Reclaiming late capitalist space. The use of Verfremdung devices in Kentucky Route Zero

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the themes of displacement and reclaiming of late capitalist space in Cardboard Computer's experimental video game Kentucky Route Zero. Martin Heidegger and Henri Lefebvre serve as the theoretical resources for an examination of these themes. Focusing on four scenes from the game, I draw upon Bertolt Brecht’s notion of Verfremdungseffekt, analyzing the formal devices employed in KRZ as the game subverts medium-specific conventions of immersion, agency, identification with characters, and instrumentality.