The Top Journals for Video Game Research

It seems like there were not many journals devoted specifically to video game studies not so long ago. Now there are several. Here is a list of journals for videogame and gaming research, with indications as to whether they are print or online, and brief descriptions from their websites. Drop me a note if I missed one or if a new one starts up.

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Computer Game Education Review

Type: Online

Note: Initial publication is set for 2010.

CGER is a peer-reviewed, annual, aca­d­e­mic pub­li­ca­tion address­ing issues that con­cern the teach­ing of game design and devel­op­ment. These include, but are not lim­ited to, cur­ricu­lum orga­ni­za­tion, teach­ing method­olo­gies (e.g., con­cep­tual vs. exem­plary), assess­ment tools and tech­niques, game gen­res and clas­si­fi­ca­tions, soci­etal impact, eco­nomic and com­mer­cial issues, legal aspects, and approaches to stu­dent eval­u­a­tion that are of inter­est to fac­ulty and insti­tu­tions involved in the edu­ca­tion and train­ing of future game developers.

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ELUDAMOS, Journal for Computer Game Culture

Type: Online

ELUDAMOS is an international, multi-disciplined, biannual e-journal that publishes peer-reviewed articles that theoretically and/or empirically deal with digital games in their manifold appearances and their sociocultural-historical contexts. ELUDAMOS positions itself as a publication that fundamentally transgresses disciplinary boundaries. The aim is to join questions about and approaches to computer games from decidedly heterogeneous scientific contexts (for example cultural studies, media studies, (art) history, sociology, (social) psychology, and semiotics) and, thus, to advance the interdisciplinary discourse on digital games. This approach does not exclude questions about the distinct features of digital games a an aesthetic and cultural form of articulation, on the contrary, the issue is to distinguish their media specific characteristics as well as their similarity to other forms of aesthetic and cultural practice. That way, the editors would like to contribute to the lasting distinction of international game studies as an academic discipline.

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Game Studies, the International Journal of Computer Game Research

Type: Online

Our Mission – To explore the rich cultural genre of games; to give scholars a peer-reviewed forum for their ideas and theories; to provide an academic channel for the ongoing discussions on games and gaming.

Game Studies is a crossdisciplinary journal dedicated to games research, web-published several times a year at www.gamestudies.org.

Our primary focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer games, but any previously unpublished article focused on games and gaming is welcome. Proposed articles should be jargon-free, and should attempt to shed new light on games, rather than simply use games as metaphor or illustration of some other theory or phenomenon.

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Games and Culture, A Journal of Interactive Media

Type: Print

Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media is a new, quarterly international journal that publishes innovative theoretical and empirical research about games and culture within interactive media. The journal serves as a premiere outlet for ground-breaking work in the field of game studies.

Games and Culture’s scope includes the socio-cultural, political, and economic dimensions of gaming from a wide variety of perspectives, including textual analysis, political economy, cultural studies, ethnography, critical race studies, gender studies, media studies, public policy, international relations, and communication studies. Other arenas include the following:

• Issues of gaming culture related to race, class, gender, and sexuality
• Issues of game development
• Textual and cultural analysis of games as artifacts
• Issues of political economy and public policy in both US and international arenas

Of primary importance will be bridging the gap between games studies scholarship in the United States and in Europe.

One of the primary goals of the journal is to foster dialogue among the academic, design, development, and research communities that will influence both game design and research about games within various public contexts.  A second goal is to examine how gaming and interactive media are being used outside of entertainment, including in education, for the purposes of training, for military simulation, and for political action.

Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media invites academics, designers and developers, and researchers interested in the growing field of game studies to submit articles, reviews, or special issues proposals to the editor.  Games and Culture is an interdisciplinary publication, and therefore it welcomes submissions by those working in fields such as Communication, Anthropology, Computer Science, English, Sociology, Media Studies, Cinema/Television Studies, Education, Art History, and Visual Arts.

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International Journal of Computer Games Technology

Type: Print

The overall aim of the International Journal of Computer Games Technology is to bring together both the research and development aspects of games technology covering the whole range of entertainment computing and interactive digital media. The focus will be on three research and development frontiers: first, to expand the technology frontier in terms of both hardware and software for games, second, to validate innovative procedures including algorithms and architectures for games, and finally, to explore novel applications of games technology both for entertainment and serious games.

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International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations

Type: Print

The International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations (IJGCMS) is a peer-reviewed, international journal devoted to the theoretical and empirical understanding of electronic games and computer-mediated simulations. The journal is interdisciplinary in nature; it publishes research from fields and disciplines that share the goal of improving the foundational knowledge base of games and simulations. The journal publishes critical theoretical manuscripts as well as qualitative and quantitative research studies, meta-analyses, and methodologically-sound case studies. The journal also includes book reviews to keep readers on the forefront of this continuously evolving field. Occasional special issues from the journal provide deeper investigation into areas of interest within either gaming or simulations.

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Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

Type: Online

The Virtual Worlds Institute based in Austin, Texas, USA is a not-for-profit research organization dedicated to:

* The promotion and publication of leading research

* Direct research and innovation in the fields of virtual worlds, 3d internet, immersive interfaces and the singularity

* Developing a commercialization channel for researchers to take their ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace

The Virtual Worlds Institute is looking for, on an on-going basis: research, development, commercialization and funding collaborators and partnerships.

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Simulation & Gaming, An International Journal of Theory, Practice and Research

Type: Print

For more than three and a half decades, Simulation & Gaming: An International Journal of Theory, Practice and Research has served as a leading international forum for the exploration and development of simulation/gaming methodologies used in education, training, consultation, and research. It appraises academic and applied issues in the expanding fields of simulation, computer- and internet-mediated simulation, virtual reality, educational games, video games, industrial simulators, active and experiential learning, case studies, and related methodologies.

The broad scope and interdisciplinary nature of Simulation & Gaming are demonstrated by the wide variety of interests and disciplines of its readers and contributors, who practice in areas such as: business, cognition, communication, decision making, psychology, economics, education, educational technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, environmental issues, human resources, international studies, language training, learning theory, management, marketing, medicine, multiculturalism, , negotiation, organization studies, peace and conflict studies, policy and planning, political science, project management, sociology, teamwork, technology, and research methodology.

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Finally, there are several journals that regularly touch on video game research while not devoted exclusively to the topic. A great example is the International Journal of Roleplaying. Video game research continues to be published in several venues besides the ones listed here.

No Indoor Plumbing, but Plenty of Ethernet

Thanks to Tony Bates for pointing out the latest issue of Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. There’s a very interesting article, complete with photo spread, on a Chinese gold farm for World of Warcraft by Anthony Gilmore.

Far from the sophisticated urban centers marking China as a world power, this rural tech outpost employs folks around the clock, and pays them a decent local wage for their efforts. The article is quite positive toward this gray market endeavor despite its violation of WoW players’ TOS.

I’ve never bought gold in WoW (at the higher levels, making gold is rather easy, particularly when gaming the auction house), but I’ve always been curious about gold farmers. This article is worth a read.

References:
Gilmore, A. (2010, February). China’s new gold farm. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2(4). [Online.] Available: https://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/article/view/863/628

New 3D Learning Book by Karl Kapp

Karl Kapp is a longtime friend of this blog. His first comment was on a post comparing Second Life to World of Warcraft for educational purposes, way back in 2007, and his blog, Kapp Notes, has been on my blogroll ever since. Dr. Kapp is a full professor of instructional technology over at Bloomsburg University, and is a prominent thought leader and author in the field.

One of the things several researchers in educational gaming picked up on early was the facilitation immersive worlds featuring human-like avatars offered for teaching and learning. This idea has come to be generally termed “3D learning,” because the virtual gaming worlds in which it takes place are rendered in three dimensional graphics. It feels like you are in the world instead of simply playing a board game.

It seems to be a powerful learning tool, and has attracted a lot of attention from educational researchers. Perhaps, researchers suspect, there is something to the notion of transference, where players feels like they are experiencing what their avatar in the 3D virtual world is going through and go on to transfer knowledge from that virtual world to real life applications. Perhaps it is conducive to Csíkszentmihályi’s flow theory, where time becomes irrelevant in the pursuit of passionate tasks. Regardless, it’s an intriguing idea that researchers continue to investigate.

Karl Kapp’s latest book, co-authored with Tony O’Driscoll, explores the ramifications of teaching and learning within these immersive virtual environments. Aptly titled, Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration, provides a blueprint for corporate and educational professional development personnel when embarking on efforts to include this type of training in their organizations. Recently, Dr. Kapp made a digital preview of the book available to several bloggers, and embarked on a “virtual book tour.” I was honored to be included on the list, and found the book to be impressive.

I think one of the key contributions to the field this book makes is its insistence that 3D learning is a valid and valuable tool for both corporations and universities. For instance, the whole idea of role playing within virtual 3D environments is supported and reinforced in the book. Business personnel have long known the value of role playing within training regimens. I recall a conversation with someone familiar with the training program for the sales force of a Fortune 100 company. An artificial office environment was created, complete with cameras and recording equipment. The trainee would enter the office and attempt to sell the company’s products to another employee posing as a potential client. Trainers would later review the recordings and help the trainee hone techniques. This entire process is greatly facilitated through 3D virtualization, as the book makes clear.

On an entirely selfish note, I was glad to see the acronym “VIE” included, something I introduced to the field in 2007 in an article in the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. I called it a virtual interactive environment, while Kapp and O’Driscoll use it to mean virtual immersive environment. Regardless, it amounts to the same thing, and I’m glad to see the idea spread. Education and corporations can use a lot more VIEs.

The Chasm Between Educational and Commercial Games

Elaine Alhadeff and I have been talking via e-mail to Jeremy Pesner, a recent Computer Science grad from Dickinson College who has been working on educational games that focus on the human immune system. Pesner served as co-author on a paper presented at the ACM Southeast Regional Conference last year. He presented with Patrick Clements over at U. South Carolina on “an educational game that simulates the processes of human immune systems by using a ‘Tower defense’-type game.”

Pesner next will be contributing to a new chapter book edited by Patrick Felicia over at the Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland. The Handbook of Research on Improving Learning and Motivation through Educational Games: Multidisciplinary Approaches is scheduled to be released in 2011. Pesner’s contribution will explore the “chasm” that has formed between commercial and educational games in terms of “enticing and appealing qualities” between the two genres.

This is a particularly juicy topic ripe for social science research, since it’s so fuzzy. What are the elements in commercial games making them so appealing? Conversely, what makes educational games so dull? How would we measure the difference? What can educational game makers learn from commercial game makers? I think I can speak for Elaine when I say both of us very much are looking forward to Dr. Felicia’s book and Pesner’s contribution.

References:
Clements, P., Pesner, J., & Shepherd, J. (2009). The teaching of immunology using educational gaming paradigms. Proceedings of the 47th Annual Southeast Regional Conference. [Online.] Available: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1566474

Study: Reaction Times Lowered Via Video Games

The folks over at Rochester have another study published on the benefits of playing action video games. Dr. Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green have published in the past on the improved visual plasticity action video game players gain, and evidence of improved eyesight from playing. This article, with lead writer Matthew Dye, focuses on increased mental processing which apparently does not adversely affect accuracy.

Here’s the abstract:

In many everyday situations, speed is of the essence. However, fast decisions typically mean more mistakes. To this day, it remains unknown whether reaction times can be reduced with appropriate training, within one individual, across a range of tasks, and without compromising accuracy. Here we review evidence that the very act of playing action video games significantly reduces reaction times without sacrificing accuracy. Critically, this increase in speed is observed across various tasks beyond game situations. Video gaming may therefore provide an efficient training regimen to induce a general speeding of perceptual reaction times without decreases in accuracy of performance.

References:
Dye, M.W.G., Green, C.S., & Bavelier, D. (2009, December). Increasing speed of processing with action video games. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(6). 321-326.

Five Video Games for ESL and Language Development

Kathy Sargent, outgoing editor for TechEdge, (who is a great editor and has done a remarkable job over the years as Director of Communications for TCEA) recently accepted my article on “Virtual ESL” for the next issue. This post expands on the article with games suitable for ESL and the ongoing development of English skills. Certain video games are particularly well-suited to language acquisition and development, a point I made here a couple years ago. There is a heavy dollop of personal opinion in the assertions below, and I welcome dissenting views. Some of these suggestions are relatively expensive, some are free, and all but one are available online.

1. Second Life
   Second Life has a long history of educational adaptation, and the idea of using the environment for ESL purposes was adopted early. Like many efforts with no external motivations however, some formal ESL initiatives have fizzled over time. One still going strong is the Second Life English Community. Founder Kip Boahn had a nice article profiling his work in Forbes a while back. Players from almost 100 different countries regularly gather for such online ESL activities as phonetic treasure hunts through SLEC.

   The global reach, open nature, and ease of use offered by SL, (not to mention the fact it’s free), have helped academics around the world key in to the platform for language training. Since avatars can type or talk over a simple computer connection, engaging native speakers in an interesting 3D environment that is not overly taxing to most hardware results in an ideal environment for language learning.
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2. World of Warcraft.
   Of the millions of players frequenting the popular MMORPG, you might be surprised to learn there are some engaged in educational activities amidst all that medieval fantasy action. The most famous group devoted to exploring pedagogy in WoW is the guild Cognitive Dissonance, run by Lucas Gillespie and Peggy Sheehy. Lucas’ blog EduRealms follows his educational efforts in the game.

   It is very easy to start up groups and guilds in WoW, and while Asian gold farmers have annoyed North American players in the past, Dr. Edd Schneider over at SUNY-Potsdam gained considerable attention in 2007 for suggesting WoW was a promising platform for ESL in Asia, provided stateside supervised guidance was included.
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3. My Word Coach
   Although available for the Wii, the DS version of My Word Coach offers players an easier time writing, with its included stylus and touch screen. Plus, the “DS factor” makes it more portable and affordable for classroom or after-school use. It’s not promoted as an ESL product, but the vocabulary training couched in a gaming environment works just as well for non-native speakers.
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4. Webkinz
   The popular children’s game tied to collectible plush dolls offers a restricted communications feature. “Kinz chat” uses basic sentence elements for players to communicate. While Webkinz probably is not suitable to older ESL students, for the younger crowd it offers a fun and relatively painless way to introduce English. It’s also offered in 12 other languages, so gamers can play in their native tongue as well as the Queen’s.
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5. Whyville
   Whyville is the free online world designed for children learning, and it has an impressive pedigree with corporate and government sponsorship stretching back several years. Although its strengths lie in STEM games and activities, one of the key features of Whyville appealing to teachers is the sanitized chat feature where cursing is automatically edited out.

In the process of investigating the many mini-games out there, a couple of nifty titles rose to the top. The advantages to using online mini-games for ESL include the fact that teacher supervision is not as heavily needed as it is for the above examples. On the other hand, mini-games typically focus on a much narrower skill set, and kids may tire of them quickly.

A couple of my favorites in the mini-game category included Word Frog, which is a neat way to drill antonyms and such, ala Number Crunchers. I also enjoyed Grammar Ninja,which drills identifying parts of speech in a playful way.

How to Design an Educational Video Game: Three Important Considerations

I’ve been talking with folks from the foundation affiliated with a Fortune 100 company recently about designing an educational game that would promote some of the foundation’s objectives. The project is in its infancy, so I’m withholding details. But the conversations we had led me to formulate some considerations for any company or individual to seriously consider before designing an educational game from the ground up. Three top considerations should guide the project from its beginnings all the way to the final product.

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1. Playing the game should be educational, rather than simply having educational content inserted into the gaming experience.

Students learn by playing. This is a critical component of good educational games. Allow me to illustrate with a basic example. Traditional dominoes is an excellent game for teaching math skills to children, especially for adding up fives. If a player can make the tail ends of the dominoes add to five or a number divisible by five, he scores points. If not, he may strategize to prevent his opponent from scoring. You can see children mentally adding while playing … three plus two equals five … four plus six equals ten … The game cannot be played without adding up the points on the table, so basic math is an integral part of the game.

Likewise, math, logic and strategy are integral to 42, a version of dominoes on steroids, a trick-taking game similar to hearts. A player must mentally calculate whether or not her hand is capable of winning a bid based on the potential points in her own hand, and a good guess as to the tricks her partner can take.

Rather than having a child solve math problems before advancing to the next level, a good game should simply integrate math within the game play. Considerable research backs up this approach.

Both traditional dominoes and 42 require basic math skills; 42 requires higher reasoning while dominoes requires simple addition. Because these elements are integral to the games, indeed a fundamental part of both games, they reinforce skills and hold high educational value for children. Likewise, a good educational video game should require the exercising of skills in order to successfully play the game.

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2. If looking to increase academic skills, reading and writing should probably be integral to game play.

A rising tide raises all ships, and the more reading and writing a student engages in, the higher his achievement scores potentially climb. Of course, information absorption is integral to any high end video game, especially 3D virtual interactive environments. But when students have to read and process specific information regarding game play, they’ll be absorbing the content you are interested in instilling.

On the other hand, if you are not interested in instilling academic content, say instead life skills or machinery operation, then reading and writing in the game are not as crucial. But if, for example, you are interested in increasing the understanding of Elizabethan English, then reading and writing will be very important.

Some common examples include history games and those in the Civilization series. Sometimes the reading takes place offline, for instance when a student peruses a history book to better understand strategies for winning in Civilization. Other times students read in-game for clues to solve mysteries and puzzles, such as in the old Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Sometimes, especially for the younger set, reading simply is the game. We find this in the old Living Books series, especially the one modeled on Dr. Seuss’ ABC.

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3. The game should be interesting, engaging, and generate excitement for the topic.

There have been studies where academics spent lots of time, money, and effort creating video games that were absolutely educational by every measure. Yet, when kids finally were allowed to sit down and play the games, they found them … boring. These studies are valuable to educational game designers, and their lessons need to be heeded when starting from scratch.

What do players enjoy about games? They like to explore, socialize, rack up achievements and do stuff (mainly killing things, according to Richard Bartle, but the doing stuff can be other things besides killing in an educational game, provided it’s richly interactive). The game needs to be robust enough and engaging enough to meet the needs of its players. Keeping that in mind while designing and producing an educational video game will lead to a satisfying product that students will enjoy playing, and hopefully learn desired content along the way.

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These were the first three things springing to mind when discussing the genesis of a new educational gaming product. If I missed a crucial component in your opinion, drop me a line.

Study: Business Simulations Raise Grades for Undergrads

Dr. Richard Blunt over at BX-Games has a non-refereed paper on eLearn Magazine regarding a study of three college classes split into control and experimental groups to examine video game effectiveness for learning. The courses consisted of freshman business students, a junior level economics class, and a junior level management class.

Portions of each class received the intervention while the remainder did not. Grades were compared between the two groups from each class. The introductory business experimental group used the game Industry Giant II, the economics students used Zapitalism, and the management students used Virtual U (a free download thanks to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation). Here is Dr. Blunt’s summary of the results:

The findings show that classes using the game had significantly higher means than those classes that did not use the game. There were no significant differences between male or female scores, regardless of game play, while both genders scored significantly higher with game play than without. There were no significant differences between ethnic groups, while all ethnic groups scored significantly higher with game play. Lastly, students ages 40 and under scored significantly higher with game play, whereas students age 41 and up did not.

In short, the studies found that, at least in some circumstances, the application of serious games significantly increases learning.

The comments section has some interesting conversation, especially regarding business simulations, which have been used in B-schools for at least 50 years or so. One could argue the board game Monopoly is a business simulation, I suppose, and if so that would stretch back their birth date to the 1930s (or much earlier, if conspiracy theorists are correct).

Other than that, the importance of the study is that it seems to show an intervention may lead students to a higher grade, at least in undergraduate business courses. Somebody will need to determine if students who volunteer for interventions such as a business simulation video game would earn a higher grade anyway just because of their own innate study ethics, or if the games serve to encourage slackers to work harder, etc.

References:
Blunt, R. (2009, December 1). Do serious games work? Results from three studies. [Online.] Available: http://elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=research&article=9-1

Astronomical Science Learning Through WJU’s Selene Videogame

I’ve had a pleasant e-mail conversation with Dr. Debbie Denise Reese over at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia concerning the Selene Project, a multi-million dollar NASA and National Science Foundation funded learning project designed to teach students lunar science through a remarkable videogame.

Dr. Reese is the senior educational researcher at the Center for Educational Technologies at WJU, which started CyGaMEs, or Cyberlearning through Game-based Metaphor Enhanced Learning Objects, in 2006. Selene is a CyGaMEs videogame seeking to instruct students through the construction of virtual moons, learning a number of science-based standards and a few things about making videogames along the way.

The amazing work on Selene includes ample classroom materials. It is clear education was the primary focus of the videogame, and federal standards as well as state standards for Texas and Illinois are included in the accompanying online materials. The STEM focus is strong, and data points collected from embedded assessments allow for promising research material to be expounded upon in future papers.

The main Selene site is here, the CyGaMEs site is here, and the Center for Educational Technologies site is here. A recent radio feature and news article from West Virginia Public Broadcasting on the Selene Project is here.

References
Brown, K. (2009, November 27). Videogame research at WJU brings lunar science to life. [Online.] Retrieved December 1, 2009 from http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=12175

Aussies Got Game

Here’s the latest research on video games in Australia: Aussies spent $2 billion on video games in 2008, almost 50% more than they spent in 2007. Estimates put the total population Down Under playing video games at 68% (compared to 65% for the US). Aussies play games on average at least an hour each day. While American women currently comprise 40% of the market, Australian women make up 46%. The American average gamer age is 35; Aussie average gamer age is 30. So, there are some neat comparisons here between Aussie and American players. The info comes from a survey publicized by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, the equivalent of our ESA. More details here.

References:
Video games favourite pastime among two-third Aussies amid recession. (2009, May 21). [Online.] Available: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/video-games-favourite-pastime-among-two-third-aussies-amid-recession_100195437.html