Phantasmal Spaces: Archetypical Venues in Computer Games

Phantasmal SpacesArchetypical Venues in Computer GamesRecognizable, recurring spatial settings in video games serve not only as points of reference and signposts for orientation, but also as implicit sources of content. These spatial archetypes denote more than real-world objects or settings: they suggest and bring forward emotional states, historical context, atmospheric “attunement,” in the words of Massumi, and aesthetic programs that go beyond plain semiotic reference. In each chapter, Mathias Fuchs brings to the fore an archetype commonly found in old and new digital games: The Ruin, The Cave, The Cloud, The Portal, The Road, The Forest, and The Island are each analysed at length, through the perspectives of aesthetics, games technology, psychoanalysis, and intertextuality. Gridding these seven tropes together with these four analytical lenses provides the reader with a systematic framework to understand the various complex considerations at play in evocative game design.Additional ISBNs9781501376269Phantasmal Spaces: Archetypical Venues in Computer Games 1st Edition is written by Mathias Fuchs and published by Bloomsbury Academic USA. ISBNs for Phantasmal Spaces are 9781501332944, 1501332945 and the print ISBNs are 9781501332920, 1501332929. Additional ISBNs include 9781501376269.