Hegemony As Process? The Communication of Ideology in Video Games and Its Effects

Since its release, America’s Army (MOVES Institute 2002) has been quoted as a primary representation of how video games can function not only as a medium of pure entertainment, but also as a means of transport and reproduction of lifeworld elements and hegemonic culture (Dyer-Whiteford et al. 2007, 101; Galloway 2006, 76; Bogost 2007, 75-80). As Luhmann already establishes, the subject matter of television and literature, including that of video games (Juul 2011, 121), integrate familiar details of the real world, “(...) gerade wenn die Geschichte als fiktiv erzählt wird, [darf] nicht schlechthin alles fiktiv sein.” (Luhmann 1996, 99) In this instance the argument remains that these details appear not only as objects or interactions, but also as a form of ideology that reproduces existing hegemonic structures. Central to this argumentation is the question of how video games communicate ideological constructs to the recipient, highlighting the phenomenon of systemic communication. Kept in mind for this proposed abstract should be the genre of strategy games and the game mechanisms and structures that pertain to it, to build up a theoretical concept for the analysis of further games of the genre. In a first step it is necessary to establish a definition of ideology and its reflection in products of contemporary society, the second step should be an exemplary analysis of the strategy game Age of Empires II (Ensemble Studios 1999) to determine certain ideological structures which can be found on different tiers of the game. The third and final step focuses on the aspect of systemic communication and develops a model to illustrate the communication between game and user, considering that this process is central for the transfer of ideological constructs. The argument presented here should furthermore emphasize that ideologies are not always intended be integrated into games, like the example of America's Army shows, and make a case for a more critical reading of video games. It has been proven multiple times in former publications, that video games are indeed embedded in political, social and economical conditions. Focal in this case are the theories of Gramsci (2012, § 49) who accredits all objects of lifeworld ideological elements. According to Gramsci and later Hall (1982, 66) as well, ideologies first and foremost embody paradigms, those which each culture uses in a certain way to classify the world. Therefore a special kind of meaning and reality is produced, extending Luhmann's observation to real-world links in relation to fictional media, because they,