Video Games
Video games are a form of cultural and technological expression with a significant social impact. This guide brings together useful resources for studying them from different perspectives, such as design, narrative, education and academic research.
In this context, the Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives offers the Video Games Service, a space dedicated to promoting video games as part of the audiovisual collection.
The UAB Libraries offer a range of resources where you can find more information about video games.
UAB Library Search Engine. You can find bibliography on video games by searching for keywords, such as the name of the video game, platforms, consoles or companies. Use the filters offered by the Search Engine to refine the results by document type (journals, databases, etc.) or availability in digital format, among others.
Examples of searches by subject:
- Multidisciplinary databases. Search for topics of interest in the multidisciplinary databases in the Communication subject guide.
- Communication Mass media Complete. Database specialising in communication and mass media.
- ACM Digital Library. Platform offering the full text of all publications by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). It also includes The ACM Guide to Computing Literature, a comprehensive bibliographic database specialising in the field of computing.
- IEEE Xplore: digital library. Database offering the full text of IEEE and iEE publications. It covers topics such as electrical engineering, electronics and computing.
- DeVuego. Database dedicated to the video game industry in the Spanish-speaking world. The project aims to compile and raise awareness of all video games developed in Spain, as well as to recognise the people and studios involved in their creation. It allows developers to add their games to the database to give them visibility.
- Internet Game Database (IGDB). Database dedicated to video games, designed for both players and industry professionals. In addition to being a database, it offers social exploration features so that users can discover, rate and follow video games interactively. It also offers a public API so that developers and companies can access the data in the database.
Catalan
- Termcat. Terminologia dels videojocs. Contains around 330 terms related to the video game industry, with definitions in Catalan and corresponding translations into Spanish, English, French and German.
Spanish
- DeVuego Gamerdic. Digital dictionary with over 800 terms related to video games and gamer culture.
English
- Asociación Española de Videojuegos (AEVI). An association representing the video game industry in Spain. It brings together the main companies in the sector, as well as developers, distributors and platforms. It works to defend the interests of the sector, encourage its sustainable growth and promote the cultural, educational and therapeutic value of video games. It also collaborates with public institutions and offers services such as legal advice, market reports and a job platform for video game professionals.
- Entertainment Software Association (ESA). An organisation representing the video game industry in the United States. It brings together the leading video game developers and distributors.
- International Game Developers Association (IGDA). A non-profit organisation that supports video game developers around the world. The Resources library section includes a library of resources with reports, surveys, webinars and documents produced by its special interest groups.
- Video Game History Foundation (VGHF). A non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving the history of video games. Through its VGHF Digital Archive section, it offers free online access to a collection of development documents, concept art, press kits, discontinued magazines and promotional material.
- Video Games Europe. Association representing the video game industry in Europe. It promotes policies that encourage innovation, user protection and the responsible use of video games. It includes Games in Schools, an educational project that promotes the use of video games as a learning tool in the classroom.
- 3DJuegos. Portal offering news, analysis, videos, interviews and guides on video games for all platforms. It is a reference point for gamers and industry professionals, and also has a community where users can share opinions and participate in forums.
- Eurogamer. Digital publication dedicated to video games. It is part of the Gamer Network group, which also manages other websites such as Digital Foundry, VG247 and Gamesindustry.biz. Its team is made up of specialist journalists who cover news, provide analysis, conduct interviews and write reports.
- Eurogamer.es. Spanish version of the European Eurogamer portal. The portal publishes a wide variety of content, such as current news about the video game industry, analysis and reviews of new and classic video games, as well as guides, reports and interviews with developers. It also offers opinions and coverage of important events.
- GDC Vault. A digital platform that collects presentations, videos and materials from the Game Developers Conference (GDC). It offers content on video game design, programming, art, music, narrative and business. It includes free content, although full access to the platform requires a subscription.
- Ce Trencada. A non-profit community initiative that aims to normalise the use of Catalan in the world of video games. By creating, translating and distributing video games and digital content in Catalan, it offers gamers the opportunity to enjoy themselves in their own language. The project also contributes to preserving and promoting Catalan cultural heritage in the digital sphere.
- Gaming.cat. A community that promotes the use of Catalan in the world of video games. Through its website, it offers news, podcasts, live streams, resources and information about video games available in Catalan.
- Videojocs catalans. A portal of the Government of Catalonia that aims to promote the use of Catalan in the world of video games, offering a database of games available in Catalan, as well as resources and information for developers, students and professionals in the sector. It also includes the Taula del Videojoc section, a space for collaboration with industry players working in areas such as financing, training, internationalisation, gender equality and digital health, with the aim of consolidating an innovative and competitive industry.
- Biblioteca Nacional de España. Videojuegos. Video games collection at the BNE. Collection of video games published in Spain from 1983 to the present day. It also has a collection of documents published in Spain on video games, including books, magazines, sound recordings, audiovisual recordings and posters.
Worldwide
- Statista. Industria del videojuego. Compilation of statistical data on various aspects of the sector. Access restricted to UAB users.
Europe
- Video Games Europe. Our industry. and the publication Video games Europe - European Key Facts.
Catalonia
- Videojocs Catalans. El Videojoc a Catalunya. Section of the Videojocs Catalans portal that offers an overview of the video game industry in the country and allows open consultation of the White Paper and the Catalogue of companies in the sector.
Spain
- DeVuego. Estadísticas. The statistics section of DeVuego, a Spanish video game database, provides statistics on video games, platforms, genres and developers, among other things.
- Statista. Industria del videojuego. Compilation of statistical data on various aspects of the sector at the national level. Access restricted to UAB users.
Video games design and development
- Coursera for the UAB. Diseño y creación de videojuegos. MOOC on video game design and creation created by professors at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Video game development. List of resources for programming and designing video games: engines, programming languages, graphic and sound resource banks, and publishing platforms
- Libro blanco del desarrollo español de videojuegos. Report promoted by Desarrollo Español de Videojuegos (DEV), the first study of its kind in Spain. Its purpose is to show and analyse in depth the situation of the video game sector in the country.
Responsible gaming and digital wellbeing
- Video games Europe. Responsible gameplay. European platform that promotes responsible gaming and the protection of minors, offering tools for families and educators, advice on healthy use and information on the PEGI rating system.
- The Good Gamer. An initiative promoted by AEVI (Asociación Española de Videojuegos). Its aim is to highlight the positive values of video games and encourage responsible use, especially among families, educators, health professionals and public institutions. There is also a Catalan version of the portal, The Good Gamer.cat, in collaboration with the Government of Catalonia.
- PEGI. European age and content rating system for video games, which helps families and educators identify which games are appropriate according to age and content. It includes age icons (3, 7, 12, 16 and 18) and content descriptors (violence, language, fear, etc.).
Gender and representation
- Empantalladas. Guide produced by Hispacoop to raise awareness of the importance of taking a critical look at video game consumption.
- Women in Games. Non-profit organisation that promotes gender equality in the video game industry and gaming culture. It supports women and gender-diverse people through professional networks, mentoring, training and events to create a more inclusive and safe environment.
- Women in Games Es. Social media profile dedicated to raising the profile and supporting women working in the video game industry.FemDevs. Non-profit association that promotes the participation, visibility and training of women in video game development.
- Todas Gamers. Collective that offers a critical, diverse and gender-sensitive perspective on the world of video games. It publishes analyses, opinion articles, interviews and podcasts.
Research projects
- The Well Project (WEL). The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, through the TransMedia Catalonia research group, is participating in the European WEL project, which focuses on accessibility in video games and cultural visits. Within this framework, an experiment on video games and dyslexia is being carried out with the aim of improving the gaming experience for people with reading difficulties.
- Games in Schools. This project, promoted by European Schoolnet with the support of Video Games Europe, aims to train teachers in the educational use of video games in the classroom. Through a free online course (MOOC), it offers resources and practical examples for integrating video games into teaching, promoting active learning, inclusion and the development of digital and socio-emotional skills.
Blogs/Newsletters/Magazines
- BUMP! Monthly newsletter on trends and digital culture in Catalonia.
- Blog de Cultura digital. A space promoted by the Direcció General d’Innovació i Cultura Digital that brings trends and projects related to digital culture in Catalonia. It covers topics such as video games, artificial intelligence, digital art, immersive reality and education.
- Lúdica. A digital magazine in Catalan dedicated to video games. It offers content such as reviews, reports, podcasts, and videos.
Library guides
- University of Michigan. Video Game Studies Guide. A thematic guide offering academic resources for studying video games from various perspectives: history, design, culture, education, music, and industry.
Events and Competitions
- SAGA: Saló del gaming.
- RetroBarcelona. Fair dedicated to classic and retro video games, with exhibitions, tournaments, conferences, and a collectors' market.
- Game Developers Conference.
- Video Games Europe. Events.
- Video Games Europe. Esports.
Podcasts and Videopodcasts
- DeVuego. DeVCast. Podcast section of Devuego, a Spanish video games database.
- Video Game History Foundation. Podcast.
- Podcast de Lúdica. Podcast from the monthly magazine Lúdica.
- Podcast from Todas Gamers.
- Cinc minuts més. Monthly video game podcast made by members of the Gaming.cat, Nintenhype.cat, Xboxers catalanes, Cataluña Playstation and CATCOM communities, among others.
- Gaming.cat. Pòdcasts. Collection of podcasts made by the Gaming.cat community.
- Tres vides. Fortnightly videopodcast about video games on the 3cat platform. In each episode, presenter Patrick Urbano and a series of guests analyse a video game and a concept related to it.
Additional information
