Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) is a new and quickly developing discipline, which is closely related to HCI and is making reference to some of its theoretical frameworks and research methodologies. The first edition of the Workshop on Research Methods in ACI (RM4ACI) was co-located with the Third International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction, which took place in Milton-Keynes, UK in November 2016. This paper presents an overview of the workshop, including insights from discussions on some of the challenges faced by the ACI community as it works to develop ACI as a discipline, and on important opportunities for cross-fertilization between HCI and ACI that the HCI community could consider.

From gold farmers and ‘100 million brain-damaged online gamers’ to the world’s biggest game company and more players than US citizens, China seems like the cabinet of curiosities for the whole world of digital gaming. This article focuses on news coverage around Chinese gaming and presents three phases of such journalism. China’s emerging games market was most prominently featured between 1999 and 2005, while 2006-2011 focused on extreme play behavior in China. Most recently, a discourse of vast business opportunities and stabilizing markets has been presented by Western news media. In total more than 853 news articles are explored in parallel to the theoretical concept of Sinological-orientalism. This article suggests significant historical changes in the ways in which knowledge of Chinese gaming has been produced in English language news media.

Through a case study of variations in the game of Mahjong differing from each other in terms of the extent of technological assistance involved, this article sheds light on questions of transmediality and technological specificity of games and play. It argues that while the variations in Mahjong can be described as sitting together in a family resemblance, the specificities of the technologies and the sociocultural contexts involved give rise to new kinds of playful practices that are not reducible to the “transmedial Mahjong” but whose understanding nevertheless necessitates knowledge of the rules and conventions of Mahjong. This not only casts critical light on how the “ludological” paradigm of game studies has defined its object of study but also prompts reconsideration of the role of technology when applying perspectives that emphasize the processual nature of games.

A growing number of game design and development programs in higher education are beginning to incorporate environmental considerations into their curricula. This aligns with the broader push for more responsible and environmentally conscious practices in game production, consumption, and education. This article introduces two ongoing European inter-university projects: the Erasmus+ Greening Games project and the Nordplus-funded Nordic Alliance for Sustainability in Gaming network. Using them as case studies, the article reflects on the lessons learned and the challenges encountered while implementing the projects’ pilot stages, as well as their implications for environmentally conscious game design education more broadly.

In this article, I will introduce how and why a group of female game modders (or “skinners”) modify the computer game The Sims 2. I will draw on examples of players’ creations that represent aspects of their Finnish cultural context to illustrate a connection between the game’s encouragement for being productive and for understanding skinning as a form of play.

This article discusses the practice of game modification among players of the computer game THE SIMS 2. It draws on a set of email interviews conducted with Finnish players of the game. From a cultural studies and media studies perspective, it considers the importance of, primarily, gendered identity and, to some degree, national identity, for such a practice. Focusing on the players’ constructed identities as women, game modifiers, THE SIMS 2 players, and Finns, this article highlights the importance of global game communities and discourses for their player identity. Game reviews and popular game magazine articles are used as secondary sources to establish the game within popular game discourse.