Game Matters: Video Games and Democracy

Funding from Transformative Technology on 2016/17

 

 Video games have grown exponentially in popularity over the past decade. 70% of British, and 80% of of American households own a gaming device; 40% of all gamers are female, and the average age of the gamer is 34. Video games are everywhere: from the handheld games played while waiting for a train to massively multiplayer online games, and from the burgeoning e-sports phenomenon to government and business training programmes ran on commercial video game platforms. The gaming industry now outstrips film and music not only in terms of economic clout but also in terms of cultural reach, as illustrated by the BAFTA Game Awards and the proliferation of news media and political interest.

Despite some coverage in the academic literature and video games journalism, currently there is no public debate on the manner in which the medium of video games has been used, and can be used in the context 7 of modern democracy, from electoral campaigning to political education, but also as an expression of deeply ingrained political values, or as a vehicle for resistance and dissent. Given that video games are already at the heart of longstanding controversies, for example, gun violence and addiction, a proposed event seeks to engage a broad UK and global audience in a debate concerning the political impact of video games as techno-cultural artefacts.