Monstrosity in Games and Play

Dr. Sarah Stang is an Assistant Professor of Game Studies in Brock University’s Department of Digital Humanities where she teaches courses in the Interactive Arts and Sciences, GAME, and Game Studies MA programs. Her research primarily focuses on gender representation in both digital and analogue games. Mikko Meriläinen is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies at the Tampere University Game Research Lab. His research focus in on the intersections of gaming cultures and different areas of everyday life. Further information can be found at mikkomerilainen.com. Joleen Blom is a university lecturer at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies at the Tampere University Game Research Lab. She is the author of Video Game Characters and Transmedia Storytelling published at the Amsterdam University Press. For more, see joleenblom.com Lobna Hassan is Associate Professor (tenure-track) of sociotechnical transitions in services, at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Finland. Dr. Hassan’s interests include game accessibility, gamification, and inclusion of people with disabilities. Her work and publications can be found at http://lobnahassan.com

• Introduction by Sarah Stang, Mikko Merilainen, Joleen Blom, and Lobna Hassan, Part I: Monstrous Representations, 1. Honor Died on the Beach: Constructing Japaneseness Through Monstrosity in Ghost of Tsushima by Dom Ford and Joleen Blom, 2. For the Love of Monsters: Yokai and Colonialism in Japanese Games by Rachael Hutchinson, 3. Translating Horrific History: Philippine Mythological and Folk Creatures, the Trauma of Colonial History, and the Limits of Nationalism in the Design and Narrative of Nightfall: Escape by Christoffer Mitch C. Cerda, 4. Monster-Order Brides: Framing the Bride of Frankenstein Trope in The Wanderer, Fable II, and Dragon Age II by Caighlan Smith, 5. Beyond Women Monsters and Psychoanalytic Terrors: The Monstrous-Feminine and Horror Cinematic Tropes in The Evil Within 2 by Nazely Hartoonian, 6. The Monstrosity of Stigma: Mental Health Representation in Video Games by Kelli Dunlap and Rachel Kowert, 7. Monstrosity as Neurodiversity and The Procedural Rhetoric of Psychosis in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (2017) by Lisanne Meinen, Part II: Monstrous Interpretations, 8. Hidden Monsters: Conspiracy Aesthetics in Video Games by Lars de Wildt, 9. Performing Monstrosity in Twitch Chat by Rachel Linn, 10. Games of Personal Horror: Shadow Work and Role-playing Experiences by Sarah Lynne Bowman, 11. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Virtual Murder: Commodified Monstrosity in Diablo III by J. Tuomas Harviainen, Johanna Granvik, and Henry Korkeila, 12. Monstrous Academics by Diane Carr, Shakuntala Banaji, and Hakan Ergül, Complete References, Index