How to Play Video Games

How to Play Video Games PDF Author: Matthew Thomas Payne
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479805920
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
Forty 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 question—what 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 Time. See how Age of Empires taught a generation about postcolonialism, and how Borderlands exposes the seedy underbelly of capitalism. These essays suggest that understanding video games in a critical context provides a new way to engage in contemporary culture. They are a must read for fans and students of the medium.

How to Play Video Games

How to Play Video Games PDF Author: Matthew Thomas Payne
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479805920
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 376

Get Book

Book Description
Forty 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 question—what 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 Time. See how Age of Empires taught a generation about postcolonialism, and how Borderlands exposes the seedy underbelly of capitalism. These essays suggest that understanding video games in a critical context provides a new way to engage in contemporary culture. They are a must read for fans and students of the medium.

Videogames

Videogames PDF Author: James A. Newman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415669162
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
"James Newman's lucid and engaging introduction guides the reader through the world of videogaming, providing a history of the videogame from its origins in the computer lab to its contemporary status as a global entertainment industry, with characters such as Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog familiar even to those who've never been near a games console. Topics covered include: classifications, game theory and interactivity - what is a videogame? the videogame audience the videogame industry videogame structure narratives and play- approaches to the study of videogames videogames, avatars and virtual worlds social gaming and the culture of videogames This second edition updates the book to include recent developments such as: the popularity of the wii and the increase in non-traditional gamers and more physical gaming the development of MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games) such as World of Warcraft games being downloaded as apps or accessed via mobile phones, iPods and social networking sites"--

Playing with Videogames

Playing with Videogames PDF Author: James Newman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134173008
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Playing with Videogames documents the richly productive, playful and social cultures of videogaming that support, surround and sustain this most important of digital media forms and yet which remain largely invisible within existing studies. James Newman details the rich array of activities that surround game-playing, charting the vibrant and productive practices of the vast number of videogame players and the extensive 'shadow' economy of walkthroughs, FAQs, art, narratives, online discussion boards and fan games, as well as the cultures of cheating, copying and piracy that have emerged. Playing with Videogames offers the reader a comprehensive understanding of the meanings of videogames and videogaming within the contemporary media environment.

Player and Avatar

Player and Avatar PDF Author: David Owen
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476629420
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Do you make small leaps in your chair while attempting challenging jumps in Tomb Raider? Do you say "Ouch!" when a giant hits you with a club in Skyrim? Have you had dreams of being inside the underwater city of Rapture? Videogames cast the player as protagonist in an unfolding narrative. Like actors in front of a camera, gamers' proprioception, or body awareness, can extend to onscreen characters, thus placing them "physically" within the virtual world. Players may even identify with characters' ideological motivations. The author explores concepts central to the design and enjoyment of videogames--affect, immersion, liveness, presence, agency, narrative, ideology and the player's virtual surrogate: the avatar. Gamer and avatar are analyzed as a cybernetic coupling that suggests fulfillment of Atonin Artaud's vision of the "body without organs."

Videogames

Videogames PDF Author: James Newman
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415281911
Category : Video games
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Newman's lucid and engaging introduction guides the reader through the world of videogaming. It traces the history of the videogame, from its origins in the computer lab, to its contemporary status as a global entertainment industry, where characters such as Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog are familiar even to those who've never been near a games console.Topics covered include:* What is a videogame?* Why study videogames?* a brief history of videogames, from Pac-Man to Pokémon* the videogame industry* who plays videogames?* are videogames bad for you?* the narrative structure of videogames* the future of videogames.

Playing with Videogames

Playing with Videogames PDF Author: James Newman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134173016
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Playing with Videogames documents the richly productive, playful and social cultures of videogaming that support, surround and sustain this most important of digital media forms and yet which remain largely invisible within existing studies. James Newman details the rich array of activities that surround game-playing, charting the vibrant and productive practices of the vast number of videogame players and the extensive 'shadow' economy of walkthroughs, FAQs, art, narratives, online discussion boards and fan games, as well as the cultures of cheating, copying and piracy that have emerged. Playing with Videogames offers the reader a comprehensive understanding of the meanings of videogames and videogaming within the contemporary media environment.

What Is a Game?

What Is a Game? PDF Author: Gaines S. Hubbell
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476639019
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
What is a videogame? What makes a videogame "good"? If a game is supposed to be fun, can it be fun without a good story? If another is supposed to be an accurate simulation, does it still need to be entertaining? With the ever-expanding explosion of new videogames and new developments in the gaming world, questions about videogame criticism are becoming more complex. The differing definitions that players and critics use to decide what a game is and what makes a game successful, often lead to different ideas of how games succeed or fail. This collection of new essays puts on display the variety and ambiguity of videogames. Each essay is a work of game criticism that takes a different approach to defining the game and analyzing it. Through analysis and critical methods, these essays discuss whether a game is defined by its rules, its narrative, its technology, or by the activity of playing it, and the tensions between these definitions. With essays on Overwatch, Dark Souls 3, Far Cry 4, Farmville and more, this collection attempts to show the complex changes, challenges and advances to game criticism in the era of videogames.

The Effects of Video Games on Children

The Effects of Video Games on Children PDF Author: Barrie Gunter
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9781850758334
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
The rapid growth in popularity of computer and video games, particularly among children and teenagers, has given rise to public concern about the effects they might have on youngsters. The violent themes of many of these games, coupled with their interactive nature, have led to accusations that they may be worse than televised violence in affecting children's antisocial behaviour. Other allegations are that they have an addictive quality and that excessive playing results in a diminished social contact and poorer school performance. But how bad are video games? There are strong methodological reasons for not accepting the evidence for video games effects at face value. There are also positive signs that playing these games can enhance particular mental competencies in children. This book provides an up-to-date review and critique of research evidence from around the world in an attempt to put the issue of video game effects into perspective.

Videogames and Education

Videogames and Education PDF Author: Harry J. Brown
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317452666
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Video games challenge our notions of identity, creativity, and moral value, and provide a powerful new avenue for teaching and learning. This book is a rich and provocative guide to the role of interactive media in cultural learning. It searches for specific ways to interpret video games in the context of human experience and in the field of humanities research. The author shows how video games have become a powerful form of political, ethical, and religious discourse, and how they have already influenced the way we teach, learn, and create. He discusses the major trends in game design, the public controversies surrounding video games, and the predominant critical positions in game criticism. The book speaks to all educators, scholars, and thinking persons who seek a fuller understanding of this significant and video games cultural phenomenon.

The Debate about Playing Video Games

The Debate about Playing Video Games PDF Author: Rachel Seigel
Publisher: North Star Editions, Inc.
ISBN: 1635176689
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
Provides a thorough overview of the major pros and cons of playing video games. Readable text, interesting sidebars, and illuminating infographics invite readers to jump in and join the debate.