Reviews

Video Games as Culture: Considering the Role and Importance of Video Games in Contemporary Society by Garry Crawford, Daniel Muriel

gusabus's review

5.0

I picked up this book because it looked vaguely interesting, but what I found within it was far more fascinating than anything I could have imagined. This isn't just a cursory overview of the role games play in our cultures, it's an explanation of how games replicate and mirror culture. One of the chapters is devoted to showing how the idea of agency in games is reflective of neo-liberal attitudes of responsibility - a game says "You have to save the world by beating the bad guy", neo-liberalism says "You have to save the world by going vegan." It's incredibly interesting to see how such broad categories as games and culture overlap and penetrate each other. Definitely recommend!

kanjimanji's review against another edition

5.0

Well written piece that only touches the continuously changing meaning of video games.