A Socio-Pedagogical Reading From Video Game to Game Learning

Introduction

Despite being a relatively recent phenomenon (less than a century old), video games hold significant importance, especially when compared to the millennia-long history of “analog” gaming, their natural predecessor, which has been extensively reflected upon by thinkers such as Caillois (1981) and Huizinga (2002). In recent decades, digital play has emerged as a crucial expression of contemporary culture due to its exceptional social, cultural, and technological value. It represents the leading entertainment sector globally in terms of time spent and budget. Moreover, thanks to its participatory and collaborative properties, it contributes to generating new cultural and social imaginaries. As the central economic force in the entertainment and technology industries, video games generate revenues that surpass those of the film and record industries.

In the past, the video game industry experienced long periods of prosperity interspersed with a few downturns. For example, between 1983-1985, there was an industry stall called the “video game crash”. Immediately thereafter, there was an upswing, and for the next 20 years, the market remained almost crystallized within a worldwide bubble of enthusiasts. Consoles followed one another, progressively building user loyalty; however, there was not yet the phenomenon that today we might call transgenerationality, that is, the ability to capture the attention of several generations all interacting with the medium at once. In essence, for every new gamer the market acquired, there were some who, as they grew up, moved away from the market.

The new millennium marked the beginning of a meteoric rise for video games, with significant milestones including the release of the Nintendo DS (2006), the Nintendo Wii (2007), and particularly the launch of the iPhone (2007). During these years, the gaming audience expanded enormously across various age groups and genders, significantly increasing the overall pool of gamers (Juul, 2010). With the advent of the iPhone and later smartphones, everyone had the opportunity to carry an interactive device with them at all times. This new era saw the proliferation of downloadable apps, both free and paid, leading to a surge in gaming experiences. App fever drove people to compulsively download new games, and even those who had never played a game before found themselves immersed in titles like Candy Crush, Angry Birds, and Temple Run. These simple, accessible games, although different from the more complex video games of the previous 20 years, provided a significant boost to the video game market through their ease of access rather than through grand cinematic experiences or technological marvels of photorealism.

According to recent data, the Coronavirus Pandemic further pushed up the number of video gamers worldwide (Amendola et al., 2023). Nowadays, in wealthier countries, at least two-thirds of the population dabble in this hobby, which for some has now become a real job (just think of the streamers and pundits who populate platforms such as YouTube and Twitch).

In the entertainment industry, gaming is now unrivaled and has surpassed movies and music, proving to be a well-rounded pastime that can incorporate so many different aspects. Film-like experiences such as God of War and The Last of Us have transcended the limits of video games, in the last case also becoming successful TV series. In earlier eras, it was movies that became video game experiences (often very basic and of lower quality) while today it is the exact opposite.