Frustration with video game research and a path forward.
 

I'm a communications graduate student and I'm doing my graduate thesis on gaming. I've been frustrated with the treatment of video games by the mainstream media since I can remember. It seems that every time there is a violent atrocity committed by anyone (that looks like they might be a gamer) video games must be tested for culpability. This inaccurate/informal test is done by citing aggression model studies that show aggression levels rise as we play games. Usually these studies involve convenience samples (anyone who walks in off the street) and do not focus their research in on gaming audiences. It is then no wonder that the respondents prove researchers' theories as they have no real experience with gaming. I, for one, would like to see more gaming scholarship focused on the artistic/meaningful side of games.

Anyways, if you guys and gals would be so kind as to take my little survey I would greatly appreciate it! (Link below) If you have anything that you would like to discuss further about my project (which is gonna be a knock-out) hit me up. I value any and all responses and questions that you may have. Please help me out so I can graduate and put my focus back on my Camaro!


All responses are anonymous and there is no risk to respondents. This survey site requires no personal information, just answer the questions and press submit.

http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s.asp?s...3zfcr7ca362666

I like your thesis. .. can I send it out to a couple of my buddies?

Do yo thang! I need as much data as I can get by monday, so the more the merrier.

Took the survey! :D

I'll be taking this when I get home. It'll take me at least an hour to answer those questions.

That's the shit it like to hear! You guys are great!

Come on y'all! I only need 20 more responses and I'll have enough. It's only ten questions long, and should only take 10-20 minutes.

Done

45 minutes and on question 7.

Just finished the sent it in. I'm curious to see what you think of my answers. When you're finished, I'd love to read it. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately, I see them all anonymously. Was there a topic that specifically piqued your interest? On top of the survey I'm also looking at online forum discourses (gtaforum.com, wowhead.com, etc.) as well, so a discussion is just as relevant as survey answers!

My first thought is that organized sports would also produce these results.

I was talking about gaming as a culture, not just digital/video gaming but role playing and card/board games also.

I was just curious to get your thoughts on your own questions.

Aggression model studies are like police sobriety tests. They are designed to confirm the hypothesis. So, yeah, you're right. If you stick a bunch of boys in a room with a punch bag after an hour of mortal combat it should be no surprise what happens!

Gaming is a culture for sure. Being that we're having this discussion on Camaro5 I think we can all appreciate this point: businesses that make a culture out of buying their products are the most successful. Not very many people buy a Camaro because they just need a car, they buy it to partake in the cultural symbols of the Camaro. The burnout, the loud exhaust, the looks, the mustang stop light confrontation, et cetera ad nauseum.

Think about how gaming constructs YOU as a cultural actor. Are you console loyal? Game franchise loyal? Why? Because those consoles and games appeal to us such that we construct ourselves as being a part of a group or culture. I personally, don't have very many gaming cultural artifacts (though I'd love to have that GoW lancer hanging on my wall), but I'm a recently converted playstation loyalist and my TV looks like a shrine to gaming. One thing, though, that prevents a true acceptance of gaming as a cultural practice is the current mainstream perception of gaming. It is seen as a break/distraction from society rather than a social process. For this reason many of us adopt the hush-hush gaming identity where it becomes a closeted act that we keep to ourselves or a small group of personal friends.

Camaros are an accepted mainstream American cultural practice though, so we don't need to hide it. Consider how loudly you display Camaro ideologies vs how comparably quietly you display gaming ideologies. Don't know about y'all, but my Camaro5 tshirt is in weekly rotation.