How to Do Things with Videogames by Ian Bogost

And then there are themes that speak to aspects of videogames that are perhaps less obvious: disinterest, pranks, snapshots. Other themes may be of particular relevance to Games Network members as they seem to fit naturally with games-based learning, like empathy, drill, and work. Some of the essay themes will be familiar to anyone with at least a passing interest in videogames, like exercise, promotion, and branding. The book consists of of 20 short essays in which Bogost examines individual themes that videogames can address or incorporate. Instead, I suggest we imagine the videogame as a medium with valid uses across the spectrum, from art to tools and everything in between. I take for granted that understanding games as a medium of leisure or productivity alone is insufficient. To reveal a small portion of the many uses of videogames, and how together they make the medium broader, richer, and more relevant. He calls this approach “media microecology,” and aims At just over 150 pages, How to Do Things With Videogames is a faster read and a great introduction to Bogost’s thinking on games.īogost examines videogames as a type of media and the many, varied ways that videogames have been, are, and could be used and integrated into our lives.

While a seminal text, it’s quite lengthy, and I haven’t yet found the time to devote to reading it thoroughly. I’ve read many of his articles and shorter pieces, though I’ll admit that I may be the only Games Network member who hasn’t yet read Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Bogost is a prominent games scholar from the Georgia Institute of Technology and founder of the game design company Persuasive Games. I’ve just finished reading How to Do Things with Videogames by Ian Bogost, and I can heartily recommend it to anyone interested in games-based learning or game studies more broadly.