Chapter 1 Fromme Unger Introduction Computer Games

Chapter 1
Computer Games and Digital Game

Cultures: An Introduction
Johannes Fromme and Alexander Unger
Digital Games and Game Cultures: Still Marginalized?
“The predominant majority of all visitors to the fair, however, are dressed in the
computer gamers’ standard look: dark sloppy rags sometimes smelling a bit
foul” – this is how visitors to the computer convention “Gamescom,” which took
place in Cologne in August 2011, were characterized in a television report of the
private German RTL channel.1 Fans of computer games were also described as
really curious figures that had few social contacts and would not be successful in
finding girlfriends. The reaction of the gamers’ community came promptly: innu-
merable complaints and often angry protests were articulated via e-mail, social net-
works, and other channels like www.programmbeschwerde.de. RTL and the editorial
journalist had to take in back and publish an apology.2
This incident elucidates the fact that digital games and gamers are still targets of
public derision and prejudice. Computer games have seemingly not yet arrived at the
center of our culture and society. At the same time, gamers have learned to use the new
media for articulating their protests in efficient ways, thus demonstrating a significant
1
The original German quotation from the report broadcast on August 19, 2011 runs as follows:
“Die überwiegende Mehrzahl aller Messebesucher trägt aber den Computerspieler-Einheitslook:
Dunkle Schlabberklamotten, die manchmal etwas streng riechen.”
2
See http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/0,1518,782546,00.html (Accessed 27 Aug 2011).
J. Fromme (*)
Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Otto-von-Guericke-University
of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
e-mail: jfromme@ovgu.de
A. Unger
School of Education, Psychology and Human Movement (DE), University of Hamburg,
Hamburg, Germany
e-mail: alexander.unger@uni-hamburg.de
J. Fromme and A. Unger (eds.), Computer Games and New Media Cultures: 1
A Handbook of Digital Games Studies, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-2777-9_1,
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
2 J. Fromme and A. Unger
growth in strength and self-confidence. The status of computer games and game
cultures in society is obviously in a state of flux – also in the academic world?
When we compare the first commercially successful computer game Pong3 with
the latest digital games, we cannot miss what a breathtaking development the medium
computer game4 has experienced in its relatively short lifespan. Continuous progress
in the realms of hardware and software – combined with growing experience in com-
puter game design – has resulted in new game aesthetics, game mechanics, game
genres, and more complex game worlds, including more or less persistent massively
multiplayer environments online. Digital games today are a relevant economic factor
as well as an indispensable part of the convergent media culture in modern (resp.
postmodern) societies. However, until the late 1990s, computer games have raised
only a small amount of research interest in academic disciplines such as media and
communication studies, social sciences, or the humanities. Although several notewor-
thy empirical studies and analytical papers were published in the 1980s (and before),
research remained disperse and was mostly limited to individual engagement and
interest.5 It was not until the turn of the millennium that research on computer games
became a more recognized (and organized) area of academic research with an increas-
ing number of studies, surveys, conferences, and publications. Significant steps for
developing a structural and organizational framework to promote interdisciplinary
communication, collaboration, and dissemination of work in the emerging field of
Digital Game Studies (DGS) were made with the first edition of Game Studies in
2001, an international online journal for computer game research (see http://
gamestudies.org), and with the foundation of DiGRA, an international association for
digital games research (see http://www.digra.org) in 2002. Both DiGRA and Game
Studies have played an important role in establishing Digital Game Studies as an inter-
disciplinary and lively network of researchers and professionals from different coun-
tries and academic backgrounds. Of course, several other initiatives and activities –
on a national as well as an international level – have contributed considerably to this
development, for example, prominent publications and noteworthy conferences.6
3
The names of computer games are put in italics throughout the book. Further references like year
of publication, developer, and publisher are available in a list of games (gameography) provided at
the end of each chapter that contains game references.
4
As long as we are not explicitly referring to particular hardware or software, denominations like
video game, computer game, and digital game are used synonymously in this introduction. The
referred subject is based on (digital) computer technology and usually displays a game world
(or playing field) on a video screen (“video” is Latin and means “I see”).
5
Early approaches still cover a number of perspectives and disciplines like game design
(e.g., Crawford 1982), cultural studies (e.g., Fiske and Watts 1985; Skirrow 1986), education
(e.g., Gagnon 1984; Knoll et al. 1986), social sciences and youth research (Myers 1984; Rogge
1985), psychology (e.g., Greenfield 1984; Loftus and Loftus 1983), and (early) computer science
(Turing et al. 1953; Williams 1970).
6
Regarding publications in English or German, we can refer to influential monographs
(like Aarseth 1997; Gee 2003; Juul 2005; Klimmt 2006), readers (e.g., Cassell and Jenkins 1999;
Wolf and Perron 2003; Fritz and Fehr 2003; Neitzel et al. 2004), handbooks (e.g., Raessens and
Goldstein 2005; Vorderer and Bryant 2006), and introductions (e.g., Rutter and Bryce 2006; Mäyrä
2008) – to name just a few.
1 Computer Games and Digital Game Cultures: An Introduction 3
Although DGS can on the whole be regarded as a successful project so far,

there is still a substantial amount of skepticism surrounding our subject – in public
and political debates (see the above-mentioned Gamescom report) as well as in
many academic circles. While scientific interests within DGS have moved “from
the early do-games-induce-violent-behaviors studies toward analyses that
acknowledge the relevance of this new medium” (Frasca 2003, 221), a lot of
prejudice can still be encountered in most other contexts. In Germany, for exam-
ple, school shootings in Erfurt (April 2002), in Emsdetten (November 2006), and
in Winnenden (March 2009) were almost instantaneously followed by a highly
emotional public (i.e., mass media induced and stimulated) debate about the
impact of first-person shooters on the assassin’s behavior. Additionally, mass
media have repeatedly reported on the risks of computer game addiction or
Internet addiction in the past few years – strangely enough, both terms are often
used synonymously. Especially with regard to this topic, we can observe a con-
siderable number of “do-games-induce” studies as well as guides explaining to
parents how they can protect their children from addiction or pathological media
usage (see, e.g., Dammler 2009; Murali and Sanju 2007; Rehbein et al. 2009;
Song et al. 2004; Wölfling and Müller 2008; Young 2004). While these approaches
might not be very prominent in DiGRA, Game Studies, and related contexts, they
still represent the controversial status of computer games in society and in sev-
eral parts of academia. However, if we go back in history, we encounter many
examples of similar critical debates referring to other popular media like books,
films, or television, which today are widely accepted within our everyday culture
– or even regarded as valuable aesthetic and educational phenomena. A corre-
sponding development over time seems probable for new media and new media
studies, but our interest is, of course, to expedite this process – assuming that an
international handbook could be a useful contribution to more objective and
factual public as well as academic debates about digital games and gaming.
New Media, Technology, and Popular Culture
The interdependencies of digital games and our sociocultural world are multifac-
eted. On a general level, digital games have become a part of our everyday (media)
culture (Mäyrä 2008; Dovey and Kennedy 2009). It takes more than a reference to
sales and usage figures to fully comprehend the broader implications of this devel-
opment, even if such figures can provide a starting point for further research. If and
when digital games are a part of popular culture, then cultural meanings and knowl-
edge get inscribed into this medium. However, the forms and patterns of meaning
construction and user perception differ from those found in other media like books
or films. These differences are closely related to the specific technology and medial-
ity of computer games, which is frequently referred to by terms like interactivity,
simulation, or virtual environment (Aarseth 2004; Frasca 2003). When we accept
the idea of specific media properties,7 then computer games with their simulated,
but still interactively accessible spaces present a new challenge to the traditional
dichotomist view of culture and technology. Digital games and game worlds open
up cultural spaces themselves, and, unlike other new media and virtual environ-
ments, these spaces are framed as “playful” from the outset. In media and cultural
studies, the prominent theoretical position is that technologies and their effects are
socially driven (e.g., Williams 1990), and the digital new media seem to support this
view. In contrast, the social and cultural richness of phenomena and activities would
not be possible without our contemporary digital technologies. “Technology has
become our environment, and environmental factors obviously play a major role in
producing consciousness and identity” (Dovey and Kennedy 2009, 4). In view of
that, we can argue that the relation between media technologies, culture, and society
has become more complex and complicated with new media technologies, thus
challenging both the “socially driven” position as well as the “technologically
driven” position of McLuhan (2001) and others.
Digital games and game cultures transcend the status of being significant parts of
our (media) culture in another way. They have also stimulated the emergence of
practices and networks characterized by specific patterns of interaction, communi-
cation, and shared meanings, like clans, guilds, fan communities, machinima, or
modding. The notion of emergence for these microcultures (or subcultures) stresses
their contingency and unpredictability. From a social and cultural perspective, these
subcultures are especially important because they may change the original medium
and the meaning inscribed to it. In other words, the players’ game appropriation
extends the game into a broader cultural and social dimension.
Even if the social and cultural significance of computer games may be recognized
in DGS and new media studies, playing digital games is usually referred to as a pure
leisure activity. We can, however, also assume some correlations to the professional
and work sector. Digital technologies are present in all areas of our everyday lives.
Their ubiquitous dissemination alone allows us to speak of key technologies. Beck
and Wade (2006) have further argued that playing online games is a good informal
training for knowledge workers. This does not only bring to the fore the relevance
of informal learning processes within the sector of new technologies, but simultane-
ously reminds us of the demanding cognitive and social requirements connected to
complex game worlds (also see Greenfield 1984; Gee 2003; Fromme et al. 2009,
2010).8 Computer games and digital technologies in this sense also contribute to
blur some of the borders between play, game, and work.
The future configuration of DGS is basically open: it remains to be seen if game
studies will (or should) be a new academic discipline or a part of an existing
7
We are aware of the fact that other (e.g., discourse-analytical or perception-oriented) approaches
are skeptical about the possibility and/or usefulness of searching for specific features in order to
describe, analyze, and understand a medium. The corresponding debate is to some extent mirrored
in the subsequent chapters of this volume.
8
The issue of computer games and (informal) learning is taken up in some of the chapters of Part
V in this volume.
discipline. In our view, it could well remain and prosper as an interdisciplinary

project and network, kept together by a shared but still multifaceted interest in digi-
tal games and game cultures. It is also unclear which disciplines or subdisciplines
will (or should) play significant roles in the coming development. It seems obvious
that professional designers, programmers, developers, and publishers do need cor-
responding expert (and possibly scientific) knowledge about digital games and their
players. But as is demonstrated, digital games is also a relevant subject for the
social, cultural, and educational sciences, a statement not very unusual in the context
of current DGS, but quite unusual in these disciplines. The social, cultural, and
educational sciences are attempting to acquire a deeper understanding of socially,
culturally, and educationally significant phenomena in our life world. If computer
games and other digital media are an essential part of the everyday culture of chil-
dren, youth, and (increasingly also) adults, then new media have to be incorporated
more firmly into social, cultural, and educational research. It was the integration of
these disciplines into the inter- or multidisciplinary DGS that strongly motivated the
compilation of this book. Most of the chapters are regarding games, players, and
game cultures from research perspectives related to (one of) these academic back-
grounds. They can help to grasp how deeply (and for what reasons) digital games
are rooted in our social and cultural practice.
Methodical Issues
Representatives of Digital Game Studies carry out a project contingent on different

theoretical and methodological premises and attitudes. This should not be under-
stood as deficit intrinsic to DGS, but as a well-acceptable starting point for its fur-
ther evolution – which is similar to the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies, as
it also operates without rigidly defined parameters in terms of contents and method-
ologies. It still seems to be necessary to define basic as well as characteristic theo-
retical and methodological grounds for DGS. One of the pivotal pillars should be
the interdisciplinary orientation of the project because the field of research cannot
be confined to one discipline alone. Interdisciplinarity, nonetheless, entails more
than merely adding or sampling various disciplinary perspectives. That is to say,
participants are required to engage with other discourses and methodological
approaches so that they can derive relevant and new insights for their own work.
To be open to methodological innovation could be another essential component
of DGS.9 Cultural, social, and educational sciences can draw on a repertoire of
methods and approaches for describing, reconstructing, analyzing, and interpreting
new forms of cybercultural practices, including interactive meaning “reception” and
collaborative meaning “modification.” But they also have to refine and adjust
9
The consideration of more essential characteristics is left to further discussion. The aim here is
just to highlight exemplifying samples.
research methods and instruments in view of new phenomena and facts developing
in new constellations of technology and culture. This includes media analysis – that
is, the attempt to find or develop new tools for and means of analyzing the new
medium computer game (see, e.g., Björk and Holopainen 2003; Neitzel et al. 2004;
Consalvo and Dutton 2006) – and also implies questions concerning interactive
media use(s), for example. The specific mediality of computer games seems to facil-
itate new qualities of interaction and communication that transcend the boarders of
the game world, also resulting in an increasing dissolution of “virtual” and “real” in
the perception and experience of players. For an appropriate analysis of these
processes in the context of DGS, methods and instruments from a multiplicity of
disciplines are needed rather than isolated or mono-methodical approaches. One of
the major challenges to DGS may be the combination and connection of methodolo-
gies from diverse disciplines (like media studies, computer science, social sciences,
cultural studies, the humanities) as well as research traditions (quantitative and
qualitative) in a complex way. In this sense, the book attempts to enrich the discus-
sion about research methods and methodologies by disclosing different empirical
designs and approaches.
About This Handbook
The aim of this volume is to present significant theoretical and methodological

approaches to contemporary Digital Game Studies from different disciplinary
backgrounds, but with a focus on cultural, social, and pedagogical analyses.
The intention is to – by and large – reflect the current state of the art. The authors
come from backgrounds such as media and communication studies, educational sci-
ence, sociology, technology, philosophy, psychology, game design, literary studies,
screen studies, and economy. The reader can inform himself or herself about the
complexity and multiplicity of the interdisciplinary project of Digital Game Studies
as well as about current debates on the basis of altogether 42 formerly unpublished
articles. In addition, we attempted to include international (or multinational) per-
spectives: the contributing authors originate from eleven different countries. At a
first glance, digital games may seem to be a global phenomenon, but their usage and
the ways they are discussed in public show distinct national differences that can be
instructive for the understanding of the diversity of digital game cultures. We have
to take into account the fact that specific national discourses with different focal
points do exist. The volume assembles articles from Anglo-American countries,
Central Europe, Scandinavia, and some other countries. It does not cover all, but it
does cover some relevant national perspectives for comparison.
The foundation for the book was laid with the international conference “Computer
Games/Players/Game Cultures: State and Perspectives of Digital Game Studies”
that was prepared and realized at the University of Magdeburg in March 2009. Most
of the papers and keynotes presented at the conference have been included in the
handbook after a process of more or less laborious revision. At the same time, we
invited several authors to submit complementary articles in order to fill some gaps
with regard to relevant phenomena or approaches in the context of DGS. Luckily we
were able to add some further noteworthy and remarkable contributions for a more
complete overview. We want to take the opportunity to thank all contributors for
their willingness to participate in this project and also to revise their papers accord-
ing to our wishes and suggestions.
In this handbook, we distinguish five different perspectives for DGS. Part I con-
sists of eleven chapters that concentrate on the question how computer games them-
selves can be defined, understood, and analyzed. Part II presents seven chapters
investigating the player–game relation. The six chapters in Part III are concerned
with the users, uses, and social contexts of digital games, thus taking a broader per-
spective on players and game uses. Part IV concentrates on the cultural dimension
of digital gaming, and the related eight chapters examine different practices that are
meaningful to their participants. The nine chapters in the final Part V discuss educa-
tional approaches and learning issues in the context of computer games.
Part I: Computer Games and Game Analysis
The first part (I) of the handbook is headlined Computer Games and Game Analysis.
Digital games have become an object of intensive research in different disciplines,
but until now a comprehensive conception of the notion of the “digital game”
(or computer game) is still missing. The definition and designation of what Digital
Game Studies (DGS) are about is therefore an unfinished, open project. The chap-
ters collected in this part of the book present different approaches and suggestions
to this basic problem; that is, how digital games can be defined, understood, and
analyzed. What the contributions altogether agree upon is that digital games are a
new phenomenon which cannot be appropriately understood just by using concepts,
methods, and instruments from other contexts like literary or film studies. At the
least, these concepts, methods, and instruments have to be modified, transformed, or
reframed when applied to digital games. Some authors try to figure out specific
media properties of computer games in separation from other media, while others
accentuate the relevance of discursive or social contexts as frameworks for the pro-
duction of their meaning and significance. Far from closing the discussion, the con-
tributions show how the understanding of digital games has been broadened, not
least because of the way technological, aesthetic, economic, social, or cultural
aspects of the phenomenon have evolved.
The chapter of Stephan Günzel puts its focus on the mediality of the computer
game. He argues that a formal approach is needed for an adequate and sufficient
analysis of computer games because the mediality (or media form) constitutes the
ways and possibilities of how contents are presented in a medium. As far as com-
puter games are concerned, contents are presented to be interacted with. Taking
first-person shooters as an example, digital games are therefore conceptualized as
interactive pictures. The range and mode of possible actions are defined by the
computer program, but the user does not “see” the software (or source code) when
playing a computer game, he “sees” moving images. This is why computer games
for Günzel are predominantly pictorial objects, that is, aesthetic artifacts, and they
are categorically different from texts or games that existed before the age of com-
puter technology. Günzel sees Computer Game Studies as being on the way of lib-
erating themselves from concepts of “older” media.
Connie Veugen presents a different approach, but comes to a similar conclusion.
The starting point of her chapter is the observation that there are several links
between films and computer games. Not rarely, digital games are film adaptations
and/or use visual and narrative techniques we already know from films (or books).
We also have films that are adaptations of digital games. Veugen therefore develops
a comparative approach to the medium computer game and explores some of its
features which at first sight appear very similar to film or literature. First, she con-
centrates on how the term “genre” is used in literary, film, and game studies, and she
identifies relevant differences. This also pertains to the way in which games and
films visualize settings and props (“mise-en-scène”). Veugen argues that digital
games are strongly connected to the rapid technological development, which opens
up a lot of new possibilities, but also tends to question existing concepts of media
theory. For example, the framework of a classic cinematographic analysis is chal-
lenged by the possibility of the player to control the “camera” in the game and to
define the perspective and the angle of vision himself. Veugen demonstrates that we
need an expanded analytical framework in order to understand and analyze com-
puter games as a “comparative” medium.
Felix Raczkowski also probes the question of genre, but he takes a more funda-
mental theoretical perspective. In his opinion, the notion of genre has been largely
unexplored in Digital Game Studies. He shows how game genres have been created
by game reviewers in the 1980s for more or less pragmatic reasons and how they
seep into the public and academic discussion. Raczkowski contends that until today,
game studies still tend to simply reproduce popular categories and classifications
from game magazines or Internet sites. For his considerations, Raczkowski chooses
a different approach to the object of investigation than Günzel, for example. He does
not try to assess constitutive (media) features of a certain genre, but he suggests
analyzing the functions of genres for different participants in the computer game
discourse. Relevant agents in the process of genre construction are, from his point
of view, the game industry, the gaming press, and also the players. The author shows
that especially creative play can have a relevant impact on the shape of game genres.
Refraining from any time transcending concept of genres, Raczkowski considers
game genres as highly volatile and to some degree even as performative.
Serjoscha Wiemer is interested in the semiotic processes and user experiences in
different games and genres. From his perspective, the impact of user interfaces in
this context is still underestimated in DGS. Interfaces play a key role for the
“ergodic” (Aarseth) side of digital games because the actual “work” of the player is
always mediated by the user interface. In his chapter, Wiemer consequently argues
for a refined interface analysis of popular computer games, which can contribute to
a new methodology of digital hermeneutics. His main objective is to analyze the
semiotic mechanisms of meaning production in terms of digital media products.

Interface analysis allows for studying the mechanism of meaning production on a
very basic level. Using the example of real-time strategy games (RTS), the author
shows some of the visual concepts that are utilized to structure player actions. By
connecting his investigation to the concept of the “scopic regime” (Jay), Wiemer
opens up the way for cultural interpretation of these visual models. For instance, the
ergodic demand in RTS interfaces to switch between different spaces while coordi-
nating micro- and macro-management may be seen as a digital equivalent to cultural
and economic requirements in western societies. When interfaces draw on cultural
concepts or conventions, interfaces can be regarded as a form of cultural grammar.
Popular media are traditionally associated with entertainment, but not with cul-
ture or even with art. However, our notion and understanding of culture has been
broadened in the past few decades. Today, we get used to regarding media – even
new media like computer games – as cultural products. Martin Feige in his chapter
goes one step further and asks if computer games can also be considered as works
of art. To answer this question, he attempts to bridge the gap between game studies,
philosophy, and aesthetics, which leads to the difficult task of adequately defining
art and (computer) games. With respect to the former, the author argues that art can-
not be limited to sensuous properties or the material basis of the artwork. Instead,
art has to be understood as interplay between two aspects: internal function and
shared practices of interpretation. For Feige, a definition of (computer) games faces
the same problems, so he again suggests a non-essentialistic conceptual framework.
In the tradition of Wittgenstein’s logic of family resemblance, he conceives game as
an open complex of similarities and relationships. This approach is exemplified by
an analysis of three digital games. He concludes that only such games can be
regarded as works of art that attempt to open up new potentials for our self-under-
standing in the context of our sociocultural life.
Paolo Ruffino’s contribution can also be read as an anti-essentialistic approach
to video game analysis. Coming from a semiotic background, he proposes to study
video games by analyzing how they are commented upon, talked, or written about
in a given social context, rather than by investigating their occurrence or material
existence. From his perspective, DGS up to now too strongly concentrate on
assumed material properties of games. Following authors like Umberto Eco, Gilles
Deleuze, and Felix Guattari, he focuses on social and discursive contexts of games,
including game-related videos on YouTube or comments on online bulletin boards
as parts of their being. In order to bolster his argument, he examines the game
Cheetahmen 2, which has never been published but still has been rated the worst
game ever by the gamer community.10 With his theory of “nonexistent” video
games, Ruffino tries to underline the necessity of a new epistemology for game
analysis. If the “real” existence of a game corresponds to the textual discourses
10
The games mentioned in our summaries of the contributions are not incorporated into the
gameography of this introductory chapter. The game references (here for Cheetahmen 2) can be
found in the corresponding chapter’s gameography (here Ruffino, Chap. 7).
about the game, the texts, paratexts, and references evoked by the game have to be
the focal points of investigation.
Another discourse-analytic approach to Digital Game Studies is presented by
Rolf Nohr. His main interest is to reveal hidden structures of meaning of a video
game. The basic assumption is that these hidden structures are the key to an answer
to the question: “How do video games affect us?” Similar to Ruffino, he argues that
the “meaning” of a game is not solely contained in an object called game. Therefore,
we have to look at several other texts which are related to the game (e.g., manuals,
walkthroughs, fan talk, or game reviews) when we want to analyze a game. Drawing
upon the work of Jürgen Link and Siegfried Schäfer, Nohr conceptualizes digital
games as complex and ramified intersubjective knowledge configurations, that is, as
interdiscourses that link special discourses and their knowledge together. In his
analysis of the knowledge configuration of Zoo Tycoon, Nohr illustrates how a game
conforms to articulations within the media society. Regarding this example, he
shows how ideological elements (e.g., strategic and economic thinking) and techni-
cal elements (interface logic) are interwoven and how they are presented to the
player as naturalized knowledge patterns.
With Tanya Krzywinska’s chapter, we, to some degree, return to the actual
medium computer game. Her central question is why there is – compared to other
media – very little sex in video games despite the fact that erotic imagination is one
of the most popular ways to create attention to media products. First, she analyzes
some of the few games where sex is either present in the external design (audio-
graphical style) or in the internal design (game mechanics). As a result, she states
that sex and eroticism are largely tabooed subjects on these more or less explicit
levels. Krzywinska then presents the idea that sex in computer games may not be
present in direct form but evoked in a more subtle way. For these implicit forms, she
develops the concept of “libidinal economics,” which refers to Lyotard’s attempt to
take into account the nonrational energies behind human activities. Game designers
deliberately use a variety of “ludo-poetic” devices to please and excite the player.
So Krzywinska argues that the eroticism of games only becomes visible through a
closer look at these libidinal qualities and a more complex concept of sexuality that
exceeds the simple effect of explicit sexual imagery.
Michael Nitsche in his essay focuses on different approaches to conceptualize
and construct game spaces. Digital media since their early days have been regarded
as new spaces (cyberspaces) that facilitate new possibilities for self-discovery or –
in perhaps more realistic approaches – new platforms for communication. For
Nitsche, virtual worlds usually are conceived as mind enhancements or “mind-
spaces,” because our presence in these spaces is mental and not physical. The sug-
gestion of this chapter is to reconsider the relation of virtual and real (game) spaces.
The basic thesis is that virtual spaces do not have to be understood as detached from
real spaces, but show various overlaps. Nitsche argues in favor of a more rigorous
inclusion of the physical world in the development of new game worlds. Rather than
adopting or simulating the “real” world in cyberspace (e.g., game worlds), game
and media designers should instead create hybrid game spaces. Referring to Dance
Dance Revolution Extreme, the author clarifies his demand for a critical shift of our
scholarly perspective of virtual spaces. Games, in this sense, should be designed as

hybrid works of arts, focusing intensely on effective sensing and the integration of
the physical environment into the virtual stage.
Caja Thimm takes the growing of virtual worlds as a starting point, which makes
it hard to clearly distinguish between virtual games and virtual societies. In her
chapter, this evolution is elucidated through an extensive examination of the struc-
tures and history of Second Life (SL). This examination reveals that the media hype
around the “virtual goldmine” SL is only part of the truth. As a playful virtual world,
SL develops into a virtual society, reflecting a good many everyday conflicts, prob-
lems, and mechanisms. These links to real society become especially apparent when
considering political activism. SL has been used for political information or propa-
ganda, but such an external use has also created an internal opposition, as in the case
of the French right wing politician Le Pen, whose presence in SL provoked much
resistance. For the author, these forms of activism raise the question of whether SL
can be conceived of as a global experiment in creating a better world. The playful
use of structures, communication, and entertainment seems to be an important
aspect for the experimental character of SL. On the other hand, the author points out
that this playfulness differs from common games; hence, SL misses game elements
like quests, storylines, etc. Nevertheless, even in SL as a complex civil society simu-
lation, the borders between game and society blur when the citizens get involved in
meaningful activities.
Part II: The Player–Game Relation
The second part (II) of the handbook extends the perspective from the digital game
as a new technological and cultural artifact to the question how the users perceive
and experience digital games and gaming. So the chapters of this part try to clarify
different aspects and dimensions of the player–game relation. A basic feature of
this relation is usually referred to as interactivity. Contrasting other media, interac-
tive media mostly present “output,” that is, audiovisual responses to some “input” of
users. From a media science perspective, questions are raised like: How does this
affect our understanding of media use, of media effects, and of media gratifications?
Digital games have been assessed as highly interactive media (Juul 2005; Klimmt
2006) because any change or progress on the screen depends on actions of its users
(players). Consequently, the notion of interactivity plays a major role in several
chapters. Another popular, but also controversial concept most authors refer to is
immersion, which signifies the experience of being absorbed by (or deeply involved
in) the game. Immersion seems to be an essential element of the pleasure of playing
a digital game, and game designers obviously try to advance this kind of experience.
While immersion mainly defines a (more or less fragile) state of the mind (and/or of
the senses) during gameplay, the notions of identification and identity formation
raise the question how playing a computer game might affect the player’s identity
formation beyond an actual gaming situation or – the other way round – how a
player’s individual personality might affect his or her way of playing a game. Here
the symbolic dimension of games and gaming gains significance.
Richard A. Bartle opens the discussion about constitutive aspects of the player–
game relation by an extension: he raises attention to the fact that a player not just
interacts with a medium but also with the designer(s) of that medium. In other
words, a computer game somehow mediates an indirect and asynchronous commu-
nication between player and game designer, and the player–game relation can be
regarded as correspondent to the player–designer relation. Bartle illustrates this
approach by discussing the moral dimension of massively multiplayer online role-
playing games (MMOs). His subject is not morality itself (the question what is right
or wrong in absolute terms), but the relation between the morality of the designer
and the player(s) of an MMO. The chapter argues that a precondition for a success-
ful interaction with the game is a kind of moral consensus between game designer
and player. Players do have specific expectations about a game world and the
inscribed moral values, and immersion only arises when the game’s morality stays
within the range of the player’s outlooks. Using the example of World of Warcraft:
Wrath of the Lich King, Bartle deliberates on what happens when the designer
exceeds the players’ boundaries with regard to the game’s morality. From his view-
point (which also is that of a designer), game design should be viewed as an ongoing
dialogue between designer and gamer.
Dominik Härig regards immersion as a crucial concept for describing and under-
standing the player–game relation. In his chapter, the author wants to call attention
to the potentials but also to the limits of the common understanding of immersion.
His main focus is the ambiguity or rather the bidirectionality of immersion.
Following Juul’s game theory and Luhmann’s systems theory, Härig argues that
immersion, on the one hand, implies the dissolution of the border between game and
player, but, on the other hand, takes the segregation between player and digital game
world for granted. Because of this dialectic “including exclusion,” neither a total
immersion nor a complete separation can be assumed. Härig thus frames immersion
as a form of communication between player and game. Similar to Bartle, he con-
tends that players have intentions, expectations, and social backgrounds, so immer-
sion into a digital game environment cannot be reduced to a stimulus-response
mechanism.
Another critical approach to the idea of total or seamless immersion comes from
Souvik Mukherjee. His focus lies on first-person shooters (FPS), a genre that is often
seen as the paragon for seamless immersion and total identification of the player
with his or her avatar. Mukherjee’s aim is to show the limits of this – in his view –
too simple conceptualization of the player–game relation (here player–avatar
relation) in FPS. Using S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, which he analyzes by
way of a close reading, the author clarifies that FPS allow for much more complex,
dynamic, and manifold forms of identification and may also lead to self-reflection.
However, to become aware of this complexity, an elaborated concept of identity is
necessary. The author suggests overcoming traditional understandings of identity as
a fixed entity for a dynamic, explorative, and process-oriented idea of identity
formation. In Mukherjee’s view, the very conception of subjectivity is being
problematized in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games because playing goes along with a

growing uncertainty about the player’s in-game identity. Far from a seamless iden-
tification with the avatar, the gameplay experience should rather be described as a
confrontation with a “cracked I” (in the sense of Deleuze).
Katharina Stephenson presents a different outlook on the significance of immer-
sion into game worlds for the process of personality development.11 She uses
Winnicott’s psychoanalytical concept of “intermediate areas” as a model for
describing the role of playing digital games for personality development.
Intermediate areas are spaces between inner reality and external life. For Winnicott,
they are a third part of – and resource for – human life besides inner reality and
external life, an area of experiencing, which is not persistent, but still very impor-
tant for an individual’s development. The first intermediate areas are co-constructed
in early infancy by parents (or persons to relate to) and the child. In her chapter,
Stephenson argues that digital games – especially role-playing games (RPG) – can
also offer such a developmental space where the capacities of an individual are
promoted. They allow experiments and exploration in a symbolic context without
taking real risks. These intermediate areas are co-constructed by the game and the
player, but this co-construction in the author’s view requires a deep immersion, and
it requires specific competencies on the player’s part. Stephenson here talks of the
“psychodynamic aspects of game literacy” and hence also refers to the fifth part
(V) of this handbook.
Regina Friess is interested in a better understanding of the meaning-making pro-
cess as a core element of the player–game relation. Referring to the theoretical
background of symbolic interactionism, she decodes playing a digital game as sym-
bolic interaction. Her aim is to create empirical categories for the investigation of
procedural aspects of players’ meaning making in relation to game design, espe-
cially to the game’s narrative and aesthetic presentations. Given the background of
symbolic interactionism and constructivism, the author conceptualizes the percep-
tion of these symbolic presentations as a result of contextual meaning making.
Referring to two empirical research projects conducted at the University of Applied
Sciences of Technology and Economy in Berlin, she shows how analytical catego-
ries have been established on the given theoretical basis and how they can be used
to categorize the gaming experience as well as the related meaning making. The
author also shows that those categories can be used to systematize possible player–
game relations.
In the subsequent chapter, Betty Li Meldgaard also concentrates on the process
of perceiving (and understanding) what is presented by the medium. Unlike Friess,
she aims at a better theoretical rather than an empirical understanding of the player–
game relation’s perceptual foundation. Her approach is based on Gibson’s ecologi-
cal visual perception theory which she sees as a necessary enhancement of DGS
11
Unlike Mukherjee, she does not use the term identity. Her focus lies on development rather than
a concept of the self. However, there is common ground in so far as both authors discuss the
possible impact of playing digital games on the player.
that have often neglected the perceptual and visual dimension of playing video
games. So the chapter calls for an extended and more complex understanding of
interactivity. The player is regarded as a “perceiver” in an informative environ-
ment, and digital games are considered as “action systems” that continuously
require “perception-action cycles.” Meldgaard’s ecological approach emphasizes
the dynamic aspect of viewing and the perception of the game world as a manipula-
tive graphical layout. From such a viewpoint, digital games differ from traditional
“pictorial media” because of the close and specific interrelation of awareness,
action, and movement. They create a sense of motion and locomotion through their
visual rules.
The chapter of Daniel Pietschmann, Georg Valtin, and Peter Ohler closes the
second part of the handbook with another approach to analyzing the player’s experi-
ence during gameplay. The authors expound on the role of (different) input devices
for the creation of computer game immersion. The chapter presents an empirical
study which questions the effects of more “authentic” control mechanisms on user
experience. Input devices are defined as (more) authentic when their handling and
perception are close to corresponding actions in reality. A popular example is
Nintendo’s Wii Remote controller, which has obviously contributed to significantly
extending the target group of video games. Such input devices raise the question of
whether or not their similarity to real-world activities increases the experience of
immersion into the game world and thus the entertainment value of playing digital
games. The authors’ experimental study compares the immersion attained when
using a Wii Remote controller to the immersion measured when using a traditional
game controller for the same game. A positive correlation between authentic input
devices and higher immersion could actually be shown, but the effect was to some
degree influenced by the digital gaming experience of the players. Concluding from
these results, the authors explicate that different input devices do have a relevant
impact on the user experience in terms of a greater or smaller entertainment value.
Part III: Users, Uses, and Social Contexts of Computer Games
The third part (III) takes another step toward a broadened perspective on digital
games, players, and game cultures. The chapters focus on the social backgrounds of
computer games and/or take a differentiated look at the users of digital games and
their particular forms, patterns, and preferences of playing. Relevant questions are:
Who plays what games and why? How can different preferences and practices be
explained? Consequently, this part comprises, next to theoretical contributions, sev-
eral empirical studies using predominantly quantitative methods. Their aim is to
provide an overview of different aspects of digital gaming such as the use of online
games or the media usage of adolescents. Some of the studies, however, are supple-
mented by qualitative methods such as expert interviews for a methodological trian-
gulation, and others are based solely upon a qualitative design. There seems to be a
consensus within DGS that empirical investigations of users and uses of digital
games require both qualitative as well as quantitative methods and approaches. Of

course, the chapters cannot cover the empirical phenomenon in its entirety. They, in
turn, should be considered as generic studies with an innovative research design and
also as suggestions for advancing the research methodology in this area.
The research group of Dorothee Meister, Jörg Müller-Lietzkow, Eckhard
Burkatzki, and Sonja Kröger follow up the tradition of representative empirical
studies which examine the uses and effects of digital games from a reception-oriented
point of view. This kind of study offers a useful guideline for quantitative aspects of
media use. The authors frame their research by considering the youth-cultural sig-
nificance of gaming as an integral part of adolescent media habits. The chapter
presents selected and formerly unpublished findings of a representative empirical
study on media activities of young people in Germany (see Treumann et al. 2007).
The significance of computer games here is examined in the context of the whole
media menu, and playing digital games is also considered with regard to different
levels of media competence (see Part V). Based on the data which include the social
contexts of the interviewees, a typology of media users has been developed and
confirmed by method triangulation. An essential result of the study is therefore a
diversification of “the” adolescent gamer. If intensive users of computer games are
looked upon in the light of the general media usage typology, two different sub-
groups from very different social contexts attract attention. Only one of them, the
so-called disoriented, shows relatively low levels of media competence and social
support. The authors conclude that the negative stereotypes regarding intensive
gaming cannot be verified on an empirical basis. Only under specific circumstances
may intense gaming entail risks for the adolescent player.
Jan Keilhauer presents an empirical approach like that of Meister et al., but his
focus is the use and appropriation of online games. Keilhauer’s study is part of the
“Media Convergence Monitoring,” which has been regularly conducted by a team
from the University of Leipzig (Germany). Beside established quantitative data on
media usage such as how much time is spent for online games or which games are
preferred by the interviewees, the study provides data on two interesting social
aspects of online gaming. First, there is the question of how young people set up and
maintain social relationships in virtual (game) worlds. Second, there is the question
if gamers have encountered problematic experiences while playing online, which
might be relevant in regard to the protection of minors. The study was conducted in
the course of the Games Convention, a German convention for digital games.12 It is
not a representative survey, yet it provides insights into the role of online games for
the group of passionate, interested gamers aged 10–22 who visit computer game
fairs. The study illustrates the fact that the strong appeal of online games is linked
to the specific social context, which also allows comparison and competition with
others. On the one hand, new contacts are made when playing online, and, on the
other hand, online games are conducive to maintaining existing relations. For the
12
Until 2008, this annual convention took place in Leipzig. In 2009, however, it has been replaced
by the Gamescom in Cologne.
interviewees, virtual game worlds are not viewed as separated from the “real world.”
The distinction between online and offline social relations is secondary compared to
the quality of interaction and social support in a concrete (gaming) situation.
The following chapter also addresses the social dimension of playing digital
games, but Steve Dahlskog chooses a different gaming situation as his topic. In his
opinion, DGS have widely neglected the analysis of offline social interaction.
Therefore, his study focuses on collective play with shared equipment and tries to
answer the question of how experienced gamers learn to play new games in a coop-
erative offline setting. Subsequent to the work of Jesper Juul and James Paul Gee,
Dahlskog uses the concept of the player’s repertoire to describe the configuration
of skills and knowledge acquired in previous games. The author, by using interac-
tion analysis, tries to comprehend how two players learn to play a new game
together (his example is Lego Star Wars II). His research reveals that already
acquired knowledge in terms of cognitive patterns is being transferred to the new
gaming situation. Contrary to common belief, however, the study illustrates that
the existing repertoires do not always prove beneficial when players are confronted
with a new game. The players he observed had problems developing a joint new
strategy to cope with the game’s challenges, although falling back on familiar pat-
terns was not very successful. So Dahlskog’s analysis illuminates how players may
fail to reach a higher (reflective) level when confronted with new tasks, a finding
which – from the author’s viewpoint – also could be a major obstacle when using
games for learning.
Sven Jöckel and Leyla Dogruel develop an integrative theoretical model of media
choice with regard to computer games. Their leading question is why players choose
to play a specific computer game. The chapter starts with a portrayal of four differ-
ent approaches to theorizing media choice: the uses-and-gratification approach,
transfer model by Jürgen Fritz, integrated action theory, and economic decision
making as it has been conceptualized in consumer research. The authors maintain
that a comprehensive perspective is necessary, which accounts for the individual
characteristics of the users as well as for the qualities of the medium. They more-
over claim that media choice has to be understood as a process consisting of differ-
ent phases. They distinguish the phase of acquisition (e.g., buying hardware and
software), the phase of intermedia choice (choosing to play a computer game over
other leisure or media activities), and the phase of intramedia choice (choosing a
concrete game from an available collection). The authors’ integrated media choice
model is based on the classic expectancy-value model, but it tries to go beyond the
idea of a purely rational media user and to include emotional and situational factors
as well. In a final step, Jöckel and Dogruel adjust the proposed phase-based media
choice model for children and adolescents by integrating three more dimensions:
developmental aspects, parental mediation, and legal regulation.
The chapter of Christoph Klimmt and Christopher Blake discusses general dif-
ficulties in measuring the use of computer games. The statement that a growing
number of people are repeatedly playing computer games serves as justification for
the expansion of game studies, but the factual knowledge about game use is rather
limited for different reasons, at least in comparison to other media. The authors
illustrate why high-resolution information on game use (e.g., player descriptions,

time investments, genre popularities, platforms used for playing, or gaming loca-
tions) is virtually unavailable, and they also elaborate on which organizational and
methodological problems are conducive to this condition. They argue, among other
things, that there is comparatively little commercial interest in such gaming data
because the business model of computer game companies depends on product sales
rather than on advertising sales. In other media branches, such as television, the
situation is completely different, and this is why considerable amounts of money are
spent on conducting large-scale research to obtain information about users and uses
of TV programs. Academic game studies cannot benefit from equivalent commer-
cial data to that available for the mass media. Next to these structural problems, the
authors discuss the chances and limitations of different methodical approaches
(e.g., survey measures, diary measures, technical observation) for attaining a reli-
able empirical basis on game users and uses. Built upon this analysis, Klimmt and
Blake finally present a long-term vision of how a consistent and scientifically valu-
able database covering computer game use could be realized.
Mutlu Binark and Günseli Bayraktutan-Süctü provide another perspective on
the commercial and social contexts of digital games and game use. The authors
illustrate the situation of the game industry as a “creative industry” (in the sense
of Garnham) in Turkey. The creative industry as a concept expands the idea of a
“culture industry” and tries to explain the emergence of new economic sectors
which are creativity-based, including the software industry. In countries like
Turkey, the digital game industry is still under development. The authors present
a study that sets out to investigate the history and the current topography of this
creative industry in Turkey. The analysis involves six dimensions which are
regarded as indispensable for the creation of a value chain, and thus for the
further development and expansion of the industry. These dimensions include
technology, industrial structure, organizational hierarchy, occupational careers,
market, and legislative regulations. Methodologically, the study is mainly based
on semi-structured in-depth interviews with different experts from the industry
(e.g., game designers, engine developers, project leaders, publishers, distributors).
The interviews reveal a lack of communication and experience in the production
and publishing of games, a large black market, and an insufficient policy frame-
work and legal basis as relevant factors that can be viewed as obstacles for the
development of this creative industry.
Part IV: Game and Player Cultures
In the fourth part (IV) of the handbook, the perspective on games, players, and gam-
ing contexts is further expanded into the direction of player and gaming cultures.
The cultural dimension of digital gaming comprises specific practices and phenom-
ena that are significant and meaningful to their participants. In DGS, a substantial
number of studies have been dedicated to exploring microcultures or subcultures
that emerged in the matrix of digital games like clans, guilds, fan communities,
machinima, modding, or e-sports. The chapters in Part IV present different empirical
and theoretical approaches to relevant game cultures and may be regarded as a cross
section of current research. Analyses of interaction patterns, communication struc-
tures, forms of joint self-presentations, etc., usually apply a highly focused micro-
perspective. Still, the chapters in this part manage to create meaningful and important
connections to broader cultural contexts and debates. The presented approaches and
research results demonstrate the diversity of gaming cultures, which is nowhere
near being a unified culture, albeit manifold commercial and other influences are
present. Some chapters investigate the issue of gender or the role of female gamers;
others explore LAN parties or the domain of e-sports; and some are focusing on
creative cultural practices like modding or machinima. Not all relevant or preferable
aspects are included in this part. But the scope of contributions illustrates that the
variety and complexity of game cultures is by no means inferior to supposed “real”
cultures, and they also elucidate the fact that cultural phenomena in the context of
virtual environments cannot be separated from the so-called real world.
Elke Hemminger and Gareth Schott in their opening chapter for this part discuss
the relation between “real” and “virtual” spaces. Based on the postmodern space
and identity discussion, they examine MMOs as lived cultural spaces or “third
spaces” (in the sense of Soja) which contribute to a fragmentation of the self through
their manifold companies and interactions. At the same time, these settings allow
for playfully testing different well-defined roles in a safe environment. Therefore,
Hemminger and Schott understand game worlds like WoW as new cultural spaces
where social practices are developed, shaped, and also partially experienced by the
gamers. The authors argue that the actual ways in which players adopt and use these
spaces have to be analyzed in order to comprehend the cultural impact of online
games and virtual worlds. Founded on a study with triangulated research design,
they describe how WoW is perceived by players and how game space and real life
merge in the users’ everyday practices. This “mergence” of spaces can, for example,
be observed when real-life events are discussed or celebrated in the game.13 The
study results in a four-level typology of user practice on MMOs which discerns
primal, extended, secondary, and merged gameplay. In secondary and merged game-
play, the game world is primarily used as a platform for communication and as a
lived space for socializing. For the authors, the actual appropriation of game spaces
thus transcends traditional spatial separation and results in a merging of game space
and real life.
Diane Carr’s explorative study equally focuses on social and communicative
phenomena in multiplayer online games. Unlike many other studies, which basi-
cally assume a “friendly” attitude in cooperative play situations in MMOs, the
author concentrates on conflict, competition, and coarse forms of instruction in
order to gain a more complex understanding of team play. Her research is largely
13
The authors, for instance, report on a “virtual” party of a Swiss guild in WoW after the Swiss
national football team had won a match during the football World Cup.
established on the grounds of textual analysis of team communication. Based on a

2-year “fun-oriented” observation of Warsong Gulch (a battleground in WoW), she
analyzes how quarrels and conflicts break out within teams over effective tactics and
actions to beat the opposing team. Theorizing about her observations, Carr contends
how difficult it is to adequately conceptualize violence and power in complex game
worlds. Forms of violence (or aggression) not only occur in battles between players
or teams but also team internal, for example, when novices are berated and
reprimanded for making mistakes. An educational element is indeed involved when
(bad) players are instructed on appropriate behavior, but instructions may also foster
different interpretations of the game and lead to peer regulation, which is far less
regulated than the fights on the battlefield. The author thereby illustrates the implau-
sibility of categorizing the behavior in games as “good” or “bad” – in the sense of
competitive versus collaborative – without observing internal communication.
Malin Sveningsson investigates and discusses attitudes toward female participa-
tion in digital gaming and game communities. Her starting point is the common
assumption that women are less involved in gaming contexts that transcend casual
forms of engagement. Several studies have actually revealed tendencies toward
male domination and homosociality within computer game cultures, which go along
with a symbolical exclusion of female players. The author tries to differentiate this
general thesis with her study by analyzing forum discussions from three Swedish
gaming communities (e.g., www.goodgame.se) concerning the participation of
women in gaming contexts. Sveningsson reports that her curiosity was raised
because most postings (from male players) at first sight seemed very women friendly.
Her qualitative analyses of the fora and her interviews with female gamers neverthe-
less indicate that there is neither general acceptance nor general exclusion. The
integration of female gamers depends on different factors like cultural context, game
genre, and gaming scene. The ostensive acceptance implies that female gamers have
to overcome invisible structures which may be more difficult than dealing with
explicit, for example, sexist, remarks. Hence, female participation in game com-
munities seems to correspond to the situation in the professional world.
Jutta Zaremba chooses a different approach to study the participation of female
players in gaming cultures. Female gamers have increasingly been discovered as a
target group of the game industry. In that sense, they are presented and constructed
as a group with specific “female” game preferences and behavioral patterns.
Zaremba shows that female gamers do not necessarily conform to these gender
stereotypes, and it is the non-conform female player she is interested in. Her chapter
consequently focuses on female clans and web portals which, in the view of
Zaremba, have largely been overlooked by Digital Game Studies. Resorting to the
method of online ethnography, she examines three different examples from this
female gaming universe. The structures of these groups, their visual representation
as a defining form of self-expression, and their connections to the game industry
(e.g., sponsoring) are analyzed. The chapter hence illuminates female game cultures
which do not avoid aggressive and competitive game contexts, but rather prepare a
new gender stereotype which is supported by the industry: the self-confident, sexy,
female power gamer. But, according to the author, these female clans, portals, and
websites also indicate resistance, irony, and “authentic” forms of doing gender. It
follows that a dualistic constitution of this lively female gaming universe between
“gender offensive” and “marketing” can be identified.
Judith Ackermann also takes a closer look at forms of social organization in the
context of game cultures. In her chapter, she studies LAN parties which are still a
significant phenomenon with a distinct character and quality compared to playing in
persistent online game worlds (e.g., MMOs). For Ackermann, one of the distinct
qualities of playing at LAN parties is the possibility of direct player interaction and
communication. The aim of her research is to analyze the uses and functions of this
direct communication during multiplayer gaming sessions. Methodically, she
chooses the approach of an ethnographic observation study which combines the
recording of game sessions and data from a nonparticipant observation. A core
result of her study is that LAN parties cannot be considered as game-only events
where everyone simply stares at their monitor without communicating. The ethno-
graphic approach shows that these events offer a valuable form of shared experience
where participants are continually engaged in problem solving which results in
strong social bonds. These shared experiences also display some potential from a
media education perspective because they represent considerable tasks for social
interaction, and hence informally train respective skills, although the players may
be opponents during the game.
E-sports constitute a sphere of game culture which partly overlaps with LAN
parties, but have gained a distinct status. Playing digital games in this context dis-
plays specific forms of interaction which are mainly shaped by competition and
achievement. For Tanja Adamus, game studies until now do not know much about
this phenomenon, although it has become rather popular among adolescents. The
aim of her chapter is to provide a theoretical framework as a starting point for fur-
ther research in this field. Based on a summary of the research and debates on
e-sport until now, she discusses the question whether e-sport can be better under-
stood as a subculture or as a youth scene. She argues that both approaches seem
promising but also feature problematic elements. Against the background of John
Clarke’s definition of subcultures, she states that e-sport lacks the aspects of “style”
and “resistance against hegemonic culture.” She accordingly tends to employ the
notion of youth scene as a theoretical frame, since e-sport can be considered as a
community of shared attitudes. As a demanding aspect, the fact remains that e-sport
would not be characterized as volatile, whereas instability is regarded as a typical
feature of the youth scene. She concludes that both approaches are able to illumi-
nate the perception that e-sport is more than just another form of media usage among
adolescents. However, further research seems necessary to develop a more suitable
theoretical framework for e-sport.
Researching secondary or fandom practices around computer games has
become quite common in DGS. These practices represent a further layer of game
cultures. Lisbeth Frølunde examines the cultural practice of machinima film mak-
ing, an unexpected by-product of gaming, where game engines are employed to
shoot films and players become directors. This creative practice raises questions
with regard to authorship, media convergence, and remixing. Machinima can be
viewed as an example of how significance and meaning may be generated within

a media convergent world. The author presents case studies of two machinimators
who have produced machinima films in Second Life and who entered their prod-
ucts at the Metropia machinima contest of Roskilde University (DK). Her study is
founded on Mediated Discourse Analysis and applies a neo-Bakhtinian theoretical
perspective which allows understanding machinima as a dialogical (and culturally
embedded) practice of remixing games and other “texts.” Thus, machinima exem-
plifies a transformation of authorial practice and exhibits a specific form of media
ecology and social networking. Frølunde concludes that the dialogic authorial
practice of machinima relies on an “interanimation of voices” which allows more
than one author to participate in a process of meaning making. For her, this new
form of authorship shows that player and gaming cultures are not solely focused
on playing games.
In his chapter, Alexander Unger examines another popular cultural practice that
is secondary to playing games: the practice of modding (i.e., modifying computer
games). While the notion of “game culture” is quite popular, the author points out
that creative and productive practices of fans have been partly overlooked by aca-
demic DGS. Still, these practices show how rich the game culture is, and they illus-
trate that game culture is far from being determined by a strong medium or by the
game industry. Nevertheless, the article points out that it is important to consider the
complex relationship between the industry (“commercial culture”) and the “players’
culture.” While it is also important to take a look at how fans influence commercial
production, the author argues that modding goes a step further because “consumers”
reinterpret commercial games by manipulating the software and thus inscribe their
own ideas in the software framework. The article provides an insight into the culture
of modding by giving some figures about mods, discussing definitions, and present-
ing an analytical model for a formal mod analysis. After discussing possible motiva-
tions for modding and taking a look at modding teams and the modding community,
the last section of the chapter outlines different layers of modding culture that can
be empirically analyzed and that display the complexity and also political signifi-
cance of this culture.
Machinima and modding are significant examples of creative and partially sub-
versive cultural practices in the context of digital games. All the same, the commer-
cial influences on player and game cultures must not be underestimated. The role of
the game industry as a substantial co-constructor of cultural practices becomes
obvious in several phenomena. Jeffrey Wimmer is interested in the patterns of ten-
sion between game industry and game cultures. The concept of mediatization as
discussed in media and communication studies forms the basis of his theoretical
context for understanding digital games and game cultures. Digital games are seen
as an aspect of the current media culture, which is transforming all dimensions of
society and our everyday life. In the second part of his chapter, Wimmer investigates
a large gaming event which in his eyes gives the opportunity to observe and experi-
ence public articulations of current game (and media) cultures. The event is the
World Cyber Games (WCG) 2008 that took place in Cologne (DE). The author
attempts to analyze the medial representation of the event as well as its adoption by
the participants. Methodically, a combination of interviews, participant observations,

and content analysis is applied, resulting in a picture of diverse interdependencies
between game industry and digital game cultures which is considered typical for the
entire process of globalization and mediatization.
Part V: Educational Approaches and Learning
The fifth part (V) of the handbook is dedicated to a specific facet of games and
gaming; that is, how they relate to learning and education. The topic Educational
Approaches and Learning comprises pedagogical perspectives which are quite
diverse, reaching from investigations of games and game worlds as informal learn-
ing environments to concepts for game-based learning in formal educational con-
texts. Regarding the relation between media (and new technologies in general) and
pedagogy, there is an ambivalent tradition. On the one hand, new media are often
viewed and discussed as negative factors for the development of children and youth
in the sense of (potentially) harmful secret co-educators. This skeptical attitude
toward media can already be found in the work of early pedagogues like Rousseau
or Pestalozzi who developed educational concepts based on a combination of
protection (from supposed negative external influences) and guidance (into the
direction of supposed valuable forms of behavior and attitude). On the other hand,
new media and technologies have inspired pedagogical fantasies in several ways,
as, for example, in concepts for a pedagogical reform of cinema (Kino-reform-
be-we-gung) in the early twentieth century, which sought to use the new medium
film for the popularization of knowledge (see Hüther and Podehl 2005). Current
attempts to use the fascination of digital games for serious (e.g., educational) pur-
poses follow the same track – they could possibly profit from evaluating the history
of didactic media use.14 Yet contemporary media pedagogy has developed another
approach to media which goes beyond instrumental as well as protective outlooks.
Their response to the growing importance of media in modern societies is to declare
media literacy or media competence a core objective of (media) education. A num-
ber of questions arise regarding the dimensions of media literacy and its relation to
specific media like computer games. Do children and youth need a special com-
puter game literacy (or competence)? How can school contribute to fostering media
or computer literacy? How is media literacy education related to using computer
technology as a didactic tool in education? To be able to answer questions like
these, it is important to provide systematic as well as case-based analyses and con-
ceptions to assess the learning potentials of digital games and game worlds. In this
respect, the chapters of this part offer substantial theoretical as well as empirical
and practical contributions.
14
One lesson to be learnt is that the use of new technologies cannot compensate pedagogical or
didactic weaknesses such as building upon outdated learning theories (as can be observed in many
e-learning scenarios).
The chapter of Michael Giang, Yasmin Kafai, Deborah Fields, and Kristin Searle
examines the social significance of time spent online in company with others.
Unlike most other studies, the research presented here centers on younger players
(10–13 years old) and their bonding in affinity groups in a “tween virtual world”
called Whyville.net. The chapter is in a way linking Parts IV and V as it explores
tween player cultures online (i.e., social interactions) and demonstrates how these
worlds have become relevant spaces for socialization and informal processes of
social learning. Whyville is a virtual world populated by over 1.5 million users, and
it explicitly attempts to engage players in constructive educational activities and
socially responsible behavior. Based on a log file analysis of 595 participants cov-
ering a 6-month period, the authors describe different types of play and social
interactions within Whyville. A specific focus is laid on the development of rela-
tionship play including flirting and dating practices. Additionally, six case studies
were conducted in an after school club set up by the authors for more detailed
investigations of the different player types. The study shows that Whyville players
usually begin by playing the virtual world’s science-based games, by exploring
virtual environments, and by solving casual single- or multiplayer games. But the
virtual world also functions as an experimental space for starting and trying out
romantic relationships, an area of informal learning which obviously transcends
the initial intent of the game designers.
The following two chapters also take an analytical approach to aspects of learn-
ing in digital games or game worlds. Karsten Wolf is interested in the instructional
design and motivational mechanisms of World of Warcraft. Starting from the infor-
mation that about 1,200 h of playing are necessary to attain true mastery, he asks
how WoW is teaching its users to play successfully and acquire the needed skills and
knowledge. The objective of his “didactical” examination of WoW is to assess prin-
ciples and mechanisms which may be applied for the design of educational and
learning games. World of Warcraft is regarded as especially significant because it
reaches casual as well as so-called hardcore gamers. As the author shows, this elas-
ticity is related to different features: different levels of game complexity, quests to
stimulate discovery learning, and extensive problem-based learning. But especially
significant for successful learning in WoW proves to be the player community which
Wolf understands as a community of practice (in the sense of Lave and Wenger).
The community encourages and supports forms and processes of learning which are
not present in the classroom. Hence, the author regards a community as a crucial
element for the creation of serious and educational games.
In his chapter, Konstantin Mitgutsch provides an overview of the discourse
about learning through playing. He shows that the idea of using computer games
as a tool to foster learning and increase the motivation of learners is nowadays
widely accepted by the game industry, politicians, educators, and players.
Nevertheless, questions remain as to how learning through playing in digital game
worlds actually takes place and how the digitalization of play changes the players’
experiences. In contrast to most other approaches, Mitgutsch does not investigate
learning as a process en route to acquiring knowledge and information. Instead,
he develops a theoretical concept of deep learning stimulated by “negative
experiences” like irritations, failures, or disappointments. While these negative

experiences are usually perceived to be detrimental to learning, the author shows
how the confrontation with unknown situations can restructure previous experi-
ences and interaction patterns. Because this circular and recursive form of learn-
ing has up to now been largely ignored by designers of educational games as well
as by educational researchers and DGS, the author argues that a more systematical
consideration is necessary.
Jennifer Jenson, Suzanne de Castell, Nicholas Taylor, Milena Droumeva, and
Stephanie Fisher are a team of educational researchers who have developed an
approach to design-based research. The chapter illustrates this approach describing
the design and play testing of a Flash-based learning game called Tafelkids: The
Quest for Arundo Donax. As a core challenge, the authors discuss the tension
between the instruction to include historical facts about Baroque music on the one
hand and the requirement to create a pleasurable gameplay experience for 8–14 year
olds on the other hand. The authors’ design efforts are framed by the concept of
“ludic epistemology,” a pedagogical paradigm based on Lyotard’s differentiation of
scientific and narrative knowledge. The idea is to subvert the instrumentalist educa-
tional economy that is predominant in formal education through the creation of
(informal) learning resources, which support an open and exploratory rather than an
economic-utilitarian knowledge formation. So the designed music game is deliber-
ately disconnected from any formal curriculum or official assessment. Therefore,
popular games with an imitative and enactive learning approach like Guitar Hero
are a major source of inspiration for the design of Tafelkids. Play-testing sessions
with more than 150 students indicate a successful transformation of specialized
knowledge about Baroque music into a play-based digital medium that appeals to
the target group.
Eric Klopfer and Ravi Purushotma also discuss a specific approach to using
games for educational purposes. Like the authors of the preceding chapter, they
claim that many current learning games and edutainment titles are based on sim-
ple instructional learning concepts and multiple-choice tests. Following a state-
ment of Richard Feynman, a well-known physician, the authors explain why these
“drill and kill” approaches necessarily fail to convey a deep understanding of
complex systems as is needed in natural science, for instance, but also will not
increase/nurture students’ engagement. Conversely, simulations are an already
well-respected tool for experience-based learning in multifaceted contexts; there-
fore, the authors recommend exploring the correspondences between simulation
games and pedagogical goals that go beyond memorizing facts. After a survey of
some of the important research regarding the relation between simulations
(and digital games) and learning, Klopfer and Purushotma explain their own
approach in which they use StarLogo TNG for deepening children’s understanding
of science. This graphical programming environment enables students to create
their own simulation-based video games and thus represents a constructionist
pathway to learning and understanding.
The following chapters discuss concepts and methods for a pedagogical
integration of computer games into schools and classes. Matthias Bopp outlines a
school-related computer game pedagogy as a new academic discipline and research
field. The author refers to a wide variety of existing investigations, which may be
assigned to this academic field, but from his perspective they lack a systematic and
integrative conceptual framework. The aim of his chapter is to outline some system-
izing ideas which may also guide cooperation between researchers. As a crucial
characteristic of a school-related computer game pedagogy, Bopp deems it a
practical and a practice-oriented discipline, respectively, as defined by the German
pedagogues Weniger and Bezinka. To ensure a clear profile and prevent fraying, the
author argues for a clear concept of the core tasks and research issues of a school-
related computer game pedagogy. As three core tasks, he illustrates description,
criticism, and instructional research with regard to three core (research) issues,
namely, teaching and learning activities in the classroom, popular educational
discourses on digital games, and impacts of gaming on the player’s performance in
school. A methodical computer game pedagogy is regarded as a useful and neces-
sary foundation for the design of serious games, for a critical discourse about the
relation between computer game use and learning at school, and for the use of
computer games in the classroom.
Danny Kringiel refers to critical public debates where possible negative (educa-
tional) impacts of playing digital games are fixated, combined with demands for
prohibitive political or educational measures. Based on the postulation that such
measures are inappropriate as well as inefficient, modern media pedagogy has
developed a principally different approach to media. The main idea is to promote
media literacy (or media competence) in an active and experience-based manner in
order to strengthen (young) media users’ ability to use media in a self-determined
way. Kringiel picks up this approach and transfers it to the area of video games. His
chapter explains the theoretical concept of video game literacy (in the context of
more comprehensive media literacy) and its core characteristics. He sees the analyt-
ical-critical dimension as a crucial aspect of video game literacy. As a consequence,
an analytical approach to digital games is also a central element of Kringiel’s peda-
gogical conception. He presents an analytical toolbox developed and tested in an
exemplary analysis of Max Payne 2, which attempts to allocate core questions of
DGS for educational purposes. What is more, the author summarizes practical
methods for teaching video game literacy tested in his own practice as a teacher.
This practical evaluation has proved the analytical toolbox to be suitable for class-
room contexts. Yet, a primarily analytical approach only covers parts of what video
games literacy is about. Another important dimension, for instance, is enabling the
players to actively produce their own game contents, as demonstrated in the chapter
of Klopfer and Purushotma.
Johannes Fromme presents a slightly different approach to the same problem of
integrating computer games as a subject of reflective analyses into the classroom.
The new digital media are increasingly permeating all areas of our life, but only
little importance has been placed upon these media in schools so far. This especially
applies to the field of media education, where media become a subject of teaching
and learning processes in order to support new media literacies that include critical
and reflective dimensions. The chapter presents an empirical study conducted on
behalf of the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. The objective was to
demonstrate possibilities of turning computer games, as a popular form of digital
media, into a subject for reflective analysis and discussion in the classroom. Fromme
describes the conceptual framework of the study, the methodological approach, and
selected results. The research uncovered several exemplary approaches, practices,
and experiences which can be referred to as “best practice” for teachers and media
pedagogues who are willing to consider computer games as a relevant subject of an
integrated media education approach in the classroom. But the study also reveals
significant structural problems and constraining factors, not only for focusing com-
puter games in the classroom, but more generally for integrating media education
into a curriculum- and output-oriented context like the school system.
The final chapter of this part is provided by Jose Zagal, who refers to a different
level of game education, that is, to the field of professional and academic game
studies. With the expansion of game studies as a significant interdisciplinary proj-
ect, the number of institutions has grown where students are being trained in game
design, game analysis, or other facets of DGS. Still the leading question of Zagal
proves to be relevant for other educational contexts of promoting computer game
literacy as well. The question is what games, as essential exemplars of the medium
that all students should play and understand, should be integrated into a game stud-
ies curriculum? Regarding this question, the idea of a canonical list of games seems
a good idea, but the author opposes canonical concepts. A systematic problem
already arises when it comes to assessing criteria for the separation of canonical
from noncanonical games. Is it possible to find objective or at least consensual
criteria? Based on his research into games education, the author discusses different
canonical lists and their limitations. He furthermore shows up the possibly coun-
terproductive effects of using a game canon for teaching game literacy. The ten-
dency to neglect other possible orientations is one aspect; the risk of reducing
game studies to commercially successful and influential titles is another one. In the
end, he demands an integration of simple, unremarkable, and “unimportant” video
games into game education curricula as a way in which to broaden students’ under-
standing of games and as a challenge for already existing cultural commonalities
and design concepts.
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Gameography
Pong (1972). Atari (Dev./Pub.).

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Chapter 1

Computer Games and Digital Game

Johannes Fromme and Alexander Unger

Digital Games and Game Cultures: Still Marginalized?

Although DGS can on the whole be regarded as a successful project so far,

New Media, Technology, and Popular Culture

discipline. In our view, it could well remain and prosper as an interdisciplinary

Representatives of Digital Game Studies carry out a project contingent on different

About This Handbook

The aim of this volume is to present significant theoretical and methodological

Part I: Computer Games and Game Analysis

semiotic mechanisms of meaning production in terms of digital media products.

scholarly perspective of virtual spaces. Games, in this sense, should be designed as

Part II: The Player–Game Relation

problematized in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games because playing goes along with a

Part III: Users, Uses, and Social Contexts of Computer Games

games require both qualitative as well as quantitative methods and approaches. Of

illustrate why high-resolution information on game use (e.g., player descriptions,

Part IV: Game and Player Cultures

established on the grounds of textual analysis of team communication. Based on a

viewed as an example of how significance and meaning may be generated within

the participants. Methodically, a combination of interviews, participant observations,

Part V: Educational Approaches and Learning

experiences” like irritations, failures, or disappointments. While these negative

Aarseth, E. (1997). Cybertext. Perspectives on Ergodic literature. Baltimore: John Hopkins.

Pong (1972). Atari (Dev./Pub.).

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