Journal and Website

I highly recommend that everyone consider Game Studies and Games and Culture as platforms for future engagement with game studies. Both of them play crucial roles in the field of game studies. Their differences mainly lie in publication models, content focus, and target audiences, but together, they enrich the diversity and depth of games as objects of academic inquiry.

Game Studies

Game Studies, which was inaugurated in 2001, holds the distinction of being one of the earliest academic journals dedicated to the field of game studies. It is jointly established by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Uppsala University in Sweden. As an open-access online journal, all articles are freely available to anyone, thereby enhancing the dissemination and impact of research findings.

The journal focuses on both theoretical and practical research on games, placing a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches. It integrates insights from a variety of fields, including history, sociology, psychology, art, culture, and technology. Thanks to its open-access nature, the journal boasts a broad readership that includes scholars, researchers, game designers, and general gaming enthusiasts.

Games and Culture

Although Games and Culture started its publication after Game Studies, it has nonetheless established itself as a prominent voice in the field of game studies. This traditional peer-reviewed academic journal, published by SAGE Publications, offers a blend of subscription-based and paid-access articles, rather than adopting a fully Open Access model. Its content zeroes in on the profound social and cultural ramifications of games across various domains, such as education, politics, economics, law, and media. The journal caters particularly to a readership comprising social science scholars, researchers, professionals, and policymakers who share a keen interest in exploring the sociocultural facets of games.

In terms of websites, I recommend gamedeveloper.com. It is a professional website that focuses on game development and the gaming industry, widely recognized by the industry as one of the key resources in the field of game development. This website provides a vast amount of content regarding game design, development technologies, industry news, market analysis, and interviews with developers. Here, you can gain insights into and analysis of games from the perspectives of game developers and professionals in the gaming industry.