An interdisciplinary and international roster of contributors explore the theory, design, and player practices surrounding video game reward systems, arguing for the importance of understanding trophies and achievements as a central aspect of video game design and play.As PlayStation Trophies, Xbox Achievements, and other similar built-in reward systems have become widespread in the video game landscape, this volume asks critical questions about how these systems a...

An engaging examination of how video game design creates strong and positive emotional experiences for players—with examples from Journey, Train, Little Big Planet, and more.This is a renaissance moment for video games—in the variety of genres they represent, and the range of emotional territory they cover. But how do games create emotion? In How Games Move Us, Katherine Isbister takes the reader on a timely and novel exploration...

Discover how to provide experiences for your customers that combine the real with the virtual.Joseph Pine and Jim Gilmore's classic The Experience Economy identified a seismic shift in the business world: to set yourself apart from your competition, you need to stage experiences—memorable events that engage people in inherently personal ways. But as consumers increasingly experience the world through their digital gadgets, companies still only scratch the s...

“Create the digital games you love to play.”Discover an exercise-driven, non-technical approach to game design without the need for programming or artistic experience with Game Design Workshop, Fifth Edition.Tracy Fullerton demystifies the creative process with clear and accessible guidance on the formal, dramatic, and dynamic systems of game design. Using examples of classic and popular games, illustrations of design techniques, and refine...

Proteus, the mythical sea god who could alter his appearance at will, embodies one of the promises of online games: the ability to reinvent oneself. Yet inhabitants of virtual worlds rarely achieve this liberty, game researcher Nick Yee contends. Though online games evoke freedom and escapism, Yee shows that virtual spaces perpetuate social norms and stereotypes from the offline world, transform play into labor, and inspire racial scapegoating and superstitious thinking. And the change t...

From arcade classics to virtual reality—how did video games become a multi-billion-dollar industry? What started as simple pixelated games in the 1970s has evolved into a vast industry influencing entertainment, technology, and culture. This book explores the origins of video games, from Pong and Pac-Man to PlayStation and esports. It examines the rise of game consoles, the role of storytelling in gaming, and the impact of online multiplayer experiences. If you're passionate about gaming h...

Forty original contributions on games and gaming cultureWhat 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 t...

In the few decades since they first blipped their way onto television screens, videogames have become one of the most culturally, socially and economically significant media forms. Newman’s volume considers how we might approach videogames as media texts to be read, experiences to be played and played with, systems and simulations to be decoded and interrogated, and performances to be captured, codified and preserved.The updated second edition examines the emergence of new platform...

This handbook collects, for the first time, the state of research on role-playing games (RPGs) across disciplines, cultures, and media in a single, accessible volume. Collaboratively authored by more than 50 key scholars, it traces the history of RPGs, from wargaming precursors to tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons to the rise of live action role-play and contemporary computer RPG and massively multiplayer online RPG franchises, like Fallout and World of Warcraft

A critical look at how the Super Nintendo Entertainment System—and a resistance to innovation—took Nintendo from industry leadership to the margins of videogaming.This is a book about the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that is not celebratory or self-congratulatory. Most other accounts declare the Super NES the undisputed victor of the “16-bit console wars” of 1989–1995. In this book, Dominic Arsenault reminds us that although the SNES was a strong platform fi...

An Introduction to Game Studies is the first introductory textbook for students of game studies. It provides a conceptual overview of the cultural, social and economic significance of computer and video games and traces the history of game culture and the emergence of game studies as a field of research.Key concepts and theories are illustrated with discussion of games taken from different historical phases of game culture. Progressing from the simple, yet engaging gameplay of Pong...

An avid gamer and sharp media critic explains meritocracy’s negative contribution to video game culture—and what can be done about itVideo games have brought entertainment, education, and innovation to millions, but gaming also has its dark sides. From the deep-bred misogyny epitomized by GamerGate to the endemic malice of abusive player communities, gamer culture has had serious real-world repercussions, ranging from death threats to sexist industry practices and ...