Autoethnographies analyse personal, situated, embodied experiences to contribute to cultural knowledges. Autoethnographic close readings facilitate text-centric analysis, without minimizing the player's role as a creative collaborator.
-Unpicking and unpacking
-Mindful meta-interpretation (play is already an interpretive act)
-Power, values, omissions, aberrations (what assumptions are made?) What is presented as normal/unmarked?)
Game examples:
This game was really moving and I enjoyed watching Emma play it. I really like the art style and the lack of text used, yet there was still a clear story told using animations and illustrations. It was also structured very well as we were following Florence through her life in different segments.
https://annapurnainteractive.com/games/florence
This game has a quick 10 second timer and you have to read and decide an option to take before it runs out. I found it quite stressful and I couldn’t even read some of the text because I didn’t have enough time. I’ve never played a game like this before but I do think it is really impactful because of the topic and pressure correlation.
Queers in Love at the End of the World
The only mechanics of this game were the move keys (up, down, left, right). The idea is that the further you travel, the older you get, until you eventually die. It is a really straightforward game but I think the pixel style that gradually blurs as time goes on, as well as the option to meet a girl character on your way who also passes, makes it really emotional.
This game was really fun but got a lot trickier as you progressed levels. The main goal is to move hands away from touching your avatar’s hair. They gradually appear more quickly and sporadically so it is harder to manage. Additionally, spam tapping the screen will not let you move on as you need to successfully complete a bar. I like how the message of respecting others space is translated in this game.
I felt really sad when I first started playing this game. It’s extremely simple - you play as a square and there are other squares surrounding you, but the close you get to them, they flee. It’s impossible to ever reach another square. Personally, after realising this, I just kept going in a straight line, until I reached the end where the screen faded black. However, I saw that others would keep trying to reach the squares even after a while of playing and seeing that they avoid you.