CGS: Conversations in Game Studies

Chris J. Young (University of Toronto) talks about the recent woes of Unity and how they could impact the future of the company that was once hailed as the champion of independent videogame development. 

With the disappearance of a large number of video games, archiving titles is becoming essential for the future of game studies. Chris J. Young, Head of Collections and Digital Scholarship at the University of Toronto Mississauga Library, describes his institution's trailblazing efforts in video game conservation with the Syd Bolton Collection and the unique opportunities and challenges that come w...

Kristian A. Bjørkelo (University of Bergen) discusses the prevalence of Dungeons and Dragons in game scholarship and how the overt focus on D&D games and players may be unwittingly contributing to the monopoly of Wizards of the Coast (and its parent company Hasbro) on the roleplaying scene. Link to original article: https://eludamos.org/index.php/eludamos/article/view/6981 To follow Kristian o...

Tijana Rupčić (Central European University, Vienna) discusses the importance of spirituality in dystopian video games, with particular focus on Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Death Stranding, and Cyberpunk 2077, which touch on the idea of transhumanism and on the implications of transcending death. Original study: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/247  Tijana on social media: https://twitter.c...

Tereza Fousek Krobová (Charles University, Prague), Jaroslav Švelch (Charles University, Prague) and Justyna Janik (Jagiellonian University, Cracow) discuss the representation of post-Soviet spaces in contemporary horror video games and how the depiction of Central and Eastern Europe has evolved over the past decades across various genres.  Video version https://youtu.be/yRyfCP7HSg8 Link to origin...

Amanda Cote (University of Oregon) discusses how crunch has become deeply embedded in the video game industry, leading developers to distinguist between "good crunch" and "bad crunch." YouTube version: https://youtu.be/DQltuh_Ewlw Follow Amanda on social media: https://twitter.com/accote http://www.amandaccote.com/ Original Study: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14614448211014213

Chris J. Young (University of Toronto) discusses how the Canadian independent video game maker scene has evolved thanks to such robust tools as the Unity Engine, as well as how Unity managed to become a silent giant in the video game industry thanks to its strong grip on the indie scene and mobile platforms. Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEp8g4y-cJk Chris on social media: https://...

Jan Švelch (Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic) discusses how player surveillance and the gathering of player data have become a norm in the gaming industry and how developers and publishers have entered into a seemingly reciprocal relationship with players, who receive limited access to this data through infographics and "fun fact" metrics that are disseminated among players and in the...