IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Interpreting Game-Play Through Existential Ludology

Interpreting Game-Play Through Existential Ludology
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Matthew Thomas Payne (University of Texas at Austin, USA)
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 15
Source title: Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Richard E. Ferdig (Research Center for Educational Technology - Kent State University, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-808-6.ch036

Purchase

View Interpreting Game-Play Through Existential Ludology on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

This chapter introduces and operationalizes an innovative interpretive strategy called “existential ludology” to explain how the game-play mechanics of two tactical shooter video games?America’s Army: Rise of a Soldier (Microsoft’s Xbox) and Full Spectrum Warrior (Sony’s PlayStation 2)?educate gamers on how to play militarily. These titles, both produced in part by the U.S. Department of Defense, engender strict, doctrinal learning opportunities by embedding official combat protocols into their game-play structures. By employing existential ludology as an interpretive tool we can understand these military-backed games from an experiential, player-centric perspective, while also recognizing how their seemingly innocuous game-play is located within, and linked to, larger networks of power. Moreover, existential ludology’s flexibility as an interpretive instrument encourages educators to recognize the educational affordances of popular video games so that they might adopt these popular media artifacts for their own pedagogical ends.

Related Content

Johnny L. Williams. © 2026. 26 pages.
Anthony Mark Gray, James E. Bartlett. © 2026. 32 pages.
Christopher H. Slotboom. © 2026. 72 pages.
Ameera Law, Sebastian Gutierrez, Keren Asgodom, Mahrukh Khan. © 2026. 32 pages.
Kashish Ali, Autumn Garcia, Alina Vadsariya. © 2026. 20 pages.
Michelle Bartlett. © 2026. 22 pages.
Tarana Afrin Chandel. © 2026. 32 pages.
Body Bottom