Abstract
In this dissertation, I study how war memories are translated via digital games, and how they circulate within the realm of digital culture. Rather than considering the game or the mnemonic aspects in isolation, the study of the intersection between war memory and game culture entails an engagement with the
... read more
messy and intermingled connectedness of the phenomenon as a network. My approach is to follow these translations as they travel – a game is designed, a game is played, a game is recorded, a recorded gameplay is shared, and finally, a game is played. This dissertation consists of four articles, with each its own focus. In article one, I describe how game developers translate cultural memory into morally complex gameplay. In article two, I describe the role of YouTube video producers and their role in circulating war memories. In article three, I describe the Yugoslav War discourses emerging in game publics on YouTube. Lastly, in article four, I describe how post-war Bosnian youth remember intergenerational memory via digital games. In the research, I describe the translation and circulation of war memory in game culture as “ludic memory networks.” Ludic memory networks draw our attention to the role of play and playful interaction in the process of memory-making. These practices have important implications for post-war individuals, who identify, interpret and share mnemonic game content across digital media platforms. As suggested in the vignettes, rather than being a neatly ordered phenomenon, a ludic memory network is inherently “fuzzy” and “messy”. On the one hand, the global industry of games erodes scales such as global, national and local, and transforms cultural memory to fit wider audiences. The ludic aspect draws attention to the ways in which interactions of cultural memory are not only context dependent, but also provide room for social practices that offer possibilities for (ludic) identification based on a shared interest in games. On the other hand, remembrance is still territorially bound, as war memory is strategically used by young post- war states still defining their national narratives. Platforms play a central role in ludic networks, the interconnectedness of which affords interactions that inform what content circulates and how this content appears to users. The question that therefore arises is: How does war memory travel through a ludic network? The concepts of translation and circulation serve as key concepts to understand the dynamics of ludic memory networks. The work that translations do, consists of taking otherwise mundane practices and transforming them into accidental and serendipitous moments of remembrance. Closely linked to processes of translation are processes of circulation – a linkage that inevitably raises questions about the practices and activities central to how memories traverse geographies and cultures. Transcultural memory draws attention away from static sites, such as monuments or museums, and focuses on the movement of memory instead of a static attention to culture. Specific user practices such as Let’s Play videos on YouTube, play a key role in the circulation of memory.
show less