The Future of Games Scholarship: An Interview With James Paul Gee

Abstract

James Gee's work at the intersection of literacy, education, and game studies has explored how videogame affinity spaces are examples of how good teaching and learning often occur outside of schooling. His work can be safely characterized as influential in these fields. For instance, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy helped catalyze a lasting surge of interest in videogame studies. Game studies currently represent a diverse group of scholars that continually push the field into promising spaces. With our eyes on these promising spaces, we interviewed Gee on the topic of what is—and should be—the future of game studies. Gee discussed how the future of game studies would be well-advised to explore ways to network multiple experiences and technologies—including the real world—to focus on how to make people healthier, more prosocial, and better able to collaborate. This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.