Videogames are key arenas in which definitions of childhood are being created and contested. While child-players of videogames are lightning rods for academic research, child-characters in videogames have been mostly ignored. In this talk, Dr. Reay will explain what we can learn about contemporary constructions of childhood from analysing the coded kids that populate virtual worlds. She will make a case that we need to move away from questions of whether videogames are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for child-players, and towards questions of how digital games are reshaping our beliefs about youth and age.

Dr. Emma Reay is a Senior Lecturer in Emerging Media at the University of Southampton, where she teaches the undergraduate degree in Game Design and Art. Her recent research focusses on videogames and mental health, gaming and childhood, the ethics of designing therapeutic videogames, and play and bereavement. She’s currently playing Baldur’s Gate 3, and thinking a lot about cooperation, community, and ensemble storytelling.

Dr. Emma Reay’s outstanding new book The Child in Videogames: From the Meek, to the Mighty, to the Monstrous (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024) is available here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-42371-0

Hosted by Jéssica Iolanda Costa Bispo (Nova University Lisbon/CETAPS)