數位虛擬的中國大陸與美國競爭-電子遊戲的政治性與他者建構

Abstract

本文將從政治學、國際關係學及社會學領域，以跨領域研究的觀點，綜合分析當前中國大陸與美國在電子遊戲領域內的政治性競爭及民間文化衝突，並探討歐美電子遊戲內容所存在的他者建構及文化霸權現象。\n本研究將從傅柯（Foucault）的「知識與權力」及「文化霸權」的角度，解構歐美遊戲開發在內容制定上的「領導權」，並從「東方主義」角度解析，電子遊戲所產生的「他者想像」以及「種族偏見」問題；其次，藉由中國大陸及美國的案例，分析雙方從「官方」及「民間」的二元視角，分析電子遊戲是如何成為官方「政治宣傳」及民間「族群衝突」的因素；最後，針對電子遊戲產生的政治性及文化議題，提出未來可研究的方向。\n研究方法上，本文使用混合研究法（mixed methods），在研究過程的不同階段（phases）同時結合量化與質化的資料。研究初期以層級分析法（Analytic Hierarchy Process，AHP），實證調查遊戲內容因素。通過質化研究分析電子遊戲在社會科學領域的研究現況，並結合遊戲研究、東方主義、第三空間等理論，針對遊戲個案進行分析。最後，以實證調查法（survey method）考據中國大陸及美國雙方遊戲玩家的文化及族群衝突問題。\n研究結果顯示，電子遊戲由於市場性因素及開發系統結構，導致遊戲內容以歐美價值觀為主，並且內容具有種族偏見、白人男性優越及他者刻板印象等問題。且歐美遊戲在處理中國想像時，刻板性的以歐美13世紀至19世紀歷史文獻中的東方印象為依據，創建出遠古中華的地大物博與近代中華的滯後發展，形成具有反差性的二元結構。\n另一方面，本文從政治宣傳及文化霸權的視角，證實軍事電子遊戲領域，內容制定與政治和軍事具有緊密的關係，且被東西方作為話語權爭奪的平台。此外，美國及中國大陸官方皆將電子遊戲視為公共外交及愛國主義宣傳的工具，藉由電子遊戲的滲透性達到直接宣傳的效果。\n在民間方面，中國大陸因為政策性因素，導致中國玩家虛擬移民，由此產生中美玩家建構在行為區別的族群衝突。在這衝突之中，歐美玩家將金農行為及外掛使用族群化、標籤化，與中國劃上等號；中國玩家選擇在電子遊戲內組織民族主義為中心的團體，以之抵抗。實證調查顯示，歐美玩家「學歷」較低及「年齡」較輕，對於中國大陸玩家行為越排斥，且更容易將中國大陸玩家網路行為與現實華人社群連結，造成虛擬衝突現實化。\n綜上所述，本研究發現今電子遊戲開發缺乏對於社會文化議題的關注，且由於市場性因素及開發結構的系統性問題，內容的價值仍由歐美主導，隨著青年世代對於電子遊戲的接納，中美雙方也轉變立場，試圖藉由電子遊戲的沉浸感、模擬性和滲透性，做為數位時代政治權力的影響工具。

This article will analyze the political competition and civil culture conflict between mainland China and the United States in the field of video games through cross-disciplinary research in political science, international relations, and sociology. It also explores the phenomenon of other constructs and cultural hegemony in video games.\nThis study will deconstruct the "Leadership" of European and American games in content creation from the perspectives of Foucault`s "Knowledge and power" and "Cultural hegemony", and analyze the problems of "The Other" and "Racial prejudice" generated by video games from the perspective of "Orientalism". Secondly, we analyze how video games become a factor of "political propaganda" and "ethnic conflict" from the binary perspective of "official" and "private" by using the cases of mainland China and the United States. Finally, we propose the future directions of research on the political and cultural issues arising from video games.\nIn terms of research methodology, this article uses mixed methods to combine both quantitative and qualitative data at different stages of the research process. At the beginning of the study, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to empirically investigate the game content factors. Through qualitative research, we analyzed the current status of video game research in the social science field, and combined game research, Orientalism, and third space theories to analyze game cases. Finally, the survey method is used to examine the cultural and ethnic conflicts between gamers in Mainland China and the United States.\nThe results demonstrate that due to market factors and the development system structure of video games, the content of the game is dominated by European and American values, with racial prejudice, white male superiority, and stereotypes of others. Moreover, when dealing with Chinese imagination, European and American games stereo-typically based on the impressions of the East in European and American historical literature from the 13th to the 19th century, creating a contrasting dichotomy between the greatness of ancient China and the lagging development of modern China.\nOn the other hand, from the perspective of political propaganda and cultural hegemony, this paper proves that the content creation in the field of military video games is closely related to politics and military affairs, and is used as a platform for discursive power by the East and the West. In addition, both the U.S. and Chinese officials regard video games as a tool for public diplomacy and patriotic propaganda and use the penetration of video games to achieve direct propaganda effects.\nOn the civil side, the policy factors in mainland China have led to the virtual migration of Chinese players, resulting in ethnic conflict between Chinese and American players in terms of behavioral distinction. In this conflict, European and American players equate the "gold farmer" behavior and the use of plug-ins with China by racialization and labeling them. In response, Chinese gamers chose to organize nationalism-centered groups in video games to resist. Empirical evidence shows that European and American players with lower "education" and younger "age" are more rejection of Chinese players` behavior, and are more likely to link Chinese players` online behavior with the real Chinese community, causing virtual conflicts to materialize.\nIn summary, this study finds that today`s video game development lacks attention to social and cultural issues, and the content value is still dominated by Europe and the United States due to market factors and development structure. With the acceptance of video games by the young generation, China and the United States have also changed their stance, trying to use the immersion, simulation, and penetration of video games as a tool for influencing political power in the digital age.