New Game Plus. Critical Thinking with Video Games
As (pop) cultural media, video games are more relevant than ever in times of global crises. They are not «free of ideology» or to be understood as autonomous works of art. They are always tied to historical moments, cultural discourse and material realities that affect the world, recipients and producers. Culture seeps into the code, proactively or unknowingly, and must therefore be considered and criticized at any time.
Games often show the recipients worlds that they are supposed to explore and interact with. These worlds are tied to aesthetics as well as ideologies that may not always be apparent at first glance but continue to stay in dialogue with us and our personal (real) worlds.
Additionally, material realities remain endangered in 2025. Existential catastrophes are already underway. This political relevance is evident in indie games as well as larger productions, in hate-filled online debates, but also in questions about global capitalism and its impact on the distribution of material goods. Diversity in character editors often leads to hate comments, lists of «ideologically woke» games are created, game studios are closed, and mass layoffs have become the norm in the industry. Games are being instrumentalized for war purposes and, at the same time, offer spaces and publics of resistance.
At this interactive conference, the organizers’ aim is to ask how (social) sciences and video games can be critically analysed in tandem to analyse contemporary crises. The idea is that the participants and speakers will not «only» listen to lectures but will also exchange ideas with each other in workshop-style sessions.
When / Wann: April 14 & 15, 2025, Day 1: 15:00 – 19:15 / Day 2: 9:30 –14:45
Where / Wo: Day 1: Swiss Game Hub, Erika-Mann-Strasse 1, 8050 Zürich / Day 2: University of Zurich, KOL-E-09, Rämistrasse 71, 8001 Zürich
Language / Sprache: English
Registration / Anmeldung: none
Organisation: DSI Community Gaming & ISEK – Popular Culture Studies UZH
Contact: andrea-luca.bossard@uzh.ch / hiloko.kato@ds.uzh.ch
More Information: Link
Program
