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"Who am I now?" Sense of Gender and Place in Digital Gameplay : Affective Dimensions of gameplay in XCOM: Enemy Within / "Vem är jag nu?" Känslor och betydelser av genus och plats i digitalt spelande : Affektiva dimensioner av spelande i XCOM: Enemy Within

In this essay I analyze the ways in which gender and space are shaped and made sense of through digital gameplay. Specifically in the turn based strategy game XCOM: Enemy Within for the MacBook Air with a computer mouse as the primary input device. Using a mixed methods approach consisting of gameplay sessions of XCOM and qualitative interviews with two players regarding their gameplay I argue that earlier research on space within game studies has overlooked the ways in which the shaping of space in gameplay is also gendered. Developing a theoretical framework influenced by gender studies, critical theory, affect theory, assemblage theories of space, and game theory, I argue for how the shaping of space and gender in game-play is interdependent. This in that the shaping of space and gender in digital gameplay is in constant relation and tension with societal norms and the affective capacities of bodies and digital games. In conclusion, I reflect on the possibilities to develop more empirical research based on the the theoretical framework explored in the essay.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:kau-43466
Date January 2016
CreatorsAndersson, Martin
PublisherKarlstads universitet, Institutionen för sociala och psykologiska studier
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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