{"id":{"repo_id":"unm","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:fll_etds-1064"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/unm/oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:fll_etds-1064","repository":{"repo_id":"unm","name":"University of New Mexico","base_url":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Zombie Economics: Violence and Economics in three first-person shooter zombie-themed video games.","abstract":"This thesis presents a textual analysis of three zombie-themed video games: Left4Dead, Call of Duty: Zombies, and Killing Floor. The relationship between violence and economics presented in the in-game actions is analyzed to demonstrate that when capitalism is seen as ideological in nature, the zombie-themed games observed can be seen as evidence of the reiteration of that ideology. A gradation of economic systems becomes apparent through a comparison of these video games to the zombie myth presented in film, using a combination of the methods of narrative examination and ludology. The games which imitate the capitalistic market do so by utilizing the money-for-bodies ludic system, where players earn points of money for killing. Money-for-bodies raises questions about the subjectivities that arisein first-person shooter games—as the embedded capitalistic actions within video games which focus on killing leads to a combination of the two subjectivities connected to Empire, the worker-consumer and the citizen-soldier. Violence and economics are also connected through multiplayer interactions where players enact counterplay by committing avatar suicide to financially assist teammates, making life a resource and enacting a type of capitalism with moral haziness.","abstract_html":"This thesis presents a textual analysis of three zombie-themed video games: Left4Dead, Call of Duty: Zombies, and Killing Floor. The relationship between violence and economics presented in the in-game actions is analyzed to demonstrate that when capitalism is seen as ideological in nature, the zombie-themed games observed can be seen as evidence of the reiteration of that ideology. A gradation of economic systems becomes apparent through a comparison of these video games to the zombie myth presented in film, using a combination of the methods of narrative examination and ludology. The games which imitate the capitalistic market do so by utilizing the money-for-bodies ludic system, where players earn points of money for killing. Money-for-bodies raises questions about the subjectivities that arisein first-person shooter games—as the embedded capitalistic actions within video games which focus on killing leads to a combination of the two subjectivities connected to Empire, the worker-consumer and the citizen-soldier. Violence and economics are also connected through multiplayer interactions where players enact counterplay by committing avatar suicide to financially assist teammates, making life a resource and enacting a type of capitalism with moral haziness.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Shaw, Brynn S."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Cheek, Pamela","Carr, John","Umurhan, Osman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-09-03T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-09-03T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:26:07Z","subjects":["Zombies","Video games","Capitalism"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/fll_etds/64"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/fll_etds/64","href":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/fll_etds/64","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1928/23296","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Cheek, Pamela","Carr, John","Umurhan, Osman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Shaw, Brynn S."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis","Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Zombies","Video games","Capitalism"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1928/23296","https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/fll_etds/64"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis presents a textual analysis of three zombie-themed video games: Left4Dead, Call of Duty: Zombies, and Killing Floor. The relationship between violence and economics presented in the in-game actions is analyzed to demonstrate that when capitalism is seen as ideological in nature, the zombie-themed games observed can be seen as evidence of the reiteration of that ideology. A gradation of economic systems becomes apparent through a comparison of these video games to the zombie myth presented in film, using a combination of the methods of narrative examination and ludology. The games which imitate the capitalistic market do so by utilizing the money-for-bodies ludic system, where players earn points of money for killing. Money-for-bodies raises questions about the subjectivities that arisein first-person shooter games—as the embedded capitalistic actions within video games which focus on killing leads to a combination of the two subjectivities connected to Empire, the worker-consumer and the citizen-soldier. Violence and economics are also connected through multiplayer interactions where players enact counterplay by committing avatar suicide to financially assist teammates, making life a resource and enacting a type of capitalism with moral haziness."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Zombie Economics: Violence and Economics in three first-person shooter zombie-themed video games."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Cheek, Pamela","Carr, John","Umurhan, Osman"],"dc:creator":["Shaw, Brynn S."],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis presents a textual analysis of three zombie-themed video games: Left4Dead, Call of Duty: Zombies, and Killing Floor. The relationship between violence and economics presented in the in-game actions is analyzed to demonstrate that when capitalism is seen as ideological in nature, the zombie-themed games observed can be seen as evidence of the reiteration of that ideology. A gradation of economic systems becomes apparent through a comparison of these video games to the zombie myth presented in film, using a combination of the methods of narrative examination and ludology. The games which imitate the capitalistic market do so by utilizing the money-for-bodies ludic system, where players earn points of money for killing. Money-for-bodies raises questions about the subjectivities that arisein first-person shooter games—as the embedded capitalistic actions within video games which focus on killing leads to a combination of the two subjectivities connected to Empire, the worker-consumer and the citizen-soldier. Violence and economics are also connected through multiplayer interactions where players enact counterplay by committing avatar suicide to financially assist teammates, making life a resource and enacting a type of capitalism with moral haziness."],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/1928/23296","https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/fll_etds/64"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Zombies","Video games","Capitalism"],"dc:title":["Zombie Economics: Violence and Economics in three first-person shooter zombie-themed video games."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis","Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:26:07Z"}