The paper addresses the development of retromedia practices (Magaudda and Minniti 2019) by analysing the reappropriation of arcade video games after their decline in the mid-1990s, focusing on the Italian context. In doing so, it adopts the creative appropriation of technology perspective (Eglash 2004) and elaborates the notion of creative reappropriation to highlight the innovative character of the practices developed by users around obsolete technologies. Drawing on qualitative data and analysis, the paper identifies three main moments and forms of creative reappropriation: 1) a first phase characterised by the reappropriation of the arcade at the software level, through the emulation of past video games on new platforms; 2) a second phase characterised by the reappropriation of the material dimension associated with the arcade cabinet; 3) a third phase characterised by the reappropriation of the context of use and the forms of sociality associated with it. In analysing these different phases, the paper underlines the crucial role of a specific media generation whose cultural memory has driven the reinterpretation and reappropriation of arcade video games, acting as a connecting force between the past and the present.
Vade retro, gamer! La riappropriazione creativa del videogioco arcade in Italia
sergio minniti
2024-01-01
Abstract
The paper addresses the development of retromedia practices (Magaudda and Minniti 2019) by analysing the reappropriation of arcade video games after their decline in the mid-1990s, focusing on the Italian context. In doing so, it adopts the creative appropriation of technology perspective (Eglash 2004) and elaborates the notion of creative reappropriation to highlight the innovative character of the practices developed by users around obsolete technologies. Drawing on qualitative data and analysis, the paper identifies three main moments and forms of creative reappropriation: 1) a first phase characterised by the reappropriation of the arcade at the software level, through the emulation of past video games on new platforms; 2) a second phase characterised by the reappropriation of the material dimension associated with the arcade cabinet; 3) a third phase characterised by the reappropriation of the context of use and the forms of sociality associated with it. In analysing these different phases, the paper underlines the crucial role of a specific media generation whose cultural memory has driven the reinterpretation and reappropriation of arcade video games, acting as a connecting force between the past and the present.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
