Book Review: The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

9-26-2018

Publication Title

First Person Scholar

Abstract

Reviewing The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games presented a bit of a meta problem for me. Once I finished the introduction, a thought popped into my head and refused to leave. I had been asked to evaluate on its merits, including the skill of the author, a book that is about the toxicity of games that “valorize skill and technique” (back cover copy). One of the major points of the book is that meritocracy is a flawed concept. Identifying meritocracy as a system in which skill is measured and outcomes tracked, with a mixture of talent and hard work rewarded, the author states that “meritocracy isolates, individualizes, and strips out context” (13).

Keywords

Christopher A. Paul; David Schwartz; Fan culture; Fan studies; Gaming culture; Meritocracy; Toxicity

Disciplines

Game Design | Interdisciplinary Arts and Media | Social Psychology and Interaction

Language

English


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