The Video Game Debate

by Rachel Kowert (Editor), Thorsten Quandt (Editor)

Do video games cause violent, aggressive behavior? Can online games help us learn? When it comes to video games, these are often the types of questions raised by popular media, policy makers, scholars, and the general public. In this collection, international experts review the latest research findings in the field of digital game studies and weigh in on the actual physical, social, and psychological effects of video games. Taking a broad view of the industry from the moral panic of its early days up to recent controversies surrounding games like Grand Theft Auto , contributors explore the effects of games through a range of topics including health hazards/benefits, education, violence and aggression, addiction, cognitive performance, and gaming communities. Interdisciplinary and accessibly written, The Video Game Debate reveals that the arguments surrounding the game industry are far from black and white, and opens the door to richer conversation and debate amongst students, policy makers, and scholars alike.

Genres: Gaming, Nonfiction, Art

204 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2015

About the author

Rachel Kowert is an author and researcher of psychology. She holds a Ph.D. at the University of York in York, England. Her research is primarily focused on the social impact of online games. This includes addressing the anecdotal claim that online game players are socially different/deficient as compared to offline or non-players, examining the impact of online video gameplay on offline friendship networks, and evaluating the tangible social benefits of online gameplay.

Rachel is currently the Research Director for Take This, a non-profit organization that provides mental health information and resources to the gaming community and industry. She is also the Chief Scientific Officer of Kitsune Analytics.

Reviews

[Robert]

In short: The game, the genre, the player and the context matters! There is not the one game, the one player or the one gaming.

[Ietrio]

The "experts" quickly carving up a niche, after all the issue is so complicated the television channels need them to come talk.