Rockstar games and American history : promotional materials and the construction of authenticity / Esther Wright.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wright, Esther, author.

Series:

Video games and the humanities.

Video Games and the Humanities ; Volume 10

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Video games--Social aspects.

Video games.

Video games--Social aspects--United States.

United States.

Rockstar Games (Firm).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (282 pages)

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; Boston : Walter de Gruyter GmbH, [2022]

Summary:

For two decades, Rockstar Games have been making games that interrogate and represent the idea of America, past and present. Commercially successful, fan-beloved, and a frequent source of media attention, Rockstar’s franchises are positioned as not only game-changing, ground-breaking interventions in the games industry, but also as critical, cultural histories on America and its excesses. But what does Rockstar’s version of American history look like, and how is it communicated through critically acclaimed titles like Red Dead Redemption (2010) and L.A. Noire (2011)? By combining analysis of Rockstar’s games and a range of official communications and promotional materials, this book offers critical discussion of Rockstar as a company, their video games, and ultimately, their attempts at creating new narratives about U.S. history and culture. It explores the ways in which Rockstar’s brand identity and their titles coalesce to create a new kind of video game history, how promotional materials work to claim the "authenticity" of these products, and assert the authority of game developers to perform the role of historian. By working at the intersection of historical game studies, U.S. history, and film and media studies, this book explores what happens when contemporary demands for historical authenticity are brought to bear on the way we envisage the past – and whose past it is deemed to be. Ultimately, this book implores those who research historical video games to consider the oft-forgotten sources at the margins of these games as importance spaces where historical meaning is made and negotiated.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements

Contents

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: The American History of Rockstar Games

Chapter 1 Rockstar’s West(s)

Chapter 2 “The True West” and “Real Crime Stories”: Constructing a Discourse of Historical Authenticity

Chapter 3 “Rockstar Recommends”: Constructing a Discourse of Cinematic Authenticity

Chapter 4 Playing Outlaw, Playing Detective: The Limits of Historical Gameplay

Chapter 5 Women in Rockstar’s American History

Chapter 6 Other(ed) Histories

Epilogue: “Rockstar Games Presents” . . . American History?

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

3-11-071661-5