The State Of Play is a call to consider the high stakes of video game culture and how our digital and real lives collide. Here, video games are not hobbies or pure recreation of reality; they are their own reality, as real a vehicle for ideas about racial and sexual politics to play out as any 'real-life' social environment. The 16 contributors to this volume are entrenched in video game culture; they are game designers, media critics and internet celebrities. What they have to say is essential reading for anyone interested in equality, video games or the changing culture.