;Despite decades of research in game studies and its adjacent fields, other forms of creative and critical writing have arguably had the broadest impact on discourse surrounding the medium. This uneasily defined and liminal space of popular (and populist) critical work exists between those who make videogames and those who research and teach them, and often crosses between the multiple different spheres as a more accessible form of critical reflection with a lower barrier of entry. This area includes writing about videogames in diverse contexts and practices including journalism, criticism, books, YouTube videos, blog posts, and social media. This journal article will chart and engage with this diffuse range of non-scholarly writing and its impact. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of popular writing about videogames in the context of journalism (for newspapers, broadcasters, and magazines), books (such as This Gaming Life by Jim Rossignol, Extra Lives by Tom Bissel, and Death by Video Game by Simon Parkin), and the way that bloggers and non-scholarly writers have influenced the discourse surrounding writing for videogames.' (Publication abstract)
