Graaf vd., et al.
Shenja van der Graaf and David Nieborg
shenja.vandergraaf@let.uu.nl
David.Nieborg@let.uu.nl
Paper abstract Digital Game Research Conference, University of Utrecht (November 4-6, 2003)
Submission by: Shenja van der Graaf, M.A. (Communication and Information Studies, Institute of Media & Re/Presentation, Universiteit Utrecht, Ph.D. candidate) and David B. Nieborg (MA candidate)
Contact details:
Together We Brand: America's Army
Abstract
Over the last decade, the game industry has received much attention outside entertainment industries and organizations. Games are increasingly developed and used within the educational sector and visual simulation business. The U.S. army for example, is just one of many to use games to promote its services. However, what not many other companies thus far can claim is that the Army has been very successful at it. Why it became such a success is not the question, but its implications are.
Games that are offered online for free are produced, distributed and played 'for a reason'. That reason may differ between producers and players of the game. The latter are generally in it for the entertainment, while the former develop games to recruit soldiers (America's Army:Operations), or educate people about the Palestinian Cause (Under Ash), or collect information to fill and sell databases to other companies (YaYa). What does this commercialization mean for user autonomy and authorship? Do games lose their gamey-ness? Do producers and gamers negotiate gameplay? If so, how? On what level do production, distribution and reception intersect with what implications? What does commercialization mean for cultural and corporate practice? What does 'commercialization' mean in terms of government practice (U.S. army) or industrial practice (YaYa)? How does the notion of 'cultural industry' fit in this perspective?
This paper explores then the aesthetic and socio-economic implications of a new generation of commercial media culture in an age of computer network-facilitated participation. It explores the cultural status of the online game America's Army: Operations (US Army, 2002) that has commerce at the core of its brand identity. The game exemplifies the linkage of commercial goals with cultural texts through creating engaging experiences, initiated by commercial corporations for reasons of promotion and profit, enabled by computer networks, and given form by various members of the public.
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