ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses our methodological approach to understanding game aesthetics and transgressive games. We argue for what we call a player-response approach, in which we are studying empirical players in order to understand games better. We discuss how this perspective allows us a holistic understanding of how the meaning of games emerges from the interplay between players and the game text, alongside cultural norms and cultural forms. The chapter grounds the player-response perspective in reader-response theory and looks at the relevance of concepts such as the implied player. The chapter also outlines how we in practice have conducted our research using the player-response approach.
