Only Playing: Extreme-Right Gamification

The most troubling examples have been in the form of live-streamed acts of right-wing terrorism filmed via helmet cams allowing audiences to view first-person videos of attacks.

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Live-streamed acts of right-wing terrorism filmed via helmet cams allow audiences to view first-person videos of attacks.

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The result is that extreme-right activists often experience their activism digitally in a form that resembles an elaborate pervasive game and are often distant from the violent consequences of the subcultures they participate in.

The consequences of this sort of gamification are uncertain at this point.

Probably the most concerning from the point of view of those tasked with investigating and countering extremist political engagement is the potential blurring of the lines between play and reality.

Magic circle

Game designers and theorists developed the idea of a magic circle to account for how actions within game spaces, for example, on the football field or in the boxing ring, held different meanings compared to when outside of it. Behave on the street as you would in the boxing ring or Grand Theft Auto and you’d quickly find yourself in custody.

Over time, the idea of the magic circle has been refined, with researchers highlighting the hybridity of game spaces and their increasing overlaps with non-game spaces.

Ideas like the metaverse and political gamification build on this, opening up the games space and raising the possibility that many extremists approach their activism as a fusion of both entertainment and political project.

On the one hand, this helps explain the often stark mismatch between online militancy and offline passivity. It is possible that many of those participating in these spaces do not take their political participation seriously enough to undertake the kinds of risks associated with real-world violence.

On the other hand, the jokey lack of seriousness and game-like atmosphere found on forums such as 8chan belies the potential consequences of participation and works to remove some of the perceived social cost of engagement.

Researchers have suggested that humour may lower barriers to exposure to violent extremism. Adding game-like qualities to participation may further accentuate this, making extremist settings even more accessible.

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The potential disconnect between play and real-world violence is only going to grow more acute.    

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Those working in CVE may face additional challenges, particularly with young people who are unable to connect their participation with the real-world harms generated by extremist subcultures.

As technologies develop further, either in the form of Facebook’s metaverse or other forms of mixed or augmented reality that blur the line between online and offline, the potential disconnect between play and real-world violence is only going to grow more acute.    

The most troubling examples have been in the form of live-streamed acts of right-wing terrorism filmed via helmet cams allowing audiences to view first-person videos of attacks.

Live-streamed acts of right-wing terrorism filmed via helmet cams allow audiences to view first-person videos of attacks.

The result is that extreme-right activists often experience their activism digitally in a form that resembles an elaborate pervasive game and are often distant from the violent consequences of the subcultures they participate in.

The consequences of this sort of gamification are uncertain at this point.

Probably the most concerning from the point of view of those tasked with investigating and countering extremist political engagement is the potential blurring of the lines between play and reality.

Magic circle

Game designers and theorists developed the idea of a magic circle to account for how actions within game spaces, for example, on the football field or in the boxing ring, held different meanings compared to when outside of it. Behave on the street as you would in the boxing ring or Grand Theft Auto and you’d quickly find yourself in custody.

Over time, the idea of the magic circle has been refined, with researchers highlighting the hybridity of game spaces and their increasing overlaps with non-game spaces.

Ideas like the metaverse and political gamification build on this, opening up the games space and raising the possibility that many extremists approach their activism as a fusion of both entertainment and political project.

On the one hand, this helps explain the often stark mismatch between online militancy and offline passivity. It is possible that many of those participating in these spaces do not take their political participation seriously enough to undertake the kinds of risks associated with real-world violence.

On the other hand, the jokey lack of seriousness and game-like atmosphere found on forums such as 8chan belies the potential consequences of participation and works to remove some of the perceived social cost of engagement.

Researchers have suggested that humour may lower barriers to exposure to violent extremism. Adding game-like qualities to participation may further accentuate this, making extremist settings even more accessible.

The potential disconnect between play and real-world violence is only going to grow more acute.    

Those working in CVE may face additional challenges, particularly with young people who are unable to connect their participation with the real-world harms generated by extremist subcultures.

As technologies develop further, either in the form of Facebook’s metaverse or other forms of mixed or augmented reality that blur the line between online and offline, the potential disconnect between play and real-world violence is only going to grow more acute.