Abstract:

In 1950’s with the introduction of computers in human life, the main elements of industrial society has changed and the information society was born along with processing of data, information, and knowledge. Today, individuals can effectively use all kinds of digital transformation in communication tools. This transformation process is called “The Network Society” by Castells. According to Castells’ approach people are living with long cables or networks that connect each other.

With the progressing and spreading technological advances, entertainment sector is booming since 1950’s even more dramatically than the computer sector. Digital games sector, in this perspective, has been the intersection area of the entertainment sector and the computer sector. We can include to these three sectors a fouth one: Communication (or Media) sector. With the convergence of these four sectors, there is an enormous sea of possibilities and opportunities faced by humans.

Our information society is turning into games. Today, the traditional understanding of play has been replaced by digital games. Digital games as an independent communication tool differ from traditional play in that they include a new communication medium into action. There is a different communication process in these digital games, which especially is an interest to younger generations. Digital games provide an interactive environment with individuals as they allow electiveness, mobility and non-linearity.
In an era of economic angst and where real and virtual identities are being disputed, individuals of the information society are searching for something different other than mass communication. They seek after individual experiences. Digital game environments allow users to gather ideas by allowing them to gain virtual experiences as opposed to real life events. Due to their rich visual content, digital games have the characteristic to shorten the learning period of individuals. Digital games offer users fantasy worlds where they can become lose themselves in different identities. This way through modeling, users are able to ‘free’ themselves.
The main focus in this study will be to analyze the use of digital game in education. Alongside surveys, the study will also make use of literary sources. The universe of the study will be Turkish students. The data collection method is conducting survey. The answers to the questions in the survey have been transferred to a SPSS environment, where descriptive and inferential analyses will lead us to understand the use of digital game in Turkey’s education sector. The relationship between digital games and their users will also be examined. The quantitative study of education with digital games will be a useful source for future studies and will bridge the gap in this area.

Keywords:

New media, game, digital game, digital education.