“This Is Not a Threat: Performing Reality in Conspiracy For Good”

In the 2010 alternate reality game Conspiracy For Good, players aligned against a fictional corporate villain bent on surveilling British citizens. The game scenario identified consumer surveillance technology as troublesome in the hands of the game’s overtly malevolent villain, but simultaneously as a powerful tool for resistance of corporate overreach when deployed by consumers. This presentation considers the potential for this and other alternate reality games to define and orient the subjectivities of their players, and in particular to place both players and the game’s sponsor, Nokia, in specific relationships to surveillant practices.