One of the key concepts for approaching ‘game cultures’ is the ‘subculture’. There is an entire tradition of scholarship dedicated to studies of subcultures and this book does nice job in explaining the fundamentals of the field.
Hebdige, Dick (1979) Subculture: the Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. Amazon preview available here.
The pedagogic and cognitive character of digital games has been long in the interests of academic educators, but recent years have seen strong rise in the study of so-called ‘serious games’. James Paul Gee points out in his book that we should turn our attention to entertainment games in order to learn about effective pedagogic in interactive media.
Gee, James Paul (2003) What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Amazon.com preview into the revised edition here.
Gonzalo Frasca here comments on the so-called ‘ludology vs. narratology debate’ that was helpful in clarifying the core agenda of ludology (as critical game studies), while noticing how the most extreme oppositional positions in this debate appeared to be based on misunderstandings.
Frasca, Gonzalo (2003) ‘Ludologists Love Stories, Too: Notes from a Debate that Never Took Place’. In: Marinka Copier and Joost Raessens (eds), Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference Proceedings. Utrecht: DiGRA and University of Utrecht. Online: http://www.digra.org/dl/db/05163.01125
Another important early article by Gonzalo Frasca, this paper explores the concepts of simulation and representation, crucial for any theory of digital games.
Frasca, Gonzalo (2001) ‘Simulation 101. Simulation versus Representation’. Online: http://www.ludology.org/articles/sim1/simulation101.html
This is the article that is one of the key documents for establishment of ‘ludology’ as a ‘discipline that studies game and play activities’. The early ludology was particularly defined by its counter-reaction against narratology (or rather any ‘narrativizing’ of games), later game studies have adopted much of ludology’s key agenda.
Frasca, Gonzalo (1999) ‘Ludology Meets Narratology. Similitude and Differences between (Video)games and Narrative’. Originally published in Finnish in Parnasso 1999: 3, 365–71. Online: http://www.ludology.org/articles/ludology.htm
This is an original document from the New Games Movement, but (like its sequel, More New Games) might be a bit difficult to find these days – second hand bookshops are helpful here. New Games were forms of play that aimed to make a positive impact on culture and society.
Fluegelman, Andrew (ed) (1976) New Games Book. New Games Foundation. New York: Dolphin/Doubleday.
In this interesting article Markku Eskelinen argues that while the dominant user function in literature, theatre and film is interpretative, in games it is the configurative one.
Eskelinen, Markku (2001) ‘The Gaming Situation’. Game Studies, 1(1). Online: http://www.gamestudies.org/0101/eskelinen/
Entertainment Software Association (ESA) from the USA has published results from their annual market studies for several years, providing interesting claims and figures about the role of digital play in the American society. The key weakness in these reports is that they do not explicate their methodology, nor do they subject the studies to scientific evaluation and criticism. So: a word of caution while making use of these reports.
ESA (2007) ‘Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry 2007: Sales, Demographic and Usage Data’. Entertainment Software Association. Online: http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2007.pdf
Immersion is one of the key concepts that are used to characterise digital gameplay experiences, yet it is rarely clearly defined. Our article is based on a series of studies that provided us a basis to differentiate three dimensions or aspects in gameplay immersion – immersion based on challenges, as well as on sensory experiences and imagination (SCI model).
Ermi, Laura and Frans Mäyrä (2005) ‘Fundamental Components of the Gameplay Experience: Analysing Immersion’. In: Suzanne de Castell and Jennifer Jenson (eds), Proceedings of Chancing Views – Worlds in Play. Digital Games Research Association’s Second International Conference. Vancouver: DiGRA and Simon Fraser University. Online: http://www.digra.org/dl/db/06276.41516.pdf
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An Introduction to Game Studies 
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