2025
Scully-Blaker, Rainforest; Kalmanlehto, Johan; Korkeila, Henry; Ruotsalainen, Maria
Introduction to the Special Issue on Meta : “About, Within, and Around” the 20th Annual Tampere University Game Research Lab Spring Seminar Journal Article
In: ACM Games: Research and Practice, vol. 3, iss. 2, pp. 1-5, 2025, ISSN: 2832-5516.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Critical meta-analysis, Game culture
@article{nokey,
title = {Introduction to the Special Issue on Meta : “About, Within, and Around” the 20th Annual Tampere University Game Research Lab Spring Seminar},
author = {Rainforest Scully-Blaker and Johan Kalmanlehto and Henry Korkeila and Maria Ruotsalainen},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3723324},
doi = {10.1145/3723324},
issn = {2832-5516},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-04-09},
journal = {ACM Games: Research and Practice},
volume = {3},
issue = {2},
pages = {1-5},
abstract = {This is the introduction to a special issue based on papers presented at the 20th Annual Tampere University Game Research Lab Spring Seminar in Tampere, Finland. The theme for this iteration of the seminar was Meta. After a brief discussion on the multifaceted nature of meta, we introduce the six papers that make up this special issue. Within game studies, meta is a word or prefix that has many meanings to many people. We suggest that the articles in this special issue engage with meta as it pertains to players, developers, and scholars, and discuss each piece in turn. We conclude by thanking everyone whose work led to the production. Meta is what one makes of it, and we affirm that our authors have made this special issue a compilation of a set of significant contributions to the study of everything that occurs about, within, and around games.},
keywords = {Critical meta-analysis, Game culture},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This is the introduction to a special issue based on papers presented at the 20th Annual Tampere University Game Research Lab Spring Seminar in Tampere, Finland. The theme for this iteration of the seminar was Meta. After a brief discussion on the multifaceted nature of meta, we introduce the six papers that make up this special issue. Within game studies, meta is a word or prefix that has many meanings to many people. We suggest that the articles in this special issue engage with meta as it pertains to players, developers, and scholars, and discuss each piece in turn. We conclude by thanking everyone whose work led to the production. Meta is what one makes of it, and we affirm that our authors have made this special issue a compilation of a set of significant contributions to the study of everything that occurs about, within, and around games.
2024
Meriläinen, Mikko; Ruotsalainen, Maria
Online Disinhibition, Normative Hostility, and Banal Toxicity: Young People’s Negative Online Gaming Conduct Journal Article
In: Social Media + Society, vol. 10, iss. 3, 2024, ISSN: 2056-3051.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game culture, Online disinhibition, Online gaming, Toxicity, Young people
@article{Meriläinen2024c,
title = {Online Disinhibition, Normative Hostility, and Banal Toxicity: Young People’s Negative Online Gaming Conduct},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen and Maria Ruotsalainen},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241274669
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051241274669},
doi = {10.1177/20563051241274669},
issn = {2056-3051},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-09-11},
urldate = {2024-09-11},
journal = {Social Media + Society},
volume = {10},
issue = {3},
abstract = {In this study, we examine young people’s self-reported negative (“toxic”) online gaming conduct via a qualitative survey (N = 95) of active game players aged 15–25 in Finland. Drawing from young people’s lived experiences, we present negative gaming conduct as a complex whole, stemming from a combination of online disinhibition, affective intensity, game cultural conduct norms, and individual preferences. We explore online gaming environments as spaces with different technological and communicative affordances. In this study, we demonstrate how not all negative gaming conduct is equal in intent or outcome and introduce the concept of banal toxicity: outwardly hostile but routine conduct that lacks emotional intensity and serves little strategic purpose yet is conducive to an overall social landscape of negativity.},
keywords = {Game culture, Online disinhibition, Online gaming, Toxicity, Young people},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this study, we examine young people’s self-reported negative (“toxic”) online gaming conduct via a qualitative survey (N = 95) of active game players aged 15–25 in Finland. Drawing from young people’s lived experiences, we present negative gaming conduct as a complex whole, stemming from a combination of online disinhibition, affective intensity, game cultural conduct norms, and individual preferences. We explore online gaming environments as spaces with different technological and communicative affordances. In this study, we demonstrate how not all negative gaming conduct is equal in intent or outcome and introduce the concept of banal toxicity: outwardly hostile but routine conduct that lacks emotional intensity and serves little strategic purpose yet is conducive to an overall social landscape of negativity.
2022
Mukherjee, Souvik
Videogames in the Indian Subcontinent: Development, Culture(s) and Representations Book
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022, ISBN: 9789354356919.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game culture, Game history, India, Ludic culture, Video games
@book{Mukherjee2022,
title = {Videogames in the Indian Subcontinent: Development, Culture(s) and Representations},
author = {Souvik Mukherjee},
url = {https://www.bloomsbury.com/in/videogames-in-the-indian-subcontinent-9789354356919/},
isbn = {9789354356919},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-11-25},
urldate = {2022-11-25},
publisher = {Bloomsbury Publishing},
abstract = {Videogames in the Indian Subcontinent: Development, Culture(s) and Representations explores the gaming culture of one of the most culturally diverse and populous regions of the world-the Indian subcontinent. Building on the author's earlier work on videogame culture in India, this book addresses issues of how discussions of equality and diversity sit within videogame studies, particularly in connection with the subcontinent, thereby presenting pioneering research on the videogame cultures of the region.
Drawing on a series of player and developer interviews and surveys conducted over the last five years, including some recent ones, this book provides a sense of how games have become a part of the culture of the region despite its huge diversity and plurality and opens up avenues for further study through vignettes and snapshots of the diverse gaming culture. It addresses the rapid rise of videogames as an entertainment medium in South Asia and, as such, also tries to better understand the recent controversies connected to gaming in the region In the process, it aims to make a larger connection between the development of videogames and player culture, in the subcontinent and globally, thus opening up channels for collaboration between the industry and academic research, local and global.},
keywords = {Game culture, Game history, India, Ludic culture, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
Videogames in the Indian Subcontinent: Development, Culture(s) and Representations explores the gaming culture of one of the most culturally diverse and populous regions of the world-the Indian subcontinent. Building on the author's earlier work on videogame culture in India, this book addresses issues of how discussions of equality and diversity sit within videogame studies, particularly in connection with the subcontinent, thereby presenting pioneering research on the videogame cultures of the region.
Drawing on a series of player and developer interviews and surveys conducted over the last five years, including some recent ones, this book provides a sense of how games have become a part of the culture of the region despite its huge diversity and plurality and opens up avenues for further study through vignettes and snapshots of the diverse gaming culture. It addresses the rapid rise of videogames as an entertainment medium in South Asia and, as such, also tries to better understand the recent controversies connected to gaming in the region In the process, it aims to make a larger connection between the development of videogames and player culture, in the subcontinent and globally, thus opening up channels for collaboration between the industry and academic research, local and global.
Drawing on a series of player and developer interviews and surveys conducted over the last five years, including some recent ones, this book provides a sense of how games have become a part of the culture of the region despite its huge diversity and plurality and opens up avenues for further study through vignettes and snapshots of the diverse gaming culture. It addresses the rapid rise of videogames as an entertainment medium in South Asia and, as such, also tries to better understand the recent controversies connected to gaming in the region In the process, it aims to make a larger connection between the development of videogames and player culture, in the subcontinent and globally, thus opening up channels for collaboration between the industry and academic research, local and global.
Arjoranta, Jonne
Mitä pelit merkitsevät? Book Section
In: Friman, Usva; Arjoranta, Jonne; Kinnunen, Jani; Heljakka, Katriina; Stenros, Jaakko (Ed.): Pelit kulttuurina, Vastapaino, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-768-965-6.
Links | Tags: Game culture, Games, Meaning
@incollection{Arjoranta2022b,
title = {Mitä pelit merkitsevät?},
author = {Jonne Arjoranta},
editor = {Usva Friman and Jonne Arjoranta and Jani Kinnunen and Katriina Heljakka and Jaakko Stenros},
url = {https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/80852},
isbn = {978-951-768-965-6},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-31},
urldate = {2022-03-31},
booktitle = {Pelit kulttuurina},
publisher = {Vastapaino},
chapter = {14},
keywords = {Game culture, Games, Meaning},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Mäyrä, Frans
Pelikulttuurien tutkimuksen historiaa Book Section
In: Friman, Usva; Arjoranta, Jonne; Kinnunen, Jani; Heljakka, Katriina; Stenros, Jaakko (Ed.): Pelit kulttuurina, Vastapaino, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-768-972-4.
Links | Tags: Game culture, History, Research
@incollection{Mäyrä2022,
title = {Pelikulttuurien tutkimuksen historiaa},
author = {Frans Mäyrä},
editor = {Usva Friman and Jonne Arjoranta and Jani Kinnunen and Katriina Heljakka and Jaakko Stenros},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/146846
},
isbn = {978-951-768-972-4},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-31},
urldate = {2022-03-31},
booktitle = {Pelit kulttuurina},
publisher = {Vastapaino},
keywords = {Game culture, History, Research},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Ruotsalainen, Maria; Törhönen, Maria; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti (Ed.)
Modes of Esports Engagement in Overwatch Book
Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, ISBN: 978-3030827663.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Digital culture, Digital media, Electronic sports, Game culture, Game development, Game studies, Overwatch
@book{Ruotsalainen2022,
title = {Modes of Esports Engagement in Overwatch},
editor = {Maria Ruotsalainen and Maria Törhönen and Veli-Matti Karhulahti
},
url = {https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-82767-0},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82767-0},
isbn = {978-3030827663},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-10},
urldate = {2022-03-10},
publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan},
abstract = {This Open Access book provides a comprehensive review of the rapidly developing esport phenomenon by examining one of its contemporary flagship titles, Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment 2016), through three central themes and from a rich variety of research methods and perspectives. As a game with more than 40 million individual players, an annual international World Cup, and a franchised professional league with teams from Canada, China, Europe, South Korea, and the US, Overwatch provides a multifaceted perspective to the cultural, social, and economic topics associated with the development of esports, which has begun to attract attention from both commercial and academic audiences.
A decade ago, it was still somewhat conventional to start a study by writing how “esports is a novel phenomenon.” As today more than a thousand studies have been published on esports, including several books and special issues, the need for more specific case studies keeps increasing. This multidisciplinary and multi-methodological book on Overwatch responds to that need. With 15 authors from various backgrounds, the book provides a far-reaching analysis of Overwatch and its modes of engagement. Ten chapters provide a foundation for understanding how a title like Overwatch operates both as an esport and a more general entertainment product at the same time.},
keywords = {Digital culture, Digital media, Electronic sports, Game culture, Game development, Game studies, Overwatch},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
This Open Access book provides a comprehensive review of the rapidly developing esport phenomenon by examining one of its contemporary flagship titles, Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment 2016), through three central themes and from a rich variety of research methods and perspectives. As a game with more than 40 million individual players, an annual international World Cup, and a franchised professional league with teams from Canada, China, Europe, South Korea, and the US, Overwatch provides a multifaceted perspective to the cultural, social, and economic topics associated with the development of esports, which has begun to attract attention from both commercial and academic audiences.
A decade ago, it was still somewhat conventional to start a study by writing how “esports is a novel phenomenon.” As today more than a thousand studies have been published on esports, including several books and special issues, the need for more specific case studies keeps increasing. This multidisciplinary and multi-methodological book on Overwatch responds to that need. With 15 authors from various backgrounds, the book provides a far-reaching analysis of Overwatch and its modes of engagement. Ten chapters provide a foundation for understanding how a title like Overwatch operates both as an esport and a more general entertainment product at the same time.
A decade ago, it was still somewhat conventional to start a study by writing how “esports is a novel phenomenon.” As today more than a thousand studies have been published on esports, including several books and special issues, the need for more specific case studies keeps increasing. This multidisciplinary and multi-methodological book on Overwatch responds to that need. With 15 authors from various backgrounds, the book provides a far-reaching analysis of Overwatch and its modes of engagement. Ten chapters provide a foundation for understanding how a title like Overwatch operates both as an esport and a more general entertainment product at the same time.
Ruotsalainen, Maria; Törhönen, Maria; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
Introduction Book Section
In: Modes of Esports Engagement in Overwatch, pp. 1-7, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, ISBN: 978-3-030-82766-3.
Links | Tags: Digital culture, Digital media, Electronic sports, Game culture, Game development, Game studies, Overwatch
@incollection{Ruotsalainen2022b,
title = {Introduction},
author = {Maria Ruotsalainen and Maria Törhönen and Veli-Matti Karhulahti
},
url = {https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-82767-0},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82767-0_1},
isbn = {978-3-030-82766-3},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-10},
urldate = {2022-03-10},
booktitle = {Modes of Esports Engagement in Overwatch},
pages = {1-7},
publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan},
keywords = {Digital culture, Digital media, Electronic sports, Game culture, Game development, Game studies, Overwatch},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
2021
Koskimaa, Raine
Book Review: How Pac-Man Eats other
2021.
Links | Tags: Book review, Game culture, Game studies, Pac-Man, Video games
@other{Koskimaa2021c,
title = {Book Review: How Pac-Man Eats},
author = {Raine Koskimaa},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202202011364
http://gamestudies.org/2104/articles/koskimaa_review},
issn = {1604-7982},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-31},
urldate = {2021-12-31},
booktitle = {Game Studies: the international journal of computer game research},
volume = {21},
number = {4},
publisher = {IT Universitetet i Koebenhavn},
keywords = {Book review, Game culture, Game studies, Pac-Man, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Sotamaa, Olli
Studying Game Development Cultures Journal Article
In: Games and Culture, vol. 16, iss. 7, pp. 835-854, 2021, ISSN: 1555-4120.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Contextual analysis, Game culture, Game development, Game development culture, Game industry
@article{Sotamaa2021b,
title = {Studying Game Development Cultures},
author = {Olli Sotamaa},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202104223313
},
doi = {10.1177/15554120211005242},
issn = {1555-4120},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-01},
journal = {Games and Culture},
volume = {16},
issue = {7},
pages = {835-854},
abstract = {By analyzing and contextualizing different aspects of the Finnish game development scene, this article provides concrete examples of why we need cultural studies of game development and how game development cultures can be studied. The article follows a three-layer approach, first exploring some of the historical and political developments that have shaped forms of local game production. Second, a focus is placed on working cultures within the industry and attitudes toward crunch time, work–life balance, and workplace regulation. Third, everyday strategies of organizing creative work are analyzed to better understand game studio cultures. The lessons from this empirical study directly contribute to the larger scholarly discussions around game production and creative labor.
},
keywords = {Contextual analysis, Game culture, Game development, Game development culture, Game industry},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
By analyzing and contextualizing different aspects of the Finnish game development scene, this article provides concrete examples of why we need cultural studies of game development and how game development cultures can be studied. The article follows a three-layer approach, first exploring some of the historical and political developments that have shaped forms of local game production. Second, a focus is placed on working cultures within the industry and attitudes toward crunch time, work–life balance, and workplace regulation. Third, everyday strategies of organizing creative work are analyzed to better understand game studio cultures. The lessons from this empirical study directly contribute to the larger scholarly discussions around game production and creative labor.
Malinen, Ville; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
북유럽 레트로: 핀란드의 레트로게임 문화 [Retrogaming in Finland] other
2021.
Links | Tags: Digital games, Game culture, Game history, Online games, Retrogaming
@other{Malinen2021,
title = {북유럽 레트로: 핀란드의 레트로게임 문화 [Retrogaming in Finland]},
author = {Ville Malinen and Veli-Matti Karhulahti},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202110255344},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-09},
journal = {Game Generation},
keywords = {Digital games, Game culture, Game history, Online games, Retrogaming},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Nylund, Niklas; Prax, Patrick; Sotamaa, Olli
Rethinking Game Heritage: Towards Reflexivity in Game Preservation Journal Article
In: International Journal of Heritage Studies: IJHS, vol. 27, iss. 3, pp. 268-280, 2021, ISSN: 1352-7258.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Critical heritage, Game culture, Game preservation, Game studies, Intangible heritage, Participatory heritage
@article{Nylund2021,
title = {Rethinking Game Heritage: Towards Reflexivity in Game Preservation},
author = {Niklas Nylund and Patrick Prax and Olli Sotamaa},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202006045916},
doi = {10.1080/13527258.2020.1752772},
issn = {1352-7258},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-03-04},
journal = {International Journal of Heritage Studies: IJHS},
volume = {27},
issue = {3},
pages = {268-280},
abstract = {While games and the cultures that have sprung up around them are diverse and vastly different from each other, most exhibitions dealing with them are based on a limited understanding of games that relies on symbolic brands on one hand and on the centrality of playable experiences on the other. This bias is potentially replicated by heritage institution collections starting to define how games become cultural heritage. While games research has shown that games are firmly nestled in a participatory grassroots culture, these kinds of perspectives are curiously lacking in exhibitions. By connecting previous work on critical and intangible heritage with game studies literature, this paper emphasises the importance of various productive communities for game heritage. The concepts of intangible and critical heritage suggest that the inclusion of players and communities into the game heritage process could offer a more diverse heritage discourse. But participatory practices in collector run museums tend to produce game heritage which is implicitly working towards the same kind of one-sided understanding of games that has been criticised heavily in game studies. The critical expertise of museum professionals is needed in order to start incorporating the varicoloured practices of communities into our understanding of game heritage.},
keywords = {Critical heritage, Game culture, Game preservation, Game studies, Intangible heritage, Participatory heritage},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
While games and the cultures that have sprung up around them are diverse and vastly different from each other, most exhibitions dealing with them are based on a limited understanding of games that relies on symbolic brands on one hand and on the centrality of playable experiences on the other. This bias is potentially replicated by heritage institution collections starting to define how games become cultural heritage. While games research has shown that games are firmly nestled in a participatory grassroots culture, these kinds of perspectives are curiously lacking in exhibitions. By connecting previous work on critical and intangible heritage with game studies literature, this paper emphasises the importance of various productive communities for game heritage. The concepts of intangible and critical heritage suggest that the inclusion of players and communities into the game heritage process could offer a more diverse heritage discourse. But participatory practices in collector run museums tend to produce game heritage which is implicitly working towards the same kind of one-sided understanding of games that has been criticised heavily in game studies. The critical expertise of museum professionals is needed in order to start incorporating the varicoloured practices of communities into our understanding of game heritage.
2020
Sotamaa, Olli
Modes of Independence in the Finnish Game Development Scene Book Section
In: Ruffino, Paolo (Ed.): Independent Videogames: Cultures, Networks, Techniques and Politics, pp. 223-237, Routledge, 2020, ISBN: 9780367336202.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game culture, Game development, Game industry, Independent games
@incollection{Sotamaa2020b,
title = {Modes of Independence in the Finnish Game Development Scene},
author = {Olli Sotamaa},
editor = {Paolo Ruffino},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202012188980},
doi = {10.4324/9780367336219},
isbn = {9780367336202},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-10-08},
booktitle = {Independent Videogames: Cultures, Networks, Techniques and Politics},
pages = {223-237},
publisher = {Routledge},
abstract = {by putting the focus on two games: Nex Machina (2017) and Baba is You (2017/2019). A contextualizing reading of selected games connects them to their relevant cultural and economic framings. Special focus is placed on funding schemes, production networks, and distribution channels that make these games possible in the first place and shape the forms they take. Through the two case studies, this chapter examines how independence and ‘indie’ get particular meanings in a North-European game development scene defined by small domestic market. In the past decades, features like digital distribution, accessible development tools, small teams, and game jams at some point considered central markers of independent game production and have become crucial aspects of almost all game development. The study shows how very different game projects can include different aspects of independence, highlighting the blurred boundaries between top-down corporate game production and bottom-up participatory indie culture. In most cases, the ability to quickly adjust to an ever-changing industry environment is crucial. Long-term sustainability is very difficult to guarantee, and most studios – large and small – are still pretty much one failed project away from insolvency.},
keywords = {Game culture, Game development, Game industry, Independent games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
by putting the focus on two games: Nex Machina (2017) and Baba is You (2017/2019). A contextualizing reading of selected games connects them to their relevant cultural and economic framings. Special focus is placed on funding schemes, production networks, and distribution channels that make these games possible in the first place and shape the forms they take. Through the two case studies, this chapter examines how independence and ‘indie’ get particular meanings in a North-European game development scene defined by small domestic market. In the past decades, features like digital distribution, accessible development tools, small teams, and game jams at some point considered central markers of independent game production and have become crucial aspects of almost all game development. The study shows how very different game projects can include different aspects of independence, highlighting the blurred boundaries between top-down corporate game production and bottom-up participatory indie culture. In most cases, the ability to quickly adjust to an ever-changing industry environment is crucial. Long-term sustainability is very difficult to guarantee, and most studios – large and small – are still pretty much one failed project away from insolvency.
Mäyrä, Frans
The Hybrid Agency of Hybrid Play Book Section
In: de Souza e Silva, Adriana; Glover-Rijkse, Ragan (Ed.): Hybrid Play: Crossing Boundaries in Game Design, Player Identities and Play Spaces, pp. 81-97, Routledge, 2020, ISBN: 978-0-367-42778-8.
Links | Tags: Agency, Game culture, Game studies, Hybridisyys, Hybridity, Pelikulttuuri, Pelitutkimus, Toimijuus
@incollection{Mäyrä2020c,
title = {The Hybrid Agency of Hybrid Play},
author = {Frans Mäyrä},
editor = {Adriana de Souza e Silva and Ragan Glover-Rijkse},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202005135258},
doi = {10.4324/9780367855055-8},
isbn = {978-0-367-42778-8},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-03-18},
booktitle = {Hybrid Play: Crossing Boundaries in Game Design, Player Identities and Play Spaces},
pages = {81-97},
publisher = {Routledge},
keywords = {Agency, Game culture, Game studies, Hybridisyys, Hybridity, Pelikulttuuri, Pelitutkimus, Toimijuus},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
2019
Tyni, Heikki; Sotamaa, Olli
Game Retail and Crowdfunding Book Section
In: Herbert, Daniel; Johnson, Derek (Ed.): Point of Sale: Analyzing Media Retail, pp. 75-90, Rutgers University Press, 2019, ISBN: 978-0813595528.
Tags: Consumption, Crowdfunding, Fan practices, Game culture, Game retail
@incollection{Tyni2019,
title = {Game Retail and Crowdfunding},
author = {Heikki Tyni and Olli Sotamaa},
editor = {Daniel Herbert and Derek Johnson
},
isbn = {978-0813595528},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-12-13},
booktitle = {Point of Sale: Analyzing Media Retail},
pages = {75-90},
publisher = {Rutgers University Press},
keywords = {Consumption, Crowdfunding, Fan practices, Game culture, Game retail},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
de Wildt, Lars; Apperley, Thomas H.; Clemens, Justin; Fordyce, Robbie; Mukherjee, Souvik
(Re-)Orienting the Video Game Avatar Journal Article
In: Games and Culture, vol. 15, iss. 8, pp. 962–981, 2019, ISSN: 1555-4120.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Avatars, Cultural appropriation, Diversity, Game culture, Postcolonialism
@article{deWildt2019,
title = {(Re-)Orienting the Video Game Avatar},
author = {Lars de Wildt and Thomas H. Apperley and Justin Clemens and Robbie Fordyce and Souvik Mukherjee},
doi = {10.1177/1555412019858890},
issn = {1555-4120},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-06-17},
urldate = {2019-06-17},
journal = {Games and Culture},
volume = {15},
issue = {8},
pages = {962–981},
abstract = {This article explores the cultural appropriation of the term avatar by Western tech culture and what this implies for scholarship of digital games, virtual worlds, social media, and digital cultures. The term has roots in the religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent and was subsequently imported into video game terminology during a period of widespread appropriation of Eastern culture by Californian tech industries. We argue that the use of the term was not a case of happenstance but a signaling of the potential for computing to offer a mystical or enchanted perspective within an otherwise secular world. This suggests that the concept is useful in game cultures precisely because it plays with the “otherness” of the term's original meaning. We argue that this indicates a fundamental hybridity to gaming cultures that highlight the need to add postcolonial perspectives to how issues of diversity and power in gaming cultures are understood.},
keywords = {Avatars, Cultural appropriation, Diversity, Game culture, Postcolonialism},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article explores the cultural appropriation of the term avatar by Western tech culture and what this implies for scholarship of digital games, virtual worlds, social media, and digital cultures. The term has roots in the religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent and was subsequently imported into video game terminology during a period of widespread appropriation of Eastern culture by Californian tech industries. We argue that the use of the term was not a case of happenstance but a signaling of the potential for computing to offer a mystical or enchanted perspective within an otherwise secular world. This suggests that the concept is useful in game cultures precisely because it plays with the “otherness” of the term's original meaning. We argue that this indicates a fundamental hybridity to gaming cultures that highlight the need to add postcolonial perspectives to how issues of diversity and power in gaming cultures are understood.
Mäyrä, Frans
The Player as a Hybrid: Agency in Digital Game Cultures Journal Article
In: GAME: The Italian Journal of Game Studies, vol. 8, iss. 1, pp. 30-47, 2019, ISSN: 2280-7705.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Agency, Game controllers, Game culture, Phenomenology, Play, Power, Technology
@article{Mäyrä2019,
title = {The Player as a Hybrid: Agency in Digital Game Cultures},
author = {Frans Mäyrä},
url = {https://www.gamejournal.it/the-player-as-a-hybrid-agency-in-digital-game-cultures/},
issn = {2280-7705},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
journal = {GAME: The Italian Journal of Game Studies},
volume = {8},
issue = {1},
pages = {30-47},
abstract = {This article studies the player as a hybrid: a particular compound version of subjectivity that emerges from involvement with the contents, cultures and technologies of games. Drawing from both cultural studies of technology and phenomenology of game play, the article aims to connect key historical works in cultural technology studies with game and play studies to open perspectives into the tensions and potential conflicts that underlie the empowerment and expansion of gaming self. While engaging in game play provides us with novel opportunities for experiencing alternate realities and developing our abilities, our connections with games are also power relations that shape our hybrid, cultural agency in ways that we are not necessarily always aware of. The increasing intermingling of technology and play has consequences for players’ agency that are revealed to be simultaneously empowering and limiting. The multiple identified areas of tension in the constitution of hybrid player agency also suggest a non-essentialist approach to understanding games, players and playing.},
keywords = {Agency, Game controllers, Game culture, Phenomenology, Play, Power, Technology},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article studies the player as a hybrid: a particular compound version of subjectivity that emerges from involvement with the contents, cultures and technologies of games. Drawing from both cultural studies of technology and phenomenology of game play, the article aims to connect key historical works in cultural technology studies with game and play studies to open perspectives into the tensions and potential conflicts that underlie the empowerment and expansion of gaming self. While engaging in game play provides us with novel opportunities for experiencing alternate realities and developing our abilities, our connections with games are also power relations that shape our hybrid, cultural agency in ways that we are not necessarily always aware of. The increasing intermingling of technology and play has consequences for players’ agency that are revealed to be simultaneously empowering and limiting. The multiple identified areas of tension in the constitution of hybrid player agency also suggest a non-essentialist approach to understanding games, players and playing.