Flanagan
Mary Flanagan
mary@maryflanagan.com
This paper explores the space of The Sims and study a range of historical associations brought forward by the game. Why is the house a fascinating site for gameplay? Are games which feature domestic space a reflection of gender conflict? Does subverting conventional norms in gameplay alter gaming stereotypes? Electronic space has historically been overlooked as a site of epistemological importance; if it is examined, the virtual is considered in the terms of narrative or community rather than as an epistemological system defined by behaviors and space. The need to examine examples of virtual space such as exhibited in The Sims to tease out the implications of these inherent architectures and to examine the impact of cultural attitudes upon space is paramount. The premise of this investigation is to examine the construction of virtual space in The Sims to study the gender implications of such a space, examining the creation and representation of domestic themes through a Western feminist lens. The paper focuses on consumer practices and space in The Sims, and compares the experience of individual play of The Sims with the collective play model offered by The Sims Online. The focus of the work is to see how subversion of gaming structures work .do they solidify problematic assumptions of domesticity and gender, or do fan-based alterations of the game offer liberatory models for cultural construction?
Bio
Mary Flanagan (mary@maryflanagan.com; http://www.maryflanagan.com) Digital artist and cybercultural critic. Her interactive projects have been exhibited internationally including the Moving Image Centre in Auckland, DataTerra: All Star Data Mappers, Sydney, and the Whitney Museum of American Art 2002 Biennial. Flanagan's essays on digital art, cyberculture, and gaming have appeared in periodicals such as Art Journal, Wide Angle, Convergence, and Culture Machine, and her co-edited book Reload: Rethinking Women + Cyberculture was published by MIT Press in 2002. Before her academic career, Flanagan was a producer of CDROM games and Web experiences, garnering international awards for her work.
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