Ben Whaley is Associate Professor of Japanese in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Calgary.

“Toward a Gameic World argues that video games have the potential to work through and play out social anxieties and traumatic events in contemporary Japanese society. In contradistinction from extant studies of gaming in Japan that tend to be more historical, ethnographical, and sociological, the book takes on a multidisciplinary approach with an emphasis on 'textual' analysis of video games. While embedded in the context of modern Japan, the book reflects on the larger global implications of video games as a viable genre of scholarly inquiry.”

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgementsAuthor’s NoteIntroduction: Beyond 8-bitChapter 1: Limited Engagement: Virtual Earthquakes and Real-World Survival in Disaster ReportChapter 2: Distanced Engagement: Marriage and Childbirth in CatherineChapter 3: External Engagement: Pixelated Pain and Nuclear Memory in Metal Gear Solid VChapter 4: Connective Engagement: Social Withdrawal and Player Connections in The World Ends with YouConclusion: Toward a Gameic WorldReferencesIndex

Ben Whaley is Associate Professor of Japanese in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Calgary.

“Toward a Gameic World argues that video games have the potential to work through and play out social anxieties and traumatic events in contemporary Japanese society. In contradistinction from extant studies of gaming in Japan that tend to be more historical, ethnographical, and sociological, the book takes on a multidisciplinary approach with an emphasis on 'textual' analysis of video games. While embedded in the context of modern Japan, the book reflects on the larger global implications of video games as a viable genre of scholarly inquiry.”

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgementsAuthor’s NoteIntroduction: Beyond 8-bitChapter 1: Limited Engagement: Virtual Earthquakes and Real-World Survival in Disaster ReportChapter 2: Distanced Engagement: Marriage and Childbirth in CatherineChapter 3: External Engagement: Pixelated Pain and Nuclear Memory in Metal Gear Solid VChapter 4: Connective Engagement: Social Withdrawal and Player Connections in The World Ends with YouConclusion: Toward a Gameic WorldReferencesIndex

Ben Whaley is Associate Professor of Japanese in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Calgary.

“Toward a Gameic World argues that video games have the potential to work through and play out social anxieties and traumatic events in contemporary Japanese society. In contradistinction from extant studies of gaming in Japan that tend to be more historical, ethnographical, and sociological, the book takes on a multidisciplinary approach with an emphasis on 'textual' analysis of video games. While embedded in the context of modern Japan, the book reflects on the larger global implications of video games as a viable genre of scholarly inquiry.”

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgementsAuthor’s NoteIntroduction: Beyond 8-bitChapter 1: Limited Engagement: Virtual Earthquakes and Real-World Survival in Disaster ReportChapter 2: Distanced Engagement: Marriage and Childbirth in CatherineChapter 3: External Engagement: Pixelated Pain and Nuclear Memory in Metal Gear Solid VChapter 4: Connective Engagement: Social Withdrawal and Player Connections in The World Ends with YouConclusion: Toward a Gameic WorldReferencesIndex