When reading the game studies readings for the week, I kept in mind the idea that I wanted to do something involving arcades. It's almost like the assignment dropped into my lap as I read. Specifically, the book mentioned using ethnography to study a group of people who are patrons in an arcade.
Originally I wanted to do something using the audio from an arcade, but I realized that the ethnographic approach is far more relevant to my interests. I learned awhile ago that what set apart arcades from consoles, even with the advent of online gaming, is the fact that at their heart they are a social interaction space. Obviously they are mostly about the games, but the games are (or were) an implement for all sorts of people to get together, to have public relations, to enjoy a hobby with like-minded folks.
I feel an write-up of observations of people at various arcades would give me some kind of a cross-section that would be relevant to how arcade games, dying as they are, are a parallel to why online gaming is so popular now.
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