title: Open invitation. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2008, 11 (2), pp.249-257. &#x27E8;10.1177/1367549407088337&#x27E9;. &#x27E8;hal-00571575&#x27E9;
text: HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. ES FOR A SOCIOCULTURAL STUDY OF GAMES AND PLAYERS RANS - 5N 4 FOR AND SOCIAL YCH STUD GAMES AND  PLAY ATIVE SEARCH XVNQCR DIGITAL GAMES GAME CULTURES GAMEPLAY EXPERIENCE LUDIC MEANING MAKING ERS HE RANGE OF DIFFERENT DIGITAL GAMES AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL AND CULTURAL RANGE OF DIGITAL PLAY HAS EXPANDED GREATLY DURING THEIR YEARS OF ADOPTION BETWEEN THE S AND THE PRESENT )NITIALLY ISOLATED IN RESEARCH LABORATORIES AND UNIVERSITIES CURRENTLY DIGITAL GAMES ARE WITHIN REACH FOR BILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE FORM OF MOBILE PHONE GAMES COMPUTER GAMES OR VIDEO GAMES FOR VARIOUS ARCADE HANDHELD AND HOME GAMING CONSOLES 4HERE ARE CLAIMS THAT DIGITAL PLAY IS SOMETHING THAT ALMOST EVERYONE IS INVOLVED WITH IN CONTEMPORARY LATE INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY BUT WE LACK RELIABLE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES TO SUBSTANTIATE AND CONCRETIZE THAT KIND OF VIEW %VEN BACKING UP VERY BASIC CLAIMS ABOUT THE SOCIAL POSITION AND ROLE OF DIGITAL GAMES IS HARD  N ADDITION GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICAL FACTS WE MISS A MORE DETAILED PICTURE OF GAMES AS THEY ARE INTEGRATED INTO THE DAILY LIVES OF THE VARIOUS GROUPS OF PEOPLE WHO PLAY THEM 4HIS KIND OF RESEARCH IS BEGINNING TO APPEAR BUT OFTEN REMAINS ISOLATED AND LACKS STANDARDIZED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS AT THE METHODOLOGICAL LEVEL INCLUDING BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT TO RESEARCH AND HOW IF WE INTEND TO MAKE CLAIMS ABOUT GAMES SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ROLES!T THE SAME TIME ENTHUSIASTIC AUTHORS HAVE BEGUN TO PUBLISH THEIR VIEWS ABOUT ENTIRE @GAMER GENERATIONS WHOSE THOUGHT PROCESSES PRACTICES AND @QSHBKD D T Q N O D @ M I N T Q M @ K N E B T KS T Q @ K R S T C H D R ATTITUDES TOWARDS LIFE ARE ALLEGEDLY FUNDAMENTALLY AFFECTED BY FORMATIVE YEARS SPEND IN DIGITAL PLAY SEE EG!LDRICH "ECK AND 7ADE 'EE 0RENSKY 7OLFE 'IVEN THIS NEW BODY OF WORK WHICH DEMONSTRATES HOW EDUCATION SCHOLARS AND PROFESSIONALS ECONOMISTS AND BUSINESS TRAINERS ALIKE ARE ALL TURNING TO GAMES IT IS IN CREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO IGNORE THE CENTRALITY OF GAME STUDIES 4HIS SHORT ARTICLE IS A CALL FOR MORE INTERNATIONAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION IN GATHERING AND SHARING GAME PLAY DATA AND COLLABORATIVE DEVELOP MENT OF THEORIES AND METHODS SUITABLE FOR ANALYSING GAME CULTURES 4HE INTERDISCIPLINARY AND CRITICAL CHARACTER OF CULTURAL STUDIES PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT STARTING POINT 3TUDY OF MEANINGFUL GAMESMEANING IN GAMES #ULTURE AS A CONCEPT IS CLOSELY RELATED TO MEANING THE STRUCTURES OF CULTURAL SYSTEMS ORGANIZE HOW PURPOSE VALUE AND SIGNIFICANCE ARE PRODUCED AND EXPRESSED IN SOCIAL INTERACTION /FTEN MEANING AND SENSE MAKING ARE STUDIED WITH THE DIVERSE TOOLS THAT SEMIOTICS THE STUDY OF SIGNS AND SYMBOL STRUCTURES CAN OFFER )N SEMIOTICS OR AS DE 3AUSSURE WOULD HAVE IT SEMIOLOGY THERE EXISTS A FUNDAMENTAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF LANGUE AND THE LEVEL OF PAROLE OR BETWEEN ABSTRACT SYSTEMATIC PRINCIPLES AND MEANINGFUL UTTERANCES 4HE ONTOLOGY OF GAMES THE STUDY OF GAMES WAYS OF EXISTING HAS BEEN A SUBJECT OF CONSIDERABLE DISCUSSION WITHIN GAME STUDIES AND IT HAS BEEN INTERESTING TO FOLLOW HOW THE FIELD HAS ADVANCED IN RECENT YEARS FROM EXTREME OPPOSITIONAL CLAIMS TOWARDS MORE COMPREHENSIVE THEORIES 2ATHER THAN SIMPLY TRUE OR NOT TRUE THEORIES OF GAMES AND PLAY ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTE TO EACH OTHER AND WHEN COMBINED THEY PROVIDE A BASIS FOR A MORE SOPHIS TICATED APPROACH TO GAMES 3UCH SYNTHESIZING TRENDS ARE COMMENDABLE 4HIS COMMENTARY HOLDS THE VIEW THAT GAMES ARE INHERENTLY COMPLEX AS MEANING MAKING SYSTEMS 4HEREFORE SCHOLARLY MODELS OF GAMES NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THEIR MULTIDIMENSIONAL BASIC CHARACTER /UR ANALYSES NEED TO ACCOUNT FOR THE SYSTEM STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE LEVEL ASPECTS OF GAMES ONTOLOGY BUT WE NEED ANALYSES THAT FOCUS ON GAMES @LUDOSIS AS WELL AS THEIR SEMIOSIS "Y THIS ONE MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER GAMES NON SYMBOLIC DIMENSIONS SERIOUSLY )T IS NOT ENOUGH TO EXAMINE WHAT GAMES SUPERFICIALLY LOOK LIKE OR WHAT THEY APPEAR TO REPRESENT 7E NEED TO APPROACH REAL PLAYERS FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND INQUIRE INTO WHAT THE ACTUAL EMBODIED EXPERIENCE OF PLAYING FEELS LIKE 3TUDYING GAMES OR STUDYING GAMING -UCH RESEARCH HAS PAID ATTENTION TO THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE LUDIC AND THE REPRESENTATIONAL DIMENSION OF GAMES WHICH IS ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS BEHIND GAMES SIGNIFYING COMPLEXITY 7HILE THE REPRESENTATIONAL ASPECT L X Q  N O D M H M U H S @S H N M OF GAMES MAY INVOLVE SPACESHIPS 7ILD 7EST TYPE DRAMA OR SURVIVAL HORROR LUDIC ASPECTS ARE CONCERNED WITH HOW PLAYERS CAN PLAY THE GAME THE @GAMEPLAY )NTERACTIONAL AND REPRESENTATIONAL SIGNIFYING PROCESSES BECOME MORE COMPLEX IN THEIR OPERATION WHEN THEY ARE COMBINED IN PLAYER EXPERIENCE PROVIDING MULTIPLE CHALLENGES FOR RESEARCHERS 0LAYERS HAVE DIFFERENT PROFICIENCIES IN GAMEPLAY SKILLS AND THEY DIFFER IN THEIR EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF GAMEPLAY AND REPRESENTATION.OT ONLY DO PEOPLE PLAY GAMES DIFFERENTLY THEY ALSO @READ GAMES DIFFERENTLY /N THE BASIS OF THEIR SKILLS AND PLAY STYLES THEY APPROACH GAMES IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT LEAD TO DIFFERENT GAMEPLAY EXPERIENCES AND DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT GAMES MEAN TO THEM 'ENERALLY AND TO THEIR DETRIMENT SWEEPING STATEMENTS ABOUT THE @MEANING OF A CERTAIN GAME DO NOT TAKE THIS DIVERSITY INTO ACCOUNT!S PART OF THE PRODUCTION OF MEANING BOTH INTERACTION BASED AND SYMBOLIC POTENTIAL FOR MEANING SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT 7HILE PLAYING ALL SUCH DIMENSIONS INTERACT AND HAVE AN EFFECT ON PLAYERS OVERALL GAMEPLAY EXPERIENCE 4HERE IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THIS DUAL STRUCTURE IN &IGURE EMPHASIZING THE INTERACTION OF THE @CORE OF PLAYING A GAME WITH THE @SHELL DEPICTED AS A DYNAMIC STATE AND PROCESS THAT CHANGES IN DIFFERENT GENRES AND PLAYING SITUATIONS 4HIS MODEL HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN MORE DETAIL IN A RECENT BOOK -ËYRË 4O ADDRESS THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY AND MULTIPLICITY OF MEANING REACHING TO THE VERY CORE OF GAMES AND PLAY THE CULTURAL STUDY OF GAMES NEEDS TO BE INFORMED BY MULTIPLE TRADITIONS AND DISCIPLINES 4HIS IS IN FACT WHAT IS HAPPENING PARTICULARLY FOR GAME SCHOLARS COMING FROM QUALITATIVE SOCIAL SCIENCES TRADITIONS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY HAS HAD AN INFLUENTIAL ROLE )T &IGURE #ORE AND SHELL OR REPRESENTATIONAL AND GAMEPLAY RELATED DIMENSIONS IN A GAME -ËYRË D T Q N O D @ M I N T Q M @ K N E B T KS T Q @ K R S T C H D R DIRECTED ATTENTION TO THE STRUCTURES THAT ORGANIZE THE BEHAVIOUR NORMS AND LANGUAGE OF GROUPS OF PEOPLE AND ESTABLISHED PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION AS A KEY RESEARCH METHOD &ROM A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SCHOLARLY DIRECTION RESEARCHERS COMING FROM THE HUMANITIES AND CULTURAL STUDIES TRADITIONS HAVE USED LITERARY OR CINEMA STUDIES STYLE TEXTUAL AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS TO DEVELOP NEW CRITICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF GAMES AS CULTURAL PRODUCTS 2ATHER THAN CRITICIZE THE WEAKNESSES OF A PARTICULAR APPROACH IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PARTICULAR STRENGTHS AND USE THEM IN RELATION TO APPRO PRIATE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4HE DUAL STRUCTURE OF GAMES MAKES THIS A COM PLEX FIELD IN WHICH SOCIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES OF PLAY ARE IMPORTANT AS THE @MEDIA QUALITIES OF GAMES MORE EASILY APPROACHED VIA THE MULTIPLE TRADITIONS OF MEDIA RESEARCH 7HAT WE NEED IS A TRULY CULTURAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL LOOK INTO GAMES MEANING MAKING PROCESSES "ASICS WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT GAME PLAYING 4HERE ARE MANY INDIVIDUAL STUDIES THAT LOOK INTO THE SUPPOSED EFFECTS OF GAME PLAYING ON PLAYER BEHAVIOUR BUT THERE ARE NO RELIABLE NATIONAL OR GLOBAL SURVEYS OF BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC PLAYER DATA IN THE SAME MANNER THAT READING OF LITERATURE OR TELEVISION WATCHING ARE MONITORED 4HE MOST QUOTED PLAYER STATISTICS STILL COME FROM THE %NTERTAINMENT 3OFTWARE!SSOCIATION %3! AN!MERICAN INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION %3! REGULARLY PUBLISHES PRESS RELEASES WHICH DRAW ITS FINDINGS FROM AN ANNUAL SURVEY COMMISSIONED FROM A MARKET RESEARCH COMPANY 4HE SURVEY %3! CLAIMS THAT @ OF!MERICAN HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS PLAY COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES AND @THE AVERAGE GAME PLAYER AGE IS YEARS (OWEVER THE ACTUAL DATA ARE NOT MADE PUBLIC %3! DOES NOT SPECIFY HOW IT DERIVED THE DATA OR HOW SUCH KEY CONCEPTS AS @PLAYING AND @PLAYER ARE DEFINED.OT ALL INDUSTRY COMMISSIONED RESEARCH IS AUTOMATICALLY OF LOW QUALITY OR OTHERWISE SUSPECT BUT ANY DATA THAT WE USE FOR SCHOLARLY RESEARCH NEED TO SATISFY THE SAME KEY CRITERIA FOR SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND SCHOLARSHIP AS ACADEMIC STUDIES!S LONG AS OUR OVERALL VIEW OF GAMES AND PLAYERS IN CULTURE AND SOCIETY IS BASED ON FIGURES DERIVED FROM VARIOUS MARKETING SURVEYS THAT DO NOT MAKE THEIR METHODS CRITERIA OR DATA PUBLICLY AVAILABLE OUR SCHOLARSHIP IS ON SHAKY GROUND (OWEVER THERE ARE MORE POSITIVE EXAMPLES SUCH AS A RECENT STUDY COM MISSIONED BY THE ""# %VEN IF THE PUBLISHED METHODS AND RESULTS HAVE NOT BEEN SUBJECTED TO AN ACADEMIC PEER REVIEW PROCESS THIS STUDY AT LEAST DESCRIBES ITS APPROACH AND DETAILS SOME OF ITS CRITERIA $ESIGNED TO GIVE A @LIGHT TOUCH WINDOW INTO THE GAMING LIFE OF THE 5+ RESIDENTS TODAY THE RESEARCH WAS BASED ON A SURVEY OF PEOPLE BETWEEN THE AGES OF SIX AND WITH A SAMPLE SIZE OF INDIVIDUALS TAKEN FROM SIX DIFFERENT AGE RANGES 4HIS MATERIAL WAS COMBINED WITH THE OUTCOMES OF A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF GROUP INTERVIEWS 4HE QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH L X Q  N O D M H M U H S @S H N M WAS UNDERTAKEN BY TWO DIFFERENT MARKET RESEARCH AGENCIES 4.3 AND &IREFISH,TD ""# )N THE OVERALL STUDY 5+ RESIDENTS WERE APPROACHED DECIDEDLY AS GAMERS 'AME PLAYING BEHAVIOUR WAS NOT TREATED AS A FOOTNOTE IN A MEDIA CON SUMPTION SURVEY AS IS OFTEN THE CASE 4HIS RESULTED IN INTERESTING FINDS THAT WOULD BE WORTH REVISITING AND EXPANDING IN THE CONTEXT OF ACADEMIC GAME STUDIES &OR EXAMPLE THE DEFINITION ADOPTED TO IDENTIFY A @GAMER IS RATHER BROAD IN THIS STUDY 7E DEFINED A @GAMER AS SOMEONE WHO HAD PLAYED A GAME ON A MOBILE HAND HELD CONSOLE 0# )NTERNET OR INTERACTIVE 46 AT LEAST ONCE IN THE LAST MONTHS A BROAD DEFINITION DESIGNED TO CAPTURE ANY @LIGHT GAMERS AS WELL AS MEDIUM OR HEAVIER GAMERS ""# +EEPING THIS IN MIND SOME OF THE MAIN RESULTS FROM THIS STUDY WERE THAT OF TO YEAR OLDS IN THE 5+ ARE GAMERS )N TOTAL THERE ARE MILLION GAMERS IN THE 5+ 4HE AVERAGE AGE OF A 5+ GAMER IS YEARS OLD AND THE GENDER SPLIT IS ALMOST EVEN AVERAGING OUT AT FEMALE AND MALE ""#!NOTHER WAY OF READING THESE RESULTS IS THAT MORE THAN PERCENT OF PEOPLE IN THE 5+ DO NOT TOUCH A DIGITAL GAME AT ALL OR THAT THEIR GAMING IS VERY RARE.EVERTHELESS IT IS AN INTERESTING CLAIM THAT THE LARGEST GROUP OF SIX TO YEAR OLDS IN THE 5+ ARE @HEAVY GAMERS ""# MEANING THAT PERCENT OF THIS POPULATION PLAYS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK OR DAILY 4HE ""# COMMISSIONED STUDY IS AN EXAMPLE OF A BASIC SOCIOCULTURAL STUDY OF GAMING WITH A DISTINCT EMPHASIS COMING FROM A MARKET RESEARCH TRADITION 4HE MAIN FOCUS IN ANALYSIS AND REPORTING OF RESULTS APPEARS TO BE ON PROFILING DIFFERENT TARGET AUDIENCES TO FIT THE NEEDS OF THE MEDIA INDUSTRY 4HE COMMISSIONING PARTY WAS AFTER ALL THE ""#.EW -EDIA AND 4ECHNOLOGY DIVISION JOINED BY THE ""#S!UDIENCE 2ESEARCH $EPARTMENT 4HE REPORT IS INTERESTING BECAUSE IT INCLUDES FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW OFTEN PEOPLE PLAY WHAT THEY PLAY WHY THEY PLAY WHERE THEY PLAY DO THEY USE OTHER MEDIA WHILE PLAYING AND HOW IMPORTANT THEY CONSIDER GAME PLAYING TO BE IN THEIR LIVES 7E COULD BE MORE CRITICAL TO RESPONSES TO ATTITUDE STATEMENTS SUCH AS @'AMES ARE PART OF MY IDENTITY AND @4HERE ARE TOO MANY RACING SHOOTING AND FIGHTING GAMES &OR EXAMPLE WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY @'AMES ARE PART OF MY IDENTITY @)DENTITY IS A COMPLEX AND ABSTRACT CONCEPT AND SOMETHING THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL APPROACH OR UNDERSTAND IN THE SAME WAY 4OWARDS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF GAMES CULTURES "ASED ON THIS DISCUSSION ONE SEES A NEED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PLAYERS AND GAME CULTURES 4HE MAIN CRITERIA FOR SUCH A STUDY WOULD BE TO GATHER COMPARABLE INFORMATION IN DIFFERENT D T Q N O D @ M I N T Q M @ K N E B T KS T Q @ K R S T C H D R COUNTRIES AND PARTS OF THE WORLD AND MAKE ITS METHODS AND RESULTS PUB LICLY AVAILABLE 2ATHER THAN BE BASED IN THE COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF SINGLE ORGANIZATIONS SUCH A STUDY NEEDS TO LINK TO MORE GENERAL INTERESTS AND STANDARDS OF KNOWLEDGE -Y AMBITIONS FOR SUCH A PROJECT ARE HIGH JUST CONSIDER THE REQUIRED SCOPE OF RESEARCH FOR SUCH A PROJECT 4HERE IS SO GREAT A NEED FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE ACTUAL REALITIES AND ROLES OF GAME PLAYING IN SOCIETY 4HE SOCIOCULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GAMES COULD BE ASSESSED IN VARIOUS WAYS WITH SOME MORE EASILY QUANTIFIABLE THAN OTHERS &OR EXAMPLE THE AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT ON PLAY ING GAMES AS WELL AS THE USE OF MONEY IN GAMES COULD BE MEASURED NUMERICALLY BUT MORE ELUSIVE ELEMENTS SUCH AS THE ROLE OF GAMES IN TERMS OF SOCIAL OR CULTURAL CAPITAL OR FOR CREATING SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES AND MEMORIES NEED TO BE ASSESSED IN A DIFFERENT MANNER (OPEFULLY SUCH A STUDY WOULD ADDRESS A WIDE RANGE OF GAME PLAYING BEHAVIOURS FROM CASUAL TO VERY DEDICATED WHILE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT GENRE AND GENDER DIFFERENCES AS WELL AS MICRO AND MACRO LEVEL OF GAMES SOCIOCULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE )N ORDER TO GAIN SUCH INFORMATION A COMBINATION OF MULTIPLE METHODOLOGIES IS LIKELY TO BE NEEDED AND RATHER THAN A SOLITARY EFFORT TEAMWORK WOULD APPEAR TO BE APPROPRIATE,UCKILY THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY HAS EFFICIENT TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION AVAILABLE )F THIS KIND OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY BECOMES A COMMUNITY EFFORT RELYING ON THE POWER OF NETWORKS IT COULD WELL RESULT IN AN EXPANDING GLOBAL REPOSITORY OF GAME CULTURAL DATA /UR TEAM AT THE 5NIVERSITY OF 4AMPERE STARTED WORK TO REALIZE SUCH A RESEARCH PROJECT IN LATE WITH THE HELP OF A RESEARCH GRANT FROM THE &INNISH #ULTURAL &OUNDATION! PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN &INLAND AND THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN A FREELY AVAILABLE REPORT +ALLIO ET AL 4O EXPAND UPON THIS INITIAL WORK AND MAKE IT TRULY INTERNATIONAL WE NEED PARTNERS INTERESTED IN COLLABORATION IN THIS KIND OF RESEARCH AND ITS ISSUES CONTACT ADDRESSES ARE PROVIDED BELOW (OPEFULLY BY THE TIME THAT THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED A BROAD INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CONSORTIUM WILL HAVE BEEN FORMED AND BEGUN TO ATTRACT FUNDING TO EXPAND THE PROJECT INTO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD 7E BEGAN THE &INNISH STUDY WITH A BROAD QUALITATIVE INQUIRY INTO THE ROLE OF GAMES IN THE LIVES OF &INNISH PEOPLE 4O THIS END WE DESIGNED A RESEARCH METHOD ADAPTED FROM A @CULTURAL PROBES APPROACH WHICH PRO DUCES A RICH ARRAY OF MATERIALS SUCH AS MEMORIES PHOTOGRAPHS LIFE STORIES AND ASSOCIATION MAPS AROUND GAMES AND PLAYING SEE 3OTAMAA ET AL /N THE BASIS OF THIS STUDY WE MOVED TO LOOKING FOR CRITERIA TO IDENTIFY GAMES SOCIAL SIGNIFICATION AND SKETCHED A PRELIMINARY FOUR PART DIVISION TO ORGANIZE INITIAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS INTO THE FOLLOWING s CONSUMPTION OF TIME IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF GAMES s INVESTMENT OF MONEY IN GAMES s ATTITUDES SURROUNDING GAMES AND PLAYING s THE ACTUAL PRACTICES AROUND GAMES IN PEOPLES LIVES L X Q  N O D M H M U H S @S H N M 4O LOOK INTO THE ROLE THAT GAMES HAVE IN PEOPLES LIVES THEY CAN BE COMPARED TO AND CONTRASTED WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES IN TERMS OF ECONOMICS AS WELL AS INVESTMENTS OF TIME 3ALES FIGURES CANNOT TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE POPULARITY OF GAMES SINCE THERE ARE MANY FREE GAMES ON THE INTERNET THAT DO NOT APPEAR IN THE SALES CHARTS OF BOXED OFF THE SHELF GAMES )T IS INTERESTING TO MAP AND COMPARE SOCIAL PRACTICES SURROUNDING GAMES AND PLAY BEHAVI ARE THERE CUSTOMS NORMS OR SPECIFIC SLANG OR TERMIN OLOGY WHICH WOULD HELP TO IDENTIFY PARTICULAR GAME CULTURES!LSO SOME SPECIFIC MARKERS FOR CHARTING A GAMES IMPACT ON INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP IDENTITIES CAN BE DEVELOPED 0ARTICIPATION IN GAMES RELATED WEB FORUMS READERSHIP OF GAMES MAGAZINES OR REGULAR SOCIALIZING WITH OTHER GAME PLAYERS MIGHT BE USED BUT IN ADDITION WE NEED TO IDENTIFY THE PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES OF MORE CASUAL PLAYERS )N ORDER TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE SOCIOCULTURAL ROLE OF GAME PLAYING THE POSITIVE AS WELL AS THE MORE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF LIFE RELATED TO GAMES NEED TO BE STUDIED 4HERE MIGHT BE DISTINCT DIF FERENCES IN THE ROLES THAT DIFFERENT GAME GENRES HOLD IN PEOPLES LIVES &URTHERMORE THERE ARE PROBABLY SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT PLAYERS PERCEIVE AS PARTS OF THE HOLDING POWER OF GAMES OR ALIENATING FACTORS THAT KEEP PEOPLE AWAY FROM DIGITAL GAMES )N THE LONG TERM ONE MAY EVEN BEGIN TO LOOK INTO HOW GAME PLAYING CHANGES ALONG TIME AND IN DIFFERENT PHASES OF LIFE IN TERMS OF CONTENT FREQUENCY OR ADOPTED PRACTICES )N ADDITION TO BASIC SURVEY DATA THERE IS MUCH ROOM FOR MORE TARGETED STUDIES THAT LOOK INTO SPECIFIC AREAS IN DETAIL COMPARING DIFFERENT GAME CULTURES 4HIS KIND OF COMPARATIVE STUDY MIGHT FOCUS ON ISSUES SUCH AS HOW GAMES ARE ADDRESSED IN TALK BY DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES )DENTIFYING SUCH FEATURES AS WELL AS SPECIFIC DISCOURSES THAT ARE CREATED AROUND GAME PLAYING REQUIRE THE ADOPTION OF MORE QUALITATIVE APPROACHES SUCH AS INTERVIEWS OR SELF REPORTING "UT EVEN WITH THE HELP OF SURVEYS ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GAIN SOME INFORMATION INTO THE POSSIBLE IMPACT THAT GAMES HAVE ON THE CONSUMPTION OF MEDIA AND THE ORGAN IZATION OF MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY IN HOMES AND FAMILY LIVES )N ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SCALE UP THE LOCAL &INNISH PROJECT TO AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE STUDY THE RESEARCH IS CREATED IN A STRUCTURED MANNER!CCORDING TO ITS DESIGN IT WILL HAVE A NUCLEUS AS WELL AS SOME SPIN OFF AND NETWORK PARTS 4HE NUCLEUS IS FORMED BY PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH CONSORTIA MEMBERS UTILIZING SHARED STUDY INSTRUMENTS PUBLISHING JOINTLY IN SCIENTIFIC PEER REVIEWED VENUES! SPIN OFF IS A SUBPROJECT CARRIED OUT BY A SINGLE MEMBER AIMING TO EXPAND OR FOCUS UPON DIFFERENT AREAS TO THE NUCLEUS WHILE HAVING A LINK TO THE WHOLE 4HE NETWORK PART INCLUDES DIFFERENT VISUALIZATIONS OF THE FINDINGS AS WELL AS AN OPEN 7IKIPEDIA STYLE PORTAL WHERE THE LARGER COMMUNITY CAN VOLUNTEER DATA AND SUBMIT OBSERVATIONS ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED BETA VERSION IN WWWGAMESCULTURESORG (OPEFULLY THIS ARTICLE WILL HAVE RAISED SOME INTEREST IN A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY EFFORT AND WILL HAVE STIMULATED NEW IDEAS ON HOW TO EVOLVE D T Q N O D @ M I N T Q M @ K N E B T KS T Q @ K R S T C H D R IT FURTHER )NTERESTED PARTIES ARE INVITED TO CONTACT EITHER THE AUTHOR OR THE RESEARCH TEAM RESEARCH WITH DETAILS OF YOUR APPROACH AND INTEREST IN THIS TYPE OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE STUDY #LEARLY FOCUSING AND COORDINATING THIS KIND OF INITIATIVE WILL REQUIRE MAJOR EFFORT BUT WE HOPE THAT IT WILL SERVE THE GAMES RESEARCH COMMUNITY IN MANY USEFUL WAYS IN THE FUTURE!CKNOWLEDGEMENT 4HE AUTHOR WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE WORK OF MULTIPLE RESEARCHERS WORKING IN THE 'AMES 2ESEARCH,AB GROUP 5NIVERSITY OF 4AMPERE 4HIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 'AMING 2EALITIES CONFERENCE!THENS 'REECE n /CTOBER 2EFERENCES!LDRICH #,EARNING BY $OING! #OMPREHENSIVE 'UIDE TO 3IMULATIONS #OMPUTER 'AMES AND 0EDAGOGY IN E,EARNING AND /THER %DUCATIONAL %XPERIENCES 3AN &RANCISCO #! 0FEIFFER ""# @'AMERS IN THE 5+ $IGITAL 0LAY $IGITAL,IFESTYLES SURVEY COMMISSIONED BY ""# #REATIVE 2ESEARCH AND $EVELOPMENT ;!CCESSED.OVEMBER HTTPCRYSTALTIPSTYPEPADCOMWONDERLANDFILESBBC?UK? GAMES?RESEARCH?PDF= "ECK *# AND - 7ADE 'OT 'AME (OW THE 'AMER 'ENERATION )S 2ESHAPING "USINESS &OREVER "OSTON -! (ARVARD "USINESS 3CHOOL 0RESS %NTERTAINMENT 3OFTWARE!SSOCIATION %3! @%SSENTIAL &ACTS ABOUT THE #OMPUTER AND 6IDEO 'AME )NDUSTRY ;!CCESSED.OVEMBER HTTPWWWTHEESACOMARCHIVESFILES%SSENTIAL&ACTSPDF= 'EE *0 7HAT 6IDEO 'AMES (AVE TO 4EACH 5S ABOUT,EARNING AND,ITERACY.EW 9ORK 0ALGRAVE -ACMILLAN 'EE *0 7HY 6IDEO 'AMES!RE 'OOD FOR 9OUR 3OUL 0LEASURE AND,EARNING !LTONA #OMMON 'ROUND +ALLIO +0 + +AIPAINEN AND & -ËYRË @'AMING.ATION 0ILOTING THE )NTERNATIONAL 3TUDY OF 'AMES #ULTURES IN &INLAND (YPERMEDIA,ABORATORY.ET 3ERIES 5NIVERSITY OF 4AMPERE ;!CCESSED *ANUARY HTTPTAMPUBUTAFIHAEKOKOVERSIOPHP ID = -ËYRË &!N )NTRODUCTION TO 'AME 3TUDIES 'AMES IN #ULTURE,ONDON 3AGE 0RENSKY - $IGITAL 'AME "ASED,EARNING.EW 9ORK -C'RAW (ILL 0RENSKY - @$ONT "OTHER -E -OM n )M,EARNING (OW #OMPUTER AND 6IDEO 'AMES!RE 0REPARING 9OUR +IDS FOR 4WENTY &IRST #ENTURY 3UCCESS AND (OW 9OU #AN (ELP 3T 0AUL -. 0ARAGON (OUSE 3OTAMAA /, %RMI! *ËPPINEN 4,AUKKANEN & -ËYRË AND *.UMMELA @4HE 2OLE OF 0LAYERS IN 'AME $ESIGN IN 0ROCEEDINGS OF THE TH $!# #ONFERENCE n $ECEMBER PP n #OPENHAGEN )4 5NIVERSITY OF #OPENHAGEN 7OLFE *! 4HE 'LOBAL "USINESS 'AME! 3TRATEGIC -ANAGEMENT AND )NTERNATIONAL "USINESS 3IMULATION 0LAYERS -ANUAL -ASON /( 4HOMSON 3OUTH 7ESTERN (YPERMEDIA,ABORATORY L X Q  N O D M H M U H S @S H N M "IOGRAPHICAL NOTE &RANS -ËYRË IS 0ROFESSOR OF (YPERMEDIA $IGITAL #ULTURE AND 'AME 3TUDIES 5NIVERSITY OF 4AMPERE 3INCE THE EARLY S HE HAS STUDIED THE RELATIONSHIP OF CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY (E HAS SPECIALIZED IN THE CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF TECHNOLOG Y PARTICULARLY ON THE AMBIGUOUS CONFLICTING AND HETEROGENEOUS ELEMENTS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP AND HAS PUBLISHED ON TOPICS THAT RANGE FROM INFORMATION TECHNO LOGIES SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY TO THE DEMONIC TRADITION THE CONCEPT OF IDENTITY AND ROLE PLAYING GAMES #URRENTLY HE IS TEACHING RESEARCHING AND HEADING NUMEROUS RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE STUDY AND DEVELOPMENT OF GAMES NEW MEDIA AND DIGITAL CULTURE (E HAS SERVED ALSO AS THE FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THE $IGITAL 'AMES 2ESEARCH!SSOCIATION $I'2!! $ $ 2 % 3 3 (YPERMEDIA,ABORATORY 5NIVERSITY OF 4AMPERE &).