1st Edition

Gaming Cultures and Place in Asia-Pacific

Edited By Larissa Hjorth, Dean Chan Copyright 2009
    314 Pages
    by Routledge

    316 Pages
    by Routledge

    This collection explores the relationship between digital gaming and its cultural context by focusing on the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region. Encompassing key locations for global gaming production and consumption such as Japan, China, and South Korea, as well as increasingly significant sites including Australia and Singapore, the region provides a wealth of divergent examples of the role of gaming as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Drawing from micro ethnographic studies of specific games and gaming locales to macro political economy analyses of techno-nationalisms and trans-cultural flows, this collection provides an interdisciplinary model for thinking through the politics of gaming production, representation, and consumption in the region.

    1. Introduction Larissa Hjorth & Dean Chan  Section 1: Industries  2. The Politics of Online Gaming Florence Chee & Dal Yong Jin  3. The Gaming Industries of South Korea and Singapore: Cultural Policy and Globalisation Peichi Chung  4. The Real Life of Chinese Gold Farmers: A Study of Real Money Traders in Virtual Game Worlds Ge Jin Section 2: Localities 5. Time Pilots: Yoshiki Okamoto and the Impact of Japanese Innovation on Early Videogames Jason Jacobs & Jason Wilson  6. Domestication and Cultural Appropriation of Japanese Combat Games in Hong Kong Benjamin Wai-Ming Ng  7.  The Evolution of PC bang Culture in Korea Jun-Sok Huhh  8. The Formation and Development of Online Games in Korea: A Field Theory Approach Minseok Kwon Section 3: New Rubrics 9. Game Art Practices, In-Game Protests, and Chinese Techno-Sociality Dean Chan 10. Dreaming of a Trash Planet: The Dynamics of Decoration and Debris David Surman 11. Games Without Frontiers: Nation, Sport and Videogaming on Television Christian McCrea 12. Addressing Regional Cultural Heritage Maintenance using the Digital Songlines Game Engine Brett Leavy, Theodor G Wyeld & Patrick Crogan Section 4: Players, Playing and Virtual Communities 13. The History and Development of Lan Groups in Australia and New Zealand Melanie Swalwell 14. Managing Risks in Online Game Worlds: Networking Strategies among Taiwanese Adolescent Players Holin Lin & Chuen-Tsai Sun 15. The Other Games: Gender and Gaming in Korea Bora Na, Jun-Sok Huhh & Larissa Hjorth 16. GameGirls and PlayStations: A Case Study of Japan's Position in Gaming Cultures via Cosplayers in Melbourne Larissa Hjorth 17. Conclusion

    Biography

    Dr. Larissa Hjorth is a lecturer at RMIT University and is the author of The Art of Being Mobile (London, Routledge, 2008).

    Dr. Dean Chan teaches at the School of Communications and Arts, Edith Cowan University (ECU), in Perth, Australia.