International Games Week: Games and Library Research

The following is a brief guide to citing games in academic research. It does not cover everything; there are many conceptual decisions and stylistic considerations that go into properly citing a game.

If you are going to incorporate a game into your research, you are encouraged to Ask a Librarian for guidance.

What are you citing?

There are many instances when using a game--be it video game, tabletop game, sporting event, or pen-and-paper game--for academic research can be appropriate, enriching, and fun. However, games must be treated just like other source: games must be cited.

There are many types of games out there, and for every game, there are different ways they can be used for research. Take, for example, Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop role playing game where players take on different fantastical personas and go on adventures that are moderated and curated by a rule-book wielding "Dungeon Master." Dungeons & Dragons is a game, but it's also an experience that changes every time it is played. At the same, Dungeons & Dragons includes all sorts of other artifacts and ideas that you may be interested in discussing in your essay, such as books, fan fiction, physical objects, or specific campaigns that have occurred. So, if you are writing a paper on Dungeons & Dragons, you need to ask yourself what exactly you are citing. It may be

1. The game as a piece of intellectual property (in other words, Dungeons & Dragons as an overarching idea). 

2. A physical copy of a Dungeons & Dragons rulebook or encyclopedia.

3. A section of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that has been recorded and published somewhere on the internet.

Once you've answered the question "What attribute of Dungeons & Dragons (or any other game) do I need to cite?" you can figure out the most appropriate way to cite that source using the citation standard of your choosing. 

An example

I've been asked to write an essay for history class about how famous historical events are represented in popular media. Rather than look at a piece of historical fiction, or a movie that depicts a historical event, I'm going to focus on video games in my essay. Specifically, I'm going to cite the video game Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, a game in which the player controls various factions as they navigate notable conflicts from history.

For my purposes, I'm not interested in a specific level within the game, or a YouTube video of another player's experience of the game, or the box art published with the original version of the game in 1999. I'm interested in the game in the most general sense, as a specific piece of software that I've played on my computer. 

Let's cite a video game for MLA Style bibliographies

As you can see, citing games is similar to citing more traditional information sources, but there are many small details to consider if you want to create an accurate citation for any type of game.

For MLA style, consult the following guide to make sure you are on the right track and telling your readers exactly what they need to know about your sources.

How do I cite a video game? | MLA

MLA Style Center. “How do I cite a video game?” MLA Style Center, Modern Language Association of America, 7 February 2024, http://style.mla.org/citing-video-games/. Accessed 11 November 2024.