Description
Book SynopsisBridges the gap between Japanese popular culture studies and game studies by encouraging a dialogue centered around Japanese-designed video games and social issues. The book examines four contemporary Japanese video games in terms of how they engage with some of Japan’s biggest social and personal issues.
Trade ReviewToward a Gameic World argues that video games have the potential to work through and play out social anxieties and traumatic events in contemporary Japanese society. In contradistinction from extant studies of gaming in Japan that tend to be more historical, ethnographical, and sociological, the book takes on a multidisciplinary approach with an emphasis on ‘textual’ analysis of video games. While embedded in the context of modern Japan, the book reflects on the larger global implications of video games as a viable genre of scholarly inquiry."—Leo T. S. Ching, Duke University
Table of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Author’s Note
- Introduction: Beyond 8-bit
- Chapter 1: Limited Engagement: Virtual Earthquakes and Real-World Survival in Disaster Report
- Chapter 2: Distanced Engagement: Marriage and Childbirth in Catherine
- Chapter 3: External Engagement: Pixelated Pain and Nuclear Memory in Metal Gear Solid V
- Chapter 4: Connective Engagement: Social Withdrawal and Player Connections in The World Ends with You
- Conclusion: Toward a Gameic World
- References
- Index
