ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book introduces core approach of playing with methods, which might, less charitably, be described as messing about with different techniques to see if any of them generate useful research materials. It examines why questions of embodiment matter when considering methods shaped by new technologies. The book also considers the role of algorithmic surveillance in monitoring and sorting our lives. It reflects on how games as playable texts differ from conventional sources for media analysis. The book examines how videogames have moved beyond the cliche of being objects of fascination for teenage boys. It also examines the ways that games technologies are being directly employed by scholars within research projects. The book covers a somewhat broader area than conventional arts-based research by moving beyond the need to produce work with any overtly aesthetic ambition.
