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Ideology and the Virtual City: Videogames, Power Fantasies and Neoliberalism
Ideology and the Virtual City is an exploration of modern society and the critical value of popular culture. It combines a prescient social theory that describes how ‘neoliberal’ ideology in today’s societies dominates our economic, political and cultural ideals, with an entertaining exploration of narratives, characters and play structures in some of today’s most interesting videogames. The book takes readers into a range of simulated urban environments that symbolise the hidden antagonisms of social life and create outlandish resolutions through their power fantasies. Interactive entertainment can help us understand the ways in which people relate to a modern ‘common sense’ neoliberal background, in terms of absorbing assumptions, and questioning them.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 11, 2019
Ideology and the Virtual City is a short but quite dense book exploring how neo-liberalism (the market-oriented value system that dominates our modern society) is represented in four different videogames set in city environments. Obviously, the four mainstream videogames selected for analysis are not dedicated to exploring neo-liberalism as a theme - the idea is that neo-liberalism is such a pervasive background element of our society that the narratives of these games are implicitly responses to neo-liberalism. The four games each represent a different type of response to neo-liberalism - hedonism for Saints Row IV, cynicism for Grand Theft Auto V and so on.
I'll be honest and say that while I understood the concept of neo-liberalism through inference from reading the news, etc. before I read this book, I had never previously taken the time to read anything dedicated to the subject before, so as a videogame fan I found it quite useful for expanding my knowledge of the subject. Many videogame fans will already be familiar with the games selected, making the analysis easier to relate to.
My closest comparison for this is the books in the Playful Thinking series by MIT Press. Like those books, this one is short and packed full of ideas, but isn't oriented as much towards the absolute lay-person and while it does touch on game mechanics, it is not an exploration of game design as such. However, politically aware videogame fans are likely to find this book interesting and it does make a good introduction to its topic.
I personally felt like I got a lot out of this book. Since reading it, its themes have often come to mind as I have been reading the news and while I have been playing videogames set in similar depictions of the real-world as in the book I have noticed examples of how the narratives and gameplay relate to the themes of the book - it has certainly been thought-provoking.
I'll be honest and say that while I understood the concept of neo-liberalism through inference from reading the news, etc. before I read this book, I had never previously taken the time to read anything dedicated to the subject before, so as a videogame fan I found it quite useful for expanding my knowledge of the subject. Many videogame fans will already be familiar with the games selected, making the analysis easier to relate to.
My closest comparison for this is the books in the Playful Thinking series by MIT Press. Like those books, this one is short and packed full of ideas, but isn't oriented as much towards the absolute lay-person and while it does touch on game mechanics, it is not an exploration of game design as such. However, politically aware videogame fans are likely to find this book interesting and it does make a good introduction to its topic.
I personally felt like I got a lot out of this book. Since reading it, its themes have often come to mind as I have been reading the news and while I have been playing videogames set in similar depictions of the real-world as in the book I have noticed examples of how the narratives and gameplay relate to the themes of the book - it has certainly been thought-provoking.
October 22, 2019
A breezy, clear-sighted critique of the ideologies perpetuated in a selection of videogames by the critic Jon Bailes. A short book that unpicks the superficiality of ostensibly satirical, contrarian games and the failure of imagination that underpins their cynical 'depthlessness'.
January 6, 2020
A short but engaging book on the subject of overt and subconscious responses to neoliberalism in modern video games.
This book begins with a brief description of neoliberal capitalism as it's currently understood. The book then goes on to describe some of the more commonly identified responses to this prevailing political ideology. Then finally, using a collection of 4 well known 'open world' games (GTA5, No More Heroes, Persona 5 and Saints Row 4), demonstrates how these titles, through their design and narrative structures, echo and illustrate these ideological responses to neoliberalism.
While it would make a lot of sense to describe this book as one about video games, it's probably better thought of as an introduction to neoliberal ideology for people who like video games.
That said, the writing is dense. So while there aren't that many pages, depending on either your familiarity with the subject, or your skills as a reader, this book can take a little work to grok.
You should also be aware of the fact that the book carries a number of weighty spoilers for each of the games it examines.
It's also very niche, but that shouldn't really stop anyone from trying it, if you've read this far...
Those points aside, I found it to be an edifying read, and felt it taught me as much about politics, as it did about the games themselves. So I suppose the fact that I'd have appreciated further chapters on other games is less of a criticism, and more of a glowing review for a first time author.
This book begins with a brief description of neoliberal capitalism as it's currently understood. The book then goes on to describe some of the more commonly identified responses to this prevailing political ideology. Then finally, using a collection of 4 well known 'open world' games (GTA5, No More Heroes, Persona 5 and Saints Row 4), demonstrates how these titles, through their design and narrative structures, echo and illustrate these ideological responses to neoliberalism.
While it would make a lot of sense to describe this book as one about video games, it's probably better thought of as an introduction to neoliberal ideology for people who like video games.
That said, the writing is dense. So while there aren't that many pages, depending on either your familiarity with the subject, or your skills as a reader, this book can take a little work to grok.
You should also be aware of the fact that the book carries a number of weighty spoilers for each of the games it examines.
It's also very niche, but that shouldn't really stop anyone from trying it, if you've read this far...
Those points aside, I found it to be an edifying read, and felt it taught me as much about politics, as it did about the games themselves. So I suppose the fact that I'd have appreciated further chapters on other games is less of a criticism, and more of a glowing review for a first time author.
September 7, 2020
Interesting premise and topic: whether the 'neoliberalist' ideology that guides our modern culture is so pervasive that even art that criticizes it often can't imagine any alternative. The book then takes four modern games (GTA5, Saints Row 4, No More Heros, and Persona 5) and uses them to show four different perspectives of critique of modern economies and cultures, while being incapable of seeing past them to something better.
I found the topic provocative, and the use of the four games to be a refreshing approach. However, I found the prose to be dense and overly academic. Maybe ok for some but it was a bit stuffy for my personal tastes. YMMV.
I found the topic provocative, and the use of the four games to be a refreshing approach. However, I found the prose to be dense and overly academic. Maybe ok for some but it was a bit stuffy for my personal tastes. YMMV.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews