PRODUCING, REPRESENTING, CIRCULATING AND CONSUMING THE UNEVEN GEOGRAPHY OF VIDEOGAMES: THE CASE OF RUSTY LAKE GAMES

Chen LIU, Fang-lin HUA

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1) : 22-33.

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HUMAN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1) : 22-33. DOI: 10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2026.01.003
Culture

PRODUCING, REPRESENTING, CIRCULATING AND CONSUMING THE UNEVEN GEOGRAPHY OF VIDEOGAMES: THE CASE OF RUSTY LAKE GAMES

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Abstract

In the digital era, videogame has been further globalized through Internet and network facilities. Different from the globalization of other cultural products, videogames no longer follow the linear conduction of traditional international trade, but form a non-linear product life cycle that relies on the cooperation of developers, publishers/distributors, and consumers from different regions all around the world. Based on the perspective of the pop culture industry, which is the point of economic geography and cultural geography, the study combines methods of following the digital and visual methodology in the field of human geography, taking the Dutch indie game--Rusty Lake as an example that originates from a two-people game studios but has gone global nowadays, tracking and analyzing its globalization process, drawing the following conclusions: 1) The production of Rusty Lake cannot be realized without the acceptance and encouragement of indie games in Europe, as well as the international and globalized digital platforms, reflecting the significance of globalized production environment and producers' creativity and independence. 2) In the aspect of cultural representations, Rusty Lake's borrowing from mainstream culture and the nature of its counterculture exemplifies the inclusiveness of videogames, showing the possibility of multicultural coexistence and cultural diffusion, no matter it is intentional or not. 3) In the process of global circulation, the rise of virtual platform provides a convenient way for the distribution of indie games and breaks the boundaries of space. 4) Video gamers' behaviors of playing videogames indicate their dual identities as consumers and producers.

Key words

indie videogame / globalization / uneven geography / Rusty Lake

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Chen LIU , Fang-lin HUA. PRODUCING, REPRESENTING, CIRCULATING AND CONSUMING THE UNEVEN GEOGRAPHY OF VIDEOGAMES: THE CASE OF RUSTY LAKE GAMES[J]. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY. 2026, 41(1): 22-33 https://doi.org/10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2026.01.003

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