Vampires in Interactive Media: Playing Dead

by Matthew Thompson

Overview

The figure of the vampire is amongst the most ubiquitous in popular culture, with little sign of it slowing down in film, television or books. However, one overlooked element of the vampire’s cultural impact is how the vampire is implemented into interactive texts—such as video games and board games. This book will show that not only is there a plethora of interactive texts that utilise the tropes of the vampire as an enemy for the player to face but also ones that create a vampiric avatar for the players to utilise. This book will show how no other gothic or horror-orientated figure can surpass the vampire for cultural weight and utility within the interactive space, nor can any of these figures be reconstructed so readily the ways games do with the vampire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399529105
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	01/31/2026
Series:	21st Century Horror
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Matthew Thompson is a cultural historian academic who has worked at both Griffith Universityand the University of Southern Queensland. His PhD focused on reconstructions of Jack the Ripper and how they inform serial killer and Victorian narratives. His academic articles and book chapters have included topics such as Marvel’s Jessica Jones; Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; museum ethics in Jack the Ripper exhibits; and zombies in games.

Table of Contents

Introduction: It's in the Blood

1. Bloody Boss Battles: The Vampire as Antagonist

2. (Un)Death Becomes Them: The Vampiric Avatar

3. Levelling Up: Enhancing Campiric Avatars in Games

4. From the Shadows: Deception and Deciet

5. Re-evaluating Humanity: Ethics and Morality

6. Bloody Conquests: Wat, Strategy and Politics

7. The Rule of Lore: Vampiric Exploration and Dialogues Between Designers and Players

8. Coteries and Communities: Vampires, Experiences and Player Dynamics

Conclusion: Gothic Gaming

References
Index