WHO WE ARE

Officially recognized by the Society for Cinema and Media Studies in 2008, the Video Game Scholarly Interest Group consists of a diverse group of scholars and media professionals united by the shared belief that video games are compelling and ever-evolving objects of study in their own right. While, like film and television before it, video game studies initially struggled for legitimacy in academia, it has in recent years grown into a fruitful and vibrant field of study, evolving into a distinct field with its own theory, history, and methodology, at the same time as it intersects with a wide variety of other fields, theories, and disciplines.

Video game studies is unique among the various branches of media studies in that it examines interactive imaginary worlds generated in real-time, whose users relate to them in ways very different from those found in other media, and which use specific forms of technology due to their interactive nature. The Video Game Scholarly Interest Group recognizes that video game studies is neither a subset of television studies nor an extension of film studies, but rather must be addressed as something unique unto itself.

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MISSION

The mission of the Video Games Scholarly Interest Group is to further one of the key objectives of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies—namely, to bring together the various areas of media scholarship that fall under the purview of the SCMS, and in so doing, to facilitate their development and the interaction between them. We seek to accomplish this by:

• Providing a forum in which video game scholars can discuss their work, organize panels and workshops for each year’s conference, and work together to accomplish the goals and objectives of the group

• Fostering awareness of video game studies related issues which overlap with other areas of media studies, and to encourage new research and scholarship in these areas

• Organizing and scheduling a yearly meeting at the SCMS conference where we can gather to formulate more specific programs and plans

• Working with the Executive Committee and each year’s Conference Program Committee as a source of video game related expertise

• Supporting Cinema Journal and other publications, and encouraging their inclusion of video game related scholarship

• Taking on special projects, such as specially-designated panels, joint conferences, plenary participation, or workshops

• Encouraging international membership and participation in SCMS for video game scholars in other countries and from other societies dealing with video game research

• Exploring the definition of video game studies itself as a field, and expanding its relationship with other media and areas of media studies

• Acknowledging and recognizing the important work that is being done in our field, spreading awareness to other disciplines and areas, as well as working towards establishing relationships with media industry personnel, critics, reviewers, and policy groups.