Peter Wikström, docent in English at Karlstad University, is working together with Geomedia to develop project applications in collaboration with Embracer Games Archive in Karlstad.
– The project focuses on material objects related to historical video games, such as covers, packaging, manuals and the design of discs and cartridges.
– The approach we are using in the research project is multimodal discourse analysis, says Peter Wikström. We will select objects from Embracer’s massive archive, which will then be analysed in case studies with different approaches and research questions.
The project covers various time periods and types of games to contribute to knowledge about the significance of material objects, which play a particularly important role when it comes to historical games.
– One of the reasons it is especially interesting to start with historical games is that the material aspects of games had greater significance for storytelling and representation as well as marketing in the past, says Peter Wikström. Today, the gaming medium is highly digitalised and is sold and distributed digitally.
The connection to Geomedia offers an interesting angle by combining media and place. Peter Wikström sees opportunities for sub-studies that focus on local versions of game material.
– For example, there might be an American, a Japanese and a European edition, and in some cases, I believe that Embracer Games Archive actually has several of these editions, which allows for analyses where you can compare how the design of these materials and covers was adapted to different markets.
Another aspect would be to study Embracer Games Archive as a local place in Karlstad, while at the same time being a massive international player.
– How does Embracer work with its archive by being both a place here in Karlstad and simultaneously a place for objects that come from all over the world? That would be interesting to look at.
The research work will take place on-site at the archive on Örsholmen in Karlstad, where Peter Wikström and his colleagues have already started a pilot project with a selection of approximately 35 games. The expectations for the pilot project are concrete.
– We’re looking at a small selection with a specific focus – Swedish games with a didactic profile, specifically those based on famous children’s books. It will be a way for us to test the analysis method, as well as being an interesting case study in itself.
Peter Wikström hopes that the project will contribute to generating knowledge about the gaming medium, which he considers to be one of our major cultural expressions today – but at the same time somewhat neglected when it comes to research. He also sees a concrete benefit for Embracer Games Archive.
– Part of the answer is that it is included in their mission – to promote, share and preserve games and gaming culture and to assist researchers.
