2021
de Wildt, Lars; Aupers, Stef
Marketable Religion: How Game Company Ubisoft Commodified Religion for a Global Audience
In: Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. Pre-print, 2021, ISSN: 1469-5405.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: Assassin's Creed, Commodification, Cultural industries, Depoliticization, Game production studies, Marketable religion, Religion, Science-fictionalization, Universalization, Video games
@article{deWildt2021,
title = {Marketable Religion: How Game Company Ubisoft Commodified Religion for a Global Audience},
author = {Lars de Wildt and Stef Aupers},
doi = {10.1177/14695405211062060},
issn = {1469-5405},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-28},
journal = {Journal of Consumer Culture},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {Videogame companies are selling religion to an overwhelmingly secular demographic. Ubisoft, the biggest company in the world's biggest cultural industry, created a best-selling franchise about a conflict over Biblical artefacts between Muslim Assassins and Christian Templars. Who decides to put religion into those games? How? And why? To find out, we interviewed 22 developers on the Assassin's Creed franchise, including directors and writers. Based on those, we show that the "who" of Ubisoft is not a person but an industry: a de-personalized and codified process. How? Marketing, editorial and production teams curb creative teams into reproducing a formula: a depoliticized, universalized, and science-fictionalized "marketable religion." Why? Because this marketable form of religious heritage can be consumed by everyone-regardless of cultural background or conviction. As such, this paper adds an empirically grounded perspective on the "who," "why," and "how" of cultural industries' successful commodification of religious and cultural heritage.},
keywords = {Assassin's Creed, Commodification, Cultural industries, Depoliticization, Game production studies, Marketable religion, Religion, Science-fictionalization, Universalization, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Videogame companies are selling religion to an overwhelmingly secular demographic. Ubisoft, the biggest company in the world's biggest cultural industry, created a best-selling franchise about a conflict over Biblical artefacts between Muslim Assassins and Christian Templars. Who decides to put religion into those games? How? And why? To find out, we interviewed 22 developers on the Assassin's Creed franchise, including directors and writers. Based on those, we show that the "who" of Ubisoft is not a person but an industry: a de-personalized and codified process. How? Marketing, editorial and production teams curb creative teams into reproducing a formula: a depoliticized, universalized, and science-fictionalized "marketable religion." Why? Because this marketable form of religious heritage can be consumed by everyone-regardless of cultural background or conviction. As such, this paper adds an empirically grounded perspective on the "who," "why," and "how" of cultural industries' successful commodification of religious and cultural heritage.
Apperley, Thomas H.; Ozimek, Anna (Ed.)
Special Issue on Disco Elysium
Baltic Screen Media Review, vol. 9, 2021.
Special issue Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Absurdity, Affect, Digital distribution, Disco Elysium, Dissonant development, Estonia, Film noir, Game production, Game production studies, Gothic fiction, Hermeneutics of objects, Political economy, Polyphony, Posthumanism, Rhizome, Software commons
@collection{Apperley2021,
title = {Special Issue on Disco Elysium},
editor = {Thomas H. Apperley and Anna Ozimek
},
url = {https://sciendo.com/issue/BSMR/9/1},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-14},
booktitle = {Baltic Screen Media Review},
volume = {9},
issue = {1},
abstract = {Disco Elysium is a highly praised game that is widely recognized for its innovation and quality. In December 2019, writing for Time magazine, Matthew Gault named Disco Elysium one of the ten most important games of the decade (2010–2019) along-side the likes of Fortnite (Epic Games 2017–), Minecraft (Mojang 2011), and Pokémon GO (2016). Gault (2019) characterizes the dec-ade as one in which “artists broke free of the business side and produced works of astounding beauty on par with any prestige television show.” Disco Elysium is included on his list as “proof” that “all video games are art” (ibid.). While critical and commer-cial success, as well as the invocation of “art,” are not themselves crucial reasons for scholars to explore a particular digital game, in the case of Disco Elysium there are many other ways that it is significant.},
keywords = {Absurdity, Affect, Digital distribution, Disco Elysium, Dissonant development, Estonia, Film noir, Game production, Game production studies, Gothic fiction, Hermeneutics of objects, Political economy, Polyphony, Posthumanism, Rhizome, Software commons},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {collection}
}
Disco Elysium is a highly praised game that is widely recognized for its innovation and quality. In December 2019, writing for Time magazine, Matthew Gault named Disco Elysium one of the ten most important games of the decade (2010–2019) along-side the likes of Fortnite (Epic Games 2017–), Minecraft (Mojang 2011), and Pokémon GO (2016). Gault (2019) characterizes the dec-ade as one in which “artists broke free of the business side and produced works of astounding beauty on par with any prestige television show.” Disco Elysium is included on his list as “proof” that “all video games are art” (ibid.). While critical and commer-cial success, as well as the invocation of “art,” are not themselves crucial reasons for scholars to explore a particular digital game, in the case of Disco Elysium there are many other ways that it is significant.
Sotamaa, Olli; Švelch, Jan
Amsterdam University Press, 2021, ISBN: 978-9463725439.
Book Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game production, Game production studies, Video game production
@book{Sotamaa2021c,
title = {Game Production Studies},
author = {Olli Sotamaa and Jan Švelch},
url = {https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/47043},
doi = {10.5117/9789048551736},
isbn = {978-9463725439},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-03-18},
publisher = {Amsterdam University Press},
abstract = {Video games have entered the cultural mainstream and in terms of economic profits they now rival established entertainment industries such as film or television. As careers in video game development become more common, so do the stories about precarious working conditions and structural inequalities within the industry. Yet, scholars have largely overlooked video game production cultures in favor of studying games themselves and player audiences. In Game Production Studies, an international group of established and emerging researchers takes a closer look at the everyday realities of video game production, ranging from commercial industries to independent creators and cultural intermediaries. Across sixteen chapters, the authors deal with issues related to labour, game development, monetization and publishing, as well as local specificities. As the first edited collection dedicated solely to video game production, this volume provides a timely resource for anyone interested in how games are made and at what costs.
},
keywords = {Game production, Game production studies, Video game production},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
Video games have entered the cultural mainstream and in terms of economic profits they now rival established entertainment industries such as film or television. As careers in video game development become more common, so do the stories about precarious working conditions and structural inequalities within the industry. Yet, scholars have largely overlooked video game production cultures in favor of studying games themselves and player audiences. In Game Production Studies, an international group of established and emerging researchers takes a closer look at the everyday realities of video game production, ranging from commercial industries to independent creators and cultural intermediaries. Across sixteen chapters, the authors deal with issues related to labour, game development, monetization and publishing, as well as local specificities. As the first edited collection dedicated solely to video game production, this volume provides a timely resource for anyone interested in how games are made and at what costs.
Sotamaa, Olli; Švelch, Jan
Introduction: Why Game Production Matters?
In: Sotamaa, Olli; Švelch, Jan (Ed.): Game Production Studies, pp. 7-28, Amsterdam University Press, 2021, ISBN: 978-9463725439.
Book chapter Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game industry, Game production, Game production studies, Indie, Platform studies, Production studies, Sociology of work
@incollection{Sotamaa2021e,
title = {Introduction: Why Game Production Matters?},
author = {Olli Sotamaa and Jan Švelch},
editor = {Olli Sotamaa and Jan Švelch},
url = {https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/47043},
doi = {10.5117/9789463725439_intro},
isbn = {978-9463725439},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-03-18},
booktitle = {Game Production Studies},
pages = {7-28},
publisher = {Amsterdam University Press},
abstract = {In the introduction, the editors of this collection argue for the importance of game production studies at a point when the public awareness about the production context of video games has, arguably, never been higher. With so many accounts of video game development permeating player and developer communities, the task of game production studies is to uncover the economic, cultural, and political structures that influence the final form of games by applying rigorous research methods. While the field of game studies has developed quickly in the past two decades, the study of the video game industry and different modes of video game production have been mostly dismissed by game studies scholars and requires more attention.},
keywords = {Game industry, Game production, Game production studies, Indie, Platform studies, Production studies, Sociology of work},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
In the introduction, the editors of this collection argue for the importance of game production studies at a point when the public awareness about the production context of video games has, arguably, never been higher. With so many accounts of video game development permeating player and developer communities, the task of game production studies is to uncover the economic, cultural, and political structures that influence the final form of games by applying rigorous research methods. While the field of game studies has developed quickly in the past two decades, the study of the video game industry and different modes of video game production have been mostly dismissed by game studies scholars and requires more attention.
2020
Tyni, Heikki
Games Crowdfunding as a Form of Platformised Cultural Production
2020, ISBN: 978-952-03-1756-0.
Doctoral thesis Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Crowdfunding, Game industry, Game production studies, Platformisation, Production logics
@phdthesis{Tyni2020,
title = {Games Crowdfunding as a Form of Platformised Cultural Production},
author = {Heikki Tyni},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1757-7
},
isbn = {978-952-03-1756-0},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-11-13},
abstract = {The recent decade has seen an increasing number of ‘game production studies’, with critical examinations on industry structures, production models and labour issues. This study critically examines an emerging area of independent production of digital games, games crowdfunding. Asking funding directly from ‘backer’ audiences, game developers have been able to sidestep the publishers of the traditional game industry. However, crowdfunding has had a myriad of repercussions for everyday game work, production networks, and how games are received and sold, amongst other things.
Through a mixed-methods approach combining elements from game studies, critical political economy and cultural studies, this dissertation conceptualises games crowdfunding as a production logic that affects every area of game production. In getting rid of the traditional publisher, developers need to acquire a lot of new competencies and shoulder a lot of work previously handled by the publishers. Backers are found to possess several other roles beyond just funding and hold a wide variety of participation motivations beyond just acquiring the crowdfunded game. As projects have become more professional, many backers treat crowdfunding as a form of pre-ordering.
In the discussion, games crowdfunding is contextualised as a form ’platformisation of cultural production’, with game development and economics revolving around a central platform and intermediaries connected to it. The production model is revealed as a site of tension between alternative production opportunities, precarious game work, commercialisation and emerging user opportunities. Further studies are needed to understand the full gamut of games crowdfunding, including small campaigns.
},
keywords = {Crowdfunding, Game industry, Game production studies, Platformisation, Production logics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The recent decade has seen an increasing number of ‘game production studies’, with critical examinations on industry structures, production models and labour issues. This study critically examines an emerging area of independent production of digital games, games crowdfunding. Asking funding directly from ‘backer’ audiences, game developers have been able to sidestep the publishers of the traditional game industry. However, crowdfunding has had a myriad of repercussions for everyday game work, production networks, and how games are received and sold, amongst other things.
Through a mixed-methods approach combining elements from game studies, critical political economy and cultural studies, this dissertation conceptualises games crowdfunding as a production logic that affects every area of game production. In getting rid of the traditional publisher, developers need to acquire a lot of new competencies and shoulder a lot of work previously handled by the publishers. Backers are found to possess several other roles beyond just funding and hold a wide variety of participation motivations beyond just acquiring the crowdfunded game. As projects have become more professional, many backers treat crowdfunding as a form of pre-ordering.
In the discussion, games crowdfunding is contextualised as a form ’platformisation of cultural production’, with game development and economics revolving around a central platform and intermediaries connected to it. The production model is revealed as a site of tension between alternative production opportunities, precarious game work, commercialisation and emerging user opportunities. Further studies are needed to understand the full gamut of games crowdfunding, including small campaigns.
Through a mixed-methods approach combining elements from game studies, critical political economy and cultural studies, this dissertation conceptualises games crowdfunding as a production logic that affects every area of game production. In getting rid of the traditional publisher, developers need to acquire a lot of new competencies and shoulder a lot of work previously handled by the publishers. Backers are found to possess several other roles beyond just funding and hold a wide variety of participation motivations beyond just acquiring the crowdfunded game. As projects have become more professional, many backers treat crowdfunding as a form of pre-ordering.
In the discussion, games crowdfunding is contextualised as a form ’platformisation of cultural production’, with game development and economics revolving around a central platform and intermediaries connected to it. The production model is revealed as a site of tension between alternative production opportunities, precarious game work, commercialisation and emerging user opportunities. Further studies are needed to understand the full gamut of games crowdfunding, including small campaigns.
2018
Tyni, Heikki
Spectating Development and Other Backer Perspectives on Games Crowdfunding
In: DiGRA Nordic '18: Proceedings of 2018 International DiGRA Nordic Conference, 2018.
In proceedings Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Backer survey, Crowdfunding, Game production, Game production studies
@inproceedings{Tyni2018,
title = {Spectating Development and Other Backer Perspectives on Games Crowdfunding},
author = {Heikki Tyni},
url = {http://www.digra.org/digital-library/publications/spectating-development-and-other-backer-perspectives-on-games-crowdfunding},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-11-01},
urldate = {2018-11-01},
booktitle = {DiGRA Nordic '18: Proceedings of 2018 International DiGRA Nordic Conference},
abstract = {During the last decade, crowdfunding has become a significant new means to fund creative productions. Rather than being simply about acquiring the funded product or service, a closer look at crowdfunding reveals that backers attach many kinds of meanings and motivations to it. This article describes an exploratory study on backer motivations to participate in games crowdfunding. Utilizing two sets of data from an online survey, a quantitative section (N=426) and a qualitative section with open answers, it is found out that, among others, backers enjoy spectating game development, linking crowdfunding participation to new forms of consumption in the evolving media culture.},
keywords = {Backer survey, Crowdfunding, Game production, Game production studies},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
During the last decade, crowdfunding has become a significant new means to fund creative productions. Rather than being simply about acquiring the funded product or service, a closer look at crowdfunding reveals that backers attach many kinds of meanings and motivations to it. This article describes an exploratory study on backer motivations to participate in games crowdfunding. Utilizing two sets of data from an online survey, a quantitative section (N=426) and a qualitative section with open answers, it is found out that, among others, backers enjoy spectating game development, linking crowdfunding participation to new forms of consumption in the evolving media culture.