Gamification, Neoliberalism, and Modern Subjectivity Study Guide

The lecture begins with a review of a previously discussed concept: "What is intensified continuity?"

Gamification is categorized as a historical paradigm that synthesizes two primary elements: - Ideology: This is not characterized by overt force but by the creation of a sense of the "normal" to maintain the existing status quo. - Transformation of Subjectivity: This explores how media acts to change individual perceptions.
The field is deeply intertwined with three specific areas of study: Game theory, behavioral economics, and neoliberalism.

Gamification is described as a "cultural logic" that actually precedes and anticipates the rise of video games.
Historical Milestones: - The first commercial video game arcade machine was Computer Space, released in $1971$ . - This occurred one year prior to the debut of the first Atari console in $1972$ .
Industry Growth: - Since its inception, the video game industry has achieved growth rates faster than those of the film or music industries. - It currently stands as the most profitable entertainment medium of the $21^{st}$ century. - By the early twenty-first century, games have "exceeded the circumscribed realm of entertainment and touched every aspect of life" (Jagoda, 5).

A primary objective is to understand a central shift: "the metaphor of games becomes as important as the figure of the market in the twentieth century" (Jagoda, 57).
Games have evolved into an "exemplary cultural form" that acts as a prominent metaphor for the competition and success encountered in everyday life.
The core question of the study is: How does game logic inform modern subjectivity?

Historical Origin: Traditional game theory and "The Prisoner’s Dilemma" were developed at the RAND Corporation in $1950$ .
This development was a component of the broader Cold War development of game theory.
Function: The model is designed to simulate competition and cooperation between rational actors.

The primary achievement of game theory is identified as the "extension of games from the status of hobbies and pastimes to a form capable of modeling every aspect of economic, political, and social life" (Jagoda, 47).
This involves the extension of game mechanics (such as those found in the prisoner's dilemma) to traditionally non-game activities, including: - Business - Education - Marketing - Psychology - War making (Jagoda, 6)
According to Jagoda, this "noncooperative game theory" is a reflection of neoliberal ideology.
Under this ideology, individuals are viewed as self-interested, rational agents modeled after the behavior of corporations.
Gamification and neoliberalism are established as being co-constitutive.

Historical Juncture: Neoliberalism developed through the $1970s$ and $1980s$ during the Reagan and Thatcher eras.
This period was marked by: - Massive deregulation. - Systematic attacks on labor and unions. - An increased emphasis on the free market, individual entrepreneurship, private property rights, and financialization (Jagoda, 9).
Social Consciousness: It represents a shift where everything becomes economized and competitive, which is the hallmark of free-market capitalism.
Instrumental Rationality: It adopts a "predatory logic" (Jagoda, 55) based on the principle of maximum "utility." This results in the economization of the social field where everything is required to be "useful."

Under the logic of neoliberalism, states and corporations are no longer the only entities seeking to improve value; individuals must also create and curate their own identities and brands (Jagoda, 64-65).
Characteristics of the Self-Entrepreneur: - To be an entrepreneur of oneself is to be a perpetual competitor. - This competition continues even during periods of unemployment, which includes part-time, intermittent, and precarious labor. - The individual must actively invest in their own knowledge, skills, and social networks to maintain a competitive edge (Jagoda, 22).
Social Media's Role: Social media platforms encourage the curation of a "diversified self" that has the capacity to "score points" through high quantities of friends.
Functional Shift: This marks a transition from games being used to model/predict behavior to games (and gamified applications) being used to influence and modulate user behavior, training individuals in "efficient optimization."

Artistic Example: Elisa Giardina Papa, need ideas!?!PLZ!!, $2011$ .
Gamified Subjectivity Example: World of Warcraft is cited as a game that "privileges mechanics that train players to become entrepreneurs of themselves."
Players are trained through specific actions: - Following instructions. - Accumulating private property. - Optimizing combat strategies. - Administering resources (Jagoda, 18).

The Benjamin Connection: Just as film conditioned people to understand and intervene in politics in the early $20^{th}$ century, video games play a similar role in the late $20^{th}$ and early $21^{st}$ centuries due to their resonance with neoliberalism (Jagoda, 13).
The Quality of Action: There is a distinct difference between the Society of the Spectacle and the Society of the Game: - Society of the Spectacle: Here, capitalist production promotes consumer inactivity and passivity. - Society of the Game: Modern technology guides people away from idleness or passivity and into a milieu of constant engagement (Jagoda, 15).
This reinforces the shift from games as predictive models to tools for training users in efficient optimization.