Depictions of Power draws connections between strategy and management games and their singular depiction of power relationships. One could say that strategy and management games are the quintessential depictions of power. Rather than being centered on a single character, these games put the players in situations where they have power over other entities or other players. Moreover, narrative contextualization in the genre depicts the player as a leader, manager, governor, general, or even as a god of some sort. As such, they take an implicit or explicit stance on power, through control, agency, identity, ownership, affiliation, or loyalty, for instance. Depictions of Power explores how power is depicted and/or experienced in strategy and management games through gameplay, narrative, representation, dialogs, mechanics, and gaming systems. Most games overemphasize the agency of the player, but others offer a critical perspective on war or control. Strategy and management games are treated as a unique corpora to underline their similarities and go beyond a sole militaristic perspective. This book argues that games must be criticized and questioned, but that they can themselves criticize and question power. As such, they must be explored, analyzed, and contextualized in the history of gameplaying. Contributors to this collection cover a wide diversity of playing experiences, discussing strategy and management games such as Civilization , Cities: Skylines, Total War , Pharaoh , Command & Conquer , Trader Life Simulator , Riot: Civil Unrest , and The Sims .

Autorentext
Simon Dor is Associate Professor of Game and Media Studies at Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Canada. He teaches game studies, economy game design, and ethics in the video game development program based in Montréal. He is the author of StarCraft: Legacy of the Real-Time Strategy (2014), and has published articles in English and French journals such as Game Studies, Sciences du jeu, and Kinephanos.

Zusammenfassung
Depictions of Power draws connections between strategy and management games and their singular depiction of power relationships. One could say that strategy and management games are the quintessential depictions of power. Rather than being centered on a single character, these games put the players in situations where they have power over other entities or other players. Moreover, narrative contextualization in the genre depicts the player as a leader, manager, governor, general, or even as a god of some sort. As such, they take an implicit or explicit stance on power, through control, agency, identity, ownership, affiliation, or loyalty, for instance. Depictions of Power explores how power is depicted and/or experienced in strategy and management games through gameplay, narrative, representation, dialogs, mechanics, and gaming systems. Most games overemphasize the agency of the player, but others offer a critical perspective on war or control. Strategy and management games are treated as a unique corpora to underline their similarities and go beyond a sole militaristic perspective. This book argues that games must be criticized and questioned, but that they can themselves criticize and question power. As such, they must be explored, analyzed, and contextualized in the history of gameplaying. Contributors to this collection cover a wide diversity of playing experiences, discussing strategy and management games such as Civilization, Cities: Skylines, Total War, Pharaoh, Command & Conquer, Trader Life Simulator, Riot: Civil Unrest, and The Sims.

Inhalt

Introduction: Depictions of Power, Depictions and Power
Simon Dor (Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Canada)

Section 1: Narrative of Power

1. Power Overwhelming: Exploring Player Agency and Power in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
   Gregory Blomquist (University of Alberta, Canada)
2. Depictions of Cyberwarfare and Media Manipulation in Command and Conquer
   Mark R. Johnson (University of Sydney, Australia)
3. Allegories of Control and Power: The Figure of Personification in Valkyria Chronicles IV and Fire Emblem: Three Houses
   *Simon Dor and Laurie-Mei Ross Dionne (*Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Canada)

Section 2: Business and Management
4. Framework Conditions and Origins of Business Games
Rolf F. Nohr (University of Arts, Braunschweig, Germany)
5. The Lovecraftian Horror of Middle Management in Darkest Dungeon
Rémi Cayatte (Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, France)
6. Games as "Instruction Manuals for Life": Managing the Future in Farocki's How to Live in the FRG**Douglas
James Stark (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA)

Section 3: Antiquity in Games
7. State Development and Power Systems in Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar
Briana C. Jackson (American Research Center in Egypt)
8. Culture, Population Management, and Power in Total War: Rome I and II
Eduardo García-Molina (University of Chicago, USA)

Section 4: Power and Nature
9. Uncovering Ecological Power in Cities: Skylines
Lawrence May (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
10. Roles of Nature and Mythologies of Growth in Government Simulation Videogames
Carlos Moreno Azqueta (Universidad de Castilla - La Mancha, Spain)

Section 5: Audiences and Game Communities
11. Cultural Communications in Game Streams: An Examination of the Discourse between Arab Muslim Developers and American Streamers
Lobna Hassan (Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Finland) and Vít Sisler (Charles University, Czech Republic)
12. Beneath the Paving Stones of Power, the Heart: Emotional Design in Management and Strategy Games
Gaël Gilson (Haute École Albert Jacquard, Belgium)
13. Gotta Conquer 'em All!: Gamification of War in Pokémon Conquest
Gabriel Pierre Dumoulin and Amélie Vallières (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
14. Need for Inclusion of People with Physical Disabilities as a Marginalized Group in The Sims 4
Mia Mohac (Coventry University, UK)

Section 6: Colonization and Contested Spaces
15. Docile Crowds, Disobedient Bodies: Spaces of Dissent in Strategy & Management Games
Hamza Bashandy (Université de Liège, Belgium)
16. "Terra Nullius"?: Representations of Australian History in Civilization VI's Outback Tycoon
Sian Tomkinson (University of Western Australia)
17. Corporate Power in Strategy Video Games: An analysis of Plutocracy
Gabriel Monette (Cégep André-Laurendeau, Canada)

Section 7: Ethnicity and Cultural Stereotypes
18. Asiatic as Method: Total War: Three Kingdoms (2019), Digital Strategy Games, and Platform Imperialism
Matthew Jungsuk Howard (North Carolina State University, USA)
19. Factional History: Reading for Ethnicity and Race within Total War: Warhammer 3's "Immortal Empires"
Andrew Bailey (York University, UK)

Index