Stillborn Gamers? Writing a Birth Certificate for Corporeality and Locomotion in Game Research

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Nørgaard Rikke Toft
2010 DiGRA Nordic '10: Proceedings of the 2010 International DiGRA Nordic Conference: Experiencing Games: Games, Play, and Players

The paper presents a theoretical cornerstone in my current, ongoing PhD project which overall aim is to investigate relations between gamers’ corporeal, digital, and communicative practices. The present paper explores, in a beginning way, one of the more overlooked perspectives on the gamer, namely, the gamer as a ‘tool-wielding, moving body.’ It considers the theoretical and analytical questions that might begin to be asked if we understand gamers as moving bodies rather than e.g. visual perceivers or cognitive learners. The outlined framework will constitute the foundation for the project’s future research into gamers’ practices and hopefully open the doors for a more inclusive perspective on the gamer. The paper is organized in two parts: Firstly, a compact ‘reading’ of current game research is presented, secondly, possible theoretical and analytical tools for studying gaming as a corporeal activity is introduced. The aim is to make room for and shed light on corporeality and locomotion as valid, significant, and meaningful dimensions in game research.