- University of Michigan Library
- Research Guides
- Video Game Studies
- DEIA Topics in Games
Video Game Studies
Selected resources designed to assist in researching the interdisciplinary field of computer and video game studies, as well as the study of other types of games.
DEIA in Gaming
This page provides resources for studying diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) in games, and resources in particular that explore the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race and gender as they apply to games. More specific DEIA topics are explored on other pages in this guide.
Ain't No Place for a Hero: Borderlands by Call Number: GV1469.25 .B67 T74 2017ISBN: 9781770413641Publication Date: 2017-10-17- Fair Play? Violence, Gender and Race in Video Games byPublication Date: 2001
- Game over : gender, race & violence in video games (visual material) byPublication Date: 2014
Gaming at the Edge: Sexuality and gender at the margins of gamer culture by Call Number: GV 1469.17 .S63 S53 2014ISBN: 9780816693153Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Gaming Representation: Race, Gender and Sexuality in Video Games by ISBN: 9780253025739Publication Date: 2017-07-03
Good Luck Have Fun: The Rise of eSports by Call Number: GV1469.3 .L54 2016ISBN: 9781634506571Publication Date: 2016-06-07
On Video Games: The visual politics of race, gender and space by Call Number: GV1469.34 .S52 M87 2018ISBN: 9781784537418Publication Date: 2017-12-30
The State of Play: Creators and critics of video game culture by Call Number: GV1469.34 .S52 S73 2015ISBN: 9781609806392Publication Date: 2015-10-20
Videogames for humans : Twine authors in conversation by Call Number: GV 1469.34 .S52 V53 2015ISBN: 0990452840Publication Date: 2015
Virtual History: How Videogames Portray the Past by Call Number: GV 1469.34 .S52 W35 2019ISBN: 9781138069091Publication Date: 2019-07-05
Woke Gaming: Challenges to oppression and social injustice by ISBN: 9780295744186Publication Date: 2018-11-01
Intersectionality in Gaming
- I Need Diverse GamesI Need Diverse Games via all associated platforms and members; including but not limited to: twitter, Facebook, Google+, and other mediums seeks to bring projects, works and research by marginalized folks to light.
- Racism, Sexism, and Gaming’s Cruel Optimism (2017)“Racism, Sexism, and Gaming’s Cruel Optimism,” Identity Matters: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Video Game Studies, edited by Jennifer Malkowski and Trea, Andrea M. Russworm. Indiana University Press, 2017.
- Examining the intersection of race and gender in video game advertising (2014)This study investigates how race and gender intersect in the stereotypical character depictions used to market video games to consumers.
- Queer Female of Color: The Highest Difficulty Setting There Is? Gaming Rhetoric as Gender Capital (2012)Nakamura, Lisa. "Queer Female Of Color: The Highest Difficulty Setting There Is? Gaming Rhetoric As Gender Capital". Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology 1 (2012):. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
- The virtual census: representations of gender, race and age in video games (2009)A large-scale content analysis of characters in video games was employed to answer questions about their representations of gender, race and age in comparison to the US population.
- Big Breasts and Bad Guys: Depictions of Gender and Race in Video Games (2008)"Big Breasts And Bad Guys: Depictions Of Gender And Race In Video Games: Journal Of Creativity In Mental Health: Vol 3, No 1, 2008.
- Not a Hater, Just Keepin' It Real The Importance of Race- and Gender-Based Game Studies (2006)Leonard, David J. "Not a Hater, Just Keepin'It Real The Importance of Race-and Gender-Based Game Studies." Games and Culture 1.1 (2006): 83-88.
Minority Game Designers
- The video game industry has a diversity problem – but it can be fixed (2017)Ramanan, Chella (2017). The video game industry has a diversity problem – but it can be fixed. The Guardian.
- Moving Students of Color from Consumers to Producers of Technology (2017)Rankin, Y., & Thomas, J. (2017). Moving Students of Color from Consumers to Producers of Technology (pp. 1-301). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2005-4
- Beyond Stereotypes of Gender and Gaming: Video Games Made by Middle School Students (2014)Marios C. Angelides; Harry Agius, "Beyond Stereotypes of Gender and Gaming: Video Games Made by Middle School Students," in Handbook of Digital Games , 1, Wiley-IEEE Press, 2014, pp.784-doi: 10.1002/9781118796443.ch25
- Girl gamers: the controversy of girl games and the relevance of female-oriented game design for instructional design (2006)Dickey, M. D. (2006), Girl gamers: the controversy of girl games and the relevance of female-oriented game design for instructional design. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37: 785–793. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00561.x
U-M General Resources
Statistics
- Entertainment Software Association (ESA)The ESA's annual report examines the state of the video game industry in the USA and provides statistics on consumer demographics and industry sales figures.
- Essential Facts Report (Entertainment Software Association of Canada)ESAC releases an annual report that provides important economic, demographic and public opinion data about the Canadian video game industry.
- Key Fact Reports (ISFE)Data gathered by the International Software Federation of Europe (ISFE), which measures trends in the video game market in Europe.
- Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA)IGEA publishes periodic reports detailing demographic data related to the video game industry in Australia and New Zealand.
Game Design Resources
- Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic BAME Talent in GamesEncouraging more diverse talent to work in mobile, online and console gaming, VR, AR, eSports, VFX, animation and entertainment industries.
- Black Girls CodeVision:To increase the number of women of color in the digital space by empowering girls of color ages 7 to 17 to become innovators in STEM fields, leaders in their communities, and builders of their own futures through exposure to computer science and technology.
- ESA Foundation Scholarship ProgramThe ESA Foundation established a scholarship program to assist women and minority students who are pursuing degrees leading to careers in Computer & Video Game Arts.
- GDC Diversity & Inclusion ProgramsThe list of programs that the Game Developers Conference (GDC) supports to encourage diversity and inclusion in their community.
- LOFT CSLAn initiative of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Vision: Provide a technically skilled and diverse pool of talent to meet the demands of today’s growing technology companies.
Specific Talks
- A Multiplayer Dating Game to Empower Black Teen Girls - InvestiDateThis Games For Change 2021 talk on YouTube details the design process behind the game "InvestiDate," created during the pandemic.
- Beyond Visibility: Ways, Wants, and WinsIn this panel from Games for Change 2021, industry leaders discuss their successes in overcoming DEIA obstacles to showcase how they have made way for others in the space.
- Building a More Equitable Games IndustryIn this Games for Change 2021 panel, the speakers discuss the Black Developers Initiative, a program launched by Niantic in 2020. They then dive into the process for creating a long-term, sustainable initiative and how it came to be.