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. It combines key theoretical frameworks with case studies of influential games to equip readers with the tools needed to critically engage with games and their growing cultural significance. Each chapter introduces a timely area of debate in games research, including games as storytelling, games and education, identity and representation, creativity and the games industry, and militarism and globalisation. Full of concrete examples and pedagogical features, Game Studies offers a highly accessible and urgently needed guide to this rapidly growing, hotly contested, and culturally significant field. It is essential reading for new students of both media studies and game design, and an important resource for scholars, developers, and players. 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. It combines key theoretical frameworks with case studies of influential games to equip readers with the tools needed to critically engage with games and their growing cultural significance. Each chapter introduces a timely area of debate in games research, including games as storytelling, games and education, identity and representation, creativity and the games industry, and militarism and globalisation. Full of concrete examples and pedagogical features, Game Studies offers a highly accessible and urgently needed guide to this rapidly growing, hotly contested, and culturally significant field. It is essential reading for new students of both media studies and game design, and an important resource for scholars, developers, and players.
