There Is No Bigfoot, Just Like in Real Life: Analyzing Digital Culture, Daily Life, and Folkloric Traditions in Video Game Communities


Charles Ecenbarger (Southwestern College (KS))

Video game Easter eggs have engendered cultural practices, traditions, myth, and legend within video game communities. In turn, they have provided a renewable cultural resources as digital artifacts for communities which contribute to the expanding, retelling, and persistence of the folklore through video games. This paper focuses on one such Easter egg – The San Andreas Sasquatch. This paper works through this telling of Sasquatch as folklore in video game culture. This is accomplished by examining the transmittable aspects of digital artifacts being used to propel the story beyond the confines of the game world and into the milieu of players.

Part of 05-11 Interpreting Games, Friday, October 14, 10:30 am–12:30 pm