Remembering to play/playing to remember : transmedial and intramedial memory in games of nonviolent struggle

Colin B. Harvey

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

    Abstract

    In this chapter, I will begin by exploring the role played by violence in videogames, examining whether the competitive element central to games renders aggression intrinsic to the medium, and the extent to which this is remembered from preceding videogames and other media. I will utilize the work of Stephen Kline, Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greig De Peuter (2003) in highlighting the role played by the American military in subsidizing videogame development from the 1960s onwards. I will also briefly examine the argument that the dominance of young males working in the videogames industry necessarily leads to the development and targeting of violent games intended for a young male demographic. I will then move on to explore three examples of videogames chosen because they engage with issues of nonviolence in a variety of different ways and arise out of differing production contexts.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationCultural Memories of Nonviolent Struggles: Powerful Times
    EditorsAnna Reading, Tamar Katriel
    Place of PublicationU.K.
    PublisherPalgrave
    Pages226-244
    Number of pages19
    ISBN (Electronic)9781137032737
    ISBN (Print)9781137032713
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Keywords

    • digital media
    • memory
    • video games

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