Video Essay Links Video Games to Colonialism
Sjors Rigters' video essay 'The Virtual Frontier' examines how video games perpetuate colonialist ideologies, focusing on Minecraft. The essay is part of VRAL, a supplement of the Milan Machinima Festival, available online until May 5, 2022. Postcolonial studies have been applied to video games since the mid-2010s. Souvik Mukherjee's book 'Videogames and Postcolonialism: Empire Plays Back' (Palgrave Macmillan) argues that games allow players to simulate imperial expansion. Meghna Jayanth's 2021 DiGRA India talk 'White Protagonism and Imperial Pleasures in Game Design' noted that games are built on capitalist and colonialist systems. Examples include Civilization's 'Colonization' expansion, No Man's Sky's resource extraction, and Elden Ring's secrets designed to be discovered. Alternatives exist: Elizabeth LaPensée's 'When Rivers Were Trails' critiques the Dawes Act of 1887, and Studio Oleomingus' works challenge official histories. Daniel Dooghan wrote in 2016 that Minecraft normalizes imperialist and capitalist myths. Minecraft, with 238 million copies sold, is the best-selling game ever and has an Education Edition.
Key facts
- Sjors Rigters created the video essay 'The Virtual Frontier' linking video games and colonialism.
- The essay is available online until May 5, 2022, as part of VRAL, a supplement of the Milan Machinima Festival.
- Postcolonial studies have been applied to video games since the mid-2010s.
- Souvik Mukherjee wrote 'Videogames and Postcolonialism: Empire Plays Back' (Palgrave Macmillan).
- Meghna Jayanth presented 'White Protagonism and Imperial Pleasures in Game Design' at DiGRA India 2021.
- Examples of colonialist game mechanics include Civilization's 'Colonization', No Man's Sky, and Elden Ring.
- Elizabeth LaPensée's 'When Rivers Were Trails' addresses the Dawes Act of 1887.
- Studio Oleomingus (Dhruv Jani and Sushant Chakraboty) creates games critiquing official histories.
- Daniel Dooghan argued in 2016 that Minecraft normalizes imperialist and capitalist myths.
- Minecraft has sold 238 million copies and has an Education Edition.
Entities
Artists
- Sjors Rigters
- Souvik Mukherjee
- Meghna Jayanth
- Elizabeth LaPensée
- Dhruv Jani
- Sushant Chakraboty
- Daniel Dooghan
- George R. R. Martin
- Matteo Lupetti
Institutions
- Milan Machinima Festival
- VRAL
- DiGRA India
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Take Two
- Hello Games
- FromSoftware
- Microsoft
- Rockstar Games
- Studio Oleomingus
- Artribune
Locations
- India
- Italy
- Milan