ABSTRACT

Game studies, as a subfield of media and/or communication studies, has occupied an odd place within critical media studies. Those who are invested in critical theory of video game studies understand the importance of the subfield, those who do not study or play video games tend to think of the topic as “other”—as distinct from other theoretical compartments of media studies work. Yet, as the games scholars in this invited issue explain, games are now a central component in the convergence of media content, media platforms and technologies, and media audiences. Theories and methods that help us understand games and their culture are therefore increasingly relevant to understanding wider media production and use. The goal with this special issue, therefore, was to offer a variety of approaches and specifics that would be helpful to scholars both within and beyond game studies.

摘要

游戏研究作为媒体和/或传播研究的一个子领域，在批判性媒体研究中占据了一个奇怪的位置。那些投资于视频游戏研究批判理论的人了解该子领域的重要性，那些不学习或玩视频游戏的人倾向于认为该主题是“其他”——与媒体研究工作的其他理论部分不同。然而，正如本期特邀的游戏学者所解释的那样，游戏现在是媒体内容、媒体平台和技术以及媒体受众融合的核心组成部分。因此，帮助我们理解游戏及其文化的理论和方法与理解更广泛的媒体生产和使用越来越相关。因此，本期特刊的目标是，