Casual and Hardcore Players in HBO’s Westworld (2016): The Immoral and Violent Player

Abstract

This thesis approaches the HBO series Westworld (2016) through the lens of game studies and interprets the series as a commentary on the stereotype of casual and hardcore players and immoral violence in video games. By performing a textual analysis, this thesis explores how Westworld as a series makes use of the casual and hardcore player stereotype, looking at the way the series explores the construction of player categories and how it ties these to the dialogue about violence and immoral behaviour in video games.