Gaming the System

The Killer of Sheep of Videogames

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
March 09, 2013 – 18:00

[NOTE: A version of this work was presented at the 2013 Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference. Here is a PDF of the slide deck.]

Measured Representation ... read more »

So Far Away

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
November 09, 2012 – 13:20

In Red Dead Redemption, the build-up to crossing over from the United States to Mexico is tangible. Up to this point you’ve been confined to New Austin, the mythical 1911 region of south Texas that is your training ground. Like Grand Theft Auto, RDR funnels movement cleverly. The player is faced with a region that is expansive but just a slice of the broader world that is waiting to be populated on the large but empty map. The brilliance here is in the tease. A blank map waiting to be populated. A glimpse of the modern city of Blackwater in the opening cinematic. ... read more »

Fallout 3′s Curious System of Race

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
January 04, 2012 – 20:27

Fall In

Non-fantasy roleplaying games don’t often allow the player to choose a race. However, Fallout 3, Bethesda’s open world roleplaying game set in post-apocalyptic Washington DC, allows players to select from four races: African American, Asian, Caucasian, and Hispanic, with Caucasian—unfortunately but not unsurprisingly—the default choice. ... read more »

From Black Box to No Box

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
December 12, 2011 – 15:23

We’re used to Nintendo’s E3 press conferences being awkward and odd. It’s part of their charm. But this year was particularly strange because many audience members, especially those watching at home, were utterly baffled: was Nintendo announcing a new console or just another Wii peripheral? ... read more »

Coming of Age in Hillsbrad

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
December 06, 2011 – 02:47

When first entering World of Warcraft’s (WOW) world of Azeroth, you’re provided an intensely guided and relatively safe area, called a starting zone, from which to learn about the game and experience it in microcosm. Depending if you’re Alliance or Horde and what race you choose, you’re located in a particular geographic region, well guarded from members of the opposing faction. This is primarily accomplished through geography. ... read more »

The Costly Stakes of Videogame Literacy

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
September 28, 2011 – 02:06

I had the opportunity to visit the University of Southern California’s Game Innovation Lab (GIL) last August. Directed by Tracy Fullerton, GIL is a significant component of the now vibrant indie game development scene. GIL is largely responsible for proving that academic game development can gestate innovative and relevant design that escapes the ivory tower and affects the actual consumer driven industry. This impact is evident in the groundbreaking work of GIL students. ... read more »

Smuggle Truck’s Failed Satire

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
August 23, 2011 – 00:54

From Representation to Experience ... read more »

The Trap of Representation

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
May 23, 2011 – 14:54

Header image from Robbie Cooper’s Alter Ego.

When we evaluate race in games, character creation seems to draw most of our focus. And there’s good reason for this: character creation appears to facilitate the kind of bodily manipulation promised by digital technologies during the mythic imaginings of the early internet. In some way we’ve been desiring a tool for identity play that lives up to the promise of these 90s promises. ... read more »

Spatialized Difference in Videogames

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
March 13, 2011 – 07:30

Maps, Levels, and the Orchestration of Conflict

The notion that maps, and the cartographic processes behind those maps, are functions of power, most commonly imperial power, is a fundamental assumption of critical geography. As the diagrammatic products of territorial struggles between political forces, maps are both representations of the world and constructions of that world. They are ideological imprints that actively shape the relations they purport to scientifically reflect. ... read more »

Videogames as Critical Race Pedagogy

by Tanner Higgin — University of California, Riverside
March 04, 2011 – 14:00

Education Beyond Edu-games ... read more »