The Ambiguity of Casual Game Parodies
Keywords:
video game, genre, parody, casual game, casual gamer, FarmVille, incremental game, idle game, clicker game, women playerAbstract
This article analyzes three casual game parodies (Cow Clicker, A.V.G.M. and Progress War) which mock the simplistic challenges and the behavioural reward system of casual games like FarmVille. In light of theories on parody, their visual elements, gameplay, and paratexts are analyzed to evaluate their critical potential. The comments posted by their players on forums and blogs, for their part, show that many of them do not detect the irony of these parodies or do not identify their target. In the discussion section, Bogost’s theory on the efficiency of procedural rhetoric is therefore nuanced with the idea that it should be complemented by an appropriate visual and textual rhetoric for it to work properly. The article also questions the subversive potential of the studied parodies by highlighting the fact that they do not only denigrate the simplistic and manipulative mechanics of casual games, but also the women players to whom these games are primarily addressed and who are still, to this day, marginalized in the gaming culture. The article finally develops the idea that casual game parodies lost their subversive appeal since they multiplied and evolved into a video game genre devoid of critical intent called “clicker games”, “idle games” or “incremental games”.
Author Biography
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Gabrielle Trépanier-Jobin, Université du Québec à Montréal
Gabrielle Trépannier-Jobin is a Professor in game studies at the School of Media of Université du Québec à Montréal and the co-director of Homo Ludens research group. Her main areas of expertise include game studies, gender studies and media sociology. She holds a joint PhD in Communication from UQAM/UdeM/Concordia (Montreal, Canada). Her PhD thesis explores the possibility of using parodies as playful means to denaturalize gender stereotypes, raise consciousness and empower people. During her postdoctoral fellowship at MIT Comparative Media Studies | Writing, she pursued her work on gender parody in the field of game studies. She is currently conducting research on the immersion of the player, on the place of women in the gaming industry, as well as on gender representations and ideologies in the gaming culture.
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