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Upcoming talk sponsored by the Montreal GameCODE Project and
the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University

Political Videogames:

Press “START” to Change the World

Gonzalo Frasca
(Center for Computer Games Research, IT University of Copenhagen)

Thursday, March 18, 2004 at 3:00 PM
In LB-677 (1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W)
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University


Abstract: Even though both the military and educators have been using videogames for non-entertainment purposes for several decades now, we are seeing more and more examples of videogames that aim at conveying specific ideas. Corporations develop webgames in order to advertise their products (advergaming). Organizations such as the U.S. Army or Hezbollah are using games for propaganda and as a way to recruit soldiers. Last year, we were able to play the first videogame to be officially endorsed by a candidate during the early U.S. Presidential Campaign.

This talk will review different examples of political videogames, exploring what is the potential (and limitations) of this new form of political speech. The author will also comment on the development process of his two latest political games: the “Howard Dean for Iowa Game” and “September 12th”, a game about the U.S. led war on terror.


About the author:

Gonzalo Frasca is a videogame researcher and developer, currently working at the Center for Computer Games Research in Copenhagen. He has recently produced and co-designed the first official videogame ever commissioned for a U.S. Presidential Campaign. He publishes Ludology.org (a “seminal game studies site” according to the International Game Developers Association) and is also a Review Editor at Game Studies, the international journal of computer game research. He is also a former head of videogame development at Cartoon Network LA and Editor of Science and Technology at CNN (CNNenEspañol.com).