Playing Dystopia
Nightmarish Worlds in Video Games and the Player's Aesthetic Response
Video games permeate our everyday existence. They immerse players in fascinating gameworlds and exciting experiences, often inviting them in various ways to reflect on the enacted events.
Gerald Farca explores the genre of dystopian video games and the player's aesthetic response to their nightmarish gameworlds. Players, he argues, will gradually come to see similarities between the virtual dystopia and their own ›offline‹ environment, thus learning to stay wary of social and political developments.
In his analysis, Farca draws from a variety of research fields, such as literary theory and game studies, combining them into a coherent theory of aesthetic response to dystopian games.
Overview Chapters
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Frontmatter
Seiten 1 - 4 -
Contents
Seiten 5 - 8 -
Acknowledgments
Seiten 9 - 10 -
Introduction
Seiten 11 - 32 -
Part I: Towards the Video Game Dystopia
Preface to Part I
Seiten 35 - 36 -
1. Utopia and the Dream of a Better World
Seiten 37 - 64 -
2. Dystopia: Nightmarish Worlds as Distorted Anxiety Dreams
Seiten 65 - 112 -
3. Warning, Effectiveness, and Targets of the Video Game Dystopia
Seiten 113 - 152 -
Part II: Playful Trial Actions in Estranged Gameworlds
Preface to Part II
Seiten 155 - 158 -
4. Towards the Implied Player
Seiten 159 - 250 -
5. Estrangement Through World and Agency
Seiten 251 - 320 -
Part III: Playing Dystopia
Preface to Part III
Seiten 323 - 324 -
6. Night-Time Dreams and Wish-Fulfilment: The Struggle for Utopia in BIOSHOCK INFINITE
Seiten 325 - 372 -
7. THE LAST OF US and the Journey to Nature
Seiten 373 - 402 -
8. Horizons and the Video Game Dystopia
Seiten 403 - 408 -
List of Abbreviations
Seiten 409 - 410 -
Glossary
Seiten 411 - 414 -
Ludography
Seiten 415 - 416 -
Bibliography
Seiten 417 - 434
7 November 2018, 434 pages
ISBN: 978-3-8376-4597-2
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