WAR GAMES: MEMORY, MILITARISM AND THE SUBJECT OF PLAY

Philip Hammond, Holger Pötzsch, Kevin McSorley, Emil Lundedal Hammar, Jamie Woodcock, Kristine Jørgensen, Adam Chapman, Piotr Sterczewski, Chris Kempshall, Stephanie de Smale, Dimitra Nikolaidou, Vít Šisler, Joakim Arnøy, Matthew Thomas Payne

Many of today's most commercially successful videogames, from Call of Duty to Company of Heroes, are war-themed titles that play out in what are framed as authentic real-world settings inspired by recent news headlines or drawn from history. While such games are marketed as authentic representations of war, they often provide a selective form of realism that eschews problematic, yet salient aspects of war. In addition, changes in the way Western states wage and frame actual wars makes contemporary conflicts increasingly resemble videogames when perceived from the vantage point of Western audiences.

This interdisciplinary volume brings together scholars from games studies, media and cultural studies, politics and international relations, and related fields to examine the complex relationships between military-themed videogames and real-world conflict, and to consider how videogames might deal with history, memory, and conflict in alternative ways. It asks: What is the role of videogames in the formation and negotiation of cultural memory of past wars? How do game narratives and designs position the gaming subject in relation to history, war and militarism? And how far do critical, anti-war/peace games offer an alternative or challenge to mainstream commercial titles?

PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE	BINDING	EDITION	ISBN	YEAR	PAGES
English	Hardcover		9781501351150	2019	288
English	Paperback		9781501382529	2021	288
English	eBook		N/A	2019	288