Christopher Goetz | The University of Iowa (original) (raw)

Papers by Christopher Goetz

F1000Research

Story-driven games are growing in popularity across a wide range of genres. However, the narrativ... more Story-driven games are growing in popularity across a wide range of genres. However, the narrative potential of video games is still being debated, particularly in light of the so-called tension between gameplay and storytelling. This study proposes that rules and game mechanics perform narrative semiotic functions, offering a ludic grammar of interactive storytelling. Case studies of four representative games show through exploratory player action shaped by rules, the medium of video games can generate meanings that traditional media cannot, thereby better achieving their narrative goals.

Arts, 2018

This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology resear... more This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology research in order to address videogame medium specificity, with particular focus on the notion of videogame play as simultaneously “rule-bound” and “make-believe.” It offers the sustained analogy of “trellis and vine” for provisionally sorting through the tangle (the “mess” or “assemblage”) of function and fiction in games.

New Media & Society, 2013

This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and a nostalgic address i... more This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and a nostalgic address in 1990s and early 2000s videogames. Conceiving of the wish to dwell within the game as a longing for radical alterity serves as a theoretical extension of rhythmanalysis for thinking about the porous boundaries of the game text. The article seeks to expand the established discursive and conceptual function accorded to stillness as a form of play. It discusses three ‘nostalgic gestures’ that stall the game’s action: the glance from foreground to background; the shift from the game to paratextual materials; and the drift of attention out the window or away from the gaming context altogether. Gaming’s promise of exotic transport activates a “fervor of the possible,” a melancholic identification with the world beyond which invests game spaces with the capacity for hopeful discovery, verging on a wish to remove oneself from the flow of time altogether.

Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 2018

This essay explores gaming's "queer economy," joining frameworks of intimacy (affect theory and q... more This essay explores gaming's "queer economy," joining frameworks of intimacy (affect theory and queer theory) with those of extimacy (systemic and economic analysis) in a discussion of meaning in video game play. It explores how gaming might be a special or strange consumer good that uniquely addresses (and thus queers) children, including the child that survives in adults. Video games are discussed as special consumer items in relation to queer theorist Kathryn Bond Stockton's notion of the "child queered by money" (the child made strange by its exclusion from wider economic exchange) and surrealist Roger Caillois' essay about the child's game of hiding treasure. Each interlocutor offers a way to think about video games through the coordinates of a wasteful consumption characteristic of childhood. Though gaming is, in this sense, a strange or queer economic activity that swerves away from future­oriented, consumer exchanges, gaming is simultaneously what Dyer­Witheford and de Peuter consider a key example of the immaterial labor of global empire. These ideas are discussed in relation to gaming's role in both the global exchange of goods and the hegemonic notion of heterosexual (re)productivity.

This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and the nostalgic address... more This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and the nostalgic address of 1990s and early 2000s adventure videogames. It explores the porous boundaries of the videogame text by conceiving of the wish to dwell within the game as a longing for radical difference (something only found elsewhere). The article discusses three 'nostalgic gestures' that stall the game's action: the glance from foreground to background, the shift from the game to paratextual materials, and the drift of attention out the window or away from the gaming context altogether. Gaming's promise of exotic transport activates a " fervor of the possible, " a melancholic identification with the world beyond which invests game spaces with the capacity for hopeful discovery, verging on a wish to remove oneself from the flow of time altogether.

This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology resear... more This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology research in order to address videogame medium specificity, with particular focus on the notion of videogame play as simultaneously " rule-bound " and " make-believe. " It offers the sustained analogy of " trellis and vine " for provisionally sorting through the tangle (the " mess " or " assemblage ") of function and fiction in games.

s new book, Metagaming, has convinced me that video games are not games. They are "software sandb... more s new book, Metagaming, has convinced me that video games are not games. They are "software sandboxes" where games take place, but in more varied and interesting ways than the industry or insular gamer communities typically acknowledge. Forget playing a game as intended. Boluk and LeMieux shine a hundred spotlights on play's diversity in, on, around, between, through, and without video games. Their wildly eclectic book careens from competitive e-sports and video game spectatorship (be it Twitch.tv streaming or YouTube) to hacking, modding, speedrunning, experimenting, and critiquing video games-all valid ways of engaging with the medium that tend to fall outside analyses which see these activities as merely the metagame (ancillary to the game as a self-contained commodity).

This paper identifies the “virtual worlds” paradigm in psychoanalytic approaches to video games. ... more This paper identifies the “virtual worlds” paradigm in psychoanalytic approaches to video games. Sometimes counterproductive to game interpretation, this paradigm views all games as an escape into separate and substitutive virtual reality. I argue that the virtual worlds framework only applies to some video games, and rarely encapsulates most games’ address to the player. I propose an alternative approach based in separation-individuation and attachment theory, pointing to how a wide variety of games provide players with “secure base” experiences as a form of affect regulation and metacognition. Introducing three broad categories of tether fantasies in video games—lifeline, home base, and perpetuum mobile—, I map out some of the generic terrain of commercial games from a secure base perspective, emphasizing the value of going and coming in the process of developing autonomy. I argue that the tether fantasy in video games not only illustrates the integration of attachment and separation-individuation schools of thought, but also offers a compelling reason to reconsider the analytical meaning of video game play. The paper’s analysis of Minecraft as a home base tether game also explores the question of how games can themselves serve as an anchor for ventures into more complicated social worlds at times of transition like nest-leaving, or for times of stress in adult life.

Memory Insufficient (http://meminsf.silverstringmedia.com/)

A Film and Media Ph.D. candidate, Chris Goetz investigates how users explore the internal world o... more A Film and Media Ph.D. candidate, Chris Goetz investigates how users explore the internal world of a videogame using both their own imaginations and the game's interface to transcend the body and engage in an interactive fantasy.

First Person Scholar (http://www.firstpersonscholar.com/building-queer-community/)

Despite its relative novelty, it is easier to explain the Queerness and Games Design Workshop tha... more Despite its relative novelty, it is easier to explain the Queerness and Games Design Workshop than, for example, to tell family back home what film studies is and why being a film studies major doesn't necessarily mean learning to make movies. Perhaps explaining the Queerness and Games Design Workshop (QGDW) is easier because family in the Midwest aren't the ones asking about it-they don't mention the Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon) when I post about it on Facebook either.

"Tether and Accretions: Fantasy as Form in Videogames"

I argue that videogames are structured by conscious fantasy. This project traces two fantasies (t... more I argue that videogames are structured by conscious fantasy. This project traces two fantasies (tether and accretions) that combine into the genre of the role-playing game, providing a rough timeline for the evolution of these fantasies in videogames. It also engages in close readings of individual works that highlight important aspects of each fantasy. This study can serve as the basis for a formal analysis of games that is reinforced by their divided nature (game and story). Fantasy can serve as an intermediate term between game and story, and as such can incorporate the player into a game's formal analysis. I also argue that videogames teach us that fantasy is a better term for describing media convergence than story. Note that ''fantasy'' here does not refer to the literary genre but rather to a dynamic psychological concept related to play.

Interviews, Op-Eds by Christopher Goetz

The inaugural Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon, 10/26-27/2013, UC Berkeley's campus) was int... more The inaugural Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon, 10/26-27/2013, UC Berkeley's campus) was intended as an experimental conference on the intersection of videogame development, academic analysis, and LGBT issues. QGCon's central questions, "what is queerness," "what are games?," and "how might we reimagine queerness in games?" were meant to join academia with industry practitioners to further the conversation about LGBT representation and play in videogames. We were truly impressed with the level of discourse at the event, both in formal presentations and in Q&A sessions that spilled into the hallway between talks. But perhaps the best measure of success for the conference lay in how the participants' rich conversation and creative energy really did bridge the divide between academia and industry.

Teaching Resources by Christopher Goetz

A recap on my experience teaching the first New Media R1B (undergraduate reading and composition ... more A recap on my experience teaching the first New Media R1B (undergraduate reading and composition course) at UC Berkeley on the topic of nostalgia and the future in new media.

A glossary assembled with the help of Irene Chien for the purpose of providing students an analyt... more A glossary assembled with the help of Irene Chien for the purpose of providing students an analytical reference resource to help think critically about videogames. Please feel free to share and suggest additions to the glossary.

collaborative projects by Christopher Goetz

e Queerness and Game Design Workshop is an artistic and interactive program designed to encourage... more e Queerness and Game Design Workshop is an artistic and interactive program designed to encourage undergraduates to engage with LGBT issues in the digital age. Over the course of three day-long workshops in September and October, students will receive training in game-making software, will join in discussions about queer activism and video games, and will ultimately work in teams to create playable games that explore issues of queerness through play. No prior technical skills necessary.

Completed games will be showcased at the Queerness and Games Conference in October, where participants will have the opportunity to present about their work. All students who complete the program will receive a generous Amazon gift card and be eligible for an Audience Choice Award at their conference presentation.

F1000Research

Story-driven games are growing in popularity across a wide range of genres. However, the narrativ... more Story-driven games are growing in popularity across a wide range of genres. However, the narrative potential of video games is still being debated, particularly in light of the so-called tension between gameplay and storytelling. This study proposes that rules and game mechanics perform narrative semiotic functions, offering a ludic grammar of interactive storytelling. Case studies of four representative games show through exploratory player action shaped by rules, the medium of video games can generate meanings that traditional media cannot, thereby better achieving their narrative goals.

Arts, 2018

This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology resear... more This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology research in order to address videogame medium specificity, with particular focus on the notion of videogame play as simultaneously “rule-bound” and “make-believe.” It offers the sustained analogy of “trellis and vine” for provisionally sorting through the tangle (the “mess” or “assemblage”) of function and fiction in games.

New Media & Society, 2013

This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and a nostalgic address i... more This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and a nostalgic address in 1990s and early 2000s videogames. Conceiving of the wish to dwell within the game as a longing for radical alterity serves as a theoretical extension of rhythmanalysis for thinking about the porous boundaries of the game text. The article seeks to expand the established discursive and conceptual function accorded to stillness as a form of play. It discusses three ‘nostalgic gestures’ that stall the game’s action: the glance from foreground to background; the shift from the game to paratextual materials; and the drift of attention out the window or away from the gaming context altogether. Gaming’s promise of exotic transport activates a “fervor of the possible,” a melancholic identification with the world beyond which invests game spaces with the capacity for hopeful discovery, verging on a wish to remove oneself from the flow of time altogether.

Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 2018

This essay explores gaming's "queer economy," joining frameworks of intimacy (affect theory and q... more This essay explores gaming's "queer economy," joining frameworks of intimacy (affect theory and queer theory) with those of extimacy (systemic and economic analysis) in a discussion of meaning in video game play. It explores how gaming might be a special or strange consumer good that uniquely addresses (and thus queers) children, including the child that survives in adults. Video games are discussed as special consumer items in relation to queer theorist Kathryn Bond Stockton's notion of the "child queered by money" (the child made strange by its exclusion from wider economic exchange) and surrealist Roger Caillois' essay about the child's game of hiding treasure. Each interlocutor offers a way to think about video games through the coordinates of a wasteful consumption characteristic of childhood. Though gaming is, in this sense, a strange or queer economic activity that swerves away from future­oriented, consumer exchanges, gaming is simultaneously what Dyer­Witheford and de Peuter consider a key example of the immaterial labor of global empire. These ideas are discussed in relation to gaming's role in both the global exchange of goods and the hegemonic notion of heterosexual (re)productivity.

This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and the nostalgic address... more This article explores the correspondence between a pensive mode of play and the nostalgic address of 1990s and early 2000s adventure videogames. It explores the porous boundaries of the videogame text by conceiving of the wish to dwell within the game as a longing for radical difference (something only found elsewhere). The article discusses three 'nostalgic gestures' that stall the game's action: the glance from foreground to background, the shift from the game to paratextual materials, and the drift of attention out the window or away from the gaming context altogether. Gaming's promise of exotic transport activates a " fervor of the possible, " a melancholic identification with the world beyond which invests game spaces with the capacity for hopeful discovery, verging on a wish to remove oneself from the flow of time altogether.

This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology resear... more This paper reviews and synthesizes ideas in the philosophy of play and relevant psychology research in order to address videogame medium specificity, with particular focus on the notion of videogame play as simultaneously " rule-bound " and " make-believe. " It offers the sustained analogy of " trellis and vine " for provisionally sorting through the tangle (the " mess " or " assemblage ") of function and fiction in games.

s new book, Metagaming, has convinced me that video games are not games. They are "software sandb... more s new book, Metagaming, has convinced me that video games are not games. They are "software sandboxes" where games take place, but in more varied and interesting ways than the industry or insular gamer communities typically acknowledge. Forget playing a game as intended. Boluk and LeMieux shine a hundred spotlights on play's diversity in, on, around, between, through, and without video games. Their wildly eclectic book careens from competitive e-sports and video game spectatorship (be it Twitch.tv streaming or YouTube) to hacking, modding, speedrunning, experimenting, and critiquing video games-all valid ways of engaging with the medium that tend to fall outside analyses which see these activities as merely the metagame (ancillary to the game as a self-contained commodity).

This paper identifies the “virtual worlds” paradigm in psychoanalytic approaches to video games. ... more This paper identifies the “virtual worlds” paradigm in psychoanalytic approaches to video games. Sometimes counterproductive to game interpretation, this paradigm views all games as an escape into separate and substitutive virtual reality. I argue that the virtual worlds framework only applies to some video games, and rarely encapsulates most games’ address to the player. I propose an alternative approach based in separation-individuation and attachment theory, pointing to how a wide variety of games provide players with “secure base” experiences as a form of affect regulation and metacognition. Introducing three broad categories of tether fantasies in video games—lifeline, home base, and perpetuum mobile—, I map out some of the generic terrain of commercial games from a secure base perspective, emphasizing the value of going and coming in the process of developing autonomy. I argue that the tether fantasy in video games not only illustrates the integration of attachment and separation-individuation schools of thought, but also offers a compelling reason to reconsider the analytical meaning of video game play. The paper’s analysis of Minecraft as a home base tether game also explores the question of how games can themselves serve as an anchor for ventures into more complicated social worlds at times of transition like nest-leaving, or for times of stress in adult life.

Memory Insufficient (http://meminsf.silverstringmedia.com/)

A Film and Media Ph.D. candidate, Chris Goetz investigates how users explore the internal world o... more A Film and Media Ph.D. candidate, Chris Goetz investigates how users explore the internal world of a videogame using both their own imaginations and the game's interface to transcend the body and engage in an interactive fantasy.

First Person Scholar (http://www.firstpersonscholar.com/building-queer-community/)

Despite its relative novelty, it is easier to explain the Queerness and Games Design Workshop tha... more Despite its relative novelty, it is easier to explain the Queerness and Games Design Workshop than, for example, to tell family back home what film studies is and why being a film studies major doesn't necessarily mean learning to make movies. Perhaps explaining the Queerness and Games Design Workshop (QGDW) is easier because family in the Midwest aren't the ones asking about it-they don't mention the Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon) when I post about it on Facebook either.

"Tether and Accretions: Fantasy as Form in Videogames"

I argue that videogames are structured by conscious fantasy. This project traces two fantasies (t... more I argue that videogames are structured by conscious fantasy. This project traces two fantasies (tether and accretions) that combine into the genre of the role-playing game, providing a rough timeline for the evolution of these fantasies in videogames. It also engages in close readings of individual works that highlight important aspects of each fantasy. This study can serve as the basis for a formal analysis of games that is reinforced by their divided nature (game and story). Fantasy can serve as an intermediate term between game and story, and as such can incorporate the player into a game's formal analysis. I also argue that videogames teach us that fantasy is a better term for describing media convergence than story. Note that ''fantasy'' here does not refer to the literary genre but rather to a dynamic psychological concept related to play.

The inaugural Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon, 10/26-27/2013, UC Berkeley's campus) was int... more The inaugural Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon, 10/26-27/2013, UC Berkeley's campus) was intended as an experimental conference on the intersection of videogame development, academic analysis, and LGBT issues. QGCon's central questions, "what is queerness," "what are games?," and "how might we reimagine queerness in games?" were meant to join academia with industry practitioners to further the conversation about LGBT representation and play in videogames. We were truly impressed with the level of discourse at the event, both in formal presentations and in Q&A sessions that spilled into the hallway between talks. But perhaps the best measure of success for the conference lay in how the participants' rich conversation and creative energy really did bridge the divide between academia and industry.

A recap on my experience teaching the first New Media R1B (undergraduate reading and composition ... more A recap on my experience teaching the first New Media R1B (undergraduate reading and composition course) at UC Berkeley on the topic of nostalgia and the future in new media.

A glossary assembled with the help of Irene Chien for the purpose of providing students an analyt... more A glossary assembled with the help of Irene Chien for the purpose of providing students an analytical reference resource to help think critically about videogames. Please feel free to share and suggest additions to the glossary.

e Queerness and Game Design Workshop is an artistic and interactive program designed to encourage... more e Queerness and Game Design Workshop is an artistic and interactive program designed to encourage undergraduates to engage with LGBT issues in the digital age. Over the course of three day-long workshops in September and October, students will receive training in game-making software, will join in discussions about queer activism and video games, and will ultimately work in teams to create playable games that explore issues of queerness through play. No prior technical skills necessary.

Completed games will be showcased at the Queerness and Games Conference in October, where participants will have the opportunity to present about their work. All students who complete the program will receive a generous Amazon gift card and be eligible for an Audience Choice Award at their conference presentation.