Video Game Theories (Unfinished)

What is Postmodernism?

A way to look past any concepted idea:

• That idea we look at is reality

What Theorist came up with the Theory of Simulacra and Simulation?

Jean Boudrillard

What did Boudrillard say about his Theory?

Says that there are 4 stages to simulation:

1. Faithful reality - what everyone agrees/accepts is reality

2. Unfaithful Copy - Social media

3. A copy with no original (AI/Robotics)

4. Simulation (Video Games)

How does Postmodernism and Boudrillard’s theory overlap?

When the 1st stage and any other stage of the theory overlap, we get the postmodern:

• We cannot tell what is faithful or any other stage it is (VR)

Who came up with Psychological Theory?

Albert Bandura

What did Albert Bandura say about his psychological theory?

Says that:

• Media can implant ideas in audiences’ minds directly

• Audiences can acquire attitudes, elicits emotions and new styles of conduct through modelling

• The idea that media representations of violence or ophsycial aggression can lead to audiences imitating that behaviour

In terms of video games, do video games model actions of violence/aggression?

Whip came up with Fandom Theory?

Henry Jenkins

What did Jenkins say about his theory?

• This is essentially a mix of Gauntlett’s and Shirky’s theory

  • Shirky - create (produce) content; talk back to producers; talks to each other - we’re always communicating

  • Gauntlett - Identity and the media

• This is the idea that fans area active participants in the construction and circulation of textual meanings

  • Fans appropriate texts in ways that aren’t fully authorised by media producers (textual poaching)

• Fans construct their social identities through borrowing and influencing mass culture, and are parts of a participatory culture that has a vital social dimension

• Fandoms are all built on communication - not the hardware it’s based on - people make content for the social currency of the fandom

E.g.

Someone can take the meaning of A and use it in a different way to get B - a completely new meaning