A study on representation of childhood in digital games

The aim of the study is to reveal how children are represented in digital games and how elements related to childhood are used in game design. The image of children which has undergone various changes throughout history appears as miniature adults in ancient times and then was interpreted with the image of "sinful child" through the original sin of the Christian doctrine. Children, who were associated with innocence in the education and literature world of the 19th century, are defined as "developing children" who need to make up for their deficiency on the way to adulthood in the modern period. Today, in the academic field called Childhood Studies, children are described as "active subjects". In digital games, children are often featured as supporting actors, a stage on the way to adulthood, or as a symbolic carrier of some feelings and thoughts. In this study, three games called Among The Sleep (2014), Child of Light (2014) and Gris (2018), which have child characters in the center, are examined and how these heroes are reflected as subjects and how childhood is used as a design element is investigated through content analysis. Keywords: Childhood, Child Subject, Digital Game, Digital Game Design, Child in Digital Games