
A New Approach to Reading Videogames as Story
Virtual Cathedrals in an Age of Decadence
Thomas Rowland(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 27. January 2026
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-1-032-30258-4 (ISBN)
Description
This book is a resource for educators interested in teaching videogames as literary texts in English and Language Art classes. The book acknowledges the apprehension many teachers face when considering the introduction of videogames into their classrooms, which may be driven by the fear that their students may know more about the games than they do themselves. This is a legitimate cause for concern considering the amount of exposure students growing up in the 21st century have to videogames. Given their enormous popularity, the book argues that that videogames are not simply as valuable as literature and other media in English and Language Arts classrooms, but that they are the defining literary accomplishment of our day.
This book will help educators to define videogames in a literary context, gives an overview of their history, and the current state of the industry, while also providing critical discussions of videogame theory, clarifying critical concepts of videogames as literature and presenting a foundational understanding of videogames in order to integrate them into professional educational curriculum.
This book will help educators to define videogames in a literary context, gives an overview of their history, and the current state of the industry, while also providing critical discussions of videogame theory, clarifying critical concepts of videogames as literature and presenting a foundational understanding of videogames in order to integrate them into professional educational curriculum.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate
Illustrations
2 s/w Tabellen, 13 s/w Zeichnungen, 17 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 30 s/w Abbildungen
2 Tables, black and white; 13 Line drawings, black and white; 17 Halftones, black and white; 30 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
501 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-30258-4 (9781032302584)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Thomas Rowland
A New Approach to Reading Videogames as Story
Virtual Cathedrals in an Age of Decadence
E-Book
01/2026
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download

Thomas Rowland
A New Approach to Reading Videogames as Story
Virtual Cathedrals in an Age of Decadence
E-Book
01/2026
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download
Person
Thomas Rowland is an independent scholar working on videogames and the history of reading.
Content
Introduction, Chapter 1 - Games and Pachyderms, Chapter 2 - Sacred Play, Chapter 3: Bring me that Horizon, Chapter 4: The Rules of the Game, Chapter 5: The Death of Multiplayer Stories, Chapter 6: Digital Literacy & Learning, Chapter 7: Case Studies / Typology, Chapter 9: Film, Videogames, and Culture, Chapter 10: Modern Classrooms and Modern Cathedrals, Appendix 1: Game Suggestions, Bibliography, Index