Playful Undead and Video Games - Critical Analyses of Zombies and Gameplay

List of contents

Introduction: Zombies zombies everywhere, what is one to think?
Stephen Webley

1. Zombies, again? A qualitative analysis of the zombie antagonist’s appeal in game design
   Matthew Barr


2. Resurrecting "Obsolete" Video Game Techniques from Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil
   Matt Barton


3. The Undead Past in the Present – Historical Anxiety and the Nazi Zombie
   Adam Chapman


4. The Zombification of Skyrim
   Penny de Byl


5. Fantasies of Full Employment: Zombies, Video Games, and Violent Labor
   Michael Epp


6. Resident Evil and Infectious Fear
   Christina Fawcett and Alan McGreevy


7. Zombie video games, Eros, and Thanatos: Expressing and exploring the life and death drives through video gameplay
   Vanessa Haddad


8. Through the Eyes of the Other: The Relationship between Man and Monster in Siren: Blood Curse
   Madelon Hoedt


9. Dead Rising and the Gameworld Zombie
   Kristine Jørgensen


10. Proliferation, Blockages, and Paths of Escape in Resident Evil and Call of Duty
Brandon Kempner


11. Zombies, Play, and Uncertainty in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
    Mitchell Lilly


12. "A Jill Sandwich" – Gender Representation in Zombie Videogames
    Esther Maccalum-Stewart


13. It’s Never About Zombies – Post-apocalyptic World-building, Interactive Storytelling, and The Walking Dead
    Ksenia Olkusz, Sven Dwulecki and Krzysztof M. Maj


14. The Pace and Range of Video Game Zombies
    Bernard Perron


15. Zombies Ate Democracy: The myth of a systemic political failure in video games
    Eugen Pfister


16. Queering the Zombie
    Tanja Sihvonen


17. The Law of the Playful [Un]Dead: The Influences of Intellectual Property
    Timothy A. Wiseman


18. "The Romeroesque" – Playing with Ethics & Ideology in Zombie Games, from Indie to Mainstream and Around Again
    Stephen Webley

Index

About the author

Stephen Webley is Director of The Military and Civil Simulation Technology Research & Enterprise Institute at Staffordshire University, UK
Peter Zackariasson is Associate Professor in the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Summary

This book explores the central role of the zombie in contemporary popular culture as they appear in video games. Moving beyond traditional explanations of their enduring appeal, the book provides a multidisciplinary and comprehensive look at this cultural phenomenon.

Product details

• Authors: Stephen J. (Staffordshire University Webley, Stephen J. Zackariasson Webley
• Assisted by: Stephen J. Webley (Editor), Stephen J. (Staffordshire University Webley (Editor), Peter Zackariasson (Editor), Peter (University of Gothenburg Zackariasson (Editor)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.08.2019
• EAN: 9781138895461
• ISBN: 978-1-138-89546-1
• No. of pages: 276
• Series: Routledge Advances in Game Studies
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Media science; Media Studies, Popular Culture, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, GAMES & ACTIVITIES / Video & Mobile