Game Studies

This guide explores academic information related to various types of games, including their design, analysis, and criticism.

Key Journals

Here's a selection of academic journals related to game studies:

Analog Game Studies "... journal dedicated to the academic and popular study of games containing a substantial analog component."
Eludamos "... an international, interdisciplinary, diamond open access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the academic study of videogames, game culture, and play..."
Entertainment Computing "... publishes original, peer-reviewed research articles and serves as a forum for stimulating and disseminating innovative research ideas, emerging technologies, empirical investigations, state-of-the-art methods and tools in all aspects of digital entertainment, new media, entertainment computing, gaming, robotics, toys and applications among researchers, engineers, social scientists, artists and practitioners."
Games: Research and Practice "... publishes major contributions to games and playable media that are practically useful and grounded in robust evidence and argument."
Games and Culture "... an international journal that publishes innovative theoretical and empirical research about games and culture within interactive media. The journal serves as a premiere outlet for ground-breaking work in the field of game studies."
Game Studies "... a non-profit, open-access, crossdisciplinary journal dedicated to games research, web-published several times a year..."
International Journal of Serious Games "... publishes original, peer-reviewed, scientific research articles addressing theoretical, experimental and operational aspects in the areas related to design, development, engineering, deployment and assessment of Serious Games (SGs), particularly for teaching and learning."
Loading... "The primary objective of Loading is to publish Canadian scholarship, research and art in the interdisciplinary field of digital games studies."
Simulation & Gaming "... has served as a leading international forum for the exploration and development of simulation/gaming methodologies used in education, training, consultation, and research. It appraises academic and applied issues in the expanding fields of simulation, computer- and internet-mediated simulation, virtual reality, educational games, video games, industrial simulators, active and experiential learning, case studies, and related methodologies."
Journal of Visual Culture "... an international refereed journal that welcomes compelling, critically engaged contributions that explore and expand trans-disciplinary global visual cultures."
New Media and Society "... an international journal that provides an interdisciplinary forum for the examination of the social dynamics of media and information change."

The library also has limited collections of popular gaming magazines:

Key Databases

Video Game History Foundation Digital Archive
"... operated by the Video Game History Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the history of video games. This is the home for our collections of video game development materials, magazines, artwork, ephemera, and more."
The Video Game Library
"... a free, comprehensive online resource dedicated to cataloging literature about video games. It provides an accessible platform for users to explore books covering a wide range of gaming topics, from game histories and developer biographies to cultural studies and critical essays. And of course, a healthy dose of fiction throughout."
Flashpoint Archive
"This project is dedicated to preserving as many experiences from these platforms as possible, so that they aren't lost to time. Since December 2017, over 200,000 games and animations have been preserved across more than a hundred browser plugins and web technologies."
Bootleg Games Wiki
"A Wiki dedicated to unlicensed and bootleg video games."

Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new window
Taylor & Francis Online is a multidisciplinary collection of peer-reviewed journals published by Taylor & Francis, and also includes imprints like Routledge, Psychology Press, CRC Press and Garland Science. It primarily contains material across a range of disciplines from Social Science and Humanities.
JSTOR [JSTOR] This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a multidisciplinary collection of peer-reviewed journals, as well as books and primary sources published by various publishers and presses. It contains material across a range of disciplines from the sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Project MUSE Premium This link opens in a new window
Project MUSE is a multidisciplinary collection of peer-reviewed journals published by university presses and scholarly societies. It contains material across a range of disciplines from the social sciences and humanities.
Education Database [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
Education Database supports the study and application of education across all levels of education, including early childhood education, primary and secondary education, and higher education.