How to Do Things With Videogames
Ian Bogost
Abstract
In recent years, computer games have moved from the margins of popular culture to its center. Reviews of new games and profiles of game designers now regularly appear in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and sales figures for games are reported alongside those of books, music, and movies. They are increasingly used for purposes other than entertainment, yet debates about videogames still fork along one of two paths: accusations of debasement through violence and isolation or defensive paeans to their potential as serious cultural works. This book contends that such generalizations obscure ... More
In recent years, computer games have moved from the margins of popular culture to its center. Reviews of new games and profiles of game designers now regularly appear in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and sales figures for games are reported alongside those of books, music, and movies. They are increasingly used for purposes other than entertainment, yet debates about videogames still fork along one of two paths: accusations of debasement through violence and isolation or defensive paeans to their potential as serious cultural works. This book contends that such generalizations obscure the limitless possibilities offered by the medium’s ability to create complex simulated realities. This book explores the many ways computer games are used today: documenting important historical and cultural events; educating both children and adults; promoting commercial products; and serving as platforms for art, pornography, exercise, relaxation, pranks, and politics. Examining these applications in a series of short chapters, the book argues that together they make the medium broader, richer, and more relevant to a wider audience.
Keywords:
computer games,
popular culture,
game designs,
videogames,
simulated realities,
art,
pornography,
relaxation
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780816676460 |
| Published to Minnesota Scholarship Online: August 2015 |
DOI:10.5749/minnesota/9780816676460.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Ian Bogost, author
Ian Bogost is Ivan Allen College Distinguished Chair in Media Studies and Professor of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he also holds an appointment in the Scheller College of Business. Bogost is also Founding Partner at Persuasive Games LLC, an independentgame studio, and a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic.
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