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Player vs. Monster: The Making and Breaking of Video Game Monstrosity
A study of the gruesome game characters we love to beat—and what they tell us about ourselves.
Since the early days of video games, monsters have played pivotal roles as dangers to be avoided, level bosses to be defeated, or targets to be destroyed for extra points. But why is the figure of the monster so important in gaming, and how have video games come to shape our culture’s conceptions of monstrosity? To answer these questions, Player vs. Monster explores the past half-century of monsters in games, from the dragons of early tabletop role-playing games and the pixelated aliens of Space Invaders to the malformed mutants of The Last of Us and the bizarre beasts of Bloodborne , and reveals the common threads among them.
Covering examples from aliens to zombies, Jaroslav Švelch explores the art of monster design and traces its influences from mythology, visual arts, popular culture, and tabletop role-playing games. At the same time, he shows that video games follow the Cold War–era notion of clearly defined, calculable enemies, portraying monsters as figures that are irredeemably evil yet invariably vulnerable to defeat. He explains the appeal of such simplistic video game monsters, but also explores how the medium could evolve to present more nuanced depictions of monstrosity.
Since the early days of video games, monsters have played pivotal roles as dangers to be avoided, level bosses to be defeated, or targets to be destroyed for extra points. But why is the figure of the monster so important in gaming, and how have video games come to shape our culture’s conceptions of monstrosity? To answer these questions, Player vs. Monster explores the past half-century of monsters in games, from the dragons of early tabletop role-playing games and the pixelated aliens of Space Invaders to the malformed mutants of The Last of Us and the bizarre beasts of Bloodborne , and reveals the common threads among them.
Covering examples from aliens to zombies, Jaroslav Švelch explores the art of monster design and traces its influences from mythology, visual arts, popular culture, and tabletop role-playing games. At the same time, he shows that video games follow the Cold War–era notion of clearly defined, calculable enemies, portraying monsters as figures that are irredeemably evil yet invariably vulnerable to defeat. He explains the appeal of such simplistic video game monsters, but also explores how the medium could evolve to present more nuanced depictions of monstrosity.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published February 7, 2023
4 people are currently reading
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About the author
Jaroslav Švelch
11 books10 followersJaroslav Švelch is Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Information Science and Media Studies at the University of Bergen and Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Studies at Charles University, Prague.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 27, 2023
Player vs. Monster is relatively simple (in a non-derogative sense): a review of the history and study of video game monstrosity in a few broad strokes. It's quite interesting and brings up a few new insights and thoughts, but primarily exists as a foundation within this underrepresented field of study. People looking for groundbreaking ideas or focused arguments will be disappointed, but the book makes its goal fairly clear. I'd love to see a lot more works branching off of this, but this is a quick and accessible entry and overview.
March 23, 2023
Fun, fascinating, and quick read that should be of interest not only to gamers and horror buffs but really anyone interested in the cultural construction of monstrous “others” and the future of fear.
January 20, 2026
This book defines monsters as entities deemed non-existent by science. They represent constructed and projected fantasies of cultural and societal anxieties and fears, as well as stereotypical representations of marginalized groups after objectification. Their defining characteristics are sublimity and containment.
Sublimity manifests as: 1. Forms that overwhelm human cognitive experience and comprehension 2. Manifestations that disrupt the subject's order and boundaries Containment, meanwhile, refers to the subject's effort to incorporate monsters into the human framework of understanding. Constrained by computer media limitations, designers must prescribe monster behaviors and attributes. Containment is intrinsically linked to the origins of PvE modes.
This book reflects on the anthropocentric traits within such formulations, elucidating how monster design specifications interweave the sublime and containment to protect players' flow experiences. It then proposes transcending these limitations. Posthuman monster studies consider anti-hero narratives and monster forms that break through supra-individual and spatiotemporal boundaries, attempting to subvert mainstream flow patterns. However, the book's framework remains fragmented, lacking concrete analysis of monster forms in non-Western cultures. Its theoretical framework fails to fully cover non-antagonistic monsters, and the breadth and depth of case selections are not well balanced.
Sublimity manifests as: 1. Forms that overwhelm human cognitive experience and comprehension 2. Manifestations that disrupt the subject's order and boundaries Containment, meanwhile, refers to the subject's effort to incorporate monsters into the human framework of understanding. Constrained by computer media limitations, designers must prescribe monster behaviors and attributes. Containment is intrinsically linked to the origins of PvE modes.
This book reflects on the anthropocentric traits within such formulations, elucidating how monster design specifications interweave the sublime and containment to protect players' flow experiences. It then proposes transcending these limitations. Posthuman monster studies consider anti-hero narratives and monster forms that break through supra-individual and spatiotemporal boundaries, attempting to subvert mainstream flow patterns. However, the book's framework remains fragmented, lacking concrete analysis of monster forms in non-Western cultures. Its theoretical framework fails to fully cover non-antagonistic monsters, and the breadth and depth of case selections are not well balanced.
August 9, 2024
Player vs. Monster est une publication de presses universitaires qui étudie d'un concept social, philosophique et anthropologique le concept de « monstre » dans les jeux vidéo. C'était intéressant, puis ça se concentre surtout sur le concept de sublime des monstres, qui implique que ce sont des créatures hors de toute compréhension, ce qui est incompatible avec les jeux vidéo où elles sont programmées par des 0 et des 1 de manière à être vaincue. J'avais jamais pensé à ça de même, pis ça m'a permis de mettre des mots sur un feeling que j'ai toujours ressenti.
Le livre donne de bons exemples de cas où les monstres demeurent sublimes, que ce soit lorsqu'ils glitchent, lorsqu'ils sont suggérés mais non présentés, puis c'est là que j'aurais aimé qu'il passe le plus de son temps, plutôt qu'en se répétant comme il le faisait si souvent et en présentant un historique des monstres dans les jeux vidéo. L'auteur ne s'en cache pas, il s'est énormément basé sur les jeux qu'il connaissait pour sa recherche, pis ça paraissait trop à mon goût, alors qu'il me semble que je pensais à plein d'idées qui auraient valu d'être abordées, mais qui ne l'était pas.
Le livre donne de bons exemples de cas où les monstres demeurent sublimes, que ce soit lorsqu'ils glitchent, lorsqu'ils sont suggérés mais non présentés, puis c'est là que j'aurais aimé qu'il passe le plus de son temps, plutôt qu'en se répétant comme il le faisait si souvent et en présentant un historique des monstres dans les jeux vidéo. L'auteur ne s'en cache pas, il s'est énormément basé sur les jeux qu'il connaissait pour sa recherche, pis ça paraissait trop à mon goût, alors qu'il me semble que je pensais à plein d'idées qui auraient valu d'être abordées, mais qui ne l'était pas.
November 27, 2025
Great intro to monstrosity studies in video games. Wanted to get to know much more on the process of turning human-oid characters into obstacles/ monsters and got only a passing reference, but that is very much my problem.
Some discourses felt open to discussion - we are certainly living in an age marked by anxiety of plague, "monster within ourself" and somehow even climate change (though that is not universally shared anymore), but at the same time we are seeing widespread de-humanitisation and radicalisation of politics, including widespread attempts to portray opponents as degenerate or sub-human. It is thus quite hard to agree with some of the conclusions: or it makes them less descriptive and more as wishful thinking.
Some discourses felt open to discussion - we are certainly living in an age marked by anxiety of plague, "monster within ourself" and somehow even climate change (though that is not universally shared anymore), but at the same time we are seeing widespread de-humanitisation and radicalisation of politics, including widespread attempts to portray opponents as degenerate or sub-human. It is thus quite hard to agree with some of the conclusions: or it makes them less descriptive and more as wishful thinking.
April 5, 2025
a good introduction to monstrosity studies, many different examples and histories of games, monsters, and what they are used for.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews