AAA Versus Indie? Hegemonic and Counter-Hegemonic Forces in Video Game Receptions of Greco-Roman Mythology

Abstract

The reception and tradition of Greco-Roman mythology in video games is traditionally considered as violent, masculine and sexist. Nevertheless, there are alternatives to this generalising description, which indicate what more diverse or inclusive video game versions of Greco-Roman myth could look like. In this article, I explore these games in relation to the concept of hegemony, or a society’s dominant power that structures cultural representation and excludes identities perceived as deviant. Specifically, I investigate whether the distinction between hegemony and counter-hegemony maps onto a frequently drawn line between AAA and indie games, or the mainstream, corporate, big-budget game industry on the one hand, and games made by smaller teams or singular individuals on the other. To do so, I offer analyses of gender, sexuality, race and disability in AAA and indie video games with Greco-Roman mythological characters, and I also explore variations in gameplay formats. Ultimately, this article aims to refocus the discussion of (counter-)hegemony in video games towards players rather than developers, doing so not to discount or excuse exclusionary development practices but to acknowledge the increasingly influential role that game audiences have on the process of production.