Understanding games as a site of utopian resonance

Abstract

The games sector is acknowledged as a major actor in the current media landscape. Games have been studied as a medium that can inspire new futures. But games are part of enormously popular wider media ecosystems where public reflections in the form of reviews, video essays, podcasts and more play a major role. These public reflections have not been examined in a futures context as a site for societal reflection on utopia. This paper combines theories on utopia as method, on resonance, and on orientation to action to create a framework for understanding the societal value of public reflections on games. Selecting four popular games with utopian elements, we coded a number of games reviews, podcasts and video essays about these games to surface common themes found in these public reflections. We find that engagements with the specifics of worldbuilding, of language and in-game community are connected with various resonances described in the public reflections, tied to a variety of affects. We go on to discuss how resonance can help understand how public reflections on games act as a site for societal orientation. Public reflections on games can orient further game design as well as orienting societal discourse and action.