This entry in the BEA Electronic Media Research Series, born out of the April 2017 BEA Research Symposium, takes a look at video games, outlining the characteristics of the medium as cognitive, emotional, physical, and social demanding technologies, and introduces readers to current research on video games.

Nicholas David Bowman (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at West Virginia University, where he founded and directs the Interaction Lab (#ixlab). His work considers the intersection of communication technology and human interaction, and the manner in which mediated communication places a variety of different demands on users. He has authored or co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters related to these issues, and his work has been recognized by regional, national, and international associations. He is the current editor of Communication Research Reports and is an associate editor of Journal of Media Psychology, and he serves on a number of editorial boards, external review panels, and grant committees.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Demanding Nature of Video Game Play by Nicholas D. Bowman
2. Video Games and Cognitive Skills by C. Shawn Green
3. The Role of Engagement in Facilitating Game-Based Persuasion by Brett Sherrick
4. Research on the Emotions Caused by Video Games Demands Integration by Matthew Grizzard and C. Joseph Francemone
5. Gaming Is Awesome! A Theoretical Model on Cognitive Demands and the Elicitation of Awe during Video Game Play by Danile Possler, Christoph Klimmt and Arthur A. Raney
6. Behavioral Demands as Behavioral Affordances in Video Games by Allison Eden, David R. Ewoldsen, Joomi Lee, and David Beyea
7. Applying Psychological Theory to In-Game Moral Behaviors Through the Development of a Purpose-Made Game by Sarah E. Hodge, John McAlaney, Christos Gatzidis, Eike Falk Anderson, Davide Melacca, and Jacqui Taylor
8. A Communication Model of Social Demands in Video Games by Jorge Peña
9. Tandem Play: Theorizing Sociality in Single Player Gameplay by Mia Consalvo, Jason Begy, Sarah Christina Ganzon, and Rainforest Scully-Blaker
10. Social Demand in Video Games and the Synchronization Theory of Flow by Kevin Kryston, Eric Novotny, Ralf Schmälzle, and Ron Tamborini
11. Explicating the Electricity of eSports: Motivations for Play and Consumption by Kenon A. Brown, Andrew C. Billings, Melvin Lewis, and Kimberly Bissell
12. Live Streams and Revenue Streams: Twitch as a Hybrid Gaming Culture by John A. Velez, Melissa R. Gotlieb, Geoffrey Graybeal, Alan Abitbol, and Jonathan A. Villarreal
13. Development of the Video Game Demand Scale by Nicholas David Bowman, Joseph Wasserman, and Jaime Banks