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New Books in Game Studies

New Books Network
Video Games
Game Studies
Game Design
Video Game Industry
Atari
Digital Games
Game Preservation
Nintendo
Game Development
Video Game History
Gaming Culture
Esports
Graphic User Interface
Twitch
World Of Warcraft
Everquest
Animal Crossing
Education In Esports
Gamergate
Community Building

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to ... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes158Founded3 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
LeisureVideo GamesGames

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Artwork for New Books in Game Studies

Latest Episodes

Copyright, Contract, and Video Games: Terms of Play (Hart Publishing, 2026) uncovers how video game contracts act as monologues of power, moulding players to align with proprietary ideologies.

In the era of interactive technologies, the player emer... more

Games That Haunt Us: Gothic Game Space as a Living Nightmare (Bloomsbury, 2026) is an examination of how the Gothic appears in game space to interrogate an area of substantial importance to contemporary games, with a focus on environments, bodies, an... more

In Identity Building Among Role-Playing Gamers: Slaying Goblins in the Real World (Bloomsbury 2025), Heather Shay draws from 19 months of participant-observation and 20 in-depth interviews with players. She found that gamers derive significant social... more

This book offers a comprehensive and practical guide to Games User Research (GUR). Blending theory and hands-on experience, it walks readers through methods, tools, and techniques tailored to the real-world constraints of small and medium-sized game ... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Stephanie Farnsworth
Editor of Games That Haunt Us: Gothic Game Space, No Prueble Space as a Living Nightmare
Bloomsbury
Episode: Stephanie Farnsworth, "Games That Haunt Us: Gothic Game Space as a Living Nightmare" (Bloomsbury, 2026)
Heather Shay
Assistant Professor of Sociology
South Carolina State University
Episode: Heather Shay, "Identity Building Among Role-Playing Gamers: Slaying Goblins in the Real World" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Peter McDonald
Author of The Impossible Reversal; professor
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Episode: Peter D. McDonald, "The Impossible Reversal: A History of How We Play" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
Carlin Wing
Author of Bounce! Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play
MIT Press
Episode: Carlin Wing, "Bounce: Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play" (MIT Press, 2026)
Kaitlin Tremblay
Author and narrative designer; narrative director at Soft Rains; author of Life is Strange
Boss Fight Books
Episode: Kaitlin Tremblay, "Life is Strange" (Boss Fight Books, 2026)
Victor Navarro-Remesal
Author of Zen and Slow Games
MIT Press (author)
Episode: Victor Navarro-Remesal, "Zen and Slow Games" (MIT Press, 2026)
Miguel Sicart
Author of Playing Software, Homo Ludens in Computational Culture (MIT Press, 2023)
IT University of Copenhagen
Episode: Miguel Sicart, "Playing Software: Homo Ludens in Computational Culture" (MIT Press, 2023)
Professor Raiford Guins
Professor and chair of Cinema Media Studies at Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Episode: Raiford Guins, "King PONG: How Atari Bounced Across Markets to Make Millions" (MIT Press, 2026)
Charlotte Reber
Author and scholar focusing on game studies
Boss Fight Books
Episode: Charlotte Reber, "Dragon Age II" (Boss Fight Books, 2026)

Host

Rudolf Inderst
Host with a long-running involvement in game studies, affiliated with a German university.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 14 ratings
  • You dont know Aaron Trammell? Outrageous!

    Podcast Addict
    5
    Michael
    3 months ago
  • The ads

    Please, just get rid of the ads. They are at times so jarring that it really does takes away from the fascinating discussions.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    ㅊㅎㄹ호
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The discussions frequently connect theoretical work to broader cultural contexts.
Listeners appreciate the depth and rigor, though some find sponsor reads disruptive.
Guests are often leading voices in game studies and publishing.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#156
Germany/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#57
Colombia/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#116
South Africa/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#127
Switzerland/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#192
Hong Kong/Leisure/Games

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Heather Shay, "Identity Building Among Role-Playing Gamers: Slaying Goblins in the Real World" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Q: So I was glad to have the opportunity to read this book. And I'm glad that you're willing to join me today to talk more about it. But first tell me, how did you decide to research role-playing and how did you get into role-playing games?
I decided to study gaming because I'm a table-top role-playing gamer myself, and the intersection of social psychology and inequality made gaming a perfect case to study identity work and how people understand themselves as gamers.
Stephanie Farnsworth, "Games That Haunt Us: Gothic Game Space as a Living Nightmare" (Bloomsbury, 2026)
Q: Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about the origins of this collection?
Stephanie Farnsworth explains that the book grew out of a PhD project and a conference titled Gothic Games, which spurred turning a strong body of abstracts into an edited collection that foregrounds Gothic space, bodies, and environments in games.
Peter D. McDonald, "The Impossible Reversal: A History of How We Play" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
Q: So how does your account complicate classic theories of play from Huizinga and Kaihua?
The book suggests taking an interpretive approach within their arguments, showing that their formal definitions can be expanded by considering different cultural definitions of play and situational judgments in the moment.
Victor Navarro-Remesal, "Zen and Slow Games" (MIT Press, 2026)
Q: What questions about slowness and reflectiveness do you think are still open for future research?
There is a need to widen what counts as a game, including artifacts like Nintendogs and other early 'non-games,' and to push for more detailed case studies of specific titles to understand how slowness manifests in different genres. There's also room to explore how reflectiveness interacts with different cultural contexts and how designers can systematically implement these ideas without sacrificing engagement.
Victor Navarro-Remesal, "Zen and Slow Games" (MIT Press, 2026)
Q: How do slow or reflective games enable faster action-oriented games to be experienced differently?
Slow or reflective games change the context in which faster games operate by foregrounding dead time, strategic pacing, and mindful exploration. This reframing helps players appreciate moments of deliberate restraint, tension, and contemplation that can enrich other genres, showing that speed isn't the sole route to engaging gameplay and that slower moments can heighten meaning and decision-making under pressure.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in Game Studies

What is New Books in Game Studies about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Scholarly conversations centered on game studies, authorship, and the cultural history of gaming. Episodes routinely pair researchers, editors, and authors with expert guests to unpack books and ideas—from close readings of narrative-driven titles and the ethics of player agency to the social histories of arcade culture and the politics of game design. Expect rigorous, theory-rich discussions that connect games to broader media ecologies, education, and cultural critique, often framed around newly published books from MIT Press, Boss Fight Books, and university presses. Noteworthy is the consistent emphasis on methodological approaches (close reading, critical pedagogy, interdisciplinary perspectives) and the way guests illuminate how games... more

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New Books in Game Studies launched 3 years ago and published 158 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on New Books in Game Studies?

Recent guests on New Books in Game Studies include:

1. Stephanie Farnsworth
2. Heather Shay
3. Peter McDonald
4. Carlin Wing
5. Kaitlin Tremblay
6. Victor Navarro-Remesal
7. Miguel Sicart
8. Professor Raiford Guins

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