Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

culprit wrote (edited )

'Gamer Theory' by McKenzie Wark touches on this well before Alt-Right or GamerGate even existed.

You can read most of the chapters here: http://futureofthebook.org/gamertheory/index.html

The basic idea is that games (vidya and otherwise) are ways of transmitting ideology. Neo-liberal global capitalism has used the game metaphor to spread itself into the foundational principles of global culture. Think of phrasing related to 'hustle' and 'having game'. The competitive 'win at all costs' logic of many games/sports is very related to the fascistic tendencies of capitalism and what it has now become.

GamerGate is very useful to see how the idea of making games that are not simply antagonistic contests or power fantasies caused a large reactionary force to mobilize to protect the 'safe space' of popular gaming. This was brewing for some time within the gamer culture under the debates about 'games as art' and 'games with a purpose'.

It's quite an interesting topic because of the inter-meshing of online meme culture, anonymous, channers and gamer culture that has many direct links to the current alt-right factions. Media theory is also a useful tool when trying to trace these contours.

3