The politics that we play. Culture, videogames and political ludofiction on Steam

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33732/ixc/12/02Lapoli

Keywords:

Game Studies, Political Culture, New Media, Steam, Politainment

Abstract

This research is based on the well-known influence of the media in the political sphere and discourse, as well as the popularity of the Steam platform in the distribution of computer video games. In this way, we propose an analysis of the message of the game cards of games with political content in this medium of content distribution. The selection of the sample is based on a series of keywords (Politics, Political and Political Sim) to identify a representative set of games (n=64) that develop some aspect of contemporary politics (representations, ideologies or models of government). To do so, we combine quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the paratexts of these games (specifically, the contents present in the game card of each of them). The exploration of these contents highlights a pragmatic and normative reading of political activity, influenced by its context of production and certain ideological vectors of the contemporary scene, such as neoliberal ideology.

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Author Biographies

Salvador Gómez-García, Universidad de Valladolid

Salvador Gómez García is Associate Professor in the Department of History and Communication at Valladolid University. Head of Journalism and professor of Journalism Degree and Ph.D. in Media Communication (with an international mention) at Complutense University (2008). I hold a BA in Journalism, MA in Documentary Realization and MA in Fiction Screenwriting.

His field of study is divided into two main areas. The first focuses on understanding how the new narrative formulas have been included in the traditional mass media or, in other cases, how new media have emerged. His specialization in this area of study focuses on the informative power of serious games and the mobile ecosystem in the political and informative domain. His second research field focuses on the history of the mass media, mainly studying the Spanish state broadcast (Radio Nacional de España) during the Francoism and the Transition years. He has published two monograph studies and more than 40 articles in indexed magazines, among which it is relevant to highlight Comunicar (JCR Q1), El Profesional de la Información (JCR Q3 and SJR Q1), Interfaçe (SJR Q2), Media History (SJR Q1) or Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television (SJR Q1). He has done research stays in Universities of England, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Ecuador, and Chile.

He has been member of staff in 4 universities and professor in the area of study related to “new narratives with social impact” in master degrees of several national (UAB, Carlos III, URJC, Universidad Internacional de Valencia, etc.) and international universities (Universidad de La Habana, Lincoln University, Universidad de los Andes, etc.). Furthermore, he has participated counseling the Secretatiat of State´s press office, España Global (2019) and as an expert consultant of the FIIAPP (Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Públicas) in 2015.

Mar Chicharro-Merayo , Universidad de Burgos

Doctora en Sociología y profesora titular de Comunicación Audiovisual de la Universidad de Burgos. Su área de especialización es la sociología de la televisión, así como los trabajos en los que se dan cita el medio televisivo y la variable “género”.

Ha sido investigadora principal de varios proyectos competitivos sobre televisión (el más reciente, “Cultura audiovisual y representaciones de género en España»).

Ha realizado estancias de investigación en University of San Diego, California, Harvard University o University of San Francisco.

Ha publicado numerosos artículos sobre ficción televisiva, identidad y género. Entre ellos, «Learning from television fiction: The reception and socialisation effects from watching Loving in Troubled Times” (Comunicar, 2011), “Telenovelas and society: Constructing and reinforcing the nation through television fiction”, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2013. “Spanish history and female characters. Representations of women in Spanish historical fiction”, Convergencia: Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 2018.

Mireya Vicent-Ibáñez

Investigadora predoctoral en formación FPU.

Líneas de investigación: Estudios Culturales, Game Studies, Nuevos Medios, Historia de la televisión.

Patricia Durántez-Stolle, Universidad de Valladolid

Journalism Degree and PhD (Universidad de Valladolid, Spain). She has recently finished her dissertation thesis about strategies of digital corporate communications. Currently, she is working as a teacher (assistant lecturer/professor) and researcher at the Department of Modern, Contemporary and American History, Journalism, Audiovisual Communication and Advertising (University of Valladolid, Spain). Member of the Research Group called New Trends in Communication. Her main research interests are: organizational communication, cyber-journalism, digital communication, crisis communication, new professional profiles, social media, virtual communities and public relations.

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Published

2022-07-15

How to Cite

Gómez-García, S., Chicharro-Merayo , M., Vicent-Ibáñez, M., & Durántez-Stolle, P. (2022). The politics that we play. Culture, videogames and political ludofiction on Steam. index.Comunicación, 12(2), 277–303. https://doi.org/10.33732/ixc/12/02Lapoli

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2022): Creación, difusión y consumo de contenidos audiovisuales en la enseñanza y la investigación universitarias

Section

Miscelánea

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Copyright (c) 2022 Salvador Gómez-García, Mar Chicharro-Merayo , Mireya Vicent-Ibáñez, Patricia Durántez-Stolle

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