{"id":569,"date":"2018-04-10T18:48:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T22:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fms321.wnhughes.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/game-log-2-3\/"},"modified":"2018-04-10T19:26:58","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T23:26:58","slug":"game-log-2-3-queering-soccer-with-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/2018\/04\/10\/game-log-2-3-queering-soccer-with-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Log 2 \u2013 3: Queering Soccer with Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, we talked in class about the concept of \u2018queerness\u2019 in games. \u00a0In her writing, scholar Colleen Macklin argued that Queerness can manifest itself in games in a number of ways, besides the community outside the game identifying as queer. \u00a0In class we elaborated on this specifically in the game itself. \u00a0Gameplay can be queer. \u00a0The narrative itself can also be queer in how it is told.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, you probably are confused as to how a game about cars playing soccer could possess any sort of queerness. \u00a0But I\u2019d argue quite the contrary. \u00a0When you think of a game like Rocket League conceptually, you\u2019d probably initially expect it to be hyper-masculine. \u00a0Cars, particularly racing games, are usually targeted towards men, typically featuring things like scantily-clad start girls and super \u201cmacho\u201d cars. \u00a0The same can be said for games like Madden and Fifa who focus their marketing towards men. \u00a0Thus, if I were to tell you you were going to play a game that involved both, you\u2019d probably think this was a real MAN\u2019s MAN GAME.<\/p>\n

\"Team<\/a><\/p>\n

However, on a gameplay level, the combination of cars with soccer is kind of queering the idea of a traditional soccer game.\u00a0 Playing soccer with a car results in a lot of erratic movement and passing.\u00a0 This challenge the fluid and controlled movement of a traditional soccer game.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rocket League isn\u2019t in the business of catering to heteronormativity and masculinity. \u00a0As an example, look no further than the car customization system that sits at the center of the game. \u00a0<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Shane<\/a><\/p>\n

As you play matches, you acquire gear to customize your car. \u00a0In most car games, you\u2019d expect to be able to change the color of your car, add a huge muffler, maybe put some flames on the side, or improving the performance of your car. \u00a0In Rocket League, everyone\u2019s car is the same. \u00a0The important thing is to stand out and be unique. \u00a0As a result, you end of with all sorts of crazy cars that are stellar exemplifications of self-expression. \u00a0These cars don\u2019t have to be hyper masculine, bending to heteronormative expectation. \u00a0They also defy the expectation of conformity in sports like soccer, the idea that we have to sacrifice individuality for the success of the larger group.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And the developers didn\u2019t hide this customization feature, it sits front and center. Customizing your car, being unique and standing out, are the only true measures of progression in this game. \u00a0There are no experience points or awards to be sought, the only thing you gain from playing matches is more cool gear to customize your car. \u00a0They clearly wanted being different to be a point of emphasis in this game.<\/p>\n

\"Rocket<\/a><\/p>\n

I think that ultimately you can call Rocket League a queer game because of the way it subverts heteronormative expectations of what a car or racing game, \u201cshould be\u201d. \u00a0The idea of customizing your player avatar is not necessarily new in games, but it\u2019s presence as a prominent feature in a car\/sports game, especially in such a way that emphasizes creative freedom and expression, is certainly something to get excited about!<\/p>\n

<\/img><\/img><\/img><\/p>\n

Source: Game Log 2 \u2013 3: Queering Soccer with Cars<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, we talked in class about the concept of \u2018queerness\u2019 in games. \u00a0In her writing, scholar Colleen Macklin argued that Queerness can manifest itself in games in a number of ways, besides the community outside the game identifying as queer. \u00a0In class we elaborated on this specifically in the game itself. \u00a0Gameplay can be queer. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"item_id":"dbdd0aa4e37d7f224f2fbc476bcd5927","pf_source_link":"","item_date":"Thu, 01 Mar 2018 23:07:44 +0000","item_author":"admin","item_link":"http:\/\/fms321.wnhughes.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/game-log-2-3\/","item_feat_img":"","item_wp_date":"Thu, 01 Mar 2018 23:07:44 +0000","item_tags":"","source_publication_name":"","source_publication_url":"","nomination_count":"1","sortable_item_date":"1519945664","item_description":"","pf_word_count":"663","pf_forward_to_origin":"no-forward","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[179],"tags":[93,153,160,161,162,95,96],"class_list":["post-569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-round-2","tag-cars","tag-choice","tag-heteronormativity","tag-queer","tag-queering","tag-rocket-league","tag-soccer"],"nominators":{"1":{"user_id":1,"nomination_datetime":"2018-04-07 12:20:35","nomination_unixtime":1523118035}},"archiveOrgStatus":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9xw5i-9b","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":586,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions\/586"}],"feed":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/pf\/v1\/feeds\/176"}],"nominator":[{"embeddable":false,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/user\/1"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569"}],"wp:term":[{"attributes":{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true},"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569"},{"attributes":{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true},"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/games18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}