Computer Games and New Media Cultures: A Handbook of Digital Games Studies
Computer Games and New Media Cultures: A Handbook of Digital Games Studies
Digital gaming is today a significant
economic phenomenon as well as being an intrinsic part of a convergent
media culture in postmodern societies. Its ubiquity, as well as the
sheer volume of hours young people spend gaming, should make it ripe for
urgent academic enquiry, yet the subject was a research backwater until
the turn of the millennium. Even today, as tens of millions of young
people spend their waking hours manipulating avatars and gaming
characters on computer screens, the subject is still treated with
scepticism in some academic circles. This handbook aims to reflect the
relevance and value of studying digital games, now the subject of a
growing number of studies, surveys, conferences and publications.
As an overview of the current state of research into digital gaming, the 42 papers included in this handbook focus on the social and cultural relevance of gaming. In doing so, they provide an alternative perspective to one-dimensional studies of gaming, whose agendas do not include cultural factors. The contributions, which range from theoretical approaches to empirical studies, cover various topics including analyses of games themselves, the player-game interaction, and the social context of gaming. In addition, the educational aspects of games and gaming are treated in a discrete section. With material on non-commercial gaming trends such as ‘modding’, and a multinational group of authors from eleven nations, the handbook is a vital publication demonstrating that new media cultures are far more complex and diverse than commonly assumed in a debate dominated by concerns over violent content.
Ebook format: PDFAs an overview of the current state of research into digital gaming, the 42 papers included in this handbook focus on the social and cultural relevance of gaming. In doing so, they provide an alternative perspective to one-dimensional studies of gaming, whose agendas do not include cultural factors. The contributions, which range from theoretical approaches to empirical studies, cover various topics including analyses of games themselves, the player-game interaction, and the social context of gaming. In addition, the educational aspects of games and gaming are treated in a discrete section. With material on non-commercial gaming trends such as ‘modding’, and a multinational group of authors from eleven nations, the handbook is a vital publication demonstrating that new media cultures are far more complex and diverse than commonly assumed in a debate dominated by concerns over violent content.
Ebook page: 666
File size: 6.59 MB
$90.00
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