The Business And Culture Of Digital Games

Author : Aphra Kerr
Publisher : SAGE
ISBN 13 : 9781412900478
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Business and Culture of Digital Games written by Aphra Kerr and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2006-04-06 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the lifecycle of digital games. Drawing upon a broad range of media studies perspectives with aspects of sociology, social theory, and economics, Aphra Kerr explores this all-pervasive, but under-theorized, aspect of our media environment.

Author : Aphra Kerr
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781446211410
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.1X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Business and Culture of Digital Games written by Aphra Kerr and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the lifecycle of digital games. Drawing upon a broad range of media studies perspectives with aspects of sociology, social theory and economics, Aphra Kerr explores this all-pervasive, but under-theorised, aspect of our media environment. Written as an introductory text for media and game students, this book aims to present an overview of industry and scholary work on who makes games, where they get made, what kind of media and cultural form they are and who plays them and where. Digital Games looks at: games as a new media form; the design, development and marketing of games; the use of games in public and private spaces.

Author : Todd Harper
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136747648
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Culture of Digital Fighting Games written by Todd Harper and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the complex network of influences that collide in the culture of digital fighting games. Players from all over the world engage in competitive combat with one another, forming communities in both real and virtual spaces, attending tournaments and battling online via internet-connected home game consoles. But what is the logic behind their shared playstyle and culture? What are the threads that tie them together, and how does this inform our understanding of competitive gaming, community, and identity? Informed by observations made at one of the biggest fighting game events in the world – the Evolution Series tournament, or "EVO" – and interviews with fighting game players themselves, this book covers everything from the influence of arcade spaces, to the place of gender and ethnicity in the community, to the clash of philosophies over how these games should be played in the first place. In the process, it establishes the role of technology, gameplay, and community in how these players define both themselves and the games that they play.

Author : Stephen Kline
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN 13 : 9780773525917
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Digital Play written by Stephen Kline and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2003 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a marketplace that demands perpetual upgrades, the survival of interactive play ultimately depends on the adroit management of negotiations between game producers and youthful consumers of this new medium. The authors suggest a model of expansion that encompasses technological innovation, game design, and marketing practices. Their case study of video gaming exposes fundamental tensions between the opposing forces of continuity and change in the information economy: between the play culture of gaming and the spectator culture of television, the dynamism of interactive media and the increasingly homogeneous mass-mediated cultural marketplace, and emerging flexible post-Fordist management strategies and the surviving techniques of mass-mediated marketing. Digital Play suggests a future not of democratizing wired capitalism but instead of continuing tensions between "access to" and "enclosure in" technological innovation, between inertia and diversity in popular culture markets, and between commodification and free play in the cultural industries. -- publisher description.

Author : David Myers
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472900390
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Play Redux written by David Myers and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2010-04-22 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Play Redux excels in tying together intellectual traditions that are rooted in literary studies, cognitive science, play studies and several other fields, thereby creating a logical whole. Through this, the book makes service to several academic communities by pointing out their points of contact. This is clearly an important contribution to a growing academic field, and will no doubt become important in many future discussions about digital games and play." ---Frans Mäyrä, University of Tampere, Finland "David Myers has researched video games longer than anyone else. Play Redux shows him continually relevant, never afraid of courting controversy." ---Jesper Juul, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark Play Redux is an ambitious description and critical analysis of the aesthetic pleasures of video game play, drawing on early twentieth-century formalist theory and models of literature. Employing a concept of biological naturalism grounded in cognitive theory, Myers argues for a clear delineation between the aesthetics of play and the aesthetics of texts. In the course of this study, Myers asks a number of interesting questions: What are the mechanics of human play as exhibited in computer games? Can these mechanisms be modeled? What is the evolutionary function of cognitive play, and is it, on the whole, a good thing? Intended as a provocative corrective to the currently ascendant, if not dominant, cultural and ethnographic approach to game studies and play, Play Redux will generate interest among scholars of communications, new media, and film. David Myers is Reverend Aloysius B. Goodspeed Distinguished Professor at the School of Mass Communication, Loyola University New Orleans.

Author : Johannes Fromme
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400727771
Total Pages : 694 pages
Book Rating : 4.79/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Computer Games and New Media Cultures written by Johannes Fromme and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-06-14 with total page 694 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital gaming is today a significant economic phenomenon as well as being an intrinsic part of a convergent media culture in postmodern societies. Its ubiquity, as well as the sheer volume of hours young people spend gaming, should make it ripe for urgent academic enquiry, yet the subject was a research backwater until the turn of the millennium. Even today, as tens of millions of young people spend their waking hours manipulating avatars and gaming characters on computer screens, the subject is still treated with scepticism in some academic circles. This handbook aims to reflect the relevance and value of studying digital games, now the subject of a growing number of studies, surveys, conferences and publications. As an overview of the current state of research into digital gaming, the 42 papers included in this handbook focus on the social and cultural relevance of gaming. In doing so, they provide an alternative perspective to one-dimensional studies of gaming, whose agendas do not include cultural factors. The contributions, which range from theoretical approaches to empirical studies, cover various topics including analyses of games themselves, the player-game interaction, and the social context of gaming. In addition, the educational aspects of games and gaming are treated in a discrete section. With material on non-commercial gaming trends such as ‘modding’, and a multinational group of authors from eleven nations, the handbook is a vital publication demonstrating that new media cultures are far more complex and diverse than commonly assumed in a debate dominated by concerns over violent content.

Author : T. L. Taylor
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262250543
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Play Between Worlds written by T. L. Taylor and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2009-02-13 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of Everquest that provides a snapshot of multiplayer gaming culture, questions the truism that computer games are isolating and alienating, and offers insights into broader issues of work and play, gender identity, technology, and commercial culture. In Play Between Worlds, T. L. Taylor examines multiplayer gaming life as it is lived on the borders, in the gaps—as players slip in and out of complex social networks that cross online and offline space. Taylor questions the common assumption that playing computer games is an isolating and alienating activity indulged in by solitary teenage boys. Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), in which thousands of players participate in a virtual game world in real time, are in fact actively designed for sociability. Games like the popular Everquest, she argues, are fundamentally social spaces. Taylor's detailed look at Everquest offers a snapshot of multiplayer culture. Drawing on her own experience as an Everquest player (as a female Gnome Necromancer)—including her attendance at an Everquest Fan Faire, with its blurring of online—and offline life—and extensive research, Taylor not only shows us something about games but raises broader cultural issues. She considers "power gamers," who play in ways that seem closer to work, and examines our underlying notions of what constitutes play—and why play sometimes feels like work and may even be painful, repetitive, and boring. She looks at the women who play Everquest and finds they don't fit the narrow stereotype of women gamers, which may cast into doubt our standardized and preconceived ideas of femininity. And she explores the questions of who owns game space—what happens when emergent player culture confronts the major corporation behind the game.

Author : Edward Castronova
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226096319
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Synthetic Worlds written by Edward Castronova and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From EverQuest to World of Warcraft, online games have evolved from the exclusive domain of computer geeks into an extraordinarily lucrative staple of the entertainment industry. People of all ages and from all walks of life now spend thousands of hours—and dollars—partaking in this popular new brand of escapism. But the line between fantasy and reality is starting to blur. Players have created virtual societies with governments and economies of their own whose currencies now trade against the dollar on eBay at rates higher than the yen. And the players who inhabit these synthetic worlds are starting to spend more time online than at their day jobs. In Synthetic Worlds, Edward Castronova offers the first comprehensive look at the online game industry, exploring its implications for business and culture alike. He starts with the players, giving us a revealing look into the everyday lives of the gamers—outlining what they do in their synthetic worlds and why. He then describes the economies inside these worlds to show how they might dramatically affect real world financial systems, from potential disruptions of markets to new business horizons. Ultimately, he explores the long-term social consequences of online games: If players can inhabit worlds that are more alluring and gratifying than reality, then how can the real world ever compete? Will a day ever come when we spend more time in these synthetic worlds than in our own? Or even more startling, will a day ever come when such questions no longer sound alarmist but instead seem obsolete? With more than ten million active players worldwide—and with Microsoft and Sony pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into video game development—online games have become too big to ignore. Synthetic Worlds spearheads our efforts to come to terms with this virtual reality and its concrete effects. “Illuminating. . . . Castronova’s analysis of the economics of fun is intriguing. Virtual-world economies are designed to make the resulting game interesting and enjoyable for their inhabitants. Many games follow a rags-to-riches storyline, for example. But how can all the players end up in the top 10%? Simple: the upwardly mobile human players need only be a subset of the world's population. An underclass of computer-controlled 'bot' citizens, meanwhile, stays poor forever. Mr. Castronova explains all this with clarity, wit, and a merciful lack of academic jargon.”—The Economist “Synthetic Worlds is a surprisingly profound book about the social, political, and economic issues arising from the emergence of vast multiplayer games on the Internet. What Castronova has realized is that these games, where players contribute considerable labor in exchange for things they value, are not merely like real economies, they are real economies, displaying inflation, fraud, Chinese sweatshops, and some surprising in-game innovations.”—Tim Harford, Chronicle of Higher Education

Author : Frans Mäyrä
Publisher : SAGE
ISBN 13 : 1473902924
Total Pages : 415 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book An Introduction to Game Studies written by Frans Mäyrä and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2008-02-18 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 and text-based adventure games to the complex virtual worlds of contemporary online games, the book guides students towards analytical appreciation and critical engagement with gaming and game studies. Students will learn to: - Understand and analyse different aspects of phenomena we recognise as ′game′ and play′ - Identify the key developments in digital game design through discussion of action in games of the 1970s, fiction and adventure in games of the 1980s, three-dimensionality in games of the 1990s, and social aspects of gameplay in contemporary online games - Understand games as dynamic systems of meaning-making - Interpret the context of games as ′culture′ and subculture - Analyse the relationship between technology and interactivity and between ′game′ and ′reality′ - Situate games within the context of digital culture and the information society With further reading suggestions, images, exercises, online resources and a whole chapter devoted to preparing students to do their own game studies project, An Introduction to Game Studies is the complete toolkit for all students pursuing the study of games. The companion website at www.sagepub.co.uk/mayra contains slides and assignments that are suitable for self-study as well as for classroom use. Students will also benefit from online resources at www.gamestudiesbook.net, which will be regularly blogged and updated by the author. Professor Frans Mäyrä is a Professor of Games Studies and Digital Culture at the Hypermedia Laboratory in the University of Tampere, Finland.

Author : Christoph Beat Graber
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1849806357
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.50/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Governance of Digital Game Environments and Cultural Diversity written by Christoph Beat Graber and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'This collection of legal, philosophical, economic, and cultural perspectives ultimately makes a strong case for the potential value of game environments for addressing diversity issues, but also raises important concerns regarding implementation of corporate and government policies in this sector highly recommended for anyone exploring this emerging field.' Benjamin T. Duranske, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, US 'Videogaming is serious business. But the legal and theoretical implications of online and virtual environments are little understood. Professor Graber and Ms. Burri-Nenova have done a masterful job of bringing together several insightful articles that inform us about the business, legal and sociological implications of digital gaming. Innovative, fast-paced, and engaging as games themselves, these scholarly works provide invaluable insight for academics, policy makers and perhaps even participants themselves about the reality behind virtual worlds.' Shubha Ghosh, University of Wisconsin Law School, US 'This is an excellent and path-breaking collection of sharp and carefully researched essays. It provides wonderful insights on numerous important aspects of the complex relationship between play, cultural diversity, communications policy, and the governance of virtual societies. The phenomenal growth of these new digital realms has raised important questions across the academic disciplines, making this book's interdisciplinary focus extremely helpful to potential regulators and university scholars alike.' Greg Lastowka, Rutgers School of law, Camden, US This innovative book provides transdisciplinary analyses of the nature and dynamics of digital game environments whilst tackling the existing fragmentation of academic research. Digital game environments are of increasing economic, social and cultural value. As their influence on diverse facets of life grows, states have felt compelled to intervene and secure some public interests. Yet, the contours of a comprehensive governance model are far from recognisable and governments are grappling with the complexity and fluidity of online games and virtual worlds as private spaces and as experimentation fields for creativity and innovation. This book contributes to a more comprehensive and fine-grained understanding of digital game environments, which is a precondition for addressing any of the pressing governance questions posed. Particular attention is given to the concept and policy objective of cultural diversity, which also offers a unique entry point into the discussion of the appropriate legal regulation of digital games. Governance of Digital Game Environments and Cultural Diversity will be of interest to researchers of media law, internet law and governance, cultural studies, anthropology and sociology. As the book addresses a highly topical theme, it will attract the attention of policymakers at national, regional and international levels and will also serve as a great resource tool for scholars in new media and in particular digital games and virtual worlds.