Symbolic consumption in digital games

an analysis model

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-58442023117pt

Keywords:

Communication, Symbolic consumption, Discourse analysis, Digital games, Analysis model

Abstract

The article presents the Analysis Model of Symbolic Consumption in Digital Games, developed with theoretical and methodological contributions from the Semiology of Social Discourses, Game Studies and the Communication Model as a Symbolic Market. From the study of the production of meanings by players in digital entertainment games, the elaboration of the model developed the idea that symbolic consumption results from a succession of articulated movements ranging from reception sensu stricto to appropriation. Developed and applied in research that focused on the consumption of meanings of health, the model allowed not only to highlight the networks of meanings, but also that these networks intertwine discourses of physical and virtual life and that the different ways in which the senses are consumed vary according to different contexts and forms of player involvement. The methodological development allowed the creation of analytical categories for the study of symbolic consumption.

Author Biographies

  • Flávia Garcia de Carvalho, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brazil, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil

    PhD and Master of Science from the Stricto Sensu Postgraduate Program in Health Information and Communication (PPGICS) at Icict/Fiocruz. Professor of the Master’s Degree in Science, Technology and Health Dissemination at Casa de Osvaldo Cruz at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (COC/Fiocruz). Research Professor at the Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic School of Health (EPSJV/Fiocruz). Member of the “Games and Health” research group. Co-author of the book “O Jogo como Prática de Saúde”, by Editora Fiocruz. Chair of the Health Track at the XXI Brazilian Symposium on Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames 2022).

  • Inesita Soares de Araujo, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brazil, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil

    PhD and Master in Communication and Culture from UFRJ, with post-doctorate in Social Sciences, from the University of Coimbra/Center for Social Studies. Senior researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), works at the Communication and Health Laboratory (Laces) and in the Postgraduate Program in Health Information and Communication (PPGICS), both at the Institute of Communication and Scientific and Technological Information in Health (Icict). She coordinates the Communication and Health Research Group (CNPq) and the Communication and Health GT of the Brazilian Association of Public Health (ABRASCO). Author of the books “A Reconversão do Olhar”, “Comunicação e Saúde” and “O Jogo como Prática de Saúde”, the last two co-authored.

  • Marcelo Simão de Vasconcellos, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brazil, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil

    PhD in Sciences from the Postgraduate Program in Health Information and Communication (PPGICS) at Icict/Fiocruz, Master’s degree in Visual Arts and degree in Industrial Design from the School of Fine Arts (UFRJ). He is a researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), where he works as a permanent professor in the Postgraduate Program in Science, Technology and Health Dissemination (COC/Fiocruz) and in the Postgraduate Program in Teaching in Biosciences and Health (IOC/Fiocruz). He is one of the authors of the book “O Jogo como Prática de Saúde”, published by Editora Fiocruz. He conducts research and development of analog and digital games for health promotion, scientific dissemination, and citizenship.

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Published

2023-12-11

Issue

Vol. 46 (2023)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Flávia Garcia de Carvalho, Inesita Soares de Araujo, Marcelo Simão de Vasconcellos

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

Symbolic consumption in digital games: an analysis model. Intercom - Brazilian Journal of Communication Sciences, São Paulo, v. 46, p. e2023117, 2023. DOI: 10.1590/1809-58442023117pt. Disponível em: https://revistas.intercom.org.br/index.php/revistaintercom/article/view/4317. Acesso em: 21 jul. 2026.