Sunday, October 25, 2009

Everyday Resistance

This blog post is going to be somewhat different from the rest. Until now, I've mostly been talking about how mod websites commodify or 'monitor' content. There is a need to present the alternative view; that is how modders themselves use their agency to 'fight back'. I put 'fight back' in inverted commas, because direct conflict is seldom in the modding world. Quite clearly, it does not make sense to oppose game companies and risk lawsuits just for a hobby. Yet, modders do resist, but perhaps not in the overt way that one might typically associate resistance with.

I will be drawing from de Certeau's (1984) idea of 'tactics'. In essense, he describes everyday resistance to be nonoppositional, sometimes located within memory, working by stealth in its resistance.

One point I considered is why modders often work on games that are 'old'. For instance, Freespace 2, a flight simulation game released in 1999, still remains remains one of the most popular modded flight simulation game! Of course, one reason why FS 2 still has a strong mod following is that good flight simulations are kind of uncommon (I thikn X might be another...), and that FS2 has received a good platform for modding, especially with its source code released.

It is important, however, to also consider how FS 2 modding is kind of an 'obstinate' daily life practice that refuses to change. When players mod on FS2, it also connects to their past, given their history of 10 years. The past becomes a type of 'resistance' - a force to configure the present. If that sounds unconvincing, observe how many mods were made of past television programs or games: Battlestar Galatica, Wing Commander. Nostalgia, the connection with the past, is definitely an important aspect to the enjoyment of modding, resisting the rapid changes or alienation within modern day lifestyles.

Another kind of everyday resistance in modding is connected to the blog. I can see at least two ways in which blogs are sites of resistance. First, blogs allow you to be identified with your mod. We know that mods are usually 'faceless', you see the mod, you don't see it creator. What blogs do is that they reestablish this connect - even if nobody sees the blog, a blogger feels a deeper sense of connection with the mod created. The second aspect is with connecting to a broader audience. Modders have problems, dreams as well, what modding does is that it helps connect a hobbyist to an audience of fans, which in turn becomes a type of support or ranting group. Geohoria's blog quite clearly details a mix between daily life and how that ties in with his/her modding experience. The blog then, becomes a site of resistance, vying against the harsh realities of contemporary societies, and the appropriating forces of corporate game businesses.

In some ways or other, we have to resist discipline in our daily lives to maintain some kind of sanity. Otherwise each and everyone of us would lose our personalities and become obedient organisms. This applies to modding as well... Food for thought.

Posted by Ren at 8:32 AM

0 comments