ScapingtheBorder.pdf (560.05 kB)
Scaping the border: on black migrant geographic agency in gamescapes
Biometric technologies deployed at the border virtualize this space in such a manner that frontiers and their lines of demarcation are inscribed onto bodies of migrants. This disappearance of the border as a geographic zone, as addressed in critical border studies, has incited multiple theories. Among these is the theory of borderscapes in which, the suffix ‘-scape’, meaning ‘to shape’, accounts for the hegemonic and counter-hegemonic processes of building national frontiers. This article addresses gamescapes - the designed virtual environment of video games - as a zone in which migrants can perform artistic interventions and enact their mobility within borders. The author positions her walking simulator game Dreams of Disguise: Errantry (2018) as one of such gamescapes. Through the analysis of the game, this article addresses the implications of purposeful movement through the virtual border for black migrants.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Journal of Gaming & Virtual WorldsISSN
1757-191XPublisher
IntellectExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
12Page range
69-90Department affiliated with
- Media and Film Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-08-27First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-03-02First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-08-26Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC