After an unexpectedly long hiatus, I talk with Nicole Lamerichs, senior researcher at the HKU in The Netherlands. We discuss about our rising interest and engagement with fictional characters, fan's affective reception of them, and the (para-)social relationships we build with them in dating simulators. This episode was recorded on October 28th, 2021, so some references are currently older than they were when we speak about them in the episode. 

Articles, books and presentations:

Lamerichs, Nicolle. Productive Fandom: Intermediality and Affective Reception in Fan Cultures. Transmedia: Participatory Culture and  Media Convergence. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018.

Lamerichs, Nicolle. ‘Characters of the Future. Machine Learning, Data, and Personality’. Image, Recontextualizing Characters, nr. 29 (januari 2019): 98–117.

Media:

Derrickson. 2016. Doctor Strange.

Fowler. 2020. Sonic the Hedgehog.

Kitfox Games. 2021. Boyfriend Dungeon.

Schaeffer. 2021. WandaVision

Ubisoft. 2018. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.