Signifying nothing: the hyperreal politics of ‘apolitical’ games

ABSTRACT

Developers of AAA videogames which feature recognizable military forces, governmental law enforcement agencies, and geopolitical conflicts routinely make claims that their works do not make “political statements.” This article takes seriously the claims made by several developers, revealing their attempts to radically narrow the definition of the term “political.” Through a critical discourse analysis, this article will articulate several key theses held forth by the developers regarding systemic media and expressivity, the responsibility of the player, and the inevitable constraints of production and technology. These points are deployed by the developers to build an argument for a reduced scope of the term “political,” as well as to propose an ideological framing of videogames as an expressive medium, which ultimately serve to obscure the role that ideology plays in the production of videogames.

KEYWORDS:

• Videogames
• politics
• discourse
• developers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adam Ruch

Adam Ruch holds a PhD in Media and Communications from Macquarie University in Sydney Australia. He has published research focused on videogames, narrative, design and meaning as well as curriculum design for creative media including videogames. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.