This study sketches some of the various trajectories of digital games in modern Western societies, looking first at the growth and persistence of the moral panic that continues to accompany massive public interest in digital games. Section one considers politics and the negotiation of power in game worlds. Section two details the ideological webs within which games are produced and consumed. Section three examines game design features that relate to players? self-characterization and social development within digital game worlds. Section four explores the important relationship between the producers and consumers of digital games, especially insomuch as this relationship is giving rise to a community of novices and professionals who will together determine the future of gaming and?to a degree?popular culture.