Game Studies

From Among Us to Minecraft, Catan to Dungeons and Dragons, games and play are fundamentally transforming how we understand storytelling, education, identity, politics, and creativity. Game Studies provides the first ever critical and comprehensive introduction for navigating this complex, interdisciplinary, and rapidly growing research field. Each chapter introduces a timely area of debate in games research, and addresses critical questions about the social, cultural, and economic aspects of games and the people who play and make them. Combining key theoretical frameworks with case studies of influential games, the book equips readers with the tools needed to engage critically with games and their growing cultural significance. Full of concrete examples and pedagogical features, Game Studies offers a highly accessible and urgently needed guide to this rapidly expanding, hotly contested, and culturally significant field. It is essential reading for students of both media studies and game design, and an important resource for scholars, developers, and players.

List of figures Acknowledgements 1. Welcome to game studies 2. How games mean 3. How games persuade 4. Playing with games 5. Breaking the rules 6. Beyond gamer culture 7. Playing together 8. Decentering the player 9. Playing globally 10. Making games 11. The games industry Notes References Index