The Place of Play: Toys and Digital Cultures (Amsterdam University Press - Media Matters)

Technology has come to dominate the world of toys and gaming. Given the immense popularity of computer games, as well as the increasing role played by the digital in childhood activities, it’s not surprising that the world of play has come to exist at the borders of technological production and consumption. The Place of Play takes on digital toys and computer games as a site for strategic research into the nature, characteristics, mechanisms, and problems at hand in our contemporary assessment of what it means to play. Maaike Lauwert centers her discussion on the “geography of play,” which comprises different aspects of play itself, including the design of a toy, the discourse surrounding it, and the ways in which it is actually used by its player. Increasingly, technology is at stake in toys, games and playing. With the immense popularity of computer games, questions concerning the role and function of technology in play have become more pressing. A key aspect of the increasing technologization and digitalization of both toys and play is the vagueness of borders between producers, consumers and players. In these so-called participatory cultures, players do not simply play with toys designed behind closed doors but become co-designers. This book takes a critical look at the advantages and disadvantages of participatory cultures and places the changing world of toys, games and playing in a historical context. Contrary to many New Media and computer game studies, this book takes the historical background of these phenomena into account by situating the changing world of play in the context of the social and cultural processes of commodification, domestication and urbanization from the 1850s to the present. -- Website OAPEN Library Introduction -- Changing Practices, Shifting Sites -- Core And Periphery Of Play -- Pt. I. New Children, Different Toys -- The Child As Consumer -- Domesticating Play -- The Child In The City -- Toys As Containers, Mediators And Promoters -- Pt. Ii. From Solitary To Networked Geographies Of Play -- Lego Toys : From Wooden Blocks To Plastic Bricks -- Brand Extension & Product Differentiation -- Bringing The Fans Into The Company -- Many-to-many Geographies Of Play -- Pt. Iii. Commercial Geographies Of Play -- Toy Towns And Simulated Cities -- A 21st-century Dollhouse : The Sims -- Unwanted Play Practices In The Sims Online -- Commodified Geographies Of Play -- Pt. Iv. Serious Geographies Of Play -- Participation Tools -- Participation Processes -- Purposeful Play -- Serious Geographies Of Play -- Conclusion -- Changing Geographies Of Play -- Making Do. Maaike Lauwaert. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Increasingly, technology is at stake in toys, games and playing. With the immense popularity of computer games, questions concerning the role and function of technology in play have become more pressing. A key aspect of the increasing technologization and digitalization of both toys and play is the vagueness of borders between producers, consumers and players. In these so-called participatory or many-to-many cultures, players do not simply play with toys designed behind closed doors but become co-designers of their own toys. The Place of Play analyzes the nature, characteristics, mechanisms and problems of many-to-many cultures through three distinctive case studies: LEGO toys, Sim games, and Serious games."--Jacket Table of contents 6 Introduction 8 Part I: New Children, Different Toys 22 Part II: From Solitary to Networked Geographies of Play 46 Part III: Commercial Geographies of Play 72 Part IV: Serious Geographies of Play 108 Conclusion 128 Notes 138 Bibliography 140 Index 154 A fascinating, eclectic analysis of the changing geographies of play in contemporary society.