Abstract
Computer games, especially in their action-driven violent variety, are often associated with an unthinking attachment to traditional clichés of masculinity. The present essay shows that this assessment is far too simplistic. It explores in particular an adventure game franchise entitled God of War to demonstrate that within chauvinist structures there is also evidence of often very radical subversions of traditional masculine norms. Patriarchy in the game is upheld as well as challenged. Macho sexual fantasies are acted out as well as evaded. Even the simulated bodies of the players’ avatars do not simply correspond to clear-cutgender identities. Using a complex Lacanian model of analysis, the essay demonstrates that in the interaction of the game with the body and psyche of its player through the use of game technology, interesting gender revisions occur that resemble the concept of the cyborg identity famously proposed by Donna Haraway.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Works cited
God I. Sony Computer Entertainment, Santa Monica Studio. God of War (digital game). Sony Computer Entertainment, 2005.
God II. Sony Computer Entertainment, Santa Monica Studio. God of War II: Special Edition (digital game). Sony Computer Entertainment, 2006–2007.
Chains. Ready at Dawn. God of War: Chains of Olympus (digital game). Sony Computer Entertainment, 2008.
Betrayal Javaground. God of War: Betrayal (digital game). Sony Online Entertainment, 2007.
Other digital games cited (sorted by title; only the relevant
Rogue. American McGee’s Alice (digital game). Electronic Arts, 2000.
2K Boston & 2K Australia. BioShock (digital game). 2K, 2007.
Id Software. Doom (digital game). Id Software, 1993.
3D Realms. Duke Nukem 3D (digital game). GT Interactive, 1996.
Shiny. Earthworm Jim (digital game). Playmates Interactive, 1994.
Rockstar North. Grand Theft Auto IV (digital game). Rockstar, 2008.
Rockstar North. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (digital game). Rockstar, 2004.
Harmonix. Guitar Hero (digital game). RedOctane, 2006.
Kojima Productions. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (digital game). Konami, 2008.
Nintendo R&D 1. Metroid (digital game). Nintendo, 1986.
Digital Illusions CE. Mirror’s Edge (digital game). Electronic Arts, 2008.
Infinity Ward. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (digital game). Activision Blizzard, 2009.
Valve. Portal (digital game). Valve, 2007.
Harmonix. Rock Band (digital game). MTV Games, 2007.
Sony Computer Entertainment, Studio London. SingStar (digital game). Sony Computer Entertainment. 2004.
Skip. Soundvoyager (digital game). Nintendo, 2006.
Core Design. Tomb Raider (digital game). Eidos, 1996.
Ubi Soft. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell (digital game). Ubi Soft, 2003.
Creative Assembly. Spartan: Total Warrior (digital game). Sega, 2005.
Works cited
Baltrusch, Ernst. Sparta: Geschichte, Gesellschaft, Kultur. 1998. 3rd ed. Munich: C.H. Beck, 2007.
Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation. 1981. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1994.
Bly, Robert. Iron John, A Book about Men. New York: Vintage, 1992.
Brathwaite, Brenda. Sex in Video Games. Boston: Charles River, 2007.
Butler, Judith. Bodies That Matter, On the Discursive Limits of ‘Sex.’ New York & London: Routledge, 1993.
—. Gender Trouble, Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. 1990. 10th Anniversary Edition. New York & London: Routledge, 1999.
Caillois, Roger. Man, Play and Games. 1958. Urbana & Chicago: U of Illinois P, 2001.
Castell, Suzanne de and Mary Bryson. ‘Retooling Play: Dystopia, Dysphoria, and Difference.’ From Barbie to Mortal Kombat, Gender and Computer Games. Ed Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins. Cambridge, MA and London: MIT Press, 2000. 232–61.
Frasca, Gonzalo. ‘Simulation versus Narrative, Introduction to Ludology.’ The Video Game Theoty Reader. Ed Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron. New York and London: Routledge, 2003. 221–35.
GameStar DVD. ‘Testcheck.’ GameStar (July 2008). IDG Publications.
Graner Ray, Sheri. Gender Inclusive Game Design, Expanding the Market. Hingham: Charles River, 2004.
Haraway, Donna. ‘A Cyborg Manifesto, Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century.’ 1985. The New Media Reader. Ed Noah-Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Montfort. Cambridge, MA and London: MIT Press, 2003. 516–41.
Jenson, Jennifer and Suzanne de Castell. ‘Girls and Gaming: Gender Research, “Progress” and the Death of Interpretation.’ Situated Play, Proceedings of DiGRA 2007 Conference. Ed. Akira Baba. Tokyo: U of Tokyo, 2007. 769–71. See also: <http://www.digra.org/dl/db/07311.36536.pdf>. last accessed 16/5/09.
McMahan, Alison. ‘Immersion, Engagement, and Presence, A Method for Analyzing 3-D Video Games.’ The Video Game Theory Reader. Ed Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron. New York & London: Routledge, 2003. 67–86.
Miller, Frank. 300. Milwaukie: Dark Horse, 1999.
Murphy, Sheila C. ‘Live in Your World, Play in Ours’: The Spaces of Video Game Identity.’ Journal of Visual Culture 3.2 (2004): 223–38.
Newman, James. Videogames. Abingdon & New York: Routledge, 2004.
Pagel, Gerda. Jacques Lacan Zur Einführung. Hamburg: Junius, 1989.
Peppers, Cathy. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”: Cyber(sexed) Bodies in Cyberpunk Fictions.’ Bodily Discursions: Genders, Representations, Technologies. Ed Deborah S. Wilson and Christine Moneera Laennec. Albany: State U of New York P, 1997. 163–85.
Röber, Niklas and Maic Masuch. ‘Playing Audio-Only Games, A Compendium of Interacting with Virtual, Auditory Worlds.’ Changing Views — Worlds in Play: Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference. Ed Suzanne de Castell and Jenson Jennifer. Vancouver: U of Vancouver, 2005. See also: <http://www.digra.org/dl/db/06276.30120.pdf> last accessed: 16/5/09.
Shuman, Sid. ‘God of War III: Q&A with Stig Asmussen.’ <http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/208896/god-of-war-iii-q-a-with-stig-asmussen/> . 17/2/2009 last accessed: 17/5/2009.
Smith, Zoe. ‘Technological Bodies: Feminist Cyborg Constructions.’ Convergence, The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 3.2 (1997): 36–42.
300. Dir. Zack Snyder. Warner, 2006.
Young, Bryan-Mitchell. ‘Gaming Mind, Gaming Body: The Mind/Body Split For a New Era.’ Changing Views — Worlds in Play: Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference. Ed. Suzanne de Castell and Jenson Jennifer. Vancouver: U of Vancouver, 2005. See also: <http://www.digra.org/dl/db/06278.12199.pdf> last accessed: 16/5/09.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2010 Sven Schmalfuß
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schmalfuß, S. (2010). ‘Ghosts of Sparta’: Performing the God of War’s Virtual Masculinity. In: Emig, R., Rowland, A. (eds) Performing Masculinity. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230276086_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230276086_13
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-36759-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-27608-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave Media & Culture CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)