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Artwork for New Books in Game Studies

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
Commodore 64
Esports
Graphic User Interface
Twitch
World Of Warcraft
Everquest
Animal Crossing
Education In Esports
Gamergate

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

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes163Founded3 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
GamesLeisureVideo Games

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Artwork for New Books in Game Studies

Latest Episodes

Despite decades of inflammatory rhetoric, the real risk of video games lies not in their violent imagery but in the ethical and political sensibilities they normalize. Video games reward speed, efficiency, control, and meritocratic mastery, training ... more

Contemporary digital gameplay is only accessible by navigating an

ecosystem of interfaces that support its computational nature. Account

logins, controllers, and an assortment of menus, settings, and other

peripheral-to-gameplay elements support ... more

The Commodore 64 is the most significant computer of its era. From 1982 to 1994, a total of 27 million units were sold—more than any other computer from a single manufacturer afterwards. Due to its widespread use as well as its techni­cal features, th... more

The first book-length study on mythology reception in video games, Characters and Characterization in Mythological Video Games (Bloomsbury, 2026) examines how video games characterize mythological characters from the perspectives of classical recepti... more

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Recent Guests

David Waddington
Author of The Hidden Curriculum of Video Games
Episode: David I. Waddington, "The Hidden Curriculum of Video Games" (McGill-Queen's UP, 2026)
Stefan Höltgen
Co-editor of C64 or C64, Past, Present, and Future of a Home Computer
University of Bonn
Episode: Stefan Höltgen et al., "Commodore 64: Past, Present, and Future of a Home Computer" (Projekt Verlag, 2026)
Alexander Vandewalle
Author of Characters and Characterization in Mythological Video Games
Ghent University (implied)
Episode: Alexander Vandewalle, "Characters and Characterization in Mythological Video Games" (Bloomsbury, 2026)
Aditya Deshbandhu
Lecturer in Communications, Digital Media and Sociology at University of Exeter
University of Exeter, author of The 21st Century in 100 Games
Episode: Aditya Deshbandhu, "The 21st Century in 100 Games" (Routledge, 2024)
Amy Thomas
Author of Copyright, Contract and Video Games, Terms of Play
University of Glasgow / CREATE Center
Episode: Amy Thomas, "Copyright, Contract, and Video Games: Terms of Play" (Hart Publishing, 2026)
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)

Host

Rudolf Inderst
Host of New Books in Game Studies; professor with a focus on game studies and related fields; frequently guides scholarly conversations.

Reviews

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

    Podcast Addict
    5
    Michael
    5 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.

Content is deeply academic and informative, but ads pull focus.
Lengthy scholarly conversations may be dense for casual listeners.
Guests are top-notch; production quality is solid.
The ads interrupt the flow, which can be jarring during deep discussions.

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts
#105
United Kingdom/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#129
Germany/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#5
Colombia/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#30
South Africa/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#38
Colombia/Leisure
Apple Podcasts
#69
New Zealand/Leisure/Games

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Stefan Höltgen et al., "Commodore 64: Past, Present, and Future of a Home Computer" (Projekt Verlag, 2026)
Q: Were there any particularly surprising findings or perspectives in the volume that challenged your own understanding of the C64?
Höltgen highlights the personal entanglement researchers have with their objects, the Finnish attitudes toward study objects, and the way the object partakes in the research process itself, offering new angles on why and how old technologies are studied today.
Stefan Höltgen et al., "Commodore 64: Past, Present, and Future of a Home Computer" (Projekt Verlag, 2026)
Q: Looking across the contributions, what do you think was the platform's most lasting contribution to digital culture?
The host and Höltgen note that the sheer volume and diversity of games, combined with the platform's role in shaping early game development, established a lasting cultural and aesthetic legacy that influenced both professional and amateur creators and the broader media landscape.
Stefan Höltgen et al., "Commodore 64: Past, Present, and Future of a Home Computer" (Projekt Verlag, 2026)
Q: Stefan, please tell us what motivated this volume? What made the Commodore 64 worthy of a fresh scholarly examination more than four decades after its original release?
Höltgen explains that the book arises from a conference and aims to balance past, present, and future perspectives, showing how the C64 continues to be relevant through programming culture, preservation, and contemporary applications in education and research.
David I. Waddington, "The Hidden Curriculum of Video Games" (McGill-Queen's UP, 2026)
Q: What should scholars and educators take away from the book regarding games and education?
There is great potential for transformative experiences in games when educators scaffold learning, focus on meaningful outcomes, and avoid spectacle-driven, extractive designs that reduce learning to reinforcement schedules or simplistic engagement metrics.
David I. Waddington, "The Hidden Curriculum of Video Games" (McGill-Queen's UP, 2026)
Q: What alternative or reflective games does the author point to, and how are they different from mainstream design?
Reflective games like Hypnospace Outlaw and The Longing slow down or critique accelerationist logics, using satire and pacing to encourage players to think critically about technological culture and everyday life, rather than simply maximizing efficiency.

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 discussions focused on game studies, with guests ranging from authors to researchers discussing recent books and core concepts in the field. Conversations frequently center on theoretical frameworks, cultural history, and interdisciplinary approaches to games, play, and media, often tying insights to design practice, pedagogy, and industry trends. Notable strengths include rigorous academic analysis, clear connections between theory and broader cultural or technological shifts, and a consistent emphasis on the sociocultural dimensions of games. A unique angle is the integration of literary, cinematic, and psychological perspectives to illuminate how games shape and reflect human experience, making it useful for researchers, educat... more

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New Books in Game Studies launched 3 years ago and published 163 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. David Waddington
2. Stefan Höltgen
3. Alexander Vandewalle
4. Aditya Deshbandhu
5. Amy Thomas
6. Stephanie Farnsworth
7. Heather Shay
8. Peter McDonald

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