Description

Book Synopsis

This book unlocks an understanding of video games as virtual travel. It explains how video game design increasingly takes cues from the promotional language of tourism, and how this connection raises issues of power and commodification.

Bridging the disciplinary gap between game and tourism studies, the book offers a comprehensive account of touristic gazing in games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Minecraft, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Traveling through video games involves a mythological promise of open-ended opportunity, summarized in the slogan you can go there. Van Nuenen discusses the scale of game worlds, the elusive nature of freedom and control, and the pivotal role of work in creating a sense of belonging. The logic of tourism is fundamentally consumptiveâbut through design choices, players can also be invited to approach their travels more critically. This is the difference between moving through a game world, and being moved by it.

This interdisciplinary and innovative study will interest students and scholars of digital media studies, game studies, tourism and technology, and the Digital Humanities.

Traveling through Video Games

    Product form

    A Paperback by Tom van Nuenen

    £19.99

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 19 Sep 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Taylor & Francis
      Imprint Taylor & Francis Ltd
      Published 1/30/2025
      ISBN-13 9781032519500
      978-1032519500
      ISBN-10 1032519509
      Also in:
      Computing Games development and programming

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      This book unlocks an understanding of video games as virtual travel. It explains how video game design increasingly takes cues from the promotional language of tourism, and how this connection raises issues of power and commodification.

      Bridging the disciplinary gap between game and tourism studies, the book offers a comprehensive account of touristic gazing in games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Minecraft, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Traveling through video games involves a mythological promise of open-ended opportunity, summarized in the slogan you can go there. Van Nuenen discusses the scale of game worlds, the elusive nature of freedom and control, and the pivotal role of work in creating a sense of belonging. The logic of tourism is fundamentally consumptiveâbut through design choices, players can also be invited to approach their travels more critically. This is the difference between moving through a game world, and being moved by it.

      This interdisciplinary and innovative study will interest students and scholars of digital media studies, game studies, tourism and technology, and the Digital Humanities.

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