Latent Freedom in Videogames

Critical commentary about player freedom in videogames usually begins and ends with a critique of the ideology of free will. This focus misses a key way in which actual player freedom differs from the ideology of free will. Actual player freedom lies in the unconscious drive to fail rather than the capacity to make self-interested choices. When players satisfy their drive to fail, they experience a surplus of what Jacques Lacan calls jouissance , or enjoyment. Most videogames mystify our enjoyment by encouraging us to identify with fantasies of pleasure and mastery. But there are exceptions. Killer7 is an example of a game that exposes players to their enjoyment and, in so doing, draws attention to the freedom latent in the drive to fail.