Forty original contributions on games and gaming culture

What doesPokémon Go tell us about globalization? What does Tetris teach us about rules? Is feminism boosted or bashed byKim Kardashian: Hollywood? How doesBioShock Infinite help us navigate world-building?

From arcades to Atari, and phone apps to virtual reality headsets, video games have been at the epicenter of our ever-evolving technological reality. Unlike other media technologies, video games demand engagement like no other, which begs the questionwhat is the role that video games play in our lives, from our homes, to our phones, and on global culture writ large?

How to Play Video Gamesbrings together forty original essays from todays leading scholars on video game culture, writing about the games they know best and what they mean in broader social and cultural contexts. Read about avatars inGrand Theft Auto V, or music inThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. See howAge of Empires taught a generation about postcolonialism, and howBorderlands exposes the seedy underbelly of capitalism. These essays suggest that understanding video games in a critical context provides a new way to engage in contemporary culture. They are a must read for fans and students of the medium.