ludology

Narrativists vs. ludologists, material vs. formal constraints: Michael Mateas replies by identifying actors' roles in each division.

Literature scholars eager to understand gaming have made early inroads. Markku Eskelinen sets up serious checkpoints.

Espen Aarseth holds that gameplay, not Lara Croft?s physique, should command the attention of an evolving game studies.

First Person, second section: What is Ludology? Editors Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip-Fruin see a disciplinary shift away from ill-advised analogies toward analyses of the gaming situation itself.

Gonzalo Frasca's proposal for videogames that address "critical thinking, education, tolerance, and other trivial issues."