Mental Health in 3D: A Dimensional Model of Mental Illness Representation in Digital Games

There is a wealth of research on the depiction and impact of mental health representations in traditional media; however, less is known about video games. As the dominant form of media in the 21st century, video games uniquely portray mental illness in traditional ways as well as in ways unique to video games, such as in-game mechanics (e.g., sanity meters) and player-driven decision making. This paper outlines the importance of cultural messages relating to mental illness as conveyed through video games in terms of content and influence and presents a multi-dimensional model of analysis for the representation of mental illness in digital games. The aim of this paper is to provide a foundation for understanding how mental illness is represented in digital games, provide a new perspective for thinking critically about representation of mental illness in games, and overview a new framework for assessing video game content in this area

Going Beyond the Game: Development of Gamer Identities Within Societal Discourse and Virtual Spaces

What is a ‘gamer’? And what does it mean to be a gamer today? This paper will address these questions through a theoretical discussion of the gamer identity in terms of its construction within society, both virtual and within offline communities. A multi-modal model of gamer identity will then be proposed that incorporates the relationships between the gamer identity and the various contexts in which it is developed and maintained. Drawing from social identity theory, it is argued that the gamer identity is multifaceted and extends beyond game playing habits or preference

The toxicity of our (virtual) cities: Prevalence of dark participation in games and perceived effectiveness of reporting tools

Dark participation in games (i.e., trolling and toxic behavior) have been gaining ever-increasing academic attention as a negative aspect of online gaming. Much of the literature in this area has focused on the personality and identity of the perpetrators, but this has been largely outside of the gaming context. The present study aims to explore the prevalence rates of dark participation in the online gaming community, the reporting function to punish deviant players, and the importance of dual identities (troll and gamer) in the perpetration of deviant in-game behaviors. Our results indicated that nearly all players in our sample had been victims of dark participation or witnessed in-game victimization, suggesting that it is a major problem in the community, but that many players also use the reporting function. Troll identity was predictive of these behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Games Futures I

Games Futures collect short opinion pieces by industry and research veterans and new voices envisioning possible and desirable futures and needs for games and playable media. This inaugural series features eight of over thirty pieces

Inaugural Editorial: A Lighthouse for Games and Playable Media

In games and playable media, almost nothing is as it was at the turn of the millennium. Digital and analog games have exploded in reach, diversity, and relevance. Digital platforms and globalisation have shifted and fragmented their centres of gravity and how they are made and played. Games are converging with other media, technologies, and arts into a wide field of playable media. Games research has similarly exploded in volume and fragmented into disciplinary specialisms. All this can be deeply disorienting. The journal Games: Research and Practice wants to offer a lighthouse that helps readers orient themselves in this new, ever-shifting reality of games industry and games research

Video games and social competence/ Kowert

x, 233 p.: ill.; 23 cm