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OK. To be honest, in this day and age, saying "I've narrowed my field to videogames" is the same as saying "I've narrowed my field to books. Can you give me any PDFs about books?"
Yea, that'll teach me to post hastily before bed. Let's see what I can flesh out for you.
First, directions I don't necessarily want to go.
The Terra Nova folks are dynamite and produce really interesting stuff, but I don't see myself writing about MMORGs. I don't play them and am not attracted to them with the fervor others seem to be.
MMORGs are out.
I'm also a bit tired of the empiricist/behaviorist pieces on videogame violence and its "effects" on meatspace violence/aggression.
Behaviorism is out.
I am more attracted, however, to the Ludological camp (Frasca, Juul, et al) because I love games in general as much as I love videogames. I like looking at rule-bound systems, because I think there's potential for some rich overlap with some linguistic folks like Saussure.
I come from a background heavy in semiotics and phenomenology. My Masters program is also heavy on performance theory and rhetorical criticism.
Academic papers are not as rare as you think; the medium is colossal, though.
Oh, trust me: I know. Hence my posting here for some help in sifting through it all.
So, possible areas of focus include: the experience of videogame time and space; the role/position of the player immersed in games; games as storytelling mechanisms (or not).
All these things interest me.
What interests you most about the games you play?
"Play." How is it structured in videogames? How does playing videogames differ from playing other games? From "playing" in general?
Other intersests: That I'm willing to submit myself to (or revel in!) someone else's rules for prolonged periods of time (and pay lots of money to do so); the way people talk about games and the way games frame other aspects of their non-game loves; games as metaphors for larger social/cultural structures.
That's where my umbrella is right now. Thanks for your help. |
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