5-1
-
THE EVOLUTION OF POKÉMON GO: A SURVEY OF FINNISH PLAYER EXPERIENCES
by Kati Alha, Elina Koskinen, Dale Leorke, & Elisa Wiik First published April 2023. Download full article PDF here. Abstract In this article we unpack responses (n = 1,741) by Finnish Pokémon GO players to an open-ended survey question “how has your experience of the game changed throughout the time you’ve played it?” The survey, Continue reading
-
THE KID IN THE FRIDGE: SACRIFICIAL CHILDREN AND VENGEFUL MASCULINITY IN CONTEMPORARY VIDEOGAMES
by Emma Reay First published March 2023. Download full article PDF here. Abstract A recent content analysis of child characters in contemporary videogames found that over a third of the digital kids recorded in the dataset were murder victims – their lives cut short by drownings, shootings, stabbings, hangings, intentional traffic collisions, cannibalism, murderous religious Continue reading
-
Labour and Love: Play-Centrism and Procedurality in Spiritfarer
by Eoghain Meakin, Brian Vaughan, & Charlie Cullen First published March 2023 Download full article PDF here. Abstract Extrapolating from the pioneering work of Ian Bogost (2007) and Miguel Sicart (2011), this essay aims to re-explore the perspectives of procedurality and play-centrism, interrogate their relationship, and show how potential player subjectivities can emerge from that Continue reading
-
“I NEVER ASKED FOR IT, BUT I GOT IT AND NOW I FEEL THAT MY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HISTORY IS EVEN GREATER!”: PLAY, ENCOUNTER AND RESEARCH IN EUROPA UNIVERSALIS IV
by Rhett Loban First published January 2022 Download full article PDF here. Abstract This article discusses interlinked findings that stem from the complex and dynamic ways that Grand Strategy video games, especially Europa Universalis IV (EUIV), represents history and how players engage with history outside the game. To discuss these points, the article draws upon Continue reading
-
LOCAL PRACTICES IN DIGITAL GAMING HERITAGE: AN INTERVIEW WITH MAURIZIO BANAVAGE AND ANDREA DRESSENO
by Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone & Stefano Caselli First published November 2021 Download full article PDF here. Abstract This article engages with the experiences of two small-scale computer/game heritage curators, in Malta and Italy. The interviews delve into their aspirations and concerns, as well as practices and values. We situate their voices in relation to Continue reading
The Journal of Games Criticism is a non-profit, peer-reviewed game studies journal that strives to connect the conversations between traditional academics and popular game critics. The journal strives to be a producer of feed-forward approaches to video games criticism with a focus on influencing gamer culture, the design and writing of video games, and the social understanding video games and video game criticism.
ISSN: 2374-202X
Recent Articles
- A Contemporary Take on Victorian Lunacy: Representations of the Asylum in the Neo-Victorian Video Game Alice: Madness Returns
- Investigating Development Crunch in Games and its Impact on Creative Expression
- Character Affectivity in Newton and the Apple Tree
- Colonized Morality Mechanics: The Struggle to Be Good in Telltale’s The Walking Dead
- Videogame Distribution and Steam’s Imperialist Practices: Platform Coloniality in Game Distribution
Journal of Games Criticism 