Skip to content
1981
Time, Play and Games
  • ISSN: 1757-191X
  • E-ISSN: 1757-1928

Abstract

(2012) is a strategy game in which players develop pathogens to eliminate, control or zombify the world’s population. The game integrates biomedical models, visual practices and knowledge formations into visual language, terminology and the representation of the temporal course of disease. The article examines the intertwining of medical theorems – in particular evolutionism, epidemiology and public health – with temporal processes and their representation within the ludonarrative structure of the game. Methodologically, a theoretical discussion of concepts of time is followed by an analysis of temporal regimes in epidemiology and public health. Building on this, the epidemiological semantics and chronotopic structures in are elaborated.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw_00125_1
2025-10-31
2026-04-13

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aigner, Wolfgang, Miksch, Silvia, Schumann, Heidrun and Tominski, Christian (2023), Visualization of Time-Oriented Data, 2nd ed., Human–Computer Interaction Series, London: Springer London, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-7527-8.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Barbehön, Marlon (2023), Zeichen der Zeit: Umrisse einer Politischen Theorie der Temporalität, Theorie und Gesellschaft, New York and Frankfurt: Campus Verlag.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Bemong, Nele and Borghart, Pieter (2010), ‘Bakhtin’s theory of the literary chronotope: Reflections, applications, perspectives’, in N. Bemong, P. Borghart, M. De Dobbeleer, K. Demoen, K. De Temmermann and B. Keunen (eds), Bakhtin’s Theory of the Literary Chronotope: Reflections, Applications, Perspectives, Gent: Academia Press, pp. 317, https://doi.org/10.26530/OAPEN_377572.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Carr, Susan, Unwin, Nigel and Pless-Mulloli, Tanja (2007), An Introduction to Public Health and Epidemiology, 2nd ed., Maidenhead: Open University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Dark Realm Studios (2007), Pandemic, Vancouver: Dark Realm Studios and Westtech Media.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Elliott, Andrew B. R. and Kapell, Matthew W. (2013), ‘Introduction: To build a past that will “stand the test of time”: Discovering historical facts, assembling historical narratives’, in M. W. Kapell and A. B. R. Elliott (eds), Playing with the Past: Digital Games and the Simulation of History, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 130.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2009), ‘Guide to public health measures to reduce the impact of influenza pandemics in Europe: “The ECDC Menu”’, ECDC, 17 June, https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/guide-public-health-measures-reduce-impact-influenza-pandemics-europe-ecdc-menu. Accessed 13 September 2024.
  8. Fangerau, Heiner, Geisler, Hans, Halling, Thorsten and Martin, William (eds) (2013), Classification and Evolution in Biology, Linguistics and the History of Science: Concepts, Methods, Visualization, Stuttgart: Steiner.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Findlater, Aidan and Bogoch, Isaac I. (2018), ‘Human mobility and the global spread of infectious diseases: A focus on air travel’, Trends in Parasitology, 34:9, pp. 77283, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2018.07.004.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Foucault, Michel and Miskowiec, Jay (1986), ‘Of other spaces’, Diacritics, 16:1, pp. 2227, https://doi.org/10.2307/464648.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Görgen, Arno (2016), ‘Chronisch krank: Zur medikalisierten Ästhetik des Temporalen in PLAGUE INC’, in S. Höltgen und J. C. van Treeck (eds), Time to Play: Zeit und Computerspiel. 1. Auflage, Glückstadt: Hülsbusch, pp. 296313.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Görgen, Arno and Pfister, Eugen (2022), ‘Codierte Chroniken? Erste Betrachtungen zur Beziehung zwischen Digitalen Spielen und Geschichte’, in C. Schwarzenegger, E. Koenen, C. Pentzold, T. Birkner and C. Katzenbach (eds), Digitale Kommunikation und Kommunikationsgeschichte: Perspektiven, Potentiale, Problemfelder, Berlin: Digital Communication Research, pp. 375400.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Görgen, Arno and Pfister, Eugen (2024), ‘Pandemien in der Popkultur: Distanz und Nähe der Pandemieerfahrung’, in A. Görgen, T. Eichinger and E. Pfister (eds), Superspreader – Popkultur und mediale Diskurse im Angesicht der Pandemie, Bielefeld: Transcript, pp. 21331.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Horder, Tim (2013), ‘Heterochrony’, in Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470015902.a0001778.pub3. Accessed 16 March 2025.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Kermack, William O. and McKendrick, Anderson G. (1927), ‘A contribution to the mathematical theory of epidemics’, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical and Physical Character, 115:772, pp. 70021, https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02464423.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Körber, Andreas (2018), ‘Geschichte – Spielen – Denken: Kontingenzverschiebungen und zweiseitige Triftigkeiten’, MedienPädagogik. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung, online first, pp. 1935, https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/00/2018.04.04.x.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Lima, Manuel (2014), The Book of Trees: Visualizing Branches of Knowledge, New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Mason, Richard, Morphet, Tony and Prosalendis, Sandra (2006), Reading Scientific Images: The Iconography of Evolution, Cape Town: HSRC Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Ndemic Creations (2014), Plague Inc: Evolved, Bristol: Ndemic Creations.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Ndemic Creations (2022), ‘Plague Inc. is 10 years old today! I’m the creator of Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc. Ask me anything!’, Reddit, 26 May, https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/uyc7ve/plague_inc_is_10_years_old_today_im_the_creator/?rdt=44416. Accessed 16 March 2025.
  21. Pause, Johannes (2012), Texturen der Zeit: zum Wandel ästhetischer Zeitkonzepte in der deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur, Köln: Böhlau.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Piero, Mike (2021), Video Game Chronotopes and Social Justice: Playing on the Threshold, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Rosa, Hartmut (2013), Social Acceleration: A New Theory of Modernity, New Directions in Critical Theory, New York: Columbia University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Sander, Elmar (2024), ‘Von Florence Nightingale zu “Flatten the Curve”: Infografiken als epistemische Vermittler in epidemischen Zeiten’, in A. Görgen, T. Eichinger and E. Pfister (eds), Superspreader – Popkultur und mediale Diskurse im Angesicht der Pandemie, Bielefeld: Transcript, pp. 5570.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Saracci, Rodolfo (2010), Epidemiology: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Zielke, Julia (2022), ‘It’s about time: On the need of a temporal language for ecologically dimensioned medical humanities and public health scholarship’, Medical Humanities 48:3, pp. 26568, https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2021-012257.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw_00125_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw_00125_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test