Video Games and Politics: An exploratory analysis of how narrative frames in video games can influence political perception

Abstract

The telling of stories is an ever-evolving method of communication which can convey messages of morality, ethics, and politics. The development of video games has created a new method of communication which is both active and entertaining. This study will argue the validity of the medium of video games for understanding how they may affect one’s political perceptions. This is an exploratory study to guide future research on the medium of video games. The scholarship on communications and the effects it can have on political opinions is lacking, with no study having considered video games in this way. However, the use of key literature has been utilised to inform the hypotheses which drive this research. To develop and progress existing theories within current literature, this research will be a qualitative analysis of six video games and the frames which exist in the narrative. The qualitative analysis is conducted in three steps, the first being the gathering of data and the subsequent analysis thereafter. The analysis of the themes present has been conducted both within each video game and then comparatively to distinguish the nuance of gameplay, narrative differences, and the type of framing employed. The last step of analysis is to infer how the video games can impact the opinion of the researcher through use of the hypotheses. The key findings of this study have inferred that video games have the capacity to influence the political perceptions of its audience. This methodical and in-depth analysis of themes from the six video games provides a group of ideas to assist in the advancement of existing theories when tested on a wider magnitude.