Published Research
For many years I was a game studies academic. On this page you can read more about or download my research publications and book reviews.

Books

Players and Their Pets: Gaming Communities from Beta to Sunset
With Mia Consalvo

This book is the result of a multiyear study of the now-defunct MMOG Faunasphere. It is the only study of an online game that covers its entire lifespan, from the beta period to its final closure. Throughout this work we challenge dominant ideas of just who plays MMOGs and why, how online identity is constructed, and how people become attached to virtual pets. We also call for a major rethinking of how virtual worlds are studied and theorized. From University of Minnesota Press, March 2015.

Press description:
 "An unprecedented look at the lifespan of an online game that went against the grain

In Players and Their Pets, Mia Consalvo and Jason Begy chart the brief life of a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) called Faunasphere,examining how the game evolved over the course of its entire life cycle from 2009 to 2011 in terms of design as well as how its player community responded to changes and events." 

Press Page
Amazon US
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Journal Articles

Methodological Considerations in the Study of Tandem Play
​With Mia Consalvo, Rainforest Scully-Blaker, and Sarah Christina Ganzon

This paper presents a detailed discussion of the research methods used in the first part of our ongoing study into “tandem play,” which we have defined as “two or more players engag[ing] with a single-player game together, moving through the game with a variety of potential motives.” Tandem play can take many forms, but the emphasis is on a collaborative, shared experience. Although tandem play has always been a part of video games, our research into it is the first, and so we had to design our study from the ground-up. In this paper we discuss four aspects of the study—the choice of game that subjects would play, recruitment strategy, our roles as researchers, and the effects of limited play time on the study—and how these decisions impacted our results.

Loading..., Vol 10. No. 16. 2017. DOI: 10.1177/1555412015600066
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Board Games and the Construction of Cultural Memory

In this article I propose a new theoretical framework for board game research rooted in material culture and cultural memory studies. I argue that board games offer a unique means by which cultural memory is transmitted and constructed. In particular, I first describe Wolfgang Schivelbusch's theories of how the railroad altered 19th century perceptions of time and space. I then show how those perceptions remain in cultural memory by showing how they are present in three popular railroad board games: 1830, Age of Steam, and Empire Builder. 

Games & Culture, August 2015. DOI: 10.1177/1555412015600066
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Experiential Metaphors in Abstract Games

This article examines how visually abstract games, such as Tetris ​and Go, can still be expressive and meaningful, despite lacking traditional literary elements such as characters, settings, or even narrative. It remains the only such account in game studies.

Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association. Volume 1, Issue 1. 2013.
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Achievements, Motivations, and Rewards in Faunasphere​
With Mia Consalvo

The results of our first Faunasphere study are presented here, with an emphasis on why players reported playing. We also offer a formal analysis of the game's reward systems and how they fostered player attachment to the game.

Game Studies. Volume 11, Issue 1, February 2011.​
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Conference Papers

Finding Sociality in Single-Player Games: A Case Study of Tandem Play Among Friends and Couples
With Consalvo, Browne, Ganzon, Scully-Blaker and Waldie

Abstract:  Researchers have found that games are sites for rich forms of sociality. However, there has been comparatively less research on sociality facilitated by co-located gameplay focused on single-player games, here termed tandem play. This exploratory case study investigated how known player pairs engaged in turn taking and decision-making behaviors while playing a single-player game together, and also how a narrative-driven video game played over multiple sessions impacted their experience. Initial findings suggest that turn taking was an explicitly negotiated choice, and that decision making power did not necessarily rely on who was holding the controller – player pairs developed their own systems for how they made choices. The narrative and well-known franchise on which the game was based gave pairs a strong base from which to work, building themed playthroughs and systemic approaches for how to treat various characters and situations in game. This research provides further evidence that being social in and around games can be accomplished no matter whether the chosen game is a single or a multiplayer title, and in virtual or physical space.

Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2018
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Playing Along and Playing For on Twitch: Livestreaming from Tandem Play to Performance
With Scully-Blaker, Consalvo, and Ganzon

Abstract:  This paper is an analysis of individuals who livestream gameplay on Twitch. Two core concepts - ‘playing along’ and ‘playing for’ – are put forth as two poles to a continuum to better discuss tandem
play in the context of livestreaming. From an analysis of participants’ exit interviews and observations of larger Twitch streams, it is shown that livestreaming is a form of tandem play, but only to a point. As audiences grow, ‘playing along’ becomes difficult for streamers. The ‘ceiling’ of tandem play is reached when a streamer is so focused on entertaining the largest number of people possible that they are no longer playing along with their spectators, but only playing for them.​

Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2017
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What Happens at the End of the World? An MMOG's Closure and Player Responses
With Mia Consalvo

In this paper we provide the results of interviews conducted with Faunasphere players after the game ended. We pay particular attention to the deep sense of loss respondents reported with regards to their virtual pets.

The 6th International Conference on the Philosophy of Computer Games. Madrid, Spain. January 2012. 
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The History and Significance of Jumping in Games

This article charts the history of games that feature jumping pieces and characters. It starts with early board games and continues into video games of the 1980s. The article argues that jumping appeals to us because it is about power and control.

I also talked about this topic for Polygon.

In GAME//PLAY//SOCIETY: Contributions to Contemporary Computer Game Studies. Proceedings of the 4th Annual Vienna Games Conference. Kopaed: Munich, Germany, 2010.
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Conference Presentations

Good Feedback for Bad Players? A Preliminary Study of 'Juicy' Interface Feedback
With Jesper Juul

Abstract:  The theories of game feel and juiciness claim that players will feel more competent, and that a game will be perceived as being of higher quality, when players are given large amounts of redundant audiovisual feedback in response to their actions. This poster describes a preliminary empirical study of this hypothesis. We created two mechanically identical versions of a game, one with only minimal feedback for player actions, and one with large amounts of redundant “juicy” feedback. On average, players rated the juicy game higher. At the same time, players performed worse in the juicy version. The results only partially support the hypotheses and show a need for further studies on the subject.

Proceedings of first joint FDG/DiGRA Conference, Dundee 2016.
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A Framework for Exploring Tablet-Based Tabletop Games
With Scott Nicholson

This presentation proposed theoretical frameworks and research methods for studying how tabletop games are implemented on tablets, and how that affects the social experience of play.

Proceedings of the Canadian Game Studies Association Conference, 2014.
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MovMote: A Game for Studying Interpretation
With Steven Schirra

This abstract describes MovMote, a game made by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab as an experimental device for studying how players interpret video games.

Foundations of Digital Games Conference 2013. 
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Book Reviews

"Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People, and Fantastic Adventures: From Chess to Role-Playing Games" by Jon Peterson.
American Journal of Play, vol. 5 no. 3. 2013.

"Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds" by Celia Pearce.
American Journal of Play, vol. 4 no. 3. 2013.