Computer games: strategy guides Books
BenBella Books Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games
Book SynopsisIn family rooms across America, millions of children and teenagers are playing video games, such as Call of Duty, Halo, and Grand Theft Auto, roaming violent virtual worlds--with virtual guns in their hands. In what sometimes seems like an increasingly violent world, it's only natural to worry about the effects of all this pixelated gore. But is that concern misplaced? Authors and psychologists Patrick M. Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson say it is. The media and politicians have been sounding the alarm for years, and with every fresh tragedy involving a young perpetrator comes another flurry of articles about the dangers of violent media. The problem is this: Their fear isn't supported by the evidence. In fact, unlike the video game--trained murder machines depicted in the press, school shooters are actually less likely to be interested in violent games than their peers. In reality, most well-adjusted children and teenagers play violent video games, all without ever exhibiting violent behavior in real life. What's more, spikes in sales of violent games actually correspond to decreased rates of violent crime. If that surprises you, you're not alone--the national dialogue on games and violence has been hopelessly biased. But that's beginning to change. Scholars are finding that not only are violent games not one of society's great evils, they may even be a force for good. In Moral Combat, Markey and Ferguson explore how video games--even the bloodiest--can have a positive impact on everything from social skills to stress, and may even make us more morally sensitive. Tracing the rise of violent games from arcades to online deathmatches, they have spent years on the front lines of the video game debate and now offer a comprehensive overview of the scientific research on gaming. With humor, complete honesty, and extensive research, they separate the myth from the medium. Moral Combat is an irreverent and informative guide to the worries--and wonders--of our violent virtual world.Trade Review"A fact-filled, persuasive, and witty debunking of the cyclical moral panic about video games." --Steven Pinker, professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of How the Mind Works and The Better Angels of Our Nature "A groundbreaking and vitally important book. It gets under the hood of how games actually work on our brains, and in the process it tells us more than any number of sensational news articles. This should be required reading for anyone who loves games or who loves someone who loves games ... which is to say, everyone." --Greg Toppo, author of The Game Believes in You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter "As a filmmaker who's spent much of my career working on video game-related content, it's refreshing to finally see a book about games that gets it right." --Jeremy Snead, founder of Mediajuice Studios and writer/director of Video Games: The Movie and Unlocked: The World of Games, Revealed "Even readers familiar with video game politics and history will find something to gasp about. And stressed parents may finally understand what their kids get out of those games, and how to manage them better." --Cheryl K. Olson, ScD, coauthor of Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do and principal investigator for a major government-funded study of video games and youth "Gamers should buy this book for their parents, and parents should calm down teachers and pediatricians with a copy. Anyone interested in a great, skeptical takedown of bad science should get their own copy." --James C. Coyne, professor emeritus of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania "This book delivers healthy doses of skepticism and scientific insights that broaden our understanding of 21st century play. From political horse-trading to weak science, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in video games." --Andrew Przybylski, PhD, experimental psychology department research fellow at the University of OxfordTable of ContentsLevel 1: A Brief History of Violent Video Games Level 2: Teaching Us to Fear Level 3: Science Wars Level 4: The Grand Theft Fallacy Level 5: The Big Lie about School Shootings Level 6: Video Game Addiction Level 7: Strong Morals and Fit Bodies Level 8: Achievement Unlocked Level 9: A Strategy Guide for Parents About the Authors
£12.99
Duncker & Humblot Das Verwenden Von Kennzeichen Verfassungswidriger
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Insight Editions Untitled Video Game Cookbook
£19.80
Indiana University Press Playing with Religion in Digital Games
Book SynopsisShaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. This book explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices.Trade ReviewThis collection builds on and adds to the best criticism in this young and exciting subfield and will grow more important as religion integrates further into our digital games. * Library Journal *...[A]n ambitious and impressive compendium offering intriguing possibilities for further research and theory for the burgeoning field of cultural studies. * Publishers Weekly *This fine collection of essays represents a well-documented study of the effects and influences that religion (in general) has had on digital gaming and its players. . . . This volume will be a good launching pad for future research. * Choice *This edited collection is uniformly good and well worth reading. As the editors and authors note, the study of religion and gaming stands very near its beginning. They invite others to take up the study and this book offers a good starting point. * Communication Research Trends *Table of ContentsIntroduction: What Playing with Religion Offers Digital Game Studies / Heidi A. Campbell and Gregory Price GrievePart 1: Explorations in Religiously Themed Games1. Dreidels to Dante's Inferno: Toward a Typology of Religious Games / Jason Anthony2. Locating the Pixelated Jew: A Multimodal Method for Exploring Judaism in The Shivah / Isamar Carrillo Masso and Nathan Abrams3. The Global Mediatization of Hinduism through Digital Games: Representation versus Simulation in Hanuman: Boy Warrior / Xenia Zeiler4. Silent Hill and Fatal Frame: Finding Transcendent Horror in and beyond the Haunted Magic Circle / Brenda S. Gardenour WalterPart 2: Religion in Mainstream Games5. From Kuma\War to Quraish: Representation of Islam in Arab and American Video Games / Vit Šisler6. Citing the Medieval: Using Religion as World-Building Infrastructure in Fantasy MMORPGs / Rabia Gregory7. Hardcore Christian Gamers: How Religion Shapes Evangelical Play / Shanny Luft8. Filtering Cultural Feedback: Religion, Censorship and Localization in Actraiser and Other Mainstream Video Games / Peter LikarishPart 3: Gaming as Implicit Religion9. The Importance of Playing in Earnest / Rachel Wagner10. "God Modes" and "God Moods": What Does a Digital Game Need to Be Spiritually Effective? / Oliver Steffen11. Bridging Multiple Realities: Religion, Play and Alfred Schutz's Theory of the Life-World / Michael Waltemathe12. They Kill Mystery: The Mechanistic Bias of Video Game Representations of Religion and Spirituality / Kevin SchutsGameographyContributorsIndex
£59.50
Indiana University Press Playing with Religion in Digital Games
Book SynopsisShaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. This book explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices.Trade ReviewThis collection builds on and adds to the best criticism in this young and exciting subfield and will grow more important as religion integrates further into our digital games. * Library Journal *...[A]n ambitious and impressive compendium offering intriguing possibilities for further research and theory for the burgeoning field of cultural studies. * Publishers Weekly *This fine collection of essays represents a well-documented study of the effects and influences that religion (in general) has had on digital gaming and its players. . . . This volume will be a good launching pad for future research. * Choice *This edited collection is uniformly good and well worth reading. As the editors and authors note, the study of religion and gaming stands very near its beginning. They invite others to take up the study and this book offers a good starting point. * Communication Research Trends *Table of ContentsIntroduction: What Playing with Religion Offers Digital Game Studies / Heidi A. Campbell and Gregory Price GrievePart 1: Explorations in Religiously Themed Games1. Dreidels to Dante's Inferno: Toward a Typology of Religious Games / Jason Anthony2. Locating the Pixelated Jew: A Multimodal Method for Exploring Judaism in The Shivah / Isamar Carrillo Masso and Nathan Abrams3. The Global Mediatization of Hinduism through Digital Games: Representation versus Simulation in Hanuman: Boy Warrior / Xenia Zeiler4. Silent Hill and Fatal Frame: Finding Transcendent Horror in and beyond the Haunted Magic Circle / Brenda S. Gardenour WalterPart 2: Religion in Mainstream Games5. From Kuma\War to Quraish: Representation of Islam in Arab and American Video Games / Vit Šisler6. Citing the Medieval: Using Religion as World-Building Infrastructure in Fantasy MMORPGs / Rabia Gregory7. Hardcore Christian Gamers: How Religion Shapes Evangelical Play / Shanny Luft8. Filtering Cultural Feedback: Religion, Censorship and Localization in Actraiser and Other Mainstream Video Games / Peter LikarishPart 3: Gaming as Implicit Religion9. The Importance of Playing in Earnest / Rachel Wagner10. "God Modes" and "God Moods": What Does a Digital Game Need to Be Spiritually Effective? / Oliver Steffen11. Bridging Multiple Realities: Religion, Play and Alfred Schutz's Theory of the Life-World / Michael Waltemathe12. They Kill Mystery: The Mechanistic Bias of Video Game Representations of Religion and Spirituality / Kevin SchutsGameographyContributorsIndex
£21.59
Indiana University Press Thinking about Video Games
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis worthwhile read is for any gamer, or for anyone interested in this cultural phenomenon; it will make you think critically about video games. * Library Journal (Starred Review) *Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionSection 1: Games and HistoryIntroduction to Section 11. Nolan Bushnell: Learning from the Past2. Chris Melissinos: Art and Video Games3. Eugene Jarvis: Games and Design4. Henry Lowood: Archiving and GamesSection 2: Games and EconomyIntroduction to Section 25. Ed Fries: The Economics and Politics of a Launch6. Kellee Santiago: Independent Game Development7. Chris Grant: Games and Press8. Edward Castronova: Games, Economics, and PoliciesSection 3: Games and CultureIntroduction to Section 39. Jamie Dillion: Gamers, Community, and Charity10. Casey Hudson: Games and Emotion11. Ian Bogost: Anxieties, Procedures, and Game StudiesConclusionNotesWorks CitedParticipantsIndex
£59.50
Indiana University Press Thinking about Video Games
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis worthwhile read is for any gamer, or for anyone interested in this cultural phenomenon; it will make you think critically about video games. * Library Journal (Starred Review) *Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionSection 1: Games and HistoryIntroduction to Section 11. Nolan Bushnell: Learning from the Past2. Chris Melissinos: Art and Video Games3. Eugene Jarvis: Games and Design4. Henry Lowood: Archiving and GamesSection 2: Games and EconomyIntroduction to Section 25. Ed Fries: The Economics and Politics of a Launch6. Kellee Santiago: Independent Game Development7. Chris Grant: Games and Press8. Edward Castronova: Games, Economics, and PoliciesSection 3: Games and CultureIntroduction to Section 39. Jamie Dillion: Gamers, Community, and Charity10. Casey Hudson: Games and Emotion11. Ian Bogost: Anxieties, Procedures, and Game StudiesConclusionNotesWorks CitedParticipantsIndex
£17.99
Indiana University Press Gaming Representation
Book SynopsisTrade Review"...an important contribution to scholarship in the field of game studies." -Mia Consalvo, author of Players and their Pets: Gaming Communities from Beta to Sunset "...a new benchmark for the critical engagement of race, gender and sexuality in the study of video games and virtual representation." -Alan Brookey, editor of Playing to Win: Sports, Video Games, and the Culture of PlayTable of ContentsForeword / Anna EverettAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: "Identity, Representation, and Video Game Studies Beyond the Politics of the Image" / Jennifer Malkowski and TreaAndrea M. RusswormPart 1: Gender / Bodies / Spaces1. "I Turned Out to Be Such a Damsel in Distress": Noir Games and the Unrealized Femme Fatale / Jennifer Malkowski2. No Time to Dream: Killing Time, Casual Games, and Gender / Braxton Soderman3. "Aw Fuck, I Got a Bitch on My Team!": Women and the Exclusionary Cultures of the Computer Game Complex / Carly A. Kocurek and Jennifer deWinter4. Attention Whores and Ugly Nerds: Gender and Cosplay at the Game Con / Nina Huntemann5. Machinima Parodies: Appropriating Video Games to Criticize Gender Norms / Gabrielle Trépanier-JobinPart 2: Race / Identity / Nation6. Dystopian Blackness and the Limits of Racial Empathy in The Walking Dead and The Last of Us / TreaAndrea M. Russworm7. Journey into the Techno-Primitive Desert / Irene Chien8. The Rubble and the Ruin: Race, Gender, and Sites of Inglorious Conflict in Spec Ops: The Line / Soraya Murray9. Representing Race and Disability: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a Whole Text / Rachael Hutchinson10. Entering the Picture: Digital Portraiture and the Aesthetics of Video Game Representation / Lisa PattiPart 3: Play / Queer / Games11. Playing to Lose: The Queer Art of Failing at Video Games / Bonnie Ruberg12. Romancing an Empire, Becoming Isaac: The Queer Possibilities of Jade Empire and The Binding of Isaac / Jordan Wood13. A Game Chooses, a Player Obeys: BioShock, Posthumanism, and the Limits of Queerness / Edmond Y. ChangAfterword: Racism, Sexism, and Gaming's Cruel Optimism / Lisa NakamuraIndex
£62.90
The University of Michigan Press DOOM
Book SynopsisA close examination about what is considered the most important first-person video game ever made and its influence on how we play games today, this book discusses the prototypes and the groundbreaking technology that drove the game forward, and offers a detailed analysis of game-play and level design
£23.70
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Computer Games and the Social Imaginary
Book SynopsisComputer games have fundamentally altered the relation of self and society in the digital age. Analysing topics such as technology and power, the formation of gaming culture and the subjective impact of play with computer games, this text will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media, games studies and the information society.Trade Review"It is well researched, well argued, and one of the finest books to date on the subject of digital games." New Media and Society "The classic studies of games argue that play mirrors social life. But what kind of story must theory tell when society begins to resemble a game? This is the argument of Graeme Kirkpatrick's brilliant new book, Computer Games and the Social Imaginary. Drawing on recent social theory and an original analysis of the social role of aesthetics, Kirkpatrick makes a major contribution to our understanding of both games and society." Andrew Feenberg, Simon Fraser University "A rich and ambitious attempt to situate computer games relative to the transformation of capitalism over the last four decades. Kirkpatrick's thesis - which effortlessly combines sophisticated readings of the history of microcomputing and games with social and cultural theory - is nuanced, fresh and powerful. When I finished, I wanted to begin all over again." Melanie Swalwell, Flinders University "Kirkpatrick’s discussion of the social significance of computer games is very thought provoking, and provides a valuable inclusion to the field of media and game studies." Christian Dewar, University of South AustraliaTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter one: Computer games in social theory 1. Gaming and the social imaginary 2. The gamer as a ‘streamlined self’ 3. Social theory and critique Chapter two: Lineages of the computer game 1. The revival of play 2. Technology and the dialectic of invention 3. Artistic critique and the transformation of computing Chapter three: The formation of gaming culture 1. From games as technology to the discovery of ‘gameplay’ 2. The ‘authentic’ gamer 3. Gaming’s constitutive ambivalence Chapter four: Technology and power 1. Organising an industry 2. Globalisation and cultures of production 3. Technology, power and resistance Chapter five: The phenakisticon 1. MMPGs in recognition-theoretic perspective 2. The limitations of engineered sociability 3. Gamification and the diminution of gameplay Chapter six: Aesthetics and politics 1. The aesthetic dimension 2. Art, play and critique 3. Critical gaming? Notes References Index
£42.75
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Computer Games and the Social Imaginary
Book SynopsisComputer games have fundamentally altered the relation of self and society in the digital age. Analysing topics such as technology and power, the formation of gaming culture and the subjective impact of play with computer games, this text will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media, games studies and the information society.Trade Review"It is well researched, well argued, and one of the finest books to date on the subject of digital games." New Media and Society "The classic studies of games argue that play mirrors social life. But what kind of story must theory tell when society begins to resemble a game? This is the argument of Graeme Kirkpatrick's brilliant new book, Computer Games and the Social Imaginary. Drawing on recent social theory and an original analysis of the social role of aesthetics, Kirkpatrick makes a major contribution to our understanding of both games and society." Andrew Feenberg, Simon Fraser University "A rich and ambitious attempt to situate computer games relative to the transformation of capitalism over the last four decades. Kirkpatrick's thesis - which effortlessly combines sophisticated readings of the history of microcomputing and games with social and cultural theory - is nuanced, fresh and powerful. When I finished, I wanted to begin all over again." Melanie Swalwell, Flinders University "Kirkpatrick’s discussion of the social significance of computer games is very thought provoking, and provides a valuable inclusion to the field of media and game studies." Christian Dewar, University of South AustraliaTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter one: Computer games in social theory 1. Gaming and the social imaginary 2. The gamer as a ‘streamlined self’ 3. Social theory and critique Chapter two: Lineages of the computer game 1. The revival of play 2. Technology and the dialectic of invention 3. Artistic critique and the transformation of computing Chapter three: The formation of gaming culture 1. From games as technology to the discovery of ‘gameplay’ 2. The ‘authentic’ gamer 3. Gaming’s constitutive ambivalence Chapter four: Technology and power 1. Organising an industry 2. Globalisation and cultures of production 3. Technology, power and resistance Chapter five: The phenakisticon 1. MMPGs in recognition-theoretic perspective 2. The limitations of engineered sociability 3. Gamification and the diminution of gameplay Chapter six: Aesthetics and politics 1. The aesthetic dimension 2. Art, play and critique 3. Critical gaming? Notes References Index
£14.99
University of Nebraska Press Americas Digital Army Games at Work and War
Book SynopsisProvides an ethnographic study of the link between interactive entertainment and military power, drawing on Robertson Allen's fieldwork observing video game developers, military strategists, US Army marketing agencies, and an array of defense contracting companies that worked to produce the official US Army video game, America's Army.Trade Review"Play scholars should not overlook Allen's book as just another study of FPS games. His is a unique study, both microscopic in its examination of the work of the game developers and macroscopic in its putting the development of America's Army into the larger perspective of the rise of the militarization of American culture and the creation of a military-entertainment complex—the late-capitalist version of the military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned us about in his 1961 farewell address. Allen's book is smart about many of the issues the reader will find in the body of scholarship on digital gaming and culture."—Jay Mechling, American Journal of Play“Robertson Allen convincingly demonstrates that America's Army has blurred the old, neat margins between local and global, real and virtual, in a new ‘globital’ era of war in which we are all soldiers.”—Daniel Binns, Michigan War Studies Review "America's Digital Army is at once a description of the decade-long foray of the US Army into the production and deployment of video games as recruiting tools and, more tellingly, an analysis of how the production of militarized labor is increasingly diffused throughout US society."—Steven Gardiner, American Ethnologist“A rigorous and fascinating glimpse of what is more than just one online game. America’s Digital Army opens up crucial issues about the conflation of war and work, play and drill, pleasure and simulation, as well as the labor involved in the production of the militarized, fear-ridden cultural politics of the contemporary United States.”—Jussi Parikka, professor of technological culture and aesthetics at the University of Southampton, Winchester School of Art“A compelling account and a critical assessment of a gaming reality and the militarization of society; a groundbreaking ethnography deciphering the illusory separation between the real and the fictional, and the fun and the dead-serious.”—Sverker Finnström, coeditor of Virtual War and Magical Death: Technologies and Imaginaries for Terror and KillingTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. America’s Digital Army 2. The Art of Persuasion and the Science of Manpower 3. The Artifice of the Virtual and the Real 4. The Full-Spectrum Soft Sell of the Army Experience 5. Complicating the Military Entertainment Complex 6. The Labor of Virtual Soldiers Notes Glossary References Index
£48.60
University of Arizona Press Ready Player Juan
Book Synopsis
£21.71
University of Minnesota Press Gaming at the Edge
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Gaming at the Edge offers a fantastic intervention into not only gaming, but media studies more broadly. Adrienne Shaw astutely argues that our approach to understanding representation in games has been far too simplistic and, through her careful fieldwork, offers a rich framework for future studies. This is an important book for not only those interested in gaming, but anyone thinking about the complexities of representation and media."—T.L. Taylor, MIT"Gaming at the Edge is the book that video game studies needs right now. Adrienne Shaw explodes the notion that video game's gender and race problems will be solved by greater representation of these groups. "—Lisa Nakamura, author of Race After the Internet"Straight-forward, thoroughly argued and well-illustrated."—Digital Culture and Education"In Gaming at the Edge, Shaw offers an astute critique of come of the common wisdom about video games, their players, and representation."—Women’s Review of Books"This is an excellent, well-researched, and well-argued text that would be welcomed by any researcher or designer interested in more fully understanding the complexities of how identity relates to the world of games and play."—American Journal of Play"Scholars of gender, game studies, or media studies more generally would find Gaming at the Edge to be a critical and thought-provoking analysis of race, gender, and sexuality in video games."—Contemporary Sociology"Shaw's book is valuable for the study of representation across media and should be required reading on the politics, possibilities, and problems of media representation."—Communication, Culture & Critique"Shaw’s powerful words evoke utopian visions of inclusivity and intersubjectivity that are sure to serve as productive forces of inspiration in a number of diverse disciplines."—The Geek Anthropologist"Shaw’s Gaming at the Edge is both accessible and academic, and takes a much-needed critical, sociopolitical stance on the importance of diversity and inclusion in video games."—The Learned Fangirl"Shaw is extremely skilled at conveying complex and important concepts in an understandable and engrossing way."—International Journal of Communication"Offers an ethnographic study that explores the ways members of marginalized groups engage with video games, how the ability to identify with the characters represented in games shapes this engagement, and argues that ongoing conversations about diversity in games should be reframed to account for the intersectional nature of identity."—First Person ScholarTable of ContentsContentsPrefaceIntroduction. Clichés versus Women: Moving beyond Sexy Sidekicks and Damsels in Distress1. From Custer’s Revenge and Mario to Fable and Fallout: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Digital Games2. Does Anyone Really Identify with Lara Croft? Unpacking Identification in Video Games3. He Could Be a Bunny Rabbit for All I Care! How We Connect with Characters and Avatars4. When and Why Representation Matters to Gamers: Realism versus EscapismConclusion: A Future Free of DickwolvesAcknowledgmentsNotesGameographyBibliographyIndex
£20.89
Duke University Press Mondo Nano
Book SynopsisIn Mondo Nano Colin Milburn takes his readers on a playful expedition through the emerging landscape of nanotechnology, offering a light-hearted yet critical account of our high-tech world of fun and games. This expedition ventures into discussions of the first nanocars, the popular video games Second Life, Crysis, and BioShock, international nanosoccer tournaments, and utopian nano cities. Along the way, Milburn shows how the methods, dispositions, and goals of nanotechnology research converge with video game culture. With an emphasis on play, scientists and gamers alike are building a new world atom by atom, transforming scientific speculations and video game fantasies into reality. Milburn suggests that the closing of the gap between bits and atoms entices scientists, geeks, and gamers to dream of a completely programmable future. Welcome to the wild world of Mondo Nano. Trade Review“[Mondo Nano] offers a clear demonstration of how the methods, dispositions and goals of nanotechnology often converge with video game development and culture. … Milburn argues convincingly that video games let us try out different visions of the future, and better understand the present, from the nanoscale up.” -- Simon Parkin * New Scientist *“Milburn's profession isn't about judging the truth of nanotechnological hypotheses; it is about teasing out their technoscientific origins and effects. … Readers bearing that in mind will find Mondo Nano a thoroughly researched, thought provoking read that offers many points to ponder. . . .” -- William Atkinson * Physics Today *"Sure enough, by the end of Mondo Nano, the connection between games and nanotechnology becomes so obvious, so pervasive, and so ubiquitous that one wonders how it was possible that we did not see it earlier. Needless to say, this is exactly how a really compelling argument works, and the elegance with which Milburn maps the terrain only adds graceful transparency to his discussion. . . . Mondo Nano is cultural scholarship at its very best, and it sets the bar very high for similar projects." -- Pawel Frelik * Science Fiction Studies *"Mondo Nano revisits, in a new frame, the classic questions of technological media studies initially considered by scholars like [Walter] Benjamin: not whether the images have value as art or commerce, but more fundamentally, how do we enter into the worlds these intensively mediated images present? . . . Milburn takes those familiar questions seriously by seriously thinking about play. . . . Mondo Nano is itself designed as a game that playfully goes awry, mixing categories, subjecting science fact to science fiction history, speaking truth to power by reading cartoons of weaponized bodies rather than the actual super soldiers who remain a twinkle in their inventors’ phallic, futural gaze." -- James S. Tobias * Los Angeles Review of Books *"Required reading for anyone working in the digital humanities, media studies, or in the transdisciplinary spaces of science and literature, Milburn’s book models several different literary approaches to digital objects." -- Jessica Hurley * American Literature *"Milburn's study is a brilliant, expansive, and eye-opening read." -- Owen Matson * Market Scale *"...Mondo Nano is a radical reading journey that can take us deeply and critically into nanotech culture and inspire new modes of scholarship and pedagogy." -- Andrew Hageman * Science Fiction Research Association *"For readers interested in how emerging technologies are realized, this book provides a rich portrayal of nanotechnology’s potential being apprehended and embodied virtually, fictionally, and actually through play. . . . This book comes as a refreshing response to 'gamification' literature, which tends to focus on how games can be extended to solve problems." -- Maxwell Foxman * International Journal of Communication *Table of ContentsPress Start 1 Just for Fun 7 Digital Matters 39 Tempest in a Teapot 77 Massively Multiplayer Laboratories 108 Weapons-Grade Cartoons 135 Have Nanosuit—Will Travel 173 Nanopolitanisms 201 My Little Avatar 236 Game Over—Play Again? 293 Acknowledgments 301 Notes 305 Bibliography 349 Index 399
£89.10
Duke University Press Mondo Nano
Book SynopsisColin Milburn examines how nanotechnology research has developed in relation to video games, allowing for the creation of new technologies that enable the transformation of scientific speculation and video game fantasy into reality.Trade Review“[Mondo Nano] offers a clear demonstration of how the methods, dispositions and goals of nanotechnology often converge with video game development and culture. … Milburn argues convincingly that video games let us try out different visions of the future, and better understand the present, from the nanoscale up.” -- Simon Parkin * New Scientist *“Milburn's profession isn't about judging the truth of nanotechnological hypotheses; it is about teasing out their technoscientific origins and effects. … Readers bearing that in mind will find Mondo Nano a thoroughly researched, thought provoking read that offers many points to ponder. . . .” -- William Atkinson * Physics Today *"Sure enough, by the end of Mondo Nano, the connection between games and nanotechnology becomes so obvious, so pervasive, and so ubiquitous that one wonders how it was possible that we did not see it earlier. Needless to say, this is exactly how a really compelling argument works, and the elegance with which Milburn maps the terrain only adds graceful transparency to his discussion. . . . Mondo Nano is cultural scholarship at its very best, and it sets the bar very high for similar projects." -- Pawel Frelik * Science Fiction Studies *"Mondo Nano revisits, in a new frame, the classic questions of technological media studies initially considered by scholars like [Walter] Benjamin: not whether the images have value as art or commerce, but more fundamentally, how do we enter into the worlds these intensively mediated images present? . . . Milburn takes those familiar questions seriously by seriously thinking about play. . . . Mondo Nano is itself designed as a game that playfully goes awry, mixing categories, subjecting science fact to science fiction history, speaking truth to power by reading cartoons of weaponized bodies rather than the actual super soldiers who remain a twinkle in their inventors’ phallic, futural gaze." -- James S. Tobias * Los Angeles Review of Books *"Required reading for anyone working in the digital humanities, media studies, or in the transdisciplinary spaces of science and literature, Milburn’s book models several different literary approaches to digital objects." -- Jessica Hurley * American Literature *"Milburn's study is a brilliant, expansive, and eye-opening read." -- Owen Matson * Market Scale *"...Mondo Nano is a radical reading journey that can take us deeply and critically into nanotech culture and inspire new modes of scholarship and pedagogy." -- Andrew Hageman * Science Fiction Research Association *"For readers interested in how emerging technologies are realized, this book provides a rich portrayal of nanotechnology’s potential being apprehended and embodied virtually, fictionally, and actually through play. . . . This book comes as a refreshing response to 'gamification' literature, which tends to focus on how games can be extended to solve problems." -- Maxwell Foxman * International Journal of Communication *Table of ContentsPress Start 1 Just for Fun 7 Digital Matters 39 Tempest in a Teapot 77 Massively Multiplayer Laboratories 108 Weapons-Grade Cartoons 135 Have Nanosuit—Will Travel 173 Nanopolitanisms 201 My Little Avatar 236 Game Over—Play Again? 293 Acknowledgments 301 Notes 305 Bibliography 349 Index 399
£27.90
John Wiley & Sons Inc Handbook of Digital Games
Book SynopsisThis book covers the state-of-the-art in digital games research and development for anyone working with or studying digital games and those who are considering entering into this rapidly growing industry.Trade Review“The broad overview of the field and the varied perspectives different chapters offer are valuable summaries of the state of the art in video game research. Both graduate students starting their research work and professional developers can benefit from this wide-ranging appraisal.” (Computing Reviews, 10 June 2015) Table of ContentsContributors ix Introduction 1 Marios C. Angelides and Harry Agius Part I Gaming Techniques and Tools 1. Toward the Adaptive Generation of Bespoke Game Content 17 Cameron Browne, Simon Colton, Michael Cook, Jeremy Gow, and Robin Baumgarten 2. Procedural Content Generation 62 Tom Betts 3. Content Generation in a Collaborative Browser-Based Game Environment 92 Juha-Matti Vanhatupa and Janne Lautamaki 4. Automatic Narratives in MMORPGs 111 Hao Wang 5. Collision Detection with Navigation Meshes 130 D. Hunter Hale and G. Michael Youngblood 6. Mass Population: Plausible and Practical Crowd Simulation 146 Sybren A. Stüvel, Cathy Ennis, and Arjan Egges 7. Synchronization in Multiplayer Online Games 175 Stefano Ferretti 8. Exchanging Social Information in Online Social Games 197 Fabrizio Davide, Stefano Triberti, and Francesco Collovà 9. Collaboration through Gaming 235 Damon Daylamani Zad, Marios C. Angelides, and Harry Agius 10. AI for General Strategy Game Playing 274 Jon Lau Nielsen, Benjamin Fedder Jensen, Tobias Mahlmann, Julian Togelius, and Georgios N. Yannakakis 11. Rated A for Advertising: A Critical Reflection on In-Game Advertising 305 Laura Herrewijn and Karolien Poels Part II Game Play 12. Immersion in Digital Games: Review of Gaming Experience Research 339 Paul Cairns, Anna Cox, and A. Imran Nordin 13. Know Thy Player: An Integrated Model of Player Experience for Digital Games Research 362 Malte Elson, Johannes Breuer, and Thorsten Quandt 14. At the Core of Player Experience: Continuation Desire in Digital Games 388 Henrik Schoenau-Fog 15. Empirical Game Aesthetics 411 Chris Bateman 16. Mobile Game Play and Everyday Life 444 Barbara Grüter, Nassrin Hajinejad, and Iaroslav Sheptykin 17. Video Games, Machinima, and Classic Cinema: Meaningful Gaming 471 Pilar Lacasa, María Ruth García-Pernía, and Sara Cortés 18. Video Games in Educational Settings: Developing Skills for New Media Learning 502 Ana Belen García Varela, Héctor Del Castillo, David Herrero, Natalia Monjelat, and Mirian Checa 19. Retro-Computing Community Sites and the Museum 523 Helen Stuckey and Melanie Swalwell 20. From the Deceptively Simple to the Pleasurably Complex: The Rise of Cooperative Address in the History of Video Games 548 Carl Therrien Part III Game Design and Development 21. Emotion in Games 575 Celso M. de Melo, Ana Paiva, and Jonathan Gratch 22. Task Deployment in Three Types of Game Spatial Structures 593 Chuen-Tsai Sun and Sheng-yi Hsu 23. Social Ontology of Digital Games 607 Ivan Mosca 24. Gaming with Purpose: Heuristic Understanding of Ubiquitous Game Development and Design for Human Computation 645 Lindsay D. Grace and Peter Jamieson 25. Beyond Stereotypes of Gender and Gaming: Video Games Made by Middle School Students 667 Jill Denner, Eloy Ortiz, Shannon Campe, and Linda Werner 26. Decade of Game Making for Learning: From Tools to Communities 689 Quinn Burke and Yasmin B. Kafai 27. Designing Interactive Tangible Games for Diverse Forms of Play 710 Tilde Bekker, Ben Schouten, and Mark de Graaf 28. Artisanal Local Networks: Game Work and Culture in Independent Game Production 730 Orlando Guevara-Villalobos Index 751
£121.46
Johns Hopkins University Press Postsecondary Play
Book SynopsisSummarizing a decade of research in game design and learning, Postsecondary Play will appeal to higher education scholars and students of learning, online gaming, education, and the media.Trade ReviewA worthwhile addition to the dynamic body of knowledge through the scholarship of teaching and learning. Its key arguments cross geographic borders, and the key themes are timeless. Canadian Journal of Higher Education Summons a chorus of experts and articulates their varied and informative perspectives through clearly written and well-organized essays. Those hoping to understand better the state of higher education and the role that games and social media will play in its development should certainly read this book. American Journal of Play Recommended for educators and the technology community. Library Journal This book (hardcover or electronic format) is a worthwhile addition to the dynamic body of knowledge through the scholarship of teaching and learning. Its key arguments cross geographic borders, and the key themes are timeless Canadian Journal of Higher EducationTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. Why Games and Social Media?Part I: What Is the Current Landscape of Higher Education?Chapter 1. The Disruptive Future of Higher EducationChapter 2. The Need to Increase College Enrollment and Completion Chapter 3. Transition Readiness: Making the Shift from High School to College in a Social Media WorldChapter 4. From Communication to Community: How Games and Social Media Affect Postsecondary StakeholdersPart II: What's in a Game?Chapter 5. What Games Do Well: Mastering Concepts in PlayChapter 6. The Open Laptop Exam: Reflections and SpeculationsChapter 7. Games, Passion, and "Higher" EducationChapter 8. Game-Like Learning: Leveraging the Qualities of Game Design and PlayPart III: What Do We Know about Games and What Do We Need to Learn?Chapter 9. Assessing Learning in Video GamesChapter 10. Implications and Applications of Sociable Gaming for Higher EducationChapter 11. Gender, Social Media, Games, and the College LandscapeChapter 12. How Much Technology Is Enough?Conclusion. The Shape of Things to ComeGlossaryContributors Index
£25.17
Johns Hopkins University Press Game On
Book SynopsisBell's careful analysis of the theories behind gamification, cognitive science, and instructional design will help them to do just that.Trade ReviewInstructors would do well to consider the key tenets of successful games if they are to engage and graduate the coming generations of learners. Bell’s careful analysis of the theories behind gamification, cognitive science, and instructional design will help them to do just that.—University of British Columbia Library BloggersThe intention of the book is to enable practitioners to gamify, explaining in concise but authoritative detail the nature of gamification concepts, and how they function in practice with established principles of pedagogy. However, this does not mean that Game On! is solely applicable to the 'inclass' practitioner. With quantitative elements as well, a focus on students' experiences, and bullet point summaries, gamification is viewed with the kind of practical big-picture thinking crucial to university and academic leadership when considering the risks and rewards of innovation and large-scale implementation.—Errol Rivera, Ology: Review in Applied SciencesTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrologue. Ashton to Apple1. A Societal Imperative2. How Did We Get Here?3. The Fairy Tale MOOC4. The Hero’s Journey5. Ethical Decision Making6. Dungeons and Discourse7. Threat of Crime and Terrorism8. Assessing Gamification9. Catching FireCaptain’s EpilogueBibliographyIndex
£31.50
Duke University Press Respawn
Book SynopsisColin Milburn examines the relationships between video games, hackers, and science fiction, showing how games provide models of social and political engagement, critique, and resistance while offering a vital space for players and hacktivists to challenge centralized power and experiment with alternative futures.Trade Review"This is a detailed and precise account, with a clear narrative that identifies the course of the elements used and their evolving style and context. But among the many intertwined stories, the clever quotes and the endless virtual environments, what keeps emerging is a strong value of responsibility, taking sensible decisions, showing a proper understanding of what Milburn calls as 'technogenic life.'" -- Aurelio Cianciotta * Neural *"This is an accessible work that might give ardent gamers newfound appreciation of the social sciences, and it does an excellent job of neither raising up nor tearing down the historical processes it documents. . . . Recommended. All readers." -- P. L. Kantor * Choice *"Respawn offers a detailed analysis of the entanglements of broader game cultures, political activism and the sociotechnical dilemmas of our present. Drawing on a plethora of game examples and their histories, online discussion threads and occasionally humorous imagery, the book is an engaging account for everyone working at the intersections of digital media theory, game studies, political theory and science and technology studies." -- Yana Boeva * LSE Review of Books *"This author is a worthy bard, and the stories he tells are hella helpful for making sense of the somewhat ephemeral moments of resistance that emerge within, alongside, and out of gaming culture. Using schlxr skillz like research and archives, he weaves together tales of gamer resistance with careful attention to detail, but not without a few lulz, some lite L337speak, and some deep philosophical reflection on what it means to pwn." -- H-Cat * Slingshot *"Respawn is a valuable and ambitious intervention in the field of video game studies that locates important issues in the context of this technogenic philosophy. . . . Even as the words 'gaming' and 'gamer' continue to evolve and grow more ephemeral, Milburn’s look at technogenic philosophy through gaming and hacktivist history will remain persistently relevant." -- Andy Fischer Wright * Velvet Light Trap *"Respawn will be accessible and interesting to a wide range of readers. Milburn has distilled his ideas and arguments, framed them with easy-to-engage theories, and connected them with a compelling narrative that effortlessly carries readers along. . . . The book deserves to be on library shelves, and in this era of increasing austerity, its open-access edition should be linked in libraries’ online catalogs, many of which look like technogenic life via baked-in communication, collaboration, and social networking tools." -- Jason W. Ellis * Extrapolation *“Balancing detail and systemic overview, Milburn’s book is one of the most perceptive, incisive, and clear analyses of the dynamic imbrications of sf imaginaries, video games, and contemporary digital culture in a while.” -- Pawel Frelik * Science Fiction Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction. All Your Base 1 1. May the Lulz Be with You 25 2. Obstinate Systems 51 3. Still Inside 78 4. Long Live Play 102 5. We Are Heroes 134 6. Green Machine 172 7. Pwn 199 Conclusion. Save Point 217 Acknowledgments 227 Notes 231 Bibliography 271 Index 293
£98.60
Duke University Press Respawn
Book SynopsisIn Respawn Colin Milburn examines the connections between video games, hacking, and science fiction that galvanize technological activism and technological communities. Discussing a wide range of games, from Portal and Final Fantasy VII to Super Mario Sunshine and Shadow of the Colossus, Milburn illustrates how they impact the lives of gamers and non-gamers alike. They also serve as resources for critique, resistance, and insurgency, offering a space for players and hacktivist groups such as Anonymous to challenge obstinate systems and experiment with alternative futures. Providing an essential walkthrough guide to our digital culture and its high-tech controversies, Milburn shows how games and playable media spawn new modes of engagement in a computerized world.Trade Review"This is a detailed and precise account, with a clear narrative that identifies the course of the elements used and their evolving style and context. But among the many intertwined stories, the clever quotes and the endless virtual environments, what keeps emerging is a strong value of responsibility, taking sensible decisions, showing a proper understanding of what Milburn calls as 'technogenic life.'" -- Aurelio Cianciotta * Neural *"This is an accessible work that might give ardent gamers newfound appreciation of the social sciences, and it does an excellent job of neither raising up nor tearing down the historical processes it documents. . . . Recommended. All readers." -- P. L. Kantor * Choice *"Respawn offers a detailed analysis of the entanglements of broader game cultures, political activism and the sociotechnical dilemmas of our present. Drawing on a plethora of game examples and their histories, online discussion threads and occasionally humorous imagery, the book is an engaging account for everyone working at the intersections of digital media theory, game studies, political theory and science and technology studies." -- Yana Boeva * LSE Review of Books *"This author is a worthy bard, and the stories he tells are hella helpful for making sense of the somewhat ephemeral moments of resistance that emerge within, alongside, and out of gaming culture. Using schlxr skillz like research and archives, he weaves together tales of gamer resistance with careful attention to detail, but not without a few lulz, some lite L337speak, and some deep philosophical reflection on what it means to pwn." -- H-Cat * Slingshot *"Respawn is a valuable and ambitious intervention in the field of video game studies that locates important issues in the context of this technogenic philosophy. . . . Even as the words 'gaming' and 'gamer' continue to evolve and grow more ephemeral, Milburn’s look at technogenic philosophy through gaming and hacktivist history will remain persistently relevant." -- Andy Fischer Wright * Velvet Light Trap *"Respawn will be accessible and interesting to a wide range of readers. Milburn has distilled his ideas and arguments, framed them with easy-to-engage theories, and connected them with a compelling narrative that effortlessly carries readers along. . . . The book deserves to be on library shelves, and in this era of increasing austerity, its open-access edition should be linked in libraries’ online catalogs, many of which look like technogenic life via baked-in communication, collaboration, and social networking tools." -- Jason W. Ellis * Extrapolation *“Balancing detail and systemic overview, Milburn’s book is one of the most perceptive, incisive, and clear analyses of the dynamic imbrications of sf imaginaries, video games, and contemporary digital culture in a while.” -- Pawel Frelik * Science Fiction Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction. All Your Base 1 1. May the Lulz Be with You 25 2. Obstinate Systems 51 3. Still Inside 78 4. Long Live Play 102 5. We Are Heroes 134 6. Green Machine 172 7. Pwn 199 Conclusion. Save Point 217 Acknowledgments 227 Notes 231 Bibliography 271 Index 293
£21.99
Duke University Press Indigenomicon
£23.16
New York University Press How to Play Video Games
Book SynopsisForty original contributions on games and gaming culture What does Pokémon Go tell us about globalization? What does Tetris teach us about rules? Is feminism boosted or bashed by Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? How does BioShock Infinite help us navigate world-building?From arcades to Atari, and phone apps to virtual reality headsets, video games have been at the epicenter of our ever-evolving technological reality. Unlike other media technologies, video games demand engagement like no other, which begs the questionwhat is the role that video games play in our lives, from our homes, to our phones, and on global culture writ large? How to Play Video Games brings together forty original essays from today's leading scholars on video game culture, writing about the games they know best and what they mean in broader social and cultural contexts. Read about avatars in Grand Theft Auto V, or music in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Trade ReviewThis text is an approachable and relevant edited collection of essays that examine a broad array of video games through a critical academic lens. Despite its title, this book is not a guide on how to play video games, as is explained by the editors in the introduction, but can be a provocation to reflect on deeper aspects of culture and media while playing them… this text is an excellent introduction to game studies. It is also a valuable resource for any course that includes content related to gaming, such as media studies, digital studies, STS (science, technology, society), sociology of games/media, and literary analysis of games as text. -- ChoiceAcross a broad range of diverse and accessible perspectives on gaming culture from many of the leading authorities in the field, Payne and Huntemann offer a valuable companion to those interested in the past and present of the games we play. -- Jon-Paul Dyson, The Strong National Museum of PlayAn indispensable collection of original key terms and case studiesall the best scholarship in the field is here. Canonical voices in the field as well as a newer generation of scholars bring welcome approaches to ethics, labor, race, gender, sexuality, capitalism, and affect to the table. Anyone can read this carefully curated book; everyone should. -- Lisa Nakamura, University of MichiganIn practice, students were able to apply the key concepts in each chapter’s analysis to other games they encountered in my course, and the style and structure of the chapters served as useful models for their own critical writing assignments. * American Journal of Play *
£23.74
New York University Press Video Games Have Always Been Queer
Book SynopsisArgues for the queer potential of video gamesWhile popular discussions about queerness in video games often focus on big-name, mainstream games that feature LGBTQ characters, like Mass Effect or Dragon Age, Bonnie Ruberg pushes the concept of queerness in games beyond a matter of representation, exploring how video games can be played, interpreted, and designed queerly, whether or not they include overtly LGBTQ content. Video Games Have Always Been Queer argues that the medium of video games itself canand shouldbe read queerly.In the first book dedicated to bridging game studies and queer theory, Ruberg resists the common, reductive narrative that games are only now becoming more diverse. Revealing what reading D. A. Miller can bring to the popular 2007 video game Portal, or what Eve Sedgwick offers Pong, Ruberg models the ways game worlds offer players the opportunity to explore queer experience, affect, and desire. As players attempt to ''pass'' in OctodaTrade ReviewRuberg powerfully calls for the reclaiming of the entirety of the games medium, identifying how LGBTQ players have always belonged in games (209) … I strongly recommend this book for researchers and students of queer studies and game studies and for scholars focused on media and culture. * Feminist Media Studies *This book helps us to identify the dominant preconceived notions surrounding games, which allows us to resist the heteronormative logic’s preferred ways to interpret and play games....I believe this book is a cornerstone of queer game studies, which will inspire scholars to think beyond the preconceived notions around queerness in, of, and around video games... The book is useful for everyone but especially ideal for students and scholars of queer studies and game studies, who defend and celebrate the different identities, activities, pleasures, and meanings that are available in video games. * Critical Studies in Media Communication *Ruberg offers a polemical intervention into game studies, discovering queer frisson through close readings of how games are played, from the touching shoulders of two men playing a Pong cabinet in the 1970s to the modern trend of speed running or glitching games that transforms the temporality and meaning of play * Real Life Magazine *Bonnie Ruberg is one of the most innovative and original thinkers in the field of game studies. Ruberg's latest work gives us a nuanced and insightful approach to thinking about games through a queer lens. Its essential reading for anyone interested in the cutting edge of theorization about digital games. -- Mia Consalvo, author of Cheating: Gaining Advantage in VideogamesOffers an innovative and critical contribution to not just the study of games, but media more broadly. Video Games Have Always Been Queer asks us to take not simply representation, but play itself, seriously and provides powerful ways for thinking about queerness and games. Its an exciting contribution to the field and a must-read for all media scholars. -- T. L. Taylor, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyViewing video games through a queer lens powerfully illuminates the ways in which traditional and mainstream video games are queer down to their very code. * European Journal of Cultural Studies *
£66.60
University of Nebraska Press Americas Digital Army
Book SynopsisProvides an ethnographic study of the link between interactive entertainment and military power, drawing on Robertson Allen's fieldwork observing video game developers, military strategists, US Army marketing agencies, and an array of defense contracting companies that worked to produce the official US Army video game, America's Army.Trade Review"Play scholars should not overlook Allen's book as just another study of FPS games. His is a unique study, both microscopic in its examination of the work of the game developers and macroscopic in its putting the development of America's Army into the larger perspective of the rise of the militarization of American culture and the creation of a military-entertainment complex—the late-capitalist version of the military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned us about in his 1961 farewell address. Allen's book is smart about many of the issues the reader will find in the body of scholarship on digital gaming and culture."—Jay Mechling, American Journal of Play“Robertson Allen convincingly demonstrates that America's Army has blurred the old, neat margins between local and global, real and virtual, in a new ‘globital’ era of war in which we are all soldiers.”—Daniel Binns, Michigan War Studies Review "America's Digital Army is at once a description of the decade-long foray of the US Army into the production and deployment of video games as recruiting tools and, more tellingly, an analysis of how the production of militarized labor is increasingly diffused throughout US society."—Steven Gardiner, American Ethnologist“A rigorous and fascinating glimpse of what is more than just one online game. America’s Digital Army opens up crucial issues about the conflation of war and work, play and drill, pleasure and simulation, as well as the labor involved in the production of the militarized, fear-ridden cultural politics of the contemporary United States.”—Jussi Parikka, professor of technological culture and aesthetics at the University of Southampton, Winchester School of Art“A compelling account and a critical assessment of a gaming reality and the militarization of society; a groundbreaking ethnography deciphering the illusory separation between the real and the fictional, and the fun and the dead-serious.”—Sverker Finnström, coeditor of Virtual War and Magical Death: Technologies and Imaginaries for Terror and KillingTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. America’s Digital Army 2. The Art of Persuasion and the Science of Manpower 3. The Artifice of the Virtual and the Real 4. The Full-Spectrum Soft Sell of the Army Experience 5. Complicating the Military Entertainment Complex 6. The Labor of Virtual Soldiers Notes Glossary References Index
£21.59
University of Minnesota Press Playing with Feelings: Video Games and Affect
Book SynopsisHow gaming intersects with systems like history, bodies, and code Why do we so compulsively play video games? Might it have something to do with how gaming affects our emotions? In Playing with Feelings, scholar Aubrey Anable applies affect theory to game studies, arguing that video games let us “rehearse” feelings, states, and emotions that give new tones and textures to our everyday lives and interactions with digital devices. Rather than thinking about video games as an escape from reality, Anable demonstrates how video games—their narratives, aesthetics, and histories—have been intimately tied to our emotional landscape since the emergence of digital computers.Looking at a wide variety of video games—including mobile games, indie games, art games, and games that have been traditionally neglected by academia—Anable expands our understanding of the ways in which these games and game studies can participate in feminist and queer interventions in digital media culture. She gives a new account of the touchscreen and intimacy with our mobile devices, asking what it means to touch and be touched by a game. She also examines how games played casually throughout the day create meaningful interludes that give us new ways of relating to work in our lives. And Anable reflects on how games allow us to feel differently about what it means to fail.Playing with Feelings offers provocative arguments for why video games should be seen as the most significant art form of the twenty-first century and gives the humanities passionate, incisive, and daring arguments for why games matter.Trade Review"Playing with Feelings traces a compelling intellectual history and uses affect theory to rethink some core game studies debates. Aubrey Anable’s insights on casual, indie, and art games are particularly important at this historical moment in game studies. This is the book many humanistic game scholars have been waiting for."—Adrienne Shaw, author of Gaming at the Edge"Playing with Feelings is one of few works to deeply engage with the theory of affect as developed in media philosophy, sociology, and information studies relative to video games. Written with an eye to the canonical concerns circulating in the lucrative and vibrant field of game studies, the book balances engagement with familiar themes and issues in the game studies and game theory world."—Lisa Cartwright, University of California, San Diego"Playing With Feelings breaks down some fairly weighty themes and theories to create an engaging exploration of how a person’s feelings are influenced by gaming." —The GuardianTable of ContentsContentsIntroduction: Video Games as Structures of Feeling1. Feeling History2. Touching Games3. Rhythms of Work and Play4. Games to Fail WithConclusion: Affective ArchivesAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex
£72.00
University of Minnesota Press Playing Nature: Ecology in Video Games
Book SynopsisA potent new book examines the overlap between our ecological crisis and video games Video games may be fun and immersive diversions from daily life, but can they go beyond the realm of entertainment to do something serious—like help us save the planet? As one of the signature issues of the twenty-first century, ecological deterioration is seemingly everywhere, but it is rarely considered via the realm of interactive digital play. In Playing Nature, Alenda Y. Chang offers groundbreaking methods for exploring this vital overlap.Arguing that games need to be understood as part of a cultural response to the growing ecological crisis, Playing Nature seeds conversations around key environmental science concepts and terms. Chang suggests several ways to rethink existing game taxonomies and theories of agency while revealing surprising fundamental similarities between game play and scientific work.Gracefully reconciling new media theory with environmental criticism, Playing Nature examines an exciting range of games and related art forms, including historical and contemporary analog and digital games, alternate- and augmented-reality games, museum exhibitions, film, and science fiction. Chang puts her surprising ideas into conversation with leading media studies and environmental humanities scholars like Alexander Galloway, Donna Haraway, and Ursula Heise, ultimately exploring manifold ecological futures—not all of them dystopian.Trade Review"Alenda Y. Chang’s gorgeously penned Playing Nature charts an ecocritical approach to video games and design thinking, exploring much more than simply how the ecological has been imaged in games. Essential for designers, players, and critics, Playing Nature eloquently unveils the stakes of ecologically informed agency within video game worlds to reshape thought about both games themselves and the natural systems in which we are all enmeshed."—Soraya Murray, author of On Video Games: The Visual Politics of Race, Gender and Space"Playing Nature is an ambitious project that makes a compelling case for ecocritical game studies. The book reverberates far beyond its main subject, speaking to the environmental humanities, comparative media studies, and the biophysical sciences. Alenda Y. Chang shows how a wide range of analog and digital games immerse players in ecological knowledge while also integrating gaming with other contemporary cultural forms, from speculative novels and documentary films to scientific experiments."—Allison Carruth, UCLA"Scholarly yet accessible, imaginative yet stuffed with ideas from across the humanities and the sciences, Playing Nature is a fascinating analysis of the transformative potential of gaming, showing how the medium could be used to address serious issues around climate change and environmental justice."—Foreword Reviews"But by daring to ask how video games might make the world lively and sound, Chang sparks a necessary conversation."—Science Magazine"Providing a deep understanding of what the games set out to do, this book reveals that these projects may well point the way to the future."—CHOICE"It is a timely and ground-breaking work that firmly places video games well within the scope of environmental studies."—ISLE"A useful analysis for non-nature video games."—Gamers With Glasses
£77.60
Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc Game Design: Theory And Practice,
Book Synopsis“Both burgeoning game designers and devoted gamers should consider [Game Design: Theory & Practice] an essential read.” — Computer Gaming World “Ultimately, in both theory and practice, Rouse’s Game Design bible gets the job done. Let us pray.” - Next Generation magazine In the second edition to the acclaimed Game Design: Theory & Practice, designer Richard Rouse III balances a discussion of the essential concepts behind game design with an explanation of how you can implement them in your current project. Detailed analysis of successful games is interwoven with concrete examples from Rouse’s own experience. This second edition thoroughly updates the popular original with new chapters and fully revised text.
£37.04
Business Expert Press The Economics of Online Gaming: A Player’s Introduction to Economic Thinking
Book SynopsisThis book is made from the connections that the author saw when he compared his experience inside a video game with what he learned through a formal study of economic theory.Set in the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) of Eternal Lands, it follows the true story of Mr. Mind, a gamer who builds a business inside the game world that he calls RICH. This business grows from a small start-up to an unregulated natural monopoly that abuses its market power by intentionally losing money to drive competitors out of business.RICH becomes so influential that it breaks the market process with a unique case of regulatory capture. Through this story, the book demonstrates how economic thinking is absorbed by experimenting inside an online video game.The Economics of Online Gaming covers basic economic concepts, unique economic issues, and general economic themes. Each of these topics begins with the context of a story and continues with an explanation of the economic theory behind it, finishing with a relevant real-world connection. It supports economic theory in an emotional way that cannot be shared through math or charts or graphs.Appendix B provides a comprehensive outline of ideas for teaching and discussion in each chapter.
£26.96
De Gruyter (Not) In the Game: History, Paratexts, and Games
Book SynopsisHow do games represent history, and how do we make sense of the history of games? The industry regularly uses history to sell products, while processes of creation and of promotion leave behind markers of a game’s history. The access to this history is often granted by so-called paratexts, which are accompanying elements orbiting texts. Exploring this fully, case studies in this work move the focus of debate from the games themselves to wider, ancillary materials and ask how history is used in, and how we can use history to study games.
£76.95
Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc Wireless Game Development in Java with MIDP 2.0
Book SynopsisDesigned for programmers who want to capitalize on the growing mobile game market, Wireless Game Development in Java with MIDP 2.0 illustrates the programming and development of games for wireless phones using J2ME and MIDP 2.0. The foundations of J2ME and MIDP, as well as discussions of the Game API and support for tiles, sprites, animation, and MIDI music, are presented, along with a complete example of a working game. Explore the features of the MIDP Game API that ease the game development process. Discover how to display bitmap graphics, draw text, and create geometric primitives. Uncover the basics of wireless networking with both HTTP and TCP/IP. Learn about various tools to help you optimize your code. Find out what channels are available for distributing your game.
£58.96
Udon Entertainment Corp Dark Souls III: Design Works
Book SynopsisCollecting the gritty and hair-raising artwork behind the critically-acclaimed DARK SOULS III in a prestigious hardcover tome. DARK SOULS III: DESIGN WORKS features armor and weapon designs, character concepts, enemies, bosses, environments, DLC artwork, and more!
£38.24
Almuzara Eso No Estaba En Mi Libro de Historia de Los
Book Synopsis
£19.53
Edaf Antillas 101 Maquinas Recreativas Que Hicieron Historia
Book Synopsis
£26.53
£24.33
Taylor & Francis Ltd Exploring Roguelike Games
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£42.74
Taylor & Francis New Perspectives on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£38.99
Taylor & Francis Fans and Videogames
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£38.99
Taylor & Francis Identity and Play in Interactive Digital Media
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£38.99
Taylor & Francis The Rhetoric of Videogames as Embodied Practice
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£39.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Meaning of Video Games
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£36.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd Esports Insights
Book SynopsisEsports Insights outlines the fundamental characteristics, features, and structures of the rapidly growing esports industry and acts as the perfect primer for readers without any prior knowledge of esports.Featuring international case studies in every chapter, this book showcases the contemporary nature of esports through illustrative, industry examples. By offering a concise and easy to understand introduction, it discusses the key components, stakeholders, and features of this commercially driven sector, which by its very nature is dynamic and highly complex. Exploring current regulatory and governance structures within esports, it unpacks the industry's essential features by outlining the various genres, formats and stakeholders who are instrumental to the functioning of the esports industry. Adopting a critical but balanced analysis, the book discusses the social benefits of esports, outlining its potential as a tool for social inclusion and sport development, whilTable of Contents1. Esports Fundamentals, 2. Esports Governance and Regulation, 3. Esports as a Mechanism for Social Change, 4. Esports, Health and Wellbeing, 5. Esports Evolution
£19.99
MIT Press Ltd Real Games Whats Legitimate and Whats Not in
Book SynopsisHow we talk about games as real or not-real, and how that shapes what games are made and who is invited to play them.In videogame criticism, the worst insult might be “That's not a real game!” For example, “That's not a real game, it's on Facebook!” and “That's not a real game, it's a walking simulator!” But how do people judge what is a real game and what is not—what features establish a game's gameness? In this engaging book, Mia Consalvo and Christopher Paul examine the debates about the realness or not-realness of videogames and find that these discussions shape what games get made and who is invited to play them.Consalvo and Paul look at three main areas often viewed as determining a game's legitimacy: the game's pedigree (its developer), the content of the game itself, and the game's payment structure. They find, among other things, that even developers with a track record are viewed with suspicion if
£27.00
MIT Press Ltd The Art of Failure An Essay on the Pain of
Book SynopsisA gaming academic offers a “fascinating” exploration of why we play video games—despite the unhappiness we feel when we fail at them (Boston Globe)We may think of video games as being “fun,” but in The Art of Failure, Jesper Juul claims that this is almost entirely mistaken. When we play video games, our facial expressions are rarely those of happiness or bliss. Instead, we frown, grimace, and shout in frustration as we lose, or die, or fail to advance to the next level. Humans may have a fundamental desire to succeed and feel competent, but game players choose to engage in an activity in which they are nearly certain to fail and feel incompetent. So why do we play video games even though they make us unhappy? Juul examines this paradox.In video games, as in tragic works of art, literature, theater, and cinema, it seems that we want to experience unpleasantness even if we also dislike it. Reader or audience re
£17.09
Running Press A Brief History of Video Games
Book Synopsis
£14.20
Schiffer Publishing Ltd The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games
Book Synopsis
£29.59
Schiffer Publishing Ltd The 100 Greatest Console Video Games
Book SynopsisTrade Review"100 Greatest Console Video Games 1977-1987 is truly an excellent book that anyone interested in video games should own. Whether you want to read about the details of the games or just admire the tons of images within its pages, this book is for you. Will you agree with every game selected? Unlikely, but thats part of the fun. If you dont find a game you think should have made it within the main book, be sure to check out the appendix at the end with 100 honorable mentions. That game may have made it there. Rating - 10/10." Retrovideogamer.co.uk
£28.79
Schiffer Publishing Ltd Lights Camera Game Over
Book Synopsis
£16.14
