This post is based on the reading - article The Agony and the Exidy: A History of Video Game Violence and the Legacy of Death Race

RQ of the article

The Agony and the Exidy: A History of Video Game Violence and the Legacy of Death Race. Because Death Race existed in a games market already replete with depictions of militarized violence, the game triggered outrage not merely because it was violent, but because it depicted violence which clearly questioned the state’s monopoly on legitimized violence and did not exist in other culturally accepted narratives of violence, such as the cinematic western.

Argument of the article

Violence can be a rather elastic concept, referring to everything from profanity to axe murder. In this article, the author defined “violence” as causing deliberate physical harm to people, animals, or property. This follows the standard centering of discourse over “violent” media on displays of physical acts such as simulated killing, fighting, or – in the case of Death Race – running over figures. The “violent” media considered in this essay have been key texts in this longstanding debate about propriety and morality.

Data collection

In this article, the arthor has used following datas to reinforce her argument: 1. In the film Death Race in 2000, “Elderly victims are worth a whopping 70 points, while women are worth 10 more points than men in all age brackets, teenagers are worth 40 points, and so on” 2. Intended to compete with Rollerball, Death Race 2000 performed well, despite having a budget of only $300,000 (Death Race 2000, 1975). Rental revenues totaling $4.8 million fleshed out the filmꞌs box office profits (Ramao, 2003). “Exidy introduces: th Race 98 It’s indescribable. So different, it’s in a class by itself. Death Race 98 is what the player wants it to be: mobsters in the 30’s commandos in the 40’s dragsters in the 50’s hells angels in the 60’s street racers in the 70’s The first game to require the player to “get involved” in whatever way he wants. If you liked Destruction Derby … Double your profits with DEATH RACE 98 – It’s a chase and crash game with a twist6.” 4. The game ranks players depending on the number of points they scored. These rankings – skeleton chaser for 1-3 points, bone cracker for 4-10 points, gremlin hunter for 11-20, and expert driver for scores greater than 21 – further the horror-inspired theme of the game (Death Race from Exidy, 1976).

Reference

The Agony and the Exidy: A History of Video Game Violence and the Legacy of Death Race