Anxiety, Openness, and Activist Games: A Case Study for Critical Play

This paper exp lores th e bou ndaries of social issues o r ‘activist’ games with a case stud y on a pop ular game released in 2009 which fosters a critical type of play among the audience. We as sess t he game’s public reception to better understand how contradictory play elements led to an anxiety of ambiguity during open play. Borrowing from the “poetics of open work,” we will demonstrate how th e most powerful p lay ex perience i n activist g ames result fro m a new relationship formed bet ween t he a udience a nd t he player through mechanics, subject position, representation, and content. Author