INVISIBLE VIOLENCE: TYRANNY OF INFINITY AND ENJOYMENT IN INCREMENTAL GAMES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE ONLINE GAME “CHRISTMAS TREE”, STARK GAME)

Abstract

In this article, we would like to look at video games from the point of view of a critical theory that incorporates some psychoanalytic ideas in the understanding of a subject and develops them further in the understanding of cultural forms. Since the general field of synthesis of critical theory and psychoanalysis lies precisely in the analysis of the formation of subjectivity in the interweaving of social, cultural, economic mechanisms, we will therefore turn to those authors who work in this direction. The article will examine the ideas of Zizek S., Dean J., Mcgowan T., Stiegler B., Andrejevic M., Bone A. These authors are actively involved a number of psychoanalytic concepts (lack, desire, pleasure, enjoyment) for understanding late capitalist society, literary theory, film, video games.
However, in the beginning we will turn to understanding the game and its role in the life of people and their psyche from the point of view of the psychoanalysis of S. Freud and J. Lacan.
Using the language of psychoanalysis and critical theory, the article will examine and analyze the network incremental video game “New Year Tree”, created by the Belarusian brand Stark-studio (http://starkstudio.by), which was first published in 2010 and, at first glance, has nothing to do with violence. In this context, we would like to consider the mechanisms of infinity and drive on the example of this incremental game.