James Cartlidge
Biographic Data
| ID | 906934 |
|---|---|
| NAME | James Cartlidge |
| GIVEN NAMES | James |
| FAMILY NAME | Cartlidge |
| SIGNATURE | CARTLIDGE J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Central European University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0276-9142 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 6 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 6 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
A Seeming Change
This article examines how Quasimorph , a turn-based roguelike extraction shooter, models and critiques anarcho-capitalism through its narrative, worldbuilding, mechanics and economic systems. Anarcho-capitalism is a political and economic philosophy which envisions a stateless society based upon private property and voluntary contractual exchange within unfettered free-market competition – capitalism, without the state. Traditionally state-perfor…
Critical Nostalgia and the Utopian Impulse in UFO 50
This article offers a political reading of Mossmouth's UFO 50 , a collection of 50 retro-style games that evoke the aesthetics and design principles of 1980s gaming. Drawing on Frederic Jameson's concepts of the ‘nostalgia mode’ and the ‘utopian impulse’, I argue that UFO 50 's nostalgia is not a superficial longing for the past, but a political gesture that challenges the current state of the video game industry. By creatively appropriating the …
Non-Perceptual Representational Immersion in Video Games
This article criticises David Chalmers’ ‘Reality+’ by interrogating its distinction of virtual reality (VR) from 2D, non-VR video games, a distinction made on the grounds that VR is immersive and these types of video games are not because immersion is a distinct characteristic of 3D perceptually represented VR. Building on the Balcerak Jacksons’ account of ‘representational immersion’, which they acknowledge has ‘perceptual’ and ‘non-perceptual’ …
Interpreting Dwarf Fortress
This article interprets the influential colony management simulator “Dwarf Fortress” existentially, in terms of finitude, absurdity, and narrative. It applies Aarseth/Möring's proposed method of game interpretation, adopting their definition of “cybermedia” as a generalized game ontology, then providing a specialized ontology of “Dwarf Fortress” which describes its genre and salient gameplay features, incorporating Ian Bogost's concept of “proced…
Becoming Afflicted, Becoming Virtuous
The developers of Red Hook Studios’ 2016 gothic horror “Darkest Dungeon” said that they wanted to “capture the human response to stress.” This paper analyzes how the game does this with its “stress,” “affliction,” and “virtue” mechanics. With reference to research literature on stress, I show how these mechanics, which could easily have been cheap gimmicks, approach the topic of stress with admirable detail, offering a complex reflection on the v…
Lyotard, the differend and the philosophy of deep disagreement
Lyotard, the differend and the philosophy of deep disagreement
Interpreting Dwarf Fortress
This article interprets the influential colony management simulator “Dwarf Fortress” existentially, in terms of finitude, absurdity, and narrative. It applies Aarseth/Möring's proposed method of game interpretation, adopting their definition of “cybermedia” as a generalized game ontology, then providing a specialized ontology of “Dwarf Fortress” which describes its genre and salient gameplay features, incorporating Ian Bogost's concept of “proced…
Becoming Afflicted, Becoming Virtuous
The developers of Red Hook Studios’ 2016 gothic horror “Darkest Dungeon” said that they wanted to “capture the human response to stress.” This paper analyzes how the game does this with its “stress,” “affliction,” and “virtue” mechanics. With reference to research literature on stress, I show how these mechanics, which could easily have been cheap gimmicks, approach the topic of stress with admirable detail, offering a complex reflection on the v…
Non-Perceptual Representational Immersion in Video Games
This article criticises David Chalmers’ ‘Reality+’ by interrogating its distinction of virtual reality (VR) from 2D, non-VR video games, a distinction made on the grounds that VR is immersive and these types of video games are not because immersion is a distinct characteristic of 3D perceptually represented VR. Building on the Balcerak Jacksons’ account of ‘representational immersion’, which they acknowledge has ‘perceptual’ and ‘non-perceptual’ …
Critical Nostalgia and the Utopian Impulse in UFO 50
This article offers a political reading of Mossmouth's UFO 50 , a collection of 50 retro-style games that evoke the aesthetics and design principles of 1980s gaming. Drawing on Frederic Jameson's concepts of the ‘nostalgia mode’ and the ‘utopian impulse’, I argue that UFO 50 's nostalgia is not a superficial longing for the past, but a political gesture that challenges the current state of the video game industry. By creatively appropriating the …
A Seeming Change
This article examines how Quasimorph , a turn-based roguelike extraction shooter, models and critiques anarcho-capitalism through its narrative, worldbuilding, mechanics and economic systems. Anarcho-capitalism is a political and economic philosophy which envisions a stateless society based upon private property and voluntary contractual exchange within unfettered free-market competition – capitalism, without the state. Traditionally state-perfor…
Epistemology (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Aesthetics (3 works) · Art (3 works) · Digital Games and Media (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · Psychology (3 works) · Sociology (3 works) · Computer Science (2 works) · Philosophy of science (2 works)