Who decides what is and what is not a game? When games researchers choose which games to study and which games they ignore, how do their choices impact our theories about games and gamers? Dr. Mia Consalvo works to explore these questions, helping to define what constitutes a “real game” and how history has changed the definition of games. This lecture focuses on her latest research found in two recent books she co-authored, Real Games: What’s Legitimate and What’s Not in Contemporary Videogames (2019) and Players and their Pets: Gaming Communities from Beta to Sunset (2015).

Consalvo is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in game studies and design at Concordia University in Montreal, has been entrenched in the gaming world for decades as a member of the Centre for Technoculture, Art & Games (TAG), and as a past pPresident of the Digital Games Research Association. During a recent installment of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies’ Spring 2021 Graduate Speaker Series, Dr. Consalvo spoke about her scholarship.