Maliuk Y. Videogame as a phenomenon of contemporary media culture

The thesis examines and analyses features of the functioning of videogames as an important factor of contemporary mediaculture for the first time in the Ukrainian-language discourse. The term “mediaculture” refers to the process of human environmental adaptation by using technical media. By combining game and cultural studies, it examines how videogames can be used to persuade by “procedural rhetoric” and how that rhetoric is using as reaction to the current issues in the newsgames and documental games. Indie games were analyzed as a cultural phenomenon. The economical and cultural prerequisites for popularizing indie movement nowadays were described. Despite the co-optation from corporations, indie games are still able to raise issues that would be taboo for the mainstream game development. It is revealed how VR technology can adapt previously unavailable for virtualization dizziness games (in terms of Roger Caillois). This thesis describes how VR technology creates immersive world which naturalizes human movements that converts to digital input and how such approach maximizes immersion but compromises the player's imagination. On the contrary, we demonstrate that AR technology works with hyperrealization of environment and makes new tactics for exploring urban spaces. Transformations of the spectator’s behavior in the live streaming projects like Twitch Plays Pokemon and interactive experiment The Place were described. Such gaming experience represents network model of society to the spectator-player. That model depersonalizes player to the network nodes that provide efficiency to the system. Ukrainian game development origins from the radio amateur culture were researched. Ludography of the game development platforms of the Soviet period Radio-86RK and Fahivets was analyzed. Game developers of that era were primarily interested of technical implementation of the games, making clones of the most popular videogames from the West. After the collapse of the Soviet Union digital piracy became the main driving force for the gaming culture. But nowadays piracy has lost its influence. The most relevant and recognizable theme of the contemporary Ukrainian videogames (postapocalypse) were analyzed. Key words: videogame, game studies, virtual reality, augmented reality, procedural rhetoric, media culture, videogames in Ukraine, online streaming, networking society, eschatology in videogames, indie games.