In “Queer Gaming: Gaming, Hacking and Going Turbo,” Jack Halberstam writes in reference to the latter point: The fourth section, “Queer Failures In Games,” includes authors who encourage players to embrace glitches and errors as part of the gaming experience and push back on the idea that games exist solely to be completed or to be won. One of the most fascinating inclusions in this space is “Queering the Snapshot: Ambient Mobile Play,” authored by Larissa Hjorth and Kim d’Amazing, which explores the gamification of social media through how queer subjects interact with these platforms and the performances they enact.Īnother major focus is calling into question the typical structures of games and reinforcing the idea that players are not beholden to them. There are discussions of both offline conventions and online communities of players that develop around games and their complexities. Bardnall looks at the hardware players use to interact with video games and the normative assumptions that go into their creation. Burrill makes the point that “the body” often gets left out of discussions of gaming, instead focusing mostly the elements of the games themselves.

Included in this is Amanda Phillips’ argument for the titular character of Bayonetta to be viewed as a site of queer femme disturbance, Jordan Youngblood’s look at the failure of the performance of masculinity by the main character in Metal Gear Solid 2 and merritt k’s reflection on Gone Home and the space(s) it opens up.Īcross essays in this collection, there is a prevailing focus on the player. There are strong analyses of LBGTQ representation and thought-provoking queer takes on games. Games discussed are not limited to consoles and devices, but also include board games, literary play and social media experiences. Questions are asked about characters, coding, communities and control. The collection features a considerable range of voices, including queer scholars, activists, game journalists and game developers-many of these authors fit more than one of those descriptions-and it goes in various directions of inquiry. In addition to discussing LGBTQ characters or applying queer theory to the stories of games, essays also discuss queer players, queer situations, and queering gameplay.

I begin with these thoughts to showcase the breadth of ideas that this anthology are presenting to readers. So, this anthology’s title, Queer Games Studies, can be read a few ways: a queer take on (video) games, studies on queer games or even a call to queer game studies. Often relating to gender and sexuality, but not exclusively, it often involves non-normative identities or ideas. ‘Queer Game Studies’ Edited by Bonnie Ruberg and Adrienne Shaw

Queer Game Studies by Bonnie Ruberg