A. S. Vetushinsky. Gamedrome: What you need to know about video games and gaming culture

Abstract

In his book, A. Vetushinsky conducts a comprehensive study of video games. It is the first such analysis undertaken by a Russian scholar, who considers the phenomenon of video games not only from a practical but also culturological viewpoint. A philosopher by training, the author, however, extends his study into other disciplines: he examines games in terms of communication theory, media studies, anthropology, and other fields. It is the book’s multi-disciplinary prism that reveals the contemporary phenomenon of video games as a complicated and even textual structure. The scholar’s fascination with the subject is immediately obvious from a specially devised structure to describe gaming history. The book will interest not only gaming fans but also those who may only have heard about the phenomenon or observed others at play.