Presented at the Conference on Language, Norms and Digital Lives, Copenhagen, Denmark, 28–29 November. Abstract Cities: Skylines (Colossal Order, 2015) took the city-builder throne from Maxis’ SimCity series (1989–2014) after the disastrous launch of the fifth SimCity (Maxis Emeryville, 2013).
29 Nov 2024
Presented at the Central and Eastern European Game Studies (CEEGS) Conference 2024: Reimagining Games, Art, and Performativity, Nafplio, Greece, 10–12 October. Extended abstract Cities: Skylines (Colossal Order, 2015) took the city-builder throne from Maxis’ SimCity series (1989–2014) after the disastrous launch of the fifth SimCity (Maxis Emeryville, 2013).
11 Oct 2024
Presented at Beyond Play: The Transformative Power of Digital Gaming in a Deeply Mediatized Society, Bremen, Germany, 30 September–2 October.
2 Oct 2024
Presented at Digitale Spiele im Wandel: Technologien – Kulturen – Geschichte(n), Bremen, Germany, 24–26 January. Extended abstract Digital games are often understood in terms of escapism, the avoidance of everyday, ‘real’ life.
26 Jan 2024
Presented at CEEGS 2023: Meaning and Making of Games, Lepizig, Germany, 19–21 October. Extended abstract City-builder games allow the player to “build your dream city” (SimCity BuildIt, 2023) where “you’re only limited by your imagination” (Paradox Interactive, n.
20 Oct 2023
Presented at the 2020 History of Games Conference: Transnational Game Histories, online, 21–24 October. Extended abstract World of Warcraft Classic (Blizzard Entertainment, 2019) drew a great deal of attention when it was released.
22 Oct 2020
Presented at the 2018 Nordic DiGRA Conference in Bergen, Norway, 28–30 November. This presentation has since been developed into a journal article. Extended abstract The long-lost, ancient civilisation that somehow had technology that far surpasses the current level is a common trope in videogames that feature large, open worlds.
30 Nov 2018
Presented at the 2018 Nordic DiGRA Conference in Bergen, Norway, 28–30 November. Extended abstract In How To Do Things With Videogames, Ian Bogost argues that videogames offer “an experience of the ‘space between points’ that had been reduced or eliminated by the transportation technologies that began with the train” (2011, 49).
1 Nov 2018