Game rules vs. fandom. How Nintendo’s Animal Crossing fan-made content negotiates the videogame meanings

Autores/as

  • Jose A. Moreno Universitat Pompeu Fabra

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2020.i47.11

Palabras clave:

Animal Crossing, videogames, fandom, ideology, Cultural Studies

Resumen

This research reviews the ideologies present in the Nintendo’s videogame saga Animal Crossing and aims to discover how fans interpret them. The process involves an exploration of the online fanart of the videogame and its classification into reproductive, neutral or critical fandom, depending on the revised operating ideologies. Following, a content analysis and brief semiotic analysis have been conducted to interpret the meanings that fans elaborated and wanted to share with the community. As a result, this research shows that the fandom of Animal Crossing reinterprets the ideologies of the game producing a critique of struggles present in society against sexism and consumerism. However, some fanart is aligned with the neoliberal and sexist ideas that emanate from the canonical text. Thus, analysing fandom’s production is a worth way to discover how audiences interact with videogames and how they expand its meanings beyond the game.

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Biografía del autor/a

Jose A. Moreno, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

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Artwork used as study sample

mmDJ (February, 3, 2014). Animal Crossing: Gender Glitch. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-yZe2903i0

Aliensliveinme (March, 3, 2014). Animal crossing new leaf, cross dressing makes you run like a girl. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CX94k1I7ao

BanetteDoddles (June, 27, 2018). Comissions! [Re Post]. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://aminoapps.com/c/animal-crossing/page/blog/commissions-re-post/eZVo_3Ec3u2bRBLMqBJ23870GELwbjpon

Compy Cubert (July, 10, 2018). Image. Computer Garden. [Blog post]. 2018. http://cubert.tumblr.com/post/175738819056

Cosmic kevvv (June, 25, 2013). Animal Crossing New Leaf:Crossgender Haircuts. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR4mIgBZet4

Finngamer (November, 19, 2015). Amiibo review: Animal Crossing, wave 1. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gECIdXAErIA&t=216s

Heather (June, 9, 2017). Acnl Villager Memes. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.x2u.club/acnl-villager-memes.html

Hotdiggedydemon (January, 22, 2016). Isabelle Ruins Everything (Animal Crossing Parody). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeWC9V2qH-8

Isabellefacts1 (February, 16, 2019). “isabelle fact 1: isabelle is a cannon lgbtq+ character.” [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/isabellefacts1/status/1096751934097088512

Joetheblogger (2011). Occupy Animal Crossing. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://stfuconservatives.tumblr.com/post/11684091691

Kazenoabs0 (May, 7, 2015). Picture memes SLHqSL3u2. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://ifunny.co/picture/SLHqSL3u2?gallery=tag&query=isabelle

Los Juegos de SaG (October, 13, 2016). ¡MALDITA ALCALDESA NEOLIBERAL!: Animal Crossing New Leaf para 3DS #JugamosaDobles #LaVenganzaDeLeven. [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO6z4xXJ2Kw&t=191s

Mayor Mori (October, 21, 2016). Nintendo Switch: Animal Crossing Trailer (fan made). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI1qZ_JVl2w

MissPolycysticOvary (2014). Oh,Mayor!. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.deviantart.com/misspolycysticovary/art/Oh-Mayor-464985098

Nisego Channel (September, 17, 2015). Animal Crossing - Isabelle Fan Art. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS4gq1-oPtc

RandomMan (2014). “Image #558,726.” [Image]. Retrieved from https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/558726-animal-crossing

Starchie (2018). Super Smash Brothers Ultimate - Isabelle and Villager reunited. [Image] Retrieved from https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1410214-super-smash-brothers-ultimate

Teamlpsandacnl (2019). Isabelle Alt. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.memecenter.com/fun/7266234/isabelle-alt/

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Publicado

2020-01-13

Cómo citar

Moreno, J. A. (2020). Game rules vs. fandom. How Nintendo’s Animal Crossing fan-made content negotiates the videogame meanings. Ámbitos. Revista Internacional De Comunicación, (47), 212–237. https://doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2020.i47.11

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ARTÍCULOS