In recent years, computer technology has permeated all aspects of life. Not only have work and education but leisure time and play have been all but revolutionized. Increasingly, digital games are the way we play. This volume addresses the world of digital games, with special emphasis on the roll and input of the gamer himself. In fifteen essays, the contributors discuss the various ways the game player interacts with the game. The first half of the book considers the physical and mental aspects of digital game play. The second section concentrates on factors that influence play, including the perception of the game player. Essays cover the full range of digital gaming, including computer, video and arcade games. Topics include a psychoanalytical investigation of particular, often controversial games; the ways in which game-playing crosses socioeconomic, age, gender and racial lines; and the physical and mental relationship between the game and the gamer. The final essays discuss scholars' perceptions of digital media.