JFK reloaded: Documentary framing and the simulated document

Often the most well known “documentary videogames” are the most controversial. JFK Reloaded—a game based on the assassination of American president John F. Kennedy—is one of the better known examples. When it rose to public attention in 2004, the game added fuel to a growing outcry over violence and inappropriate content in videogames. It was explicitly condemned by the Kennedy family—and even used to signify the moral vacuum of digital games in an episode of the television series Law and Order . JFKR has always fallen back in defense on its “documentary” status– specifically, that the core simulation at the heart of the gameplay, and supporting game elements such as vantage points, are based meticulously on real Warren Commission data. I will argue a strong indexical relation in JFKR lies between the game and the documents—not the historic act itself. As such, the game’s primary strength as a documentary work is in re-engaging the archive, rather than simulating history

Discourse Engines for Art Mods

This paper presents a genealogy of "art mod" (artistic videogame modification) definitions and frameworks. Such frameworks serve, either intentionally or unintentionally, to establish modding within a tradition of analysis and critique: whether participatory design, alternative media, folk art, and/or fine art. By situating the definition and history of art mods within a particular discourse, researchers construct the ground from which to make arguments towards organizing the reception and critique of these works. Such arguments include whether mods in general (and art mods in particular) are inherently political or banal (even boring), whether these works speak back at all to games themselves (and whether they should), whether these works are powerful and disruptive; or compromised (by virtue of their parasitic position), and as a result marginal. A genealogy of art mod frameworks highlights the boundary politics of the critique of art mods, and the problem of presenting transparent interpretive lenses in an interdisciplinary field such as game studies

Beyond boy’s toys: Women, play and Mindstorms™ Robotics

The LEGO® MindStorms™ Robotics Invention System is increasingly used by adults for both serious prototyping and creative play. What is particularly interesting about the MindStorms™ system is that it offers women the opportunity to participate in an embodied computing environment that supports women-friendly programming concepts such as Constructionism and bricolage. So where are the female hobbyists and artists? This paper argues for the development of a feminine/feminist MindStorms™ robotics practice that subverts the male agency of the product and creates a dialogue surrounding women and robotic play. Using a toy for expression and discourse is a political act: a reclaiming of play time and space for women, and an affirmation of a programming style that rejects dualisms and situates women in the programming experience. This paper will argue the mechanics and cultural space surrounding the MindStorms™ system make it a particularly interesting subject for theorizing and encouraging discourse surrounding women’s relationships to robotics and play. It also presents several ongoing projects by the author that explore the idea of subverting the cultural space surrounding MindStorms™ robotics

Patches of peace: Tiny signs of agency in digital games.

One of the more interesting and distinct aspects of digital games is the proliferation of player produced artifacts. The reworking of original game materials is an integral part of game culture that cannot be ignored in the study of these games. This paper explores player authorship in digital games through the rhetoric of select peace-themed game modifications

Discourse Engines for Art Mods

This paper presents a genealogy of "art mod" (artistic videogame modification) definitions and frameworks. Such frameworks serve, either intentionally or unintentionally, to establish modding within a tradition of analysis and critique: whether participatory design, alternative media, folk art, and/or fine art. By situating the definition and history of art mods within a particular discourse, researchers construct the ground from which to make arguments towards organizing the reception and critique of these works. Such arguments include whether mods in general (and art mods in particular) are inherently political or banal (even boring), whether these works speak back at all to games themselves (and whether they should), whether these works are powerful and disruptive; or compromised (by virtue of their parasitic position), and as a result marginal. A genealogy of art mod frameworks highlights the boundary politics of the critique of art mods, and the problem of presenting transparent interpretive lenses in an interdisciplinary field such as game studies