Colonization of the Forest Gamespace: An Essay about Forests in Polish Video Games from the Perspective of Postcolonial Studies
Joanna Pigulak
joanna.pigulak@gmail.comAdam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1345-3979
Abstract
The article presents an analysis of forest gamespaces in selected Polish video games. Referring to research in the field of postcolonial studies, the author shows how colonial patterns are preserved or deconstructed in designing the relationship between the player’s avatar and forest spaces. She examines relationships between characters and forest gamespaces in contexts such as colonization (Edward Said, Tomasz Z. Majkowski, Shoshana Magnet), hybrid identity (Souvik Mukherjee), and diaspora (Homi K. Bhabha, Krzysztof Loska). Very often, game creators – consciously or unconsciously – replicate colonial patterns by depicting the relationship between space and figures. Despite this, some Polish video games challenge this paradigm by deconstructing it in both their narrative and gameplay mechanics. Two examples of such games are Zaginięcie Ethana Cartera [The Vanishing of Ethan Carter] (2014) and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest (2020).
Keywords:
digital games, Polish video games, gamespace, forest, postcolonialismReferences
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Authors
Joanna Pigulakjoanna.pigulak@gmail.com
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1345-3979
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Film, Media and Audiovisual Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland. She is the co-founder of game studies at AMU and author of the book Gra w film. Z zagadnień relacji między filmem i grami wideo [Filmplaying: Relationships between Film and Video Games] (2022). She is also a film educator and advocate for digital game education.
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