[Presentation] Moments of Political Gameplay: Far-Right Gameplay and Political Becoming

This presentation examines the temporal becomings of violence through hate as a game design feature by reviewing how features within game design, and their social placement, act as a mobilizing device of far-right action in digital forms. Particularly, this presentation will provide a preliminary discussion centered around games where hate is a vital part of game progression, followed by a discussion of how “anti-leftist” hate becomes part of the installed features of games – becoming something that players discuss on other platforms and seek out within the game. In this, through digital-ethnographic research, this presentation traces the growing use of game-technology by far-right groups to mobilize digital far-right action.

Notably, since the onset of #GamerGate, there have been multiple efforts to preserve gamer identity from the supposed evils of feminist critiques of video games. As such, game design has become a practice to rebuttal feminist video game critics, such as #GamerGate’s central target Anita Sarkeesian. Namely, Newgrounds, a website which hosts user-generated content, hosted a digital game where players were invited to “beat up Anita Sarkeesian”, which received comments such as “what a bitch! I enjoyed beating her to death.”

Presently, “Wheel Maker Studios” produced the games Angry Goy (2017) and Angry Goy 2 (2018) where players are required to slaughter gay men, Jewish people, and journalists in order to save Donald Trump from left-wing terrorists. The players of Angry Goy 2 may play as Christopher Cantwell, a self-described white nationalist who took part of the Charlottesville riot in 2017. Although Cantwell had no part in designing the game, he has promoted the game on Gab, a platform used by the far-right anti-semites.

Similar narratives are also found in AAA games – games produced and distributed by major publishers. Although not packaged as a game where players may exercise violence towards minorities, many players in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 have chosen to deliver non-Whites to the Ku Klux Klan and “beat up annoying feminists”. These players post their play snippets onto platforms such as YouTube where the videos receive comments such as “The only good feminist is a DEAD FEMINIST.”

By focusing on game design, I want to think about the ways in which hateful affordances and design practices enable certain kinds of far-right action which become invisible as it fashions reactionary talking points for the security of “gamer identity”. In the case studies I discuss, this can result in wider recruitment through their discussions on other digital platforms.