Email: nz20@illinois.edu
Research Interests
My research interests encompass the global media industry, China studies, and game studies. Currently, I am focused on two primary research areas. The first area examines the formation of the global video game industry. For instance, I investigate how video games evolved from being perceived as a “digital drug” to becoming a globally dominant “cultural industry” in China. However, my research is not limited to the Chinese context; I am also deeply interested in the contexts of Asia and the Global South. The second research area explores how video games integrate with AI and VR technologies, along with their impacts and potential. I am deeply interested in the dynamic interactions between games, technology, and society.
Recent Publications/Presentations
Publications:
Zhou, N. (2024). Digital Labor in Free-to-play Games: Player as Commodity and Interaction as Labor in MMOGs. Critical Studies In Media Communication, 41(2), 137–152.
Zhou, N. (2024). Spiritual Opium and Spiritual Opium War: A Cultural History of Arcade Games and Console Games in 1990s China. Media International Australia.
Zhou, N. (2021). Parasocial Relationship in the Social Context: Why do Players View a Game Character as Their Child? Game Studies. Volume 21 Issue 2.
Conferences:
Zhou, N. (2024, June). From “Digital Drug” to “Cultural Industry”: The Making of a Global Video Game Industry. Research accepted by ICA Games Studies Division 2024, Gold Coast, Australia.
Zhou, N. (2023, November). The Digital Drug Discourse in the 1990s China: How the Video Game became “Electronic Heroin” from “Spiritual Opium”. Paper accepted by the 109th National Communication Association (NCA 2023) Convention, National Harbor, MD, the United States. Top Student Paper Award, Chinese Communication Association.
Zhou, N. (2023, July). Chinese Video Game Industry in Post-Cold War Era: How the Video Game became Digital Drug in the 1990s. Research accepted by the Annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC 2023), Washington, DC, the United States. Top Student Papers Award (third place), History Division.
Zhou, N. (2022, November). Labor and Exploitation in MMOGs:How Players’ Labor is Exploited in League of Legends. Paper presented at the 108th National Communication Association (NCA 2022) Convention, New Orleans, the United States. Top Overall Paper Award, Game Studies Division.
Awards and Honors
2024
Illinois Distinguished Fellowship
The Graduate College, University of Illinois
2023
Top Student Paper Award
Chinese Communication Association, NCA 2023 Convention
2023
Top Student Papers Award
History Division, AEJMC 2023 Conference
2023
MCC Academic Achievement Award
Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University
2022-2023
Mitchell Leaska Scholarship
Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University
2021-2022
Mitchell Leaska Scholarship
Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University
2022
Top Overall Paper Award of Game Studies Division
Game Studies Division, NCA 108th Annual Convention
What Most People Don’t Know about Me
My goal is to become the best cook among media scholars and the best media scholar among cooks.
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