Chapter 8
In: Nationalism and the Postcolonial
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Abstract
In recent years, videogames have matured into an integral part of (Western-dominated) popular culture and are currently among the most rapidly evolving media genres. At the same time, there seems to be a striking inertia when it comes to the representation of minoritised identities and the dismantling of nationalist and imperial logics in games. In light of this situation, postcolonial, feminist, or queer perspectives have much to contribute to the study of video games in the twenty-first century. Seeking to shed light on the intersections of national, imperial, racialised, and queer discourses in videogames, this chapter offers a critical analysis of the representation of non-hegemonic characters in the Mass Effect trilogy. Advocating multicultural tolerance, diversity, and transnational cosmopolitanism, Mass Effect finally seems to realise the utopian potential inherent in the videogame as a transgressive and interactive genre. However, a careful investigation of the game’s story world and its rule system reveals a closeted nationalism at the heart of the game. In the end, Mass Effect’s story world, as well as its rule system, tell a distinctly Canadian tale of identity formation that threatens to substitute the game’s progressive agenda for new forms of nationalist and cultural imperialist ideologies.