Videogames as an 'Unheroic' Medium: The Child Hero's Journey. Issue 5 (July 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Reay, Emma
• Is Part Of: Games and culture. Volume 18:Issue 5(2023)
• Page Start: 559
• Page End: 577
• Publication Date: 2023-07
• Subjects: cooperative play -- heroism -- the hero's journey -- childhood -- multimodality; Games -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Video games -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Computer games -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Interactive multimedia -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 303.4834
• DOI: 10.1177/15554120221115395
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1555-4120

Abstract

In this article, I examine two contemporary videogames that engage critically and imaginatively with conventional definitions of heroism. In Röki (Polygon Treehouse) and Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword Games), the child-avatars loosen the connection between maturity and self-reliance by framing interdependence as both an inevitable and a desirable condition of human society. Furthermore, by emphasizing children's supposed malleability, these games insist on the relationality of identities: they suggest that one's identity depends on the interactions one has with individuals and institutions. I suggest that by centering cooperation, these games destabilize myths of independence and autonomy that surround the lone hero of hyper-individualism and thereby challenge assumptions about the kinds of heroism videogames can portray.