Ian Bogost - Water Cooler Games - Grand Theft Childhood preview

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Water Cooler Games

Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Grand Theft Childhood preview

by Ian Bogost March 21, 2008

categories: General

The forthcoming book Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do, by husband and wife Harvard researchers Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson is sure to rustle some feathers. Into the tired world of media effects arguments, Kutner and Olson offer a more nuanced perspective on the subject of violent games.

The book will be published next month, but if you don't want to wait, Open Education has a detailed set of articles on some of its contents:

Shoot-em Up Video Games - The Cause of Greater Anti-social Behaviors in Teens?
Author Reveals "The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games" (this one's an author interview)
Experts State: Do Not Banish - Instead, Manage Violent Video Game Play