Books by Riccardo Retez
Concrete Press, 2020
What is the relationship between cinema, television and video games? In Vernacular Machinima, Ric... more What is the relationship between cinema, television and video games? In Vernacular Machinima, Riccardo Retez examines the Rockstar Editor, a popular video editing software embedded in Grand Theft Auto V (2013). The author describes the dynamics of production, consumption and distribution of machinima within the fandom community, which now represent an increasingly complex media ecosystem. The analysis, which features six case studies, demonstrates that video game users are not passive consumers of audiovisual texts, but active subjects that appropriate and manipulate the meanings encoded in their remakes.
Book Chapter by Riccardo Retez
Concrete Press, 2021
Introduced in April 2020 amidst a global pandemic, VRAL is a uniquely curated game video experien... more Introduced in April 2020 amidst a global pandemic, VRAL is a uniquely curated game video experience, offering screenings of machinima created by artists and filmmakers whose work lies at the intersection of video art, cinema, animation, and gaming. The program features outstanding video works selected on the basis of their cultural relevance, artistic achievement, and innovative style. An online space that provides access to a range of diverse voices supplementing and expanding the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL, VRAL celebrates a new generation of digital filmmakers and artists and offers a deeper, broader understanding of machinima as an artform. This book collects all Season One’s interviews (i.e., exhibitions 01 to 21), including extra content previously released online. Featured artists: Victor Morales, Aleksandar Radan, Jordy Veenstra, Petra Széman, Thomas Hawranke, Brenton Alexander Smith, Jón Bjarki Magnússon, David Blandy, Brent Watanabe, Edwin Lo, Fantastic Little Splash, Mikhail Maximov, Luca Miranda, Mario Mu, Antoine Chapon, Bob-Bicknell Knight, Isabelle Arvers, Total Refusal, COLL.EO, Carson Lynn, and Mateus Domingos.
Papers by Riccardo Retez
This paper investigates the alternative applications of vernacular terminology through video game... more This paper investigates the alternative applications of vernacular terminology through video game texts and paratexts within fandom communities. The focus is on the use of expressions adopted from the language of video game within online communities that orbit around groups of streamers. The research focuses on their activity within the game live streaming platform Twitch.tv and, in particular, on the cluster of Italian streamers known as Tomodachi CrewFormally established in November 2020, Tomodachi Crew proposes a typology of entertainment focused on video games, anime, and manga: The community and the streamers of Tomodachi Crew apply terminologies and languages typical of the products of popular culture mentioned above to their activity on Twitch. Specifically, one of the characteristic aspects is the transformation of the English term lore into a true creative-narrative tool employed by the community fandom. Derived from folklore, the expression indicates the set of knowledge a...
Eracle. Journal of Sport and Social Sciences, Nov 19, 2021
The research investigates the phenomenon of eSports by deepening its complex nature related to th... more The research investigates the phenomenon of eSports by deepening its complex nature related to the production and fruition of a journalistic media ecosystem originated by video games. The essay focuses on the professional commentary activity of eSports tournaments, with attention to the identities that convey this para-ludic communication and their social influence on the audience. Focusing on Twitch.tv – place of creation and fruition of eSports related content – I will explore the case of Indiana "Froskurinn" Black, technical commentator of eSports leagues. "Froskurinn" is one of the few women in the world of eSports journalism. Openly homosexual, her figure conveys a message that impacts the traditionally male-dominated gaming industry. Through an analysis of the contents produced by the commentator, it will be possible to highlight the existence of a new community, audience and culture of female journalists and gamers that distances itself from the original traditional malestream core.
Interactive Film and Media Journal
This research investigates the figure of the player as a pathogen agent able to impose a propagat... more This research investigates the figure of the player as a pathogen agent able to impose a propagating form of homologation within the video game Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft 2020). The study involves the analysis of the role of the player according to a multiple configuration: as patient zero, parasite, and epidemic agent. The role of the player is potentially expressed through his or her being a starting point of contagion, a parasite that raids the bodies of non-player characters (NPCs) and an epidemic agent—a potentially uncontrolled transmission medium. Watch Dogs: Legion is set in a totalitarian London of a hypothetical future in which the player can impersonate any NPC in the game world. Since this contagion effect is the fundamental mechanic of the experience, this paper shows how it is not the NPC to represent and be a subject to an idea of homologation but how it is the player who imposes a propagating form of homologation with his or her tastes, political, and social behavio...
eSports: playing on and off the screen, 2021
The research investigates the phenomenon of eSports by deepening its complex nature related to th... more The research investigates the phenomenon of eSports by deepening its complex nature related to the production and fruition of a journalistic media ecosystem originated by video games. The essay focuses on the professional commentary activity of eSports tournaments, with attention to the identities that convey this para-ludic communication and their social influence on the audience. Focusing on Twitch.tv-place of creation and fruition of eSports related content-I will explore the case of Indiana "Froskurinn" Black, technical commentator of eSports leagues. "Froskurinn" is one of the few women in the world of eSports journalism. Openly homosexual, her figure conveys a message that impacts the traditionally male-dominated gaming industry. Through an analysis of the contents produced by the commentator, it will be possible to highlight the existence of a new community, audience and culture of female journalists and gamers that distances itself from the original traditional malestream core.
Ludica, 2021
Negli ultimi anni la diffusione di videogiochi di genere open-world che presentano ambienti natur... more Negli ultimi anni la diffusione di videogiochi di genere open-world che presentano ambienti naturali o paesaggi ampi e realistici è aumentata significativamente, in termini di budget, portata e dimensioni dei team di sviluppo—come attestano le serie di Red Dead Redemption, The Elder Scrolls, Grand Theft Auto e Fallout; ne consegue che fotografi talentuosi hanno avuto modo di esplorare e catturare il meglio che hanno incontrato di questi mondi digitali.
Ludica, 2020
La natura sincretica del machinima si estrinseca a vari livelli: esteticamente, le immagini tipic... more La natura sincretica del machinima si estrinseca a vari livelli: esteticamente, le immagini tipiche del cinema, dell’animazione e dei videogiochi si fondono nella nuova forma ibrida; questo fenomeno pare attestare la persistenza del cinema nel videogioco—e nei nuovi media in generale—ravvisata da Lev Manovich, secondo il quale l’animazione ha dato vita al cinema classico, è stata successivamente marginalizzata nell’ambito dell’audiovisivo salvo poi manifestarsi nuovamente come fondamento del cinema digitale.
Uploads
Books by Riccardo Retez
Book Chapter by Riccardo Retez
Papers by Riccardo Retez