Playing #gamergate in the classroom: a collegiate feminist approach

This article discusses the design and delivery of a GamerGate (GG) edu-larp (educational live action role play) as a standalone activity within a larger University level Critical Studies course. The edu-larp aimed to engage students in issues of power, hierarchy, social systems, and lived experience around video game culture, whilst drawing their attention to the impact of their personal experiences, preconceptions, and biases as they emerge through play. GG is a particularly provocative subject; therefore, we explore how a larp allowed us to examine complex questions in an educational setting whilst navigating the potential for toxic backlash that can be encountered when using traditional didactic approaches to challenge students’ values, beliefs and notions of video games. A Critical Studies module in the context of games would be remiss in not discussing the many challenges faced by the games industry, many of which were rendered painfully transparent in the GG controversy. We also aim to reflect on the institutional challenges and professional implications of engaging with edu-larp in a modern university.