Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Life Lessons With Atreus And Chloe: Mature Video Games As Opportunity Spaces For Family Conversations, Angela Vanden Elzen, Adam L. Vanden Elzen

Faculty Publications

The effects of childhood and adolescent exposure to mature video games has been a recurring topic in popular culture as well as academic research for many years. While many studies have been conducted, a consensus has not been reached. Video games have been shown,however,to play a positive role in family togetherness and act as an opportunity space to encourage family discussion. Through a review of the literature, this article argues that mature video games can serve as opportunity spaces for families with older children and teens. A case study in which the M-rated video games,Life is Strange: Before the Storm …