Few theses, proposals and books in game studies start without some statement of the importance of video games as a media format. However, despite this emphasis on the industry's size and importance, very little academic attention goes toward what is behind the process of designing games. Game developer Katharine Neil, writing about the state of the game industry and its relation to academia mounts a call to arms: "We can demand research and development into design support technology — not for

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... re tools for prototyping and production or metrics, but for tools that support design thinking". For Neil, these have led to a palpable stagnation in game design. Judging by the articles selected for this issue of Press Start, young game scholars increasingly seek to ameliorate both the lacking academic reflection on game design; and the lack of communication that Neil diagnoses between academics and game makers.