CDN Lunch: Player vs. Monster
The Making and Breaking of Video Game Monsters by Jaroslav Švelch.
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Based on Švelch’s recent book Player vs. Monster (MIT Press), the talk will examine the history of video game monsters as well as contemporary examples. While scholars of both myth and horror think of monstrosity as sublime and unspeakable, games often portray monsters as predictable targets of player action. While acknowledging the appeal of such simplistic representations, the talk will also explore how the medium can present more nuanced depictions of monstrosity.
Jaroslav Švelch
Jaroslav Švelch is an assistant professor at Charles University, Prague. He is the author of the recent monograph Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games (MIT Press, 2018). He has published work on history and theory of computer games, on humor in games and social media, and on the Grammar Nazi phenomenon. He is currently researching history, theory, and reception of monsters in games.
