the visual field, and respond effectively to game challenges. Using techniques drawn from scientific analysis of visual images and video data, the author has examined the videogame Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. After identifying modes of play corresponding to clusters of operations and representations in recordings of game navigation, the author identifies patterns of repetition and suspense which support the aesthetics experience appropriate for a horror game; however, this effect does not operate in isolation. The article also criticizes approaches toward the analysis of videogames which rely on stark distinctions between operational and representational modes of reception, arguing instead for a simultaneous decoding of elements in the visual field. As signifiers are decoded within a given register, whether operational or diegetic, those signifying elements remain latently available for decoding in others. These latent, deferred decodings – evoking the resemblances and eerie identities described in the traditional discourse on the uncanny – are considered another element in the production of uncanny experience in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. Author Keywords Ludology; culture; emotion; meaning. One persistent problem in the study of videogames has been the difficulty in resolving them both as playable, dynamic software-based media and as screen-based systems of representation, especially as narratives.
    [Show full text]
  • Resident Evil
    OPINIÓN EN MODO HARDCORE TodoENERO 2016 JuegosNÚMERO 37 OPINIÓN | REPORTAJES | NOTICIAS | AVANCES UN TORTUOSO VIAJE AL ORIGEN DE RESIDENT EVIL UNA REALIZACIÓN DE PLAYADICTOS Editorial Esperando el renacer ste primer nú- No obstante, creo mero “tradicio- que muchos estamos Enal” de Revista esperando el renacer TodoJuegos del 2016, definitivo de la saga tras el balance de la creada por Shinji Mi- edición anterior, nos kami, con un Resident coloca de cara a una Evil 7 en propiedad, de las sagas favoritas Jorge Maltrain Macho que retome y los orí- de todo gamer aman- Editor General genes de la franquicia te del terror: Resident y modernice la fórmu- Evil de Capcom. Resident Evil Φ que la, es decir, que no deje no tengo dudas que de lado la acción, pero El estudio este mes estará a la altura del tampoco elementos repite la fórmula que original y que será un como el horror, la ex- le dio tanta alegría el gran complemento al ploración o la resolu- año pasado, con una primer título, remas- ción de puzles duran- remasterización de terizado hace un año. te la aventura. Equipo de Revista TodoJuegos DIRECTOR Rodrigo Salas Alejandro Abarca Caleb Hervia #Feniadan #Caleta PRODUCTOR Cristian Garretón EDITOR GENERAL Luis F. Puebla Pedro Jiménez Y DIAGRAMADOR #D_o_G #PedroJimenez Jorge Maltrain Macho No es, por cierto, el por ende, tomarle ca- UNA PRODUCCIÓN DE único caso en el que riño a los personajes esperamos lo mismo (algo básico en todos y en eso este 2016 pa- los juegos buenos de rece pródigo de ejem- la saga), lo cierto es plos, siendo quizás el que su acción más UNA REALIZACIÓN DE más importante de cercana a los Tales todos el caso de Final que a los Final Fan- Fantasy, en lo perso- tasy tradicionales no nal mi saga de rol fa- nos termina por con- ga espera y en medio vorita..
    [Show full text]
  • “A Jill Sandwich”. Gender Representation in Zombie Videogames
    “A Jill Sandwich”. Gender Representation in Zombie Videogames. Esther MacCallum-Stewart From Resident​ Evil (Capcom 1996 - present) to The​ Walking Dead (Telltale Games 2012-4), ​ women are represented in zombie games in ways that appear to refigure them as heroines in their own right, a role that has traditionally been represented as atypical in gaming genres. These women are seen as pioneering – Jill Valentine is often described as one of the first playable female protagonists in videogaming, whilst Clementine and Ellie from The​ Walking Dead and The​ Last of Us (Naughty Dog 2013) are respectively, a young child and a teenager ​ ​ undergoing coming of age rites of passage in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. Accompanying them are male protagonists who either compliment these roles, or alternatively provide useful explorations of masculinity in games that move beyond gender stereotyping. At first, these characters appear to disrupt traditional readings of gender in the zombie genre, avoiding the stereotypical roles of final girl, macho hero or princess in need of rescuing. Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield and Ada Wong of the Resident​ Evil series are resilient characters who often have independent storyarcs within the series, and possess unique ludic attributes that make them viable choices for the player (for example, a greater amount of inventory). Their physical appearance - most usually dressed in combat attire - additionally means that they partially avoid critiques of pandering to the male gaze, a visual trope which dominates female representation in gaming. Ellie and Clementine introduce the player to non-sexualised portrayals of women who ultimately emerge as survivors and protagonists, and further episodes of each game jettison their male counterparts to focus on each of these young adult’s development.
    [Show full text]
  • Conference Booklet
    30th Oct - 1st Nov CONFERENCE BOOKLET 1 2 3 INTRO REBOOT DEVELOP RED | 2019 y Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned Warmest welcome to first ever Reboot Develop it! And we are here to stay. Our ambition through Red conference. Welcome to breathtaking Banff the next few years is to turn Reboot Develop National Park and welcome to iconic Fairmont Red not just in one the best and biggest annual Banff Springs. It all feels a bit like history repeating games industry and game developers conferences to me. When we were starting our European older in Canada and North America, but in the world! sister, Reboot Develop Blue conference, everybody We are committed to stay at this beautiful venue was full of doubts on why somebody would ever and in this incredible nature and astonishing choose a beautiful yet a bit remote place to host surroundings for the next few forthcoming years one of the biggest worldwide gatherings of the and make it THE annual key gathering spot of the international games industry. In the end, it turned international games industry. We will need all of into one of the biggest and highest-rated games your help and support on the way! industry conferences in the world. And here we are yet again at the beginning, in one of the most Thank you from the bottom of the heart for all beautiful and serene places on Earth, at one of the the support shown so far, and even more for the most unique and luxurious venues as well, and in forthcoming one! the company of some of the greatest minds that the games industry has to offer! _Damir Durovic
    [Show full text]
  • The Shape of Games to Come: Critical Digital Storytelling in the Era of Communicative Capitalism
    The Shape of Games to Come: Critical Digital Storytelling in the Era of Communicative Capitalism by Sarah E. Thorne 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 © 2018, Sarah E. Thorne Abstract The past decade has seen an increase in the availability of user-friendly game development software, the result of which has been the emergence of a genre of reflexive and experimental games. Pippin Barr, La Molleindustria’s Paolo Pedercini, and Davey Wreden are exemplary in their thoughtful engagement with an ever-expanding list of subjects, including analyses and critiques of game development, popular culture, and capitalism. These works demonstrate the power of games as a site for critical media theory. This potential, however, is hindered by the player-centric trends in the game industry that limit the creative freedom of developers whose work is their livelihood. In the era of communicative capitalism, Jodi Dean argues that the commodification of communication has suspended narrative in favour of the circulation of fragmented and digestible opinions, which not only facilitates the distribution and consumption of communication, but also safeguards communicative capitalism against critique. Ultimately, the very same impulse that drives communicative capitalism is responsible for the player-centric trends that some developers view as an obstacle to their art. Critical game studies has traditionally fallen into two categories: those that emphasize the player as the locus of critique, such as McKenzie Wark’s trifler or Mary Flanagan’s critical play, and those that emphasize design, as in Alexander Galloway’s countergaming, Ian Bogost’s procedural rhetoric, and Gonzalo Frasca’s theory of simulation.
    [Show full text]