English 286: Rhetoric of Video Games

Edited by Nina Huntemann and Matthew Payne (NYU, 2019). What does Pokémon Go tell us about globalization? What does Tetris teach us about rules? Is feminism boosted or bashed by Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? How does BioShock Infinite help us navigate world-building? How to Play Video Games brings together forty original essays from today's leading scholars on video game culture, writing about the games they know best and what they mean in broader social and cultural contexts.

Edited by Jennifer Malkowski and TreaAndrea Russworm (Indiana, 2017). Recent years have seen an increase in public attention to identity and representation in video games, including journalists and bloggers holding the digital game industry accountable for the discrimination routinely endured by female gamers, queer gamers, and gamers of color. Gaming Representation examines portrayals of race, gender, and sexuality in a range of games, from casuals like Diner Dash, to indies like Journey and The Binding of Isaac, to mainstream games.

Edited by Henry Lowood and Raiford Guins (MIT, 2016). These essays discuss the terminology, etymology, and history of key terms, offering a foundation for critical historical studies of games. Even as the field of game studies has flourished, critical historical studies of games have lagged behind other areas of research. This volume attempts to "debug" the flawed historiography of video games. It offers original essays on key concepts in game studies.

By Shira Chess (Minnesota, 2017). Cultural stereotypes to the contrary, approximately half of all video game players are now women. Media critic Shira Chess uses the concept of "Player Two" (the industry idealization of the female gamer) to examine the assumptions implicit in video games designed for women and how they have impacted gaming culture and the larger society. With Player Two, the video game industry has designed specifically for the feminine ideal: she is white, middle class, heterosexual, cis-gendered, and abled. Drawing on categories from time management and caregiving to social networking, consumption, and bodies, Chess examines how games have been engineered to shape normative ideas about women and leisure.