Post-Digitality in Contemporary Polish Video Games: An Outline of Issues

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2391-8551.13.01

Keywords:

Polish digital games, post-digital aesthetics, post-digital games, post-digital culture, post-digitality

Abstract

The article focuses on the issue of post-digitality, presenting it as a cultural phenomenon that redefines the relationship between the digital and the analog, and refers to phenomena characteristic of the early stages of media and digital game culture development. The aim of the text is to identify and analyze aesthetic strategies and mechanisms used in contemporary Polish digital games that can be classified as post-digital. In exploring this topic, the author focuses on selected Polish titles (including Papetura, Darkwood, SuperHot, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest, This War of Mine, Observer, The Invincible) and interprets them in light of contemporary media and cultural theories. These games consciously expose their technological constraints and reflect on the condition of digital culture, while proposing alternative forms of aesthetics and player engagement. The article applies qualitative research methods and an autoethnographic perspective, emphasizing the author’s personal experiences as a player. 

Author Biography

  • Radosław Bomba, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University

    Radosław Bomba, PhD, a researcher, academic teacher, and digital culture animator. He graduated in Cultural Studies and Sociology from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, as well as postgraduate studies in Intellectual Property Protection and Computer Graphics and DTP. Since 2006, he has been working at the Institute of Cultural Studies at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, where, following his doctoral defense, he served as an assistant professor and, since 2021, as an associate professor. His interests include knowledge visualization, digital humanities, cultural analytics, anthropological aspects of video games, ludology, cyberculture, digital culture, new media, and their impact on socio-cultural transformations. He is the author of the book Video Games in the Perspective of Everyday Anthropology (Toruń 2014), co-author (with Michał Bobrowski) of the book Beyond the Cinema Screen: Post-Media Contexts of Animation (Lublin 2021), and several articles dedicated to various aspects of digital culture and video game studies. Since 2018, he has been the director of the Center for Video Game Research at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

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Downloads

Published

2026-07-22

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Bomba, Radosław. 2026. “Post-Digitality in Contemporary Polish Video Games: An Outline of Issues”. Replay. The Polish Journal of Game Studies 13 (1): 7-29. https://doi.org/10.18778/2391-8551.13.01.