UC Santa Cruz

The tools and paradigms used to create video games have long been understudied. These infrastructural technologies of games have powerful social and cultural impacts on players and the world but rarely see proper analysis. This dissertation takes these objects as the main object of inquiry and through historical research, close readings, and artistic production, seeks to pursue an anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-colonial understanding of these tools. In doing so, this dissertation shows that these tools are not politically neutral and carry with them a powerful influence that shapes and structures the world of video game play, pushing users in the direction of white entitlement.