Abstract
I had picked up a free pack of computer games on CD-ROM from PC World, a promotion for NVidia graphics chips (each game uses 3D graphics). One of the games, Lego Racers 2, quickly became a favorite with my two sons, Jo (aged four) and Alex (three). They both enjoyed the novelty of seeing and controlling Lego cars and “men” on the computer screen and the humorous elements of the game that link the virtual world with the actual world of familiar play with plastic toys. As a media researcher (as well as a parent) fascinated by video games, I began to notice some unexpected and intriguing aspects of their play. I picked up the family video camera and began recording them, unwittingly embarking on what was to become an in-depth study with important implications.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aarseth, E. (1997). Cybertext: Perspectives on ergodic literature. Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press.
Alloway, N. & Gilbert, P. (1998). Videogame culture: Playing with masculinity, violence and pleasure. In S. Howard (ed.), Wired up: Young people and the electronic media, pp. 95–114. London: UCL Press.
Dovey, J. & Kennedy, H.W. (2006). Game cultures: Computer games as new media. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Facer, K., Sutherland, R., and Furlong, R. (2003). Screenplay: Children and computing in the home. London: Routledge.
Flynn, B. (2003). Geography of the digital hearth. Information, Communication and Society, 6(4), 551–576.
Friedman, T. (1995). Making sense of software. Retrieved June 11, 2000, from http://www.duke.edu/~tlove/simcity.htm.
Giddings, S. & Kennedy, H. (2007). Little Jesuses and fuck-off robots: On aesthetics, cybernetics and not being very good at Lego Star Wars. In M. Swalwell & J. Wilson (eds.), Gameplay: Pleasures, engagements, aesthetics. Jefferson NC: McFarland.
Green, B., Reid, J., & Bigum, C. (1998). Teaching the Nintendo generation? Children, computer culture and popular technologies. In S. Howard (ed.), Wired up: Young people and the electronic media, pp. 19–42. London: UCL Press.
Ito, M. (1998). Inhabiting multiple worlds: Making sense of SimCity 2000 in the fifth dimension. In R. Davis-Floyd & J. Dumit (eds.), Cyborg babies: From techno-sex to techno-tots, pp. 301–316. London: Routledge.
Kinder, M. (1991). Playing with power in movies, television and videogames: From Muppet Babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Kline, S., Dyer-Witheford, N., & de Peuter, G. (2003). Digital play: The interaction of technology, culture and marketing. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Lahti, M. (2003). As we become machines: Corporealized pleasures in videogames. In M. Wolf & B. Perron (eds.), The videogame theory reader, pp. 157–170. London: Routledge.
Latour, B. (1992). Where are the missing masses? The sociology of a few mundane artefacts. In W Bijker & J. Law (eds.), Shaping technology/Building society: Studies in sociotechnical change, pp. 225–258. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
McNamee, S. (1998). Youth, gender and videogames: Power and control in the home. In T Skelton & G. Valentine (eds.), Cool places: Geographies of youth cultures, 195–206. London: Routledge.
Metz, C. (1985). Psychoanalysis and cinema: The imaginary signifier. London: Macmillan.
Morris, S. (2002). First-person shooters: A game apparatus. In G. King and T. Krzywinska (eds.), ScreenPlay: Cinema/videogames/interfaces, pp. 81–97. London: Wallflower.
Mulvey, L. (1989). Visual and other pleasures. London: Macmillan.
Rehak, B. (2003). Playing at being: Psychoanalysis and the avatar. In M. Wolf & B. Perron (eds.), The videogame theory reader, pp. 103–128. London: Routledge.
Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (2003). The rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Sefton-Green, J. (2004). Rites: A small boy in a Poké-world. In J. Tobin (ed.), Pikachu’s global adventure: The rise and fall of Pokémon, pp. 141–164. Durham: Duke University Press.
Walkerdine, V. (1999). Video replay: Families, film and fantasy. In S. Thornham (ed.), Feminist film theory: A reader, pp. 180–195. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Wright, T., Boria, E., & Breidenbach, P. (2002). Creative player actions in FPS online videogames. Playing Counter-Strike, Game Studies, 2, 2. Retrieved July 9, 2004, from http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2007 Sandra Weber and Shanly Dixon
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Giddings, S. (2007). “I’m the One Who Makes the Lego Racers Go”: Studying Virtual and Actual Play. In: Weber, S., Dixon, S. (eds) Growing Up Online. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607019_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607019_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-62001-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-60701-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)