Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
This innovative book examines how videogames engage with crime and its control. It treats games as ideological representations, in which ideas about policing, justice, and criminality are formed and reproduced. Covering over fifty videogames and blending insights from criminology, game studies, affect and social theory, the book explores how games reproduce injustice and inequality.
Central to the book is the idea of the ‘ludic unconscious’—the notion that in videogames the convergence of gameplay mechanics and narrative sensibilities are affectively and politically meaningful. It is an essential read for students and academics interested in the intersections of crime, ideology, and play.
'In A Criminology of Videogames, Vladimir Rizov makes serious study of a topic too often neglected by criminologists, demonstrating with keen theoretical insight the affects and effects of gaming. Rigorous in its analysis and lively in its prose, Rizov is certainly not playing around.' Travis Linnemann, Kansas State University and author of The Horror of Police
'A deft addition to the analysis of videogames as both reflection of hegemony and an imaginary attempt to resolve or confront its contradictions through play. Rizov shows that whether games place us in the role of law enforcers or lawbreakers, they often see us reproducing dominant, racialised forms of social coercion and control. This is a wide-ranging study and a valuable contribution in its field.' Jon Bailes, Games Journalist, Social Theorist and author of Ideology and the Virtual City
'In 'A Criminology of Videogames', Rizov deftly combines theoretical insight with practical application, offering a practical toolkit for exploring crime and its control: a truly fascinating read!' Matthew Spokes, York St John University
1. Introduction
2. The Problem of Violent Crime Games
3. The Ludic Unconscious
4. Playing As the Police
5. Breaking The Law as the Rules of the Game
6. Aesthetics Of Immorality, Deviance, And Lawlessness
7. Towards A General Criminology of Videogames
8. Conclusion