Frameworks and Realities 5
(and I will continue to speak to structural and social barriers through-
out this book).
This individual-focused perspective also tends to lead to the unin-
tended consequence of people who occupy any system prone to criticism
feeling personally attacked by a book like this. Because I am saying that
game worlds have a few issues to deal with, you, as a gamer (for the sake
of my point) may feel I am pointing a finger at you as a person. Or maybe
you, as a reader, would like to point a finger at a certain gamer you know.
In a sense, you may think I am blaming you for these problems. And that
is why frameworks focusing on individuals are not entirely appropriate
for looking at big (or broad, or systemic) issues. If we stick to a “bad
apples” theory, then nothing beyond fixing a handful of individuals can
be done. Such fixes are shortsighted and fail to account for numerous
variables, because they ignore factors more pressing than the motivations
of the individual
actor.17
So, while I do admit that there is some scath-
ing criticism of game worlds in this book, it is not criticism of gamers as
individuals. I also don’t want any reader to think that the solution is as
simple as removing a handful of “bad apples” from the equation.
Let me also say at the outset that gaming culture has become a mon-
strous thing. When I began examining game worlds critically, the scope
and population of such worlds were far more measurable and com-
prehensible. Today, the industry is enormous, mobile, ubiquitous, and
dynamic.18
The discussions within this book attempt to capture some
fragment of a massive portrait, and this is largely how works like this
one are done (i.e., academia is about piling lots of little stones on top of
one another to create a mountain). No single book can hope to possibly
explain all the ins and outs of gaming culture, and this one is no differ-
ent in that way. I do what I can with the knowledge and
data19
I possess,
addressing some other areas where further exploration will be or has been
completed. I still believe there is much value within this book, but I also
hope, whether you are a novice or a veteran, that my work here can help
inform some portion of the greater picture for you. I believe that learn-
ing is best when something (such as a text, class, or teacher) provides a
catalyst, after which the learners themselves go on to explore alternatives
and research with specificity and depth within their own interests. If I can
accomplish that much here, I will feel more than gratified.
A Brief History
Creating time milestones of any kind is largely a subjective undertaking.
What I view as incredibly important may be viewed by another party as
rather minor, but that is also the stuff of academic debate. There are no
Previous Page Next Page