Thesis: Ch. 1–Introduction
Today I’ve posted the frontmatter and introduction of my PhD thesis on role-playing videogames, which now has its own page here.
I’m really hoping to get some feedback on this, especially from gamers. Some reasons why you should read the thesis as I serialise it, so you can give me comments:
- It’s the only book-length work in English on (videogame) RPGs, so if you’ve ever wanted to read one, this is your only option.
- It features me being pugnacious.
- Reading it won’t make your mind contort painfully in an effort to decipher incomprehensible nonsense.
So get to it! Further chapters will appear as I finish editing them. Post comments for discussion on the relevant blog entry, or email them to me directly.
Ben,
Had a chance to look over the intro. I’m excited by the chapter outline, especially the foreshadowing of a discussion of genre fiction, spatial stories and videogames which I see as a fertile area of research. The history of the genre is timely and as a fellow afficionado I’m looking forward to your thoughts on specific games, which as you point out could be more commonly represented in game writing.
I wasn’t quite certain why leftism in cultural studies was described at such length. You can use any kind of theoretical method to come to the conclusion that rpgs are often highly conservative in their political outlook. I consider myself on the left politically but I agree that rpgs have many conservative elements. If you concentrate on the subject at hand (rpgs), this part of the intro may not be necessary? Unless a refutation of ‘identity criticism’ is central to your argument (rather than, as it seemed to me, such work being parenthetical at most to yours), why discuss it at all?
Anyway, looking forward to reading more.
Darshana
Darshana
11 Apr 05 at 17:29
Hi Darshana,
Thanks for reading the intro and replying. I hope the rest of the chapters live up to your expectations… Because of the time constraints, I’m afraid some of them might not, but by the time it gets to publication, I hope it’ll be everything anyone could have wished for.
I grant that the discussion of leftism in cultural studies might seem a little odd at this stage, and could possibly do with a bit of tweaking. I think it’ll seem more in-place when you get to read chapter 3, which discusses the role of theory in videogame studies. The argument there (on this point) is, if I can summarise it very briefly and simplisticly, that the importation of identity politics into videogame studies has stunted the early phases of the discipline’s growth.
Ben H
11 Apr 05 at 17:34
Fair enough. If it’s a theme that you will explore later, I’d suggest making that a bit more explicit. Otherwise it seems odd that you spend more time speaking about theory you won’t be using than theory you will draw upon.
Best of luck.
Darshana
12 Apr 05 at 12:34