Political communications and game mechanics

Abstract

The article overviews the issue of interaction and mutual influence of political communications and game mechanics. Gamification of politics is postulated as a basis for understanding new forms of civil and political activity emerged in the digital age. The presented overview of research literature defines that gaming technologies, as a set of methods and techniques, influence the behavior of modern users by overcoming their passivity and involving them into political and civil processes. The paper discusses theoretical approaches to the study of digital gamification: sociological, cultural, and political economic. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the political communication - through the prism of gamification - along with digital media having characteristics of a new political subject. Separately the work considers election campaigns and the impact that new technologies and gaming practices have on the political activity of citizens.