Feminist War Games? Mechanisms of War, Feminist Values, and Interventional Games

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Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of contents Contributors Acknowledgements Part I Introduction Feminist war games?: Mechanisms of war, feminist values, and interventional games Can there be a feminist war game? Notes References Part II Play as inquiry 1 Are there (can there be/should there be) feminist war games? War: what is it (good for)? La? guerre War never changes? The potential of feminist values A strange game. The only winning move is not to play War . fun Feminist war games Feminist anti-war games Let’s play? References 2 Gendered authorship in war gaming: Whose fantasy is it anyway? Whose fantasy is it anyway? A feminist wargame? Simulating fantasy Playing feminist fantasies References 3 An overview of the history and design of tabletop wargames in relation to gender: From tactics to strategy A brief history of wargames Scale of games Deliberate choice in game design Notes References 4 Reframing the domestic experience of war in This War of Mine: Life on the battlefield [Image]ining war Reframing the image ‘In war, not everyone is a soldier’ From the ashes of war Notes References Part III Feminism as war 5 Gamified suburban violence and the feminist pleasure of destructive play: Rezoning warzones Child’s play Welcome to the ’burbs High school suburbia Small town cuteness Feminist snap Breaking (into) the school The end of the world Wrecking the mine Nuke Possum Springs Feminist violence, pleasure, and love Anger is world-making Notes References 6 Because we are always warring: Feminism, games, and war ‘Feminist war games?’ We are always off to war … Core mechanics: the Trojan Horse Storyline: writing feminism beyond the feminine Win condition: the last of all wars Notes References 7 Exploring agency and female player–character relationships in Life Is Strange: What choice do I have? Life Is Strange in feminist war A conversation on player–avatar relationships Attracted to ourselves: framing the reflection through recurrent attractors A personal minefield Playing Life Is Strange Making choices in Life Is Strange Conclusions on recurrent attractors and implications on play References 8 ‘What is a feminist war game?’: A game jam reflection War games What is a feminist war? Our game’s theoretical underpinnings Invasion! The game Why a feminist game jam? Conclusion: our feminist war References Part IV Challenging the industry 9 Feminism and the forever wars: Prototyping games in the time of ‘America First’ Turning the tables Failed states Hostile allies Base instincts The inhuman peace References 10 Seven dimensions of a feminist war game: What we can learn from This War of Mine Introduction On wargames War from a different perspective: standpoint theory Framework for a feminist wargame Case study of a feminist wargame: This War of Mine (2014) Applying the dimensions Characterization and setting Dynamics and objectives Localized accessibility Reciprocity Modifiability Conclusions Acknowledgments Notes References 11 Failed feminist interventions in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Introduction: make America Nazi-free again … through obscene acts of violence? Disability as feminist intervention, but then as obstacle Feminist cut-scenes as empowering, but also ‘gazy’ Conclusion: the Bethesda wars or capitalism? Notes References 12 Subversive game mechanics in the Fatal Frame and Portal franchises: Having your cake and eating it too Fatal Frame Portal Conclusions Notes References 13 Toxic pacifism: The problems with and potential of non-violent playthroughs Notes References Part V Afterword Index