Games, Gender and Culture

Catalog description

Comprehensive investigation of the emerging field of Games Studies, the critical analysis of games and interactive environments made possible by the computer. Addresses different theoretical perspectives that view games and gaming as historical, social, cultural. aesthetic, technical, performative, and cognitive phenomenon. Examines how video games encompass an increasingly diverse set of practices, populations, and locations from fantasy football to multi-player medieval fantasy, from simulations of real life to alternate realities, from fanatics to activists, from nightclubs to competitive arenas to public streets to the classroom; from consoles to mobile phones, to large screen projections. Analyses not only popular games but interactive installations, pervasive games, mixed and virtual reality environments. Discusses the interdisciplinary nature of a cultural practice which depends on art, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, etc.