Social Exclusion, Power, and Video Game Play

This book represents cutting-edge research that addresses major issues of social exclusion, power and liberatory fantasies in virtual play. Specifically, the scope of the book examines three areas of concern: social psychological implications of virtual gameplay; reproduction and contestation of social inequality in virtual realms.

David Embrick is assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Loyola University, Chicago. J. Talmadge Wright is associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Loyola University, Chicago. Andras Lukacs is a PhD candidate at Loyola University, Chicago.

Part I. Introduction Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Exclusion, Power and Video Game Play David G. Embrick, J. Talmadge Wright and Andras Lukacs Part II. Social-Psychological Implications of Virtual Play Chapter 2: Marking the Territory: Grand Theft Auto IV as a Playground for Masculinities Elena Bertozzi Chapter 3: Discursive Engagements in World of Warcraft: A Semiotic Analysis of Player Relationships Elizabeth ErkenBrack Chapter 4: The Intermediate Ego - The Location of the Mind at Play Vanessa Long Chapter 5: Producing the Social in Virtual Realms J. Talmadge Wright Part III. Social Inequalities in Video Game Spaces: Race, Gender, and Virtual Play Chapter 6: Racism in Gaming: Connecting Extremist and Mainstream Expressions of White Supremacy Jessie Daniels and Nick LaLone Chapter 7: Worlds of Whiteness: Race and Character Creation in Online Games David Dietrich Chapter 8: Gendered Pleasures: The Wii, Embodiment and Technological Desire Adrienne Massanari Chapter 9: Sincere Fictions of Whiteness in Virtual Worlds: How Fantasy Massively Multiplayer Online Games Perpetuate Colorblind, White Supremacist Ideology Joel Ritsema and Bhoomi Thakore Chapter 10: The Goddess Paradox: Hyper-resonance Shaping Gender Experiences in MMORPGs Zek Cypress Valkyrie Part IV. Game Fans Speak Out Chapter 11: To Play is to Design: An Analysis of Player/Designer Interactions in World of Warcraft Sean C. Duncan Chapter 12: Western Otaku: Games Crossing Cultures Mia Consalvo Chapter 13: Beyond the Virtual Realm: Fallout fans, Producers, and the Troublesome Issue of Ownership in Videogame Fandom R.M. Milner Part V. Summary and Conclusions Chapter 14: Conclusion Andras Lukacs, David G. Embrick, and J. Talmadge Wright