Books by Daniel Golding
University of Minnesota Press, 2019
Focusing on The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One (2016), The Last Jedi (2017), and the television... more Focusing on The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One (2016), The Last Jedi (2017), and the television series Rebels (2014–18), Dan Golding explores the significance of pop culture nostalgia in overcoming the skepticism, if not downright hostility, that greeted the Star Wars relaunch. In its granular textual readings, broad cultural scope, and insights into the complexities of the multimedia galaxy, this book is as entertaining as it is enlightening.
The videogame scene has evolved from the hobby of boys in bedrooms to a popular pastime for anyon... more The videogame scene has evolved from the hobby of boys in bedrooms to a popular pastime for anyone with a smartphone. Many of the old guard resent this mainstreaming of games culture — and they’ve been anything but welcoming. These trolls have created a climate of fear by abusing and harassing women, minorities and anyone who has dared to speak out against misogyny and other problems in the boys’ club industry.
Game Changers puts these conflicts under the microscope, in Australia and overseas. The book features exclusive interviews with many key figures working to make the videogame world a safe space, including Anita Sarkeesian and Zoë Quinn, two of the women at the centre of the Gamergate abuse. In 2015, they were asked by the United Nations to lead a panel discussion on the ‘rising tide of online violence against women and girls’. Authors Dan Golding and Leena van Deventer use their extensive experience in the videogame industry, both as players and professionals, to examine how games culture is growing, diversifying and changing for the better.
Papers by Daniel Golding
TEXT: JOURNAL OF WRITING AND WRITING COURSES, 2018
Despite decades of research in game studies and its adjacent fields, other forms of creative and ... more Despite decades of research in game studies and its adjacent fields, other forms of creative and critical writing have arguably had the broadest impact on discourse surrounding the medium. This uneasily defined and liminal space of popular (and populist) critical work exists between those who make videogames and those who research and teach them, and often crosses between the multiple different spheres as a more accessible form of critical reflection with a lower barrier of entry. This area includes writing about videogames in diverse contexts and practices including journalism, criticism, books, YouTube videos, blog posts, and social media. This journal article will chart and engage with this diffuse range of non-scholarly writing and its impact. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of popular writing about videogames in the context of journalism (for newspapers, broadcasters, and magazines), books (such as This Gaming Life by Jim Rossignol, Extra Lives by Tom Bissel, and Death by Video Game by Simon Parkin), and the way that bloggers and non-scholarly writers have influenced the discourse surrounding writing for videogames.
Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 2017
The contemporary popularity of virtual reality devices such as the Oculus Rift has links not just... more The contemporary popularity of virtual reality devices such as the Oculus Rift has links not just with earlier eras of virtual reality technology, but with recurrent discourse surrounding the moving image and spectatorship. The articulation of the Oculus Rift in public through YouTube 'reaction' videos and media moments such as the Oculus Rift Time magazine cover of 2015 links contemporary virtual reality to early cinema discourses of credulous spectatorship, strenuous specta-torship and the cinema of attractions. Through these comparisons, this article argues that the 'image' of contemporary virtual reality technology is not that of a simulated exotic paradise enabled by the apparatus, but the apparatus itself, the body of its user and that body's gender.
This article examines the critical response to Damien Chazelle’s 'La La Land' (2016).
This article provides a comprehensive, worldwide overview of the major video games that have addr... more This article provides a comprehensive, worldwide overview of the major video games that have addressed the phenomenon of migration, and the political, social and cultural issues that migration raises. We develop the concept of ‘transcultural understanding’ to explore how such migration-related video games can structure the development of players’ understanding of, and capacity to respond to, the contexts of cultural diversity. Our deeper, comparative analysis of three migration-related video games—Escape from Woomera (EFW Team, 2003), Papers, Please (Lukas Pope, 2013) and Everyday Racism (All Together Now, 2014)—enables us to evaluate the contextual knowledge required and the issues raised for each migration-related video game to achieve its goals. This article advances the research areas of ‘media, migration and global communication’ and ‘games studies’, and offers insights for scholars, educators and game developers who are interested in addressing the internationally significant issue of migration through their professional work.
Proceedings of Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death 2013
This article analyses the discourse surrounding the classification and regulation of videogames i... more This article analyses the discourse surrounding the classification and regulation of videogames in Australia, with particular focus on the exclusion, and subsequent introduction of an R18+ rating over the twenty-year period between 1993-2013. This article argues that this period was characterised by a remarkable entropy and stasis within classification discourse, and that the introduction of the R18+ rating was eventually achieved by pro-R18+ advocates reaffirming the perceived validity and power of the core discourse. Thus, the history of videogame classification in Australia—with or without an R18+ rating—is the history of protection of children from inappropriate content, and mistrust of an interactive media form; these arguments underpin both the exclusion of an R18+ in the early 1990s and the inclusion of an R18+ in 2012. Finally, though a close analytical exploration of the history of videogame classification in Australia, this article argues that public discourse on classification has been subject to cynical media manipulation from almost all parties involved, which has resulted in a discursive entropy that has been largely disconnected with any understanding of how videogame culture and play is enacted in an everyday sense.
Though theorists have long regarded spatiality as an essential facet of the vide-ogame, the figur... more Though theorists have long regarded spatiality as an essential facet of the vide-ogame, the figure of the player has been largely absent from this research. In the language of Michel de Certeau, videogame space is theorized as ‘from above’, and outside of the direct experience of the player. Therefore, this article seeks to re-place the figure of the player as central within a theoretical schema of videogame space, and gesture towards the study of videogame space ‘from below’. Through the theo-retical framework provided by de Certeau, we can understand the player in space as more prone to error, appropriation and unintended movements through videogame diegeses. The player is comparable to de Certeau’s city walker, and theory which instead finds itself at the perspective of the bureaucrat, looking down on the videog-ame ‘from above’, can never fully account for the player. This article will examine the possibilities of spatial analysis ‘from below’.
Book Chapters by Daniel Golding
Videogames around the world , 2015
Full citation: Apperley, T. & Golding, D. Australia. In M. J. P. Wolf (ed.). Videogames around th... more Full citation: Apperley, T. & Golding, D. Australia. In M. J. P. Wolf (ed.). Videogames around the world (pp. 57-70). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Contact me if you would like a full copy of the paper.
The chapter examines the history of the digital games industry in Australia focusing on how government policy has shaped the development of the sector. The key areas of policy for the digital games industry of Australia at the state and federal level are in the area of encouraging innovative industries—primarily for export—and the regulation of digital game content that is distributed in Australia.
At the state level, governments—particularly in Victoria and Queensland—have developed policies that aim to support the growth and development of the digital games industry. However, the impetus for this encouragement has recently intensified in the wake of the Federal government’s Digital Economy policy that advocates widespread investment in the digital sector. This policy is part of a consolidation of Australia’s digital industries that includes a 40 billion-dollar National Broadband Network and widespread reform of media regulation.
Also under consideration by the Federal government as a part of the process of reform are Australia’s current rules for the rating of media content. The ratings system for digital games in Australia lacks the adult (R18+) rating found in many other jurisdictions. In the past this has caused the prohibition of otherwise globally distributed digital games from being distributed nationally—for example: Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (The Collective, 2006) and Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm Studios, 2011). While the current review provides the opportunity for this prohibitive regulatory framework to be reformed, there is also concern that it may be expanded to cover smartphone gaming apps as well as digital games that are published in the traditional manner.
This highlights a key problem faced by the digital games industry created by Australia’s regulatory framework, that mechanisms for controlling distribution of games are adversely impacting an otherwise supported industry. In the area of smartphone gaming apps Australia has recently been considerably successful globally, with companies like Melbourne-based Firemint and Brisbane-based Halfbrick garnering considerable critical acclaim and commercial success with products like Flight Control (Firemint, 2010) and Fruit Ninjas (Halfbrick, 2010). Entry into this market by other Small to Medium Enterprises faces a considerable challenge if the regulation of gaming is extended to include apps.
This chapter negotiates the contradictory landscape of the Australian digital games industry with a particular concern for examining how local innovation in the digital gaming sector is shaped—and potentially constrained—by concerns stemming from the local impact of the global distribution of digital games.
Terms of Play: Essays on Words that Matter in Videogame Theory, 2013
Theses by Daniel Golding
The perception of videogame space is structured through mediated movement. This thesis is an exam... more The perception of videogame space is structured through mediated movement. This thesis is an examination of perception and movement in videogame space, as framed through a genealogy of media. The videogame is an object that is framed by, and constituted through history, and understanding videogame space as perceived by mediated movement requires an engagement with the history of the perception of mediated space more broadly. Therefore, I argue that the videogame’s mediation of movement in space represents a mode of perception within the history of the mediated representation of space. In theorising the videogame’s mediated movement, I use a genealogical approach in order to identify and trace a number of topoi through art history, cinema, and architecture towards the videogame. The genealogy explored in this dissertation is divided across four key topoi of videogame space: the railway, the script, the city, and the wilderness. Together, these four topoi chart a genealogy of the mediated perception of videogame space, and help in me in isolating the videogame as a particular mode of the perception of space across media history. In exploring the relevance of these topoi to the videogame, I perform close analysis on five videogames in this thesis: Half-Life (Valve Corporation, 1998), BioShock Infinite (Irrational, 2013), Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal, 2009), Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal, 2012), and Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar 2010). On the basis of my analysis of the four topoi and their instantiation within the videogames examined, I conclude that for the videogame, perception is made possible by mediated movement in space; that videogame space is structured by player action; that videogame space provides an impossible movement that aims to outdo reality by providing a level of access and action not found in physical space; and finally, that movement in videogame space, and therefore its perception, is also shaped by cultural narratives. Moreover, I conclude that while within the history of mediated representation of space there are numerous modes of perception that have influenced the videogame, the videogame itself forms a distinct mode of perceiving mediated space. Ultimately, I hope for this dissertation to contribute to knowledge both of the videogame and its relationship to, and dialogue with media history. Thus, for this thesis, movement in the videogame is never just movement within a single videogame. It is movement located within time and space, and within various topoi traceable over many media and many centuries.
Journalism and Criticism by Daniel Golding
Sitting through his first Ring Cycle opera, Daniel Golding discovers that while Gotterdammerung's... more Sitting through his first Ring Cycle opera, Daniel Golding discovers that while Gotterdammerung's plot may be farcical, Wagner’s music remains awesome in every sense of the word.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
It was one hundred years ago today that there was a riot at The Rite of Spring premiere.
An arch... more It was one hundred years ago today that there was a riot at The Rite of Spring premiere.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
At the Perth Writers Festival, Thomas Keneally, Martin Amis, Richard Flanagan and Lionel Shriver ... more At the Perth Writers Festival, Thomas Keneally, Martin Amis, Richard Flanagan and Lionel Shriver shared the playbill with some of the world’s leading videogame writers and designers. Do videogame writers have a place alongside Booker Prize winners?
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
Under the National Cultural Policy, Australia’s videogame makers can make a rich contribution to ... more Under the National Cultural Policy, Australia’s videogame makers can make a rich contribution to the nation’s cultural life as artists, not just as money makers in a creative industry, writes Daniel Golding.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
A new Australian game pits bears against the ‘snooty’ art world but the only true winner in this ... more A new Australian game pits bears against the ‘snooty’ art world but the only true winner in this fight is the game developers’ bank balance, writes Daniel Golding.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
Can mainstream videogame makers present an artful, intelligent thematic exploration about real wo... more Can mainstream videogame makers present an artful, intelligent thematic exploration about real world history within a game dominated by scenes of unrestrained violence, asks Daniel Golding.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
Can politically-focused videogames change public sentiment? Ten years after the game Escape From ... more Can politically-focused videogames change public sentiment? Ten years after the game Escape From Woomera upset people from both sides of the refugee detention issue, Dan Golding takes a look at what made the game so controversial.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
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Books by Daniel Golding
Game Changers puts these conflicts under the microscope, in Australia and overseas. The book features exclusive interviews with many key figures working to make the videogame world a safe space, including Anita Sarkeesian and Zoë Quinn, two of the women at the centre of the Gamergate abuse. In 2015, they were asked by the United Nations to lead a panel discussion on the ‘rising tide of online violence against women and girls’. Authors Dan Golding and Leena van Deventer use their extensive experience in the videogame industry, both as players and professionals, to examine how games culture is growing, diversifying and changing for the better.
Papers by Daniel Golding
Book Chapters by Daniel Golding
Contact me if you would like a full copy of the paper.
The chapter examines the history of the digital games industry in Australia focusing on how government policy has shaped the development of the sector. The key areas of policy for the digital games industry of Australia at the state and federal level are in the area of encouraging innovative industries—primarily for export—and the regulation of digital game content that is distributed in Australia.
At the state level, governments—particularly in Victoria and Queensland—have developed policies that aim to support the growth and development of the digital games industry. However, the impetus for this encouragement has recently intensified in the wake of the Federal government’s Digital Economy policy that advocates widespread investment in the digital sector. This policy is part of a consolidation of Australia’s digital industries that includes a 40 billion-dollar National Broadband Network and widespread reform of media regulation.
Also under consideration by the Federal government as a part of the process of reform are Australia’s current rules for the rating of media content. The ratings system for digital games in Australia lacks the adult (R18+) rating found in many other jurisdictions. In the past this has caused the prohibition of otherwise globally distributed digital games from being distributed nationally—for example: Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (The Collective, 2006) and Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm Studios, 2011). While the current review provides the opportunity for this prohibitive regulatory framework to be reformed, there is also concern that it may be expanded to cover smartphone gaming apps as well as digital games that are published in the traditional manner.
This highlights a key problem faced by the digital games industry created by Australia’s regulatory framework, that mechanisms for controlling distribution of games are adversely impacting an otherwise supported industry. In the area of smartphone gaming apps Australia has recently been considerably successful globally, with companies like Melbourne-based Firemint and Brisbane-based Halfbrick garnering considerable critical acclaim and commercial success with products like Flight Control (Firemint, 2010) and Fruit Ninjas (Halfbrick, 2010). Entry into this market by other Small to Medium Enterprises faces a considerable challenge if the regulation of gaming is extended to include apps.
This chapter negotiates the contradictory landscape of the Australian digital games industry with a particular concern for examining how local innovation in the digital gaming sector is shaped—and potentially constrained—by concerns stemming from the local impact of the global distribution of digital games.
Theses by Daniel Golding
Journalism and Criticism by Daniel Golding
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
Game Changers puts these conflicts under the microscope, in Australia and overseas. The book features exclusive interviews with many key figures working to make the videogame world a safe space, including Anita Sarkeesian and Zoë Quinn, two of the women at the centre of the Gamergate abuse. In 2015, they were asked by the United Nations to lead a panel discussion on the ‘rising tide of online violence against women and girls’. Authors Dan Golding and Leena van Deventer use their extensive experience in the videogame industry, both as players and professionals, to examine how games culture is growing, diversifying and changing for the better.
Contact me if you would like a full copy of the paper.
The chapter examines the history of the digital games industry in Australia focusing on how government policy has shaped the development of the sector. The key areas of policy for the digital games industry of Australia at the state and federal level are in the area of encouraging innovative industries—primarily for export—and the regulation of digital game content that is distributed in Australia.
At the state level, governments—particularly in Victoria and Queensland—have developed policies that aim to support the growth and development of the digital games industry. However, the impetus for this encouragement has recently intensified in the wake of the Federal government’s Digital Economy policy that advocates widespread investment in the digital sector. This policy is part of a consolidation of Australia’s digital industries that includes a 40 billion-dollar National Broadband Network and widespread reform of media regulation.
Also under consideration by the Federal government as a part of the process of reform are Australia’s current rules for the rating of media content. The ratings system for digital games in Australia lacks the adult (R18+) rating found in many other jurisdictions. In the past this has caused the prohibition of otherwise globally distributed digital games from being distributed nationally—for example: Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (The Collective, 2006) and Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm Studios, 2011). While the current review provides the opportunity for this prohibitive regulatory framework to be reformed, there is also concern that it may be expanded to cover smartphone gaming apps as well as digital games that are published in the traditional manner.
This highlights a key problem faced by the digital games industry created by Australia’s regulatory framework, that mechanisms for controlling distribution of games are adversely impacting an otherwise supported industry. In the area of smartphone gaming apps Australia has recently been considerably successful globally, with companies like Melbourne-based Firemint and Brisbane-based Halfbrick garnering considerable critical acclaim and commercial success with products like Flight Control (Firemint, 2010) and Fruit Ninjas (Halfbrick, 2010). Entry into this market by other Small to Medium Enterprises faces a considerable challenge if the regulation of gaming is extended to include apps.
This chapter negotiates the contradictory landscape of the Australian digital games industry with a particular concern for examining how local innovation in the digital gaming sector is shaped—and potentially constrained—by concerns stemming from the local impact of the global distribution of digital games.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
An archive of a no-longer-available work from ABC Arts.
narrative conventions. Yet while these taxonomies have remained relatively static in
industrial and academic discourse over the past two decades, the digital age has given rise
to new modes of film distribution and consumption. This article presents preliminary
findings from an audience research project carried out in collaboration with Australian
media company Village Roadshow investigating genre and spectatorship. The findings
suggest that in an era characterised by video-on-demand, screen convergence, and
personalised recommendation systems, the existing categorisation strategies favored by the
film industry and screen studies scholars may no longer align with the practices and
priorities of contemporary audiences.
The article presents findings from a pilot study that examined the discursive
processes that constitute genre as a cultural practice in the digital age through identifying
how respondents classified and described certain films. The research also sought to explore
the extent to which these classification practices aligned with or diverged from existing
genre paradigms. The findings provide an audience-centered understanding of the shifting
landscape of film distribution and consumption, as streaming services such as Netflix
motivate significant transformations in the way films are accessed, understood, and
consumed. Considering the influence of both traditional genre categories and new forms of
categorisation and consumption driven by streaming services, the article demonstrates how
contemporary audiences link films as diverse as Moonlight (Jenkins 2016), Deadpool (Miller
2016), and Psycho (Hitchcock 1960) based on style, narrative structure, and affective
experience, thereby illuminating how audiences conceive of and relate to genre in this
period of industrial flux. This research offers analytical strategies grounded in audience
research aimed at re-evaluating genre in an era of personalised content curation, niche
content categorisation, and on-demand access to films.