Lecture 6 The Academic Study of Video Games

Lecture 6 focuses on The Academic Study of Video Games. As games are becoming popular day by day among young children, there are large concerns about social and cultural affects of video games. Lecture focuses on various types of games such as arcade, consoles, computers and mobile games. Then it talks about theoretical aspects of study of games by means of media effects and games, the persistence of effects, games and Utopia etc. Basically it talks about the video games as new form of cultural practises where youngster and teenagers spends most of time. Traditionally children and teenagers used to play outside, which involved more social interaction and physical exercise. After introduction of video games it has changed drastically. Video games has their own rules separate from real world, the game is a self-contained system of rules. The gamers follow this rule in order to play the game and as they progresses the game becomes much more difficult. Gaming world is shaped around the virtual space. Aesthetics are crucial aspect that makes games more enjoyable and popular. In some way it relates concept of virtual reality to the video games, where designer emphasis on making games more real as possible.