A starting point for studying computer games

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A starting point for studying computer games: misconceptions flourishing among students approaching computer game studies

By Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen
Psychologist, PhD student IT-University Copenhagen, Co-founder Game-Research

The number of students interested in computer games has grown and a lot of these students are not just passing by. An increasing number is fully dedicated to a degree in computer games, and will push the research field further forward.

The first problem most students encounter is the lack of a hub for sharing information, and even today it may be hard to find. However you are in the right place. The Digital Game Research Association (DiGRA) is such a hub, and in the last couple of years it has become easier to be a game student. The Digital Game Research Association is a non-profit organisation run by game researchers.

This article is all about giving you the first inputs on computer game studies.

Below I list a few misconceptions often found among computer game students (and researchers I might add).

These are not set in stone but are based on my own experience as a student, comments from other students, and supervising students:

There is no academic research in computer games. There is plenty of research in the game-resarch.com reference database there is more than 500 references to games research, and it is far from complete [link]. Rest assure that somewhere out there others have wrestled or are wrestling with similar problems as yours. You are not alone.

Computer games require its own form of academic writing: The normal principles for academic writing apply when you approach computer games. It may very well be hard to keep you personal feelings and subjective opinions in leash, when analysing your favourite game. But make sure to maintain a balanced academic approach.

The field is too new to have basic themes, canons, and important theorist. This is not the case, and there is no excuse for not knowing the most basic theorist in the field. Be sure to have a quick breeze through Jonas H. Smiths 101 on Game research, where many important researchers are mentioned [link].

Computer games are entirely different from everything else: This is hardly the case and much game research draws heavily on other disciplines like literature, psychology, media studies, history, sociology, and anthropology. Still, computer games have characteristics that set them aside.

It is not important to have played computer games to study them: Think again. How many other areas do you find, where students and researchers have no first hand experience with their object of study.

Playing computer games since you were 6 years old is no guarantee: You should not confuse experience with computer games with academic ability although it definitely helps to know your object of study.

Studying computer games must be paradise: I am not the one to shoot down dreams but as everything else studying computer games is hard work with an occasional glimpse of paradise.

Computer games were invented yesterday: The history of computer games runs at least 40 years back in time, and probably more depending on your level of detail and criteria for computer games. Do not ignore history as it tends to repeat itself. There is a wealth of history books out there. Just make your pick. I recommend you start with the Dot Eaters [link].

Computer games are different from games: Computer games and games share a lot of the same characteristics but there is also interesting differences. In many areas of computer game studies you can find relevant research done earlier on non-electronic games.

So where should you start if you want to get the basics. That is before the first textbook on computer game studies comes along. I would start by reading the Game research 101, and continue with a few of the ivory tower columns that gives a general idea of current discussions. The up-coming book by James Newman is also worth a read. The web sites listed below also holds a lot of information, and interesting online articles. Don’t try to read all the online articles instead get the anthologies and proceedings mentioned below. They are often of higher quality and broader in scope. You can also supplement your readings by looking at the book reviews at Joystick101.org [link] and Game-research.com [link]. If you found the above list about common mistakes useful you might also want to take a look at some of the general myths in relation to computer games [link].

This short article is meant to get you started studying computer games, and unite game students across the world – so now please study and unite.


Speak out

I connection with this article I have started three threads to establish a student community. I hope this will encourage others to get involved. I am most interested in hearing suggestions for new threads and do welcome moderated discussions.

General discussion on student related issues
Student descriptions – what are different students’ background, interest, and research topics?
Tips, tricks, ideas and literature: Please share your good fortune with the rest of the student community.

Journals and proceedings within computer game research

The publications below are chosen for their broad approach and quality. Taken together they cover most of the current themes within computer games research. The peer-reviewed journals Game studies and Simulation & Gaming are quite a mouthful. Don’t expect through it all in one day.

Game studies [http://www.gamestudies.org/]

Simulation & Gaming [http://www.unice.fr/sg]


Most important web resource sites on game research

These are the broadest, most relevant, and updated web sites on computer games research, and through those you will have a good grasp of the game research area. Ludology is frequently updated with a personal take on different events related to computer game research. Game-research is introduces different areas of game research, and joystick101 gives an American perspective mixing the two previous. Game-culture is based in Australia and has a lot of full text online papers not available other places.

www.ludology.org

www.game-research.com

www.joystick101.org

www.game-culture.com

www.digiplay.org.uk/

www.digra.org

[url=\"http://grandtextauto.gatech.edu/\"]http://grandtextauto.gatech.edu/[/url]

[url=\"http://terranova.blogs.com/\"]http://terranova.blogs.com/[/url]


The Game Researcher's Library

This is a list of books that should be in any game researcher’s library. It is far from complete but gives quite a good starting point.

Aarseth, Espen. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.
Avendon, E M , and Brian Sutton-Smith. The Study of Games. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1971.
Bethke, E. Game Development & Production. Wordware, 2003.
Crawford, Chris. The Art of Computer Game Design Has Stuff About Genre, Games and Gameplay. 1983.
Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
King, Geoff, and Tanya Krzywinska. Screenplay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London: Wallflower, 2002.
Murray, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck - the Future of Narrative on Cyberspace. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1997.
Newman, James. Videogames. Routledge Introductions to Media and Communications. London: Routlege, 2004.
Poole, Steven. Trigger Happy: The Inner Life of Videogames. London: Fourth Estate, 2000.
Sutton-Smith, Brian. The Ambiguity of Play. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001.
Wolf, Mark J. P, and Bernard Perron. The Video Game Theory Reader. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Zimmerman, Eric , and Katie Salen. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.

The Game Researcher’s Games

Everybody will tell you to play as many computer games as you can and that is a good idea but it does matter, what you play. Try to supplement your favorite genre with an occasional outlier to keep a perspective on what computer games are. Theory tends to be influenced by you practical experience.

For some lists of important computer games see Georgia Tech Game Morphology project,
[url=\"http://idt.gatech.edu/projects/gamemorph/overview.php\"]http://idt.gatech.edu/projects/gamemorph/overview.php[/url],
[url=\"http://jesperjuul.dk/ludologist/index.php?p=48\"]http://jesperjuul.dk/ludologist/index.php?p=48[/url], and
[url=\"http://www.costik.com/weblog/2003_10_01 ... 9248778019\"]http://www.costik.com/weblog/2003_10_01 ... 9248778019[/url].

Books on game history books are also a great inspiration, and many of the classic games from the golden days can be found online as abandon ware (for example The Underdogs [http://www.the-underdogs.org] or as emulations [http://www.mame.net/].

[url=\"http://www.digra.org/article.php?story= ... 9200521797\"]source[/url]