Fear, Greed, and the Exclusion of the ‘Local’ in the Formation of a Global Gaming Industry in Israel

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Gluzman Renard Pnueli Vered
2022 DiGRA ’22 – Proceedings of the 2022 DiGRA International Conference: Bringing Worlds Together

The digital games industry is predominantly helmed by giant game companies catering for unified global themes. Despite the rise of handy tools and online stores that provide more opportunities for independent developers, games contents rarely reflect Israel’s current lifestyle. This paper focuses on the volatile history of Israeli games culture as we explore the specific circumstances that deterred developers from creating games engaged with the local way of life. We observe how endogenous and exogenous factors encourage companies and creators to deliberately strip regional characteristics from their products while adhering to global trends. This tendency is widespread in the commercial and independent games industries. As gaming becomes a dominant media and art form, we urge new actions to promote games inspired by local culture, themes, and aesthetics