Journal
GAMES AND CULTURE
Volume 17, Issue 1, Pages 140-155Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/15554120211020380
Keywords
play; Game Studies; new materialism; ontology; epistemology
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This article proposes the concept of plaything as a tool to explore the ontology and epistemology of the things we play with. The main argument is that the ontology of the things we play with is separate from its epistemology, with playthings providing a materialistic ontology while concepts like video games or toys serve as epistemological concepts.
This article proposes the concept of plaything as an instrument to inquire on the ontology and epistemology of the things we play with. Extending Barad's (2007) onto-epistemology and Ingold's (2012) concepts of things and objects, this article intends to provide a theoretical contribution to the materialist turn in game studies (Apperley, T. H., & Jayemane, D. (2012). The main argument of the article is as follows: the ontology of the things we play with is separate from its epistemology. The concept of playthings provides a materialistic ontology that accounts for the technologies we play with. At the same time, concepts like video games, toys, or games are understood as being epistemological concepts, used to create situated knowledge (Haraway, D. (1987) about playthings. Playthings help describe how a technology is shaped for and through play, while other concepts place the experience of playthings in culture and society.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available