Once It’s Framed, Straight to the Pool Room

Cover image created by Midjourney using prompt: man staring at a piece of framed artwork in a pool table room, point of view from behind.

Rounding out my blog posts today, I am going to run you through my analytical frameworks I have been using as part of my digital artefact this semester; nostalgia, persona and media archaeology, and how they all coincide. 

Nostalgia

Nostalgia refers to positive reminiscences/memory of a past time, with the self mostly being the protagonist. Scott Alexander Howards article fittingly named ‘Nostalgia’ (2012) argues there are 2 dominant forms of nostalgia; the poverty of the present requirement (conscious) and Proustian nostalgia (unconscious). For example, following isolation drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic, active escape from present times has been a common trope of nostalgic indulgence. This is again exemplified with research indicating nostalgia acts as an important means of social connection. Nostalgia has been used to analyse game media previously however not in the context of rhythm-based games.

Persona

In order to gain a sense of common characteristics of those participating in my game media text and the relationship between hardcore music and video games fans, persona was my next choice of framework for this endeavour. Described by Marshall & Barbour (2015), persona is “a negotiation of the relationship between the individual and the social in order to construct a projection of a self.”. In game media studies, persona has been a major looking point only in recent years, which leaves space for multiple interpretations across the discipline. Where value is seen in the context of game media, games supply self-expression practice giving participants opportunity to renegotiate their public personas (Comerford 2020).

Media Archaeology

Media archaeology refers to the re-examination of obsolete forms of media, and their dominant narratives (Moore 2020). It is through this lens we can observe demands that participants maintain throughout their gaming experiences, what themes are and aren’t carried through years of development. Although focus is geared towards digital media, as mentioned by Reinhard (2018) “virtual interaction with a game is only possible through an object”. This raises the question of how motivations uphold the value of software and hardware outside of capitalistic gains. 

All Together Now!

How these frameworks inform each other in the context of my game texts include:

• Nostalgia can be a major motivator for the expression of persona, and can influence the value of Guitar Hero peripherals.
• Persona allows for negotiation with the contextual environment, of which nostalgia is a heavy theme, needing to conform. Persona can also affect the degree of preservation donned upon media artefacts.
• Media archaeology can foster nostalgia and highlight commonalities between individuals’ personas in the preservation of artefacts.

References:

Comerford, C 2021, ‘Coconuts, Custom-Play & COVID-19: Social Isolation, Serious Leisure and Personas in Animal Crossing: New Horizons’, Persona Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 101–117.

Howard, SA 2012, ‘Nostalgia’, Analysis (Oxford), vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 641–650.

Marshall, P. D & Barbour K 2015, ‘Making Intellectual Room for Persona Studies: A New Consciousness and a Shifted Perspective’, Persona Studies vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1–12.

Moore, C 2020, ‘Media Archaeology’, recorded lecture, BCM 215, University of Wollongong, viewed 13^th September 2023, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJa2mh4xEJs&t=87s>.

Reinhard, A 2018, Archaeogaming: an introduction to archaeology in and of video games 1st ed., Berghahn Books, New York, NY.

BCM 215, communication and media, hardcore, media ethnography, nostalgia, persona, video games