Bittivainajien pikselikalmistot – hautaamisen ja suremisen rooli digitaalisissa peleissä

Translated title of the contribution: Bit Graves for Pixel Bodies – Death and Mourning in Digital Games

Tapani Joelsson, Markku Reunanen

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterScientificpeer-review

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    Abstract

    Death is a common event in digital games: at times as a narrative element, and most often as part of the game mechanics – the death of the player character or an enemy commonly follows from good or bad performance. However, the consequences of death, such as burial or mourning, have received little attention so far. In this study we analyze the last journeys of pixel bodies in games. Based on close reading, we have formed three main themes: Death, Burial and burial sites, and Mourning in the game world. The findings tell about the role of death in game design: storytelling, game mechanics and visuals. The article links game studies to death studies, bringing new analytical insight into a topic that has often been omitted or trivialized in digital games.
    Translated title of the contributionBit Graves for Pixel Bodies – Death and Mourning in Digital Games
    Original languageFinnish
    Title of host publicationPelitutkimuksen vuosikirja 2019
    EditorsJonne Arjoranta, Usva Friman, Raine Koskimaa, Frans Mäyrä, Olli Sotamaa, Jaakko Suominen
    PublisherPelitutkimuksen seura ry.
    Pages3–27
    Number of pages25
    Publication statusPublished - 18 Dec 2019
    MoE publication typeA3 Book section, Chapters in research books

    Publication series

    NamePelitutkimuksen vuosikirja
    ISSN (Electronic)1798-355X

    Keywords

    • computer games
    • video games
    • death
    • mourning
    • burial

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