Gracze w kulturze
Gamers in Culture

Author(s): Kamil Jędrasiak
Subject(s): Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Sociology of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: video games; gamers; players; video game culture; gamification; ludicity
Summary/Abstract: This book is a proposal to identify and take a closer look at selected aspects of the functioning of modern culture, in which the growing importance of games (especially video games) and the broadly understood ludicity, or "game-like" qualities, are clearly manifested. The key point of reference for the considerations undertaken are gamers, understood as a specific type of cultural participants. As the foundation for the argument, the examples of an academic reflection on the subject-matter are recognized and the field of this reflection is outlined, highlithting mainly the links between games and culture. This is followed by a discussion of issues related to the specifics of experiencing video games (mainly in a technological context), but also to the competencies of gamers, and to the fact of their diverification as a group, including some taxonomies. Further on, the perspective broadens, turning to the culture of games/gamers (among other things: venues designed for gamers, specialized media, events and other phenomena shaping the "gaming culture"). The argument concludes with an attempt to look at culture (as a whole) through the prism of its "gamification". Thus, the manifestations of "game-likeness" beyond the core "gaming culture" itself are discussed – the influence of games on other branches of culture (including entertainment industries or the arts), cultural protocols, everyday life, etc., and therefore on the competencies desired for modern cultural participation.

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