Portrayals of Technoscience in Video Games: A Potential Avenue for Informal Science Learning
Abstract
Given the proliferation of video games and their potential to contribute to informal science learning and perception formation, we provide an assessment of how commercial video games portray technoscience. Our examination was guided by theories commonly applied in studies of entertainment media’s contributions to public understanding of science. Results indicate that technoscience and its practitioners are common fixtures within video games and that their presence is often conspicuous and enthusiastic. Our findings challenge common assumptions about the treatment of science in media and compel research examining the role of informal gaming in cultivating future generations of scientists.
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Biographies
Anthony Dudo (PhD, University of Wisconsin–Madison) is an assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on scientists’ public communication activities; media depictions of controversial science, health, and environmental issues; and the effects of informational and entertainment media on public understanding of science.
Vincent Cicchirillo (PhD, Ohio State University) is an assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas at Austin. His work focuses on the study of media technologies, in particular the influence of video game play features and contexts on postgame play outcomes.
Lucy Atkinson (PhD, University of Wisconsin–Madison) is an assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research looks at the role environmental communication, particularly advertising, plays in connecting individuals’ political and consumer orientations.
Samantha Marx is a doctoral student in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on new media technologies and their contributions to consumer behavior.
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Article first published online: February 20, 2014
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Published online: February 20, 2014
Issue published: April 2014
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