Notes From Identity Etc

7/31/2019 Notes From Identity Etc

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NOTES FROM “IDENTITY, IDENTIFICATION AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION IN

VIDEO GAME PLAY”

Shaw, A. (2010). Identity, Identification and Media Representation in Video Game Play:

An audience reception study (Doctoral dissertation). Publicly accessible Penn

Dissertations. Paper 286.http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/286 http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/286

Shaw argues that because identity and the process of identification are complex, partial

and dynamic, one cannot assume that video game players will identify with virtual

characters or avatars on the basis of shared identifiers or characteristics. This holds true

for players who are members of minority groups, which is Shaw's focus of investigation.

Furthermore, many researchers have theorized that the interactivity of video game play

makes identification stronger than in other media, but Shaw argues that is not

necessarily the case. In fact, most of her interviewees did not deem identification as an

important part of video game play. Interviewees' ability to identify with video game

characters was influenced by a variety of factors, including the narrative of the video

game, the context of game play, the physical activity involved in game play, etc... Shaw

advocates for diversity in video games, rather than the pluralistic approach the video

game industry has taken, marketing specific types of games to niche markets.

Notes:

● to understand representation in video games, must recognize game text is not

stable, depends on how one plays

● Aarseth (1997), video games are “ergodic texts”, require non-trivial work in order

for readers/players to navigate through them

● analysis of game-as-playable text involves looking at the material offered by thegame itself as well as the context of play

Some frameworks to understand representation in video games:

● Pinckard (2003) suggest that in order to understand gender representation in

video games, one must examine the environment around the character outside

the game: marketing, merchandising and advertising

● She also suggests looking at a) aesthetics of character b) programmatic aspects

of character (character's choices, reactions, abilities, biases) c) multiplayer

environment (other people's reactions to the character, interactions)

● Chan (2005) suggests that in order to understand race representation in video

games, one must examine the aesthetics of the game, the “other” (enemies, non-

player characters), the player (avatar, character)

● Shaw argues that narrative is important in understanding representation in video

games

http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/286









● effects of platform and game code also important to consider, directs how a

player can play within game space

● general consensus that best way to study video games somewhere along the

ludology/narratology continuum

● Malaby (2007) argues that contingency is what makes games unique, “mix of

predictable and unpredictable outcomes” (p. 25)

● Video game research often relies on “deterministic relationship between

identification as member of a group and identification with a character” (p. 27),

also makes assumption that identifiers are important to players

● no evidence that portrayals that are relevant to members of marginalized groups

will affect prejudices and stereotyping of people not part of that group

● “we cannot study game texts outside the complex relationship between players,

games, and the greater milieu in which both exist and interact” (p. 32)

The Gamer Identity

● gender, race/ethnicities and gender may affect how people relate to gamer

identity, but Shaw's interviewees only mentioned gender in relation to whether or

not they identified as gamers

● this may be related to the fact that video game representation is often discussed

in relation to gender

● this tendency to focus on gender in research and marketing may influence how

people view their relationship to gaming, and consequently exclude certain

identities/gamers

● “marking medium or audience as distinct acts as its own form of marginalization”

(p. 97)● Robins & Askoy (2005) propose a model for studying media consumption that

moves beyond closed notions of identities and investigates importance of

experience in media consumption

● interviewees identified as a gamer or not depending on how much time they

spent on games, but also in relation to what games they played (cultural capital

symbols of gaming culture), their knowledge about games, and money spent on

games

● gamer identity has negative and positive connotations in society

● negative connotation, such as viewing video games as guilty pleasure, affected

whether or not interviewees thought that representation in video games matters

Identity, Identification & Video Games

● Hayes (2007) asserts that identities are partial, fragmentary unstable

● media representation research tends to rely on essentialized notions of identity

● solely textual approach to video games is problematic, because they are even

less stable than other media



● Giddings (2009) suggests to study “event of game play” rather than study games

as texts, but Shaw argues this is also too narrow

● Must look at media texts, their production and reception, as well as understand

audiences within the context of their who experience, across media, in relation to

social systems

● games studies tends to focus on audiences as defined by a particular platform,rather than “complex persons of varied media diets, lives and contexts” (p. 58)

● research on representation and identification often conflates identifying as a

member of a particular group with identifying with media character

● specific identities does not necessarily define identification with characters

● assumption that players identify with video game characters more due to

interactivity

● interviewees reported identifying as and/or identifying with

● interviewees found that life experiences, similar histories and similar life

approaches as more meaningful ways of identifying with fictional characters or

media personalities, rather than gender, race, sexuality

● identifying with characters in relation to narratives of self (not only arising from

shared identifiers like race, gender, sexuality)

● importance of recognizing disidentification, when one connects with a character

become of some characteristic, but feels distanced from them based on another

● interaction does not necessarily demonstrate or require identification

● the act of playing obscures, and even supersedes, the process of identification

with characters in some games

● most interviewees identify as character on-screen due to interactivity, but don't

identify with the character in an emotional sense

● players often don't think about video game character, but only in terms of whatthey, the player, are doing

● Klimmt & Vorderer (2003) argue that video games demand attention and

involvement, and thus players are potentially more “present” in them, therefore

not enough distance to make judgements about texts, identification needs a level

of distance

● level of embodiment, physical activity involved in game play, not correlated with

level of identification

● Stromer-Gally (2004), concept of interactivity: a) interactivity-as-process, social

interaction between people and b) interactivity-as-product, technological aspects

of text that allows users to interface with a system (digital game, webpage),

product interacts with process

● context of game play, including social interaction and distractions in environment,

can impede identification

● ludic, body and social interactive properties of games may make players more

self-referential and impede identification

● Newman (2002) argues that identity of game characters are only relevant in

cut-scenes and not during action of the game



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Notes From Identity Etc