ABSTRACT
REASONS FOR PLAYING/THE SOCIAL SIDE OF VIDEO GAMES/COOPERATION AND CONFLICT IN GAME COMMUNITIES/METACULTURE/CONCLUSION: THE CULTURAL TURN IN GAME STUDIES, BREAKING THE MAGIC CIRCLE
We have just seen some of the myriad ways in which games are a cultural force. They are everything from an instrument that influences culture to a body of knowledge that is influenced by the culture(s) surrounding it; they interact with media and other cultural trends in complex ways. But we must also acknowledge the culture of the people who make the gaming industry possible-the gamers themselves. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor-players don’t just play these games; from the merging of a game (or a genre) and its players spring many different cultures and subcultures, each with particular interests, values, norms, and sometimes even languages.
