Gilles Ernst
Record
Abstract
This study analyses three representations of death in fighting, shooting, science fiction, car-racing and war games. The first one, the focus of most of our attention because it is the major event in the plot, is that of death stricto sensu (Part 1). With its cruelty, its frequency, the energy it requires, the benefits that it brings to the player and the risks that it compels him to take, this first death is the “death-queen” of games. Part 2 deals with the formidable character of death, sometimes asexual (a skeleton armed with a scythe), sometimes gendered (woman dressed in black, warrior). The 3rd part deals with the representation of the dead: ghosts, the living dead, zombies and other monstrous creatures. The study shows that video games make up a good example of contemporary recycling of certain mythological and eschatological traditions from the Western world.
Carl Therrien
Record
Abstract
This paper presents a historical analysis of Legendary Axe II (Victor Musical Industries, 1990) and its seemingly nonsensical ending where the player’s avatar is put to death. Through historical contextualization that highlights the interactions between technological evolution, commercial imperatives and the rewarding dynamics in games, the meaning of this execution is better understood: the game seems to offer a critique of male-centered and heteronormative power fantasies that were acted out on video game screens at the turn of the 1990s.
Frédérick Maheux and Gabriel Tremblay-Gaudette
Record
Abstract
This article discusses several aspects pertaining to videogame death at the heart of the experience of two independent video games, Hotline Miami (Dennaton, 2012) and Binding of Isaac (McMillen and Himsl, 2011). Both games are based on specific game mechanics which condition the relationship to their virtual space and in-game risk-taking, leading to specific forms of learning and causing types of frustration contributing to videoludic immersion. We will conclude by addressing the testimonial value attached to endeavors to archive play-throughs of games where death plays an important role.
Amélie Paquet
Record
Abstract
The independent video game developed by Jim Munroe, Unmanned (2012), shows the life of a drone pilot in the US Army Forces. His life is always split in two different worlds, personal and professional, and he has to find some kind of peace to reconcile these parts of his existence. The drone’s attacks introduce new forms of sickness for these pilots who have to kill the enemy at an important distance. They never see the death of their victims because the fatalities can’t be represented in their control screen. This study of Unmanned proposes a discussion about the paradigm shift between warrior’s honour to military ethics.
Olivier Servais
Record
Abstract
We have seen a growing use of the Internet for religious rituals or collective celebrations over the last years. Although these practices have been the topic of several studies, only few analyses consider the motivation of the protagonists and the fundamental nature of these ceremonies. In this article, ethnography is used to study a ceremony of homage to a deceased person in the video game World of Warcraft and we focus on what the participants intend to do. Using data from various interviews, this paper intends to unravel the fundamentally religious and/or social nature of these commemorations.
Guillaume Gillet
Record
Abstract
This work aims at studying the psychic effects of the virtual-digital death experience in video gaming within a digital-mediated-virtual setting using the New Super Mario Bros U video game software on the console of Nintendo Wii U video game with young adults. The experience of death in the video game in group, echoing the suicide attempt previously carried out by a young woman, allows the presentation of the foundations of the psychodynamic approach of therapeutic mediation while revealing the specificities of the modalities of symbolization in therapy by video gaming.
