Autor: Matthew Wilhelm Kapell

The 1960s and early 70s saw the evolution of Frontier Myths even as scholars were renouncing the interpretive value of myths themselves. Works like Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War exemplified that rej …

The 1960s and early 70s saw the evolution of Frontier Myths even as scholars were renouncing the interpretive value of myths themselves. Works like Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War exemplified that rej …

In the past, the examination of myth has traditionally been the study of the "Primitive" or the "Other." More recently, myth has been increasingly employed in movies and in televi …

Among the most expensive–and most profitable–films of all time, the works of James Cameron have had a profound effect upon popular culture and the technology of moviemaking. Yet the very blockbuste …

Fantasy and science fiction began in print, and from the first films to the latest blockbusters, print stories have provided the inspirations, the ideas, and in some cases the detailed blueprints. Ad …

Since the emergence of digital game studies, a number of debates have engaged scholars. The debate between ludic (play) and narrative (story) paradigms remains the one that famously "never happe …

Do you make small leaps in your chair while attempting challenging jumps in Tomb Raider? Do you say "Ouch!" when a giant hits you with a club in Skyrim? Have you had dreams of being inside …

More than 30 years after its 1985 release on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario Bros. continues to be one of the best-selling video games of all time. For many, completing the classic sid …

Beginning with the structural features of design and play, this book explores video games as both compelling examples of story-telling and important cultural artifacts. The author analyzes fundamenta …

Featuring interviews with the creators of 36 popular video games–including Deus Ex, Night Trap, Mortal Kombat, Wasteland and NBA Jam–this book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of some …

Call of Duty is one of the most culturally significant video game franchises of the 21st century. Since the first game was released for PC in 2003, the first-person shooter has sold over 250 million …

Historian Johan Huizinga once described game playing as the motor of humanity’s cultural development, predating art and literature. Since the late 20th century, Western society has undergone a " …

Digital role-playing games such as Rift, Diablo III, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning help players develop skills in critical thinking, problem solving, digital literacy, and lifelong learning. The …

Over the years, board games have evolved to include relatable characters, vivid settings and compelling, intricate plotlines. In turn, players have become more emotionally involved–taking on, in ess …

In an era of reboots, restarts and retreads, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy–featuring new, prequel adventures of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the original series characters, aboard the USS Enterprise …

When people hear the term "role-playing games, " they tend to think of two things: a group of friends sitting around a table playing Dungeons & Dragons or video games with exciting graphics …

Video games are a complex, compelling medium in which established art forms intersect with technology to create an interactive text. Visual arts, architectural design, music, narrative and rules of p …

As video gaming and gaming culture became more mainstream in the 1970s, science fiction authors began to incorporate aspects of each into their work. This study examines how media-fueled paranoia abo …

In the vein of their cult-classic dark fantasy titles Demon’s Souls (2009) and the Dark Souls franchise (2011, 2014, 2016), game developers From Software released the bleak Gothic horror Bloodborne i …

The world of video games has long revolved around a subset of its player base: straight, white males aged 18-25. Highly gendered marketing in the late 1990s and early 2000s widened the gap between th …

What is a videogame? What makes a videogame "good"? If a game is supposed to be fun, can it be fun without a good story? If another is supposed to be an accurate simulation, does it still n …