Upgrading the self: technology and the self in the digital games perpetual innovation economy

Ashton, D (2011) 'Upgrading the self: technology and the self in the digital games perpetual innovation economy.' Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 17 (3). pp. 307-321. ISSN 1354-8565

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1354856511405758

Abstract

This article explores the upgrade and perpetual innovation economy of digital gaming as it informs understandings and practices of the ‘self’. Upgrade is situated in terms of digital gaming as a globalized techno-cultural industry. Drawing on accounts of governmentality and cultural work, research with digital games design students is drawn on to explore the overlapping twin logics of technological upgrade and work-on-the-self. The games industry-focused higher education context is examined as an environment for becoming a games designer and involving processes of upgrading the self. Having examined processes and practices of upgrading the self in terms of technological skills and personal development/enterprise, the article turns to some of the critical issues around anxiety, industry conventions and working practices.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: digital gaming, governmentality, perpetual innovation, the self, upgrade culture
Divisions: Bath School of Art, Film and Media
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856511405758
Date Deposited: 01 Feb 2013 13:45
Last Modified: 27 Oct 2022 14:41
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/577
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