Ruins of Excess: Computer Game Images and the Rendering of Technological Obsolescence

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

In this article, we describe three layers of ruins related to computer game technology: in a surface layer, we examine the imagery of ruins in digital games, highlighting game design tools for developing in-game ruination. Secondly, we approach the industrial design model of technological obsolescence as an infrastructural layer that intrinsically demands the production of new provisional spaces for material decay. Lastly, through a waste layer, we unfold the geopolitical dimension of technological obsolescence, calling attention to the transcontinental flows of electronic waste, which also underscores a geological stage of ruination. While exploring these different layers of ruins, we wish to perceive how game design models might relate to different forms of contemporary ruination, inquiring what such material traces have to say as strata of the complex deterioration processes of present-day media.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftGames and Culture
Jahrgang16
Ausgabenummer8
Seiten (von - bis)1087-1110
Anzahl der Seiten24
ISSN1555-4120
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.12.2021

Bibliographische Notiz

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research received financial support from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research received financial support from Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.

DOI