The PlayStation Dreamworld

Posted on 22 September 2017 by Alfie Bown

From mobile phones to consoles, tablets and PCs, we are now a generation of gamers The PlayStation Dreamworld is to borrow a phrase from Slavoj Zizek the pervert s guide to videogames It argues that we can only understand the world of videogames via Lacanian dream analysis It also argues that the Left needs to work inside this dreamspace a powerful arena for constructing our desires or else the dreamworld will fall entirely into the hands of dominant and reactionary forces While cyberspace is increasingly dominated by corporate organization, gaming, at its most subversive, can nevertheless produce radical forms of enjoyment which threaten the capitalist norms that are created and endlessly repeated in our daily relationships with mobile phones, videogames, computers and other forms of technological entertainment Far from being a book solely for dedicated gamers, this book dissects the structure of our relationships to all technological entertainment at a time when entertainment has become ubiquitous We can no longer escape our fantasies but rather live inside their digital reality. Best Read The PlayStation Dreamworld [ by ] Alfie Bown [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr Having enjoyed and gleaned much from Alfie Bown s Enjoying It Candy Crush and Capitalism , I was intrigued to dive right into this, his take on Slavoj i ek s Playstation Dreamworld Although heavy on academic language, there is much to admire about this study The fundamental principle analysed here is that like television advertisements, video games influence players whether they are aware of it or not Through the lens of psychoanalysis, Bown explores the ways in which video games can be pe Having enjoyed and gleaned much from Alfie Bown s Enjoying It Candy Crush and Capitalism , I was intrigued to dive right into this, his take on Slavoj i ek s Playstation Dreamworld Although heavy on academic language, there is much to admire about this study The fundamental principle analysed here is that like television advertisements, video games influence players whether they are aware of it or not Through the lens of psychoanalysis, Bown explores the ways in which video games can be perceived and internalised by our subconscious and the implic...In his last book The Playstation Dreamworld Polity, 2017 Alfie Bown is not exclusively addressing video game players, whether full time or simply occasional players, but everyone He understands that video games can be the perfect tool to comprehend the digital media scenario in which we live So, in the same way, that American cinema from the 40 s, 50 s and 60 s, left a footprint in several generations lives regardless of whether one watched the movies or not, influencing their clothes, hair In his last book The Playstation Dreamworld Polity, 2017 Alfie Bown is not exclusively addressing video game players, whether full time or simply occasional players, but everyone He understands that video games can be the perfect tool to comprehend the digital media scenario in which we live So, in the same way, that American cinema from the 40 s, 50 s and 60 s, left a footprint in several generations lives regardless of whether one watched the movies or not, influencing their clothes, haircuts, the music that they listened to, and the way they walked or smoked, Bown s idea is that video games might be doing the same with this generation, regardless of whether we play video games or not The digital revolution has arrived and forme...This is an extremely short book, with a mere 133 pages of content conveyed through large text surrounded by Antarctic sized margins It s a bit of an esoteric read, and I wouldn t recommend it unless the idea of applying critical theory to gaming culture really floats your boat You re also better off having read or, at least, read about the following authors works, all of which are mentioned at least once Donna Harraway Steven Shaviro Deleuze and Guattari Debord Lacan Freud Franco Bera This is an extremely short book, with a mere 133 pages of content conveyed through large text surrounded by Antarctic sized margins It s a bit of an esoteric read, and I wouldn t recommend it unless the idea of applying critical theory to gaming culture really floats your boat You re also better off having read or, at least, read about the following authors works, all of which are mentioned at least once Donna Harraway Steven Shaviro Deleuze and Guattari Debord Lacan Freud Franco Berardi Mark Fisher Ian Bogost Slavoj i ek and Walter Be...After Enjoying It Candy Crush and Capitalism , Alfie Bown continues to investigate the effects of technology and gaming on our subjectivities through the lens of psychoanalysis I think psychoanalysis at least in its most contemporary form whose biggest influence is Zizek alongside lesser known names to the general public is most intelligible and useful when it helps us to dissect the swift changes in our societies Bown uses the relatively small volume of the book effectively in delivering After Enjoying It Candy Crush and Capitalism , Alfie Bown continues to investigate the effects of technology and gaming on our subjectivities through the lens of psychoanalysis I think psychoanalysis at least in its most contemporary form whose biggest influence is Zizek alongside lesser known names to the general public is most intelligible and useful when it helps us to dissect the swift changes in our societies Bown uses the relatively small volume of the book effectively in delivering his points again and I don t think name dropping is an issue for this particular book author does not expect you to have an extensive knowledge of critical theory or...A bit of a specialist, focussed read, building on the idea that we are a generation of gamers and it accordingly looks at our relationship to this and technological entertainment at large.This is not a book for the casual reader, despite it being written in a fairly casual and accessible style, as it conveys a lot of often complicated or nuanced messages that demand interpretation Analysing matters such as capitalism, dream analysis, society and gaming, it can draw you in and even if you don t A bit of a specialist, focussed read, building on the idea that we are a generation of gamers and it accordingly looks at our relationship to this and technological entertainment at large.This is not a book for the casual reader, despite it being written in a fairly casual and accessible style, as it conveys a lot of often complicated or nuanced messages that demand interpretation Analysing matters such as capitalism, dream analysis, society and gaming, it can draw you in and even if you don t necessarily understand or agree with all the findings it still is an interesting read Is our video gaming and other techno entertainment being commodified for the benefit of narrow external interests Is there scope for the left to reshape their politics and serve the domination of a hegemonic capitalist consensus Can we understand our society through the prism presented by video gaming The ...This is a book with a lot of promise that falls short of reasoned, logical arguments Alfie Bown utilizes a very readable style and hits on some wonderful, thought provoking ideas but then goes off with qualitative assumptions that fail to demonstrate any proper reason or understanding of the subject or logic of his field Admittedly I haven t read his previous book, so if this is intended to be a compendium of sorts to that, I may be missing some of that reasoning but I remain skeptical given h This is a book with a lot of promise that falls short of reasoned, logical arguments Alfie Bown utilizes a very readable style and hits on some wonderful, thought provoking ideas but then goes off with qualitative assumptions that fail to demonstrate any proper reason or understanding of the subject or logic of his field Admittedly I haven t read his previous book, so if this is intended to be a compendium of sorts to that, I may be missing some of that reasoning but I remain skeptical given how gross...An interesting account of the dreamlike experience of video games and related technologies The author attempts to make the point that in a society where tech and entertainment are inseparable, we need a tool set that enables an understanding of the politics of desire, pleasure and enjoyment you can see the Lacanian emphasis that Brown places in there Whether or not we do need psychoanalysis to do this is not something I m 100% convinced about but Brown s book is definitely interesting and no An interesting account of the dreamlike experience of video games and related technologies The author attempts to make the point that in a society where tech and entertainment are inseparable, we need a tool set that enables an understanding of the politics of desire, pleasure and enjoyment you can see the Lacanian emphasis that Brown places in there Whether or not we do need psychoanalysis to do this...Alfie Bown is an Assistant Professor of Literature at HSMC Hong Kong and in this very academic book that s heavy on psychoanalytical theory, he argues that computer games can only be fully understood through psychoanalysis, that subversion needs to operate within this dream world or els...A pretty ideating approach to taking about videogames and philosophy infinitely better than philosophy and x He relies heavily on psychoanalysis, especially Lacan, to make good arguments which work and make sense However, it does feel rather brief and not fully fleshed out He does not t...actualizing psychoanalysis for 21 Pokemon Go century, a much needed critical examination of games as ideologies and how that relates to their underlying priciples of desire construction Concise and well written.I only understood half of it, being inexperienced in psychoanalysis, but what I did understand I liked.

22 September 2017

Alfie Bown