Paper short abstract:

This paper empirically and theoretically analyses the representational practices in ‘serious games’ that focus on the experiences, challenges and politics of refugees. These video games combine negative, positive and post-humanitarian representational practices.

Paper long abstract:

This paper empirically and theoretically analyses the representational practices in 'serious games' that focus on the experiences, challenges and politics of refugees. 'Serious games' are designed to reach a mass-market audience and engage end-users to develop new knowledge and skills, raise awareness and encourage activism. Refugee related 'serious games' have been designed by a diversity of organisations such as the United Nations and MTV, and they have recently been launched by organisations such as BBC News, The Guardian newspaper, grassroots activist groups such as Border to Border, and private companies such as Blindflug following the European refugee crisis. Despite an increasing number of refugee related 'serious games', their representational practices remain under-researched. Significantly, the representations of refugees are not only found within the imagery and oratory of 'serious games', but also within the process of how the game is played. As such their representations of refugees and their experiences have visual and verbal rhetoric, as well as procedural rhetoric, because the 'gamer' is invited to enter, navigate and manipulate a virtual world, which can make their representations particularly persuasive. The paper argues that current refugee focused 'serious games' combine negative, positive and post-humanitarian representational practices. It also looks forward and argues that the 'possibility spaces' of video games allow 'gamers' to explore and question the rules that underpin development politics and society, which suggests they have the potential to address some of the criticisms directed at other popular culture mediums when representing refugees.