Game Studies

Game Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of games and gaming about their new books. For more information about the Game Studies special series, please contact Rudolf Thomas Inderst at rudolf.inderst@googlemail.com.

Carlin Wing, "Bounce: Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play" (MIT Press, 2026)

March 11, 2026

Bounce

Carlin Wing

Bounce: Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play (MIT Press, 2026) follows an array of bouncing balls through the histories of nonelectronic and ele…

Kaitlin Tremblay, "Life is Strange" (Boss Fight Books, 2026)

March 9, 2026

Life is Strange

Kaitlin Tremblay

Despite its time travel mechanics, high stakes, and pulpy murder plot, Don’t Nod Entertainment’s 2015 adventure game Life is Strange stood out from mo…

Victor Navarro-Remesal, "Zen and Slow Games" (MIT Press, 2026)

March 3, 2026

Zen and Slow Games

Victor Navarro-Remesal

A deep dive into the reflective modes of playfulness in video games. Slowness and reflectiveness have always been part of the video game medium, thoug…

Miguel Sicart, "Playing Software: Homo Ludens in Computational Culture" (MIT Press, 2023)

March 2, 2026

Playing Software

Miguel Sicart

The play element at the heart of our interactions with computers—and how it drives the best and the worst manifestations of the information age. Whet…

Raiford Guins, "King PONG: How Atari Bounced Across Markets to Make Millions" (MIT Press, 2026)

February 20, 2026

King PONG

Raiford Guins
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

PONG is one of the longest- and most consistently circulating video games. Released in 1972, it remains at our fingertips as Android or iOS app, hoste…

Charlotte Reber, "Dragon Age II" (Boss Fight Books, 2026)

February 20, 2026

Dragon Age II

Charlotte Reber

Rushed through development in just a year to capitalize on the runaway success of its predecessor, Dragon Age II's writing team had only a few months …

Rob Gallagher, "Artgames after GamerGate" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025)

February 6, 2026

Artgames after GamerGate

Rob Gallagher

Videogame culture is obsessed with development. But gaming is still widely associated with wasted time, squandered potential and backwards attitudes. …

Federico Alvarez Igarzábal and Emmanuel Guardiola, "Video Games and Mental Health: Perspectives of Psychology and Game Design" (Transcript Publishing, 2024)

January 31, 2026

Video Games and Mental Health

Federico Alvarez Igarzábal and Emmanuel Guardiola

How do video games and mental health intersect from the perspectives of psychology and game design? In recent years, the topic of mental health has ga…

Chaim Gingold, "Building SimCity: How to Put the World in a Machine" (MIT Press, 2024)

December 15, 2025

Building SimCity

Chaim Gingold

Building SimCity explores the history of computer simulation by chronicling one of the most influential simulation games ever made: SimCity. As author…

Adrienne Domasin ed., "The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Last of Us" (Playstory Press, 2025)

November 23, 2025

The Psychgeist of Pop Culture

Adrienne Domasin

The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Last of Us (Playstory Press, 2025) explores the psychological themes at the heart of The Last of Us franchise. Auth…

Jessica Doyle and Jordan Ferguson, "Dance Dance Revolution" (Boss Fight Books, 2025)

November 3, 2025

Dance Dance Revolution

Jessica Doyle and Jordan Ferguson

On September 26, 1998, a video game made its debut in Japanese arcades. It was over seven feet tall and weighed just over 900 pounds. It had no charac…

Kawika Guillermo, "Of Floating Isles: On Growing Pains and Video Games" (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2025)

September 22, 2025

Of Floating Isles

Kawika Guillermo

An immersive journey into the author's lifelong attachment to video games, revealing how they shape us, shatter us, and give us the courage to start a…

Alisha Karabinus et al. eds., "Historiographies of Game Studies: What It Has Been, What It Could Be" (Punctum Books, 2025)

September 17, 2025

Historiographies of Game Studies

Alisha Karabinus, Carly A. Kocurek, Cody Mejeur, Emma Vossen

Historiographies of Game Studies: What It Has Been, What It Could Be (Punctum Books, 2025) offers a first-of-its-kind reflection on how game studies a…

Julien Mailland on "The Game That Never Ends: How Lawyers Shape the Videogame Industry"

September 15, 2025

Julien Mailland on The Game That Never Ends: How Lawyers Shape the Videogame Industry

Hosted by Lee Vinsel

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Julien Mailland, Associate Professor of Media Management, Law, and Policy at The Media School of Indiana…

Steve Tibble, "Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood" (Yale UP, 2025)

September 9, 2025

Assassins and Templars

Steve Tibble
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The Assassins and the Templars are two of history’s most legendary groups. One was a Shi’ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order crea…

Kenneth Jones, "African American Males and Video Games: How Gaming Technology Can Motivate and Enhance Learning" (Myers Education, 2025)

August 10, 2025

African American Males and Video Games

Kenneth Jones

African American males are confronted with formidable barriers in their pursuit of quality education, resulting in stark disparities in academic perfo…

Nathan Wainstein, "Grant Us Eyes: The Art of Paradox in Bloodborne" (2025)

August 8, 2025

Grant Us Eyes

Nathan Wainstein

Grant Us Eyes is a book-length close reading of Bloodborne by literary critic Nathan Wainstein (LA Review of Books, Cartridge Lit, American Book Revie…

Dom Ford, "Mytholudics: Games and Myth" (de Gruyter, 2025)

August 5, 2025

Mytholudics

Dom Ford
Hosted by Jana Byars

Dom Ford joins Jana Byars to talk about Mytholudics: Game and Myth (DeGruyter Brill, 2025). Games create worlds made of many different elements, but a…

Cameron Kunzelman, "The World is Born from Zero: Understanding Speculation and Video Games" (de Gruyter, 2022)

July 23, 2025

The World is Born from Zero

Cameron Kunzelman

The World is Born From Zero is an investigation into the relationship between video games and science fiction through the philosophy of speculation. C…

James O'Connor, "Untitled Goose Game" (Boss Fight Books, 2025)

July 18, 2025

Untitled Goose Game

James O'Connor

It's a beautiful day in the village, and you are a horrible goose, ready to wreak charming havoc on the weary locals. You'll ruin their gardens, invad…