“This Action Will Have Consequences”: Interactivity and Player Agency
by Sarah Stang
This article discusses interactivity and player agency in video games and uses BioShock and The Walking Dead as case studies to explore ways in which developers connect morality and the illusion of player agency. It also discusses the ways in which players have exercised agency by engaging with fan communities and making demands of game developers.[more]
Novel Subjects: Robinson Crusoe & Minecraft and the Production of Sovereign Selfhood
by Phillip Lobo
A comparative analysis of Robinson Crusoe and Minecraft as works of formal realism, with a focus on subjectivity-generation and sovereignty.[more]
Older adults’ digital gameplay, social capital, social connectedness, and civic participation
by Yu-Hao Lee
Can older adults maintain social connectedness, social capital, and civic participation through playing games? This study found that older adults who played with local and distant ties reported higher social connectedness and social capital. Playing with online friends was associated with more bridging social capital and more civic participation.[more]
The right way to play a game
by C. Thi Nguyen
Is there a right way to play a game? Some have argued that, by following the rules, we give too much weight to the author’s intent and destroy the freedom of play. I argue that the rules are essential for shared experience. They make possible the communication of sculpted experiences of activity.[more]
Book Reviews
Venturing into the House of Digital Horrors: A Review of The World of Scary Video Games
by Daniel Vella
The World of Scary Video Games: a Study in Videoludic Horror (2018) by Bernard Perron. New York : Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN: 9781501316210, 1501316214. 488 pp.[more]