Date of Award
2008
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Media Studies
Supervisor
Dr. Nick Dyer-Witheford
Abstract
This thesis explores the potential of applying theories of Guy Debord and the Situationist Internationale (SI) to videogames. It argues that a fuller understanding of videogames can be obtained by applying several of the SI’s concepts to the digital medium. The concepts of unitary urbanism, unities of ambiance, drift, detournement, and situation, that were created to challenge our understanding of, and relationships with, real world spaces, can describe and inform the virtual spaces of videogames. This thesis also explores how the SI strove to turn a “love of play into a way of life” (Plant 71), and considers how videogames offer tantalizing possibilities to realize some of their ambitions, but are also interlaced with the spectacle the SI tried to revolt against.
Recommended Citation
Noon, Derek, "MACHINES FOR LIVING: THE SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL AND VIDEOGAMES" (2008). Digitized Theses. 4895.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/4895