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Routledge Companions
The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies
The number of publications dealing with video game studies has exploded over the course of the last decade, but the field has produced few comprehensive reference works. The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies , compiled by well-known video game scholars Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron, aims to address the ongoing theoretical and methodological development of game studies, providing students, scholars, and game designers with a definitive look at contemporary video game studies. Features Each essay provides a lively and succinct summary of its target area, quickly bringing the reader up-to-date on the pertinent issues surrounding each aspect of the field, including references for further reading. Together, they provide an overview of the present state of game studies that will undoubtedly prove invaluable to student, scholar, and designer alike.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published December 6, 2013
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About the author
Mark J.P. Wolf
28 books12 followersMark J. P. Wolf is Professor in the Communication Department at Concordia University Wisconsin.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 16, 2025
This book took a me a while to churn through. However, it does deliver what it promises: a lot of academics giving brief summaries of various topics of discussion around game studies.
Personally, I found the book Debugging Game History (which has a similar structure) provided a more engaging introduction to the field of game studies. While the Routledge one is fine, I found the writing style of some author to be challenging to engage with. In particular, many authors didn't seem to be bothered to make clear why the reader should be interested in the topic they are discussing. As a result, I often found myself drifting off or even consciously questioning what is relevance/impact of this topic.
Overall, it's fine - but a bit of a trudge, rather than a accessible/engaging entry point to game studies.
Personally, I found the book Debugging Game History (which has a similar structure) provided a more engaging introduction to the field of game studies. While the Routledge one is fine, I found the writing style of some author to be challenging to engage with. In particular, many authors didn't seem to be bothered to make clear why the reader should be interested in the topic they are discussing. As a result, I often found myself drifting off or even consciously questioning what is relevance/impact of this topic.
Overall, it's fine - but a bit of a trudge, rather than a accessible/engaging entry point to game studies.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews