TeamPlay: Kids in the Café

In 2004 a new record was set by video and computer game sales, $7.3 billion dollars. International attention is focusing on video games and the teenage gamers that spend hours in front of a TV or computer.

This research project explores how one group of teenagers makes gaming a social experience. The research takes place at a cyber café where people can play a variety of games against fellow patrons or with other gamers on the Internet. The most popular games at the café are team-based where a player joins a squad to virtually conquer the other team. You can hear cheers or jeers shouted across the room or typed furiously into the keyboard.

This project looks at online and offline interaction of teenagers and how games fit into their social world. Through observation, interviews, and focus groups, this research hopes to illuminate playing games from a teen's perspective.