The Role of Enemies in Military Shooter Video Games

On Hostile Ground
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-55565-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 160 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Routledge Critical Studies in Video Games and Culture

This book delivers a unique way of understanding the heart of every first-person military shooter game – its enemies – from within the genre itself to present a nuanced view of opponents in war games.

The analysis provides a systematic framework for a comparative and intersectional analysis that pays attention to multiple layers of video games, such as narrative, audiovisuality, gameplay and the construction of ludic space, considering genre-specific conventions and mechanics. Integrating theories and methods from game studies, cultural studies, and religious studies, the book introduces the concept of “ludic othering”. By applying this concept to a variety of military shooters produced during the heyday of the War on Terror, the book illustrates “ludic othering’s” analytical potential in answering a central question: What social and cultural ascriptions are at play in the representation of enemies?

This volume will interest students and scholars of video game studies, religious and cultural studies, digital media, genre, history, postcolonial studies and communication studies.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Trattner, Kathrin

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Sport | Tourismus | Freizeit Hobbies & Spiele
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Digital Lifestyle Computerspiele, Internetspiele
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Mediensoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Freizeitsoziologie, Konsumsoziologie, Alltagssoziologie, Populärkultur
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Populärkultur
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: An approach to enemies in military shooters

1. Tangos, Targets, Terrorists: The Ludic Othering of Enemies in Military Shooters

2. Enemies Without a Cause: Narrative Demarcations Between Friend and Foe

3. Generic ‘Third-World’-Enemies: Patterns in Representing the Non-Western Other

4. Mapping Opponents: The Meanings of Virtual Geographies of Conflict

5. Counter-Discourses: Military Shooters Beyond Othering?

Conclusion: Know Your Enemies

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Kathrin Trattner is a Researcher in the URPP Digital Religion(s) at the University of Zürich, Switzerland.