Game Studies — 151 книга

Can computer games be great literature? Do the rapidly evolving and culturally expanding genres of digital literature mean that the narrative mode of discourse -- novels, films, television series -- is losing its dominant position in our culture? Is

Can computer games be great literature? Do the rapidly evolving and culturally expanding genres of digital literature mean that the narrative mode of discourse -- novels, films,…

In Unit Operations, Ian Bogost argues that similar principles underlie both literary theory and computation, proposing a literary-technical theory that can be used to analyze particular videogames. Moreover, this approach can be applied beyond videogames: Bogost suggests that any medium--from videogames to poetry, literature, cinema, or art--can be read as a configurative system of discrete, interlocking units of meaning, and he illustrates this method of analysis with examples from all these fields. The marriage of literary theory and information technology, he argues, will help humanists take technology more seriously and hep technologists better understand software and videogames as cultural artifacts. This approach is especially useful for the comparative analysis of digital and nondigital artifacts and allows scholars from other fields who are interested in studying videogames to avoid the esoteric isolation of "game studies."The richness of Bogost's comparative approach can be seen in his discussions of works by such philosophers and theorists as Plato, Badiou, Zizek, and McLuhan, and in his analysis of numerous videogames including Pong, Half-Life, and Star Wars Galaxies. Bogost draws on object technology and complex adaptive systems theory for his method of unit analysis, underscoring the configurative aspects of a wide variety of human processes. His extended analysis of freedom in large virtual spaces examines Grand Theft Auto 3, The Legend of Zelda, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and Joyce's Ulysses. In Unit Operations, Bogost not only offers a new methodology for videogame criticism but argues for the possibility of real collaboration between the humanities and information technology.

In Unit Operations, Ian Bogost argues that similar principles underlie both literary theory and computation, proposing a literary-technical theory that can be used to analyze…

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 of the design techniques that evoke strong emotions for players. She counters arguments that games are creating a generation of isolated, emotionally numb, antisocial loners. Games, Isbister shows us, can actually play a powerful role in creating empathy and other strong, positive emotional experiences; they reveal these qualities over time, through the act of playing. She offers a nuanced, systematic examination of exactly how games can influence emotion and social connection, with examples -- drawn from popular, indie, and art games -- that unpack the gamer's experience. Isbister describes choice and flow, two qualities that distinguish games from other media, and explains how game developers build upon these qualities using avatars, non-player characters, and character customization, in both solo and social play. She shows how designers use physical movement to enhance players' emotional experience, and examines long-distance networked play. She illustrates the use of these design methods with examples that range from Sony's Little Big Planet to the much-praised indie game Journey to art games like Brenda Romero's Train. Isbister's analysis shows us a new way to think about games, helping us appreciate them as an innovative and powerful medium for doing what film, literature, and other creative media do: helping us to understand ourselves and what it means to be human.

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…

What do we think about when we think about play? A pastime? Games? Childish activities? The opposite of work? Think again: If we are happy and well rested, we may approach even our daily tasks in a playful way, taking the attitude of play without the activity of play. So what, then, is play? In Play Matters, Miguel Sicart argues that to play is to be in the world; playing is a form of understanding what surrounds us and a way of engaging with others. Play goes beyond games; it is a mode of being human.

We play games, but we also play with toys, on playgrounds, with technologies and design. Sicart proposes a theory of play that doesn’t derive from a particular object or activity but is a portable tool for being--not tied to objects but brought by people to the complex interactions that form their daily lives. It is not separated from reality; it is part of it. It is pleasurable, but not necessarily fun. Play can be dangerous, addictive, and destructive.

Along the way, Sicart considers playfulness, the capacity to use play outside the context of play; toys, the materialization of play—instruments but also play pals; playgrounds, play spaces that enable all kinds of play; beauty, the aesthetics of play through action; political play—from Maradona’s goal against England in the 1986 World Cup to the hactivist activities of Anonymous; the political, aesthetic, and moral activity of game design; and why play and computers get along so well.

What do we think about when we think about play? A pastime? Games? Childish activities? The opposite of work? Think again: If we are happy and well rested, we may approach even…

Beginning with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey and Pong in 1972, video games, whether played in arcades and taverns or in family rec rooms, became part of popular culture, like television. In fact, video games were sometimes seen as an improvement on television because they spurred participation rather than passivity. These “space-age pinball machines” gave coin-operated games a high-tech and more respectable profile. In Atari Age, Michael Newman charts the emergence of video games in America from ball-and-paddle games to hits like Space Invaders and Pac-Man, describing their relationship to other amusements and technologies and showing how they came to be identified with the middle class, youth, and masculinity.

Newman shows that the “new media” of video games were understood in varied, even contradictory ways. They were family fun (but mainly for boys), better than television (but possibly harmful), and educational (but a waste of computer time). Drawing on a range of sources—including the games and their packaging; coverage in the popular, trade, and fan press; social science research of the time; advertising and store catalogs; and representations in movies and television—Newman describes the series of cultural contradictions through which the identity of the emerging medium worked itself out. Would video games embody middle-class respectability or suffer from the arcade’s unsavory reputation? Would they foster family togetherness or allow boys to escape from domesticity? Would they make the new home computer a tool for education or just a glorified toy? Then, as now, many worried about the impact of video games on players, while others celebrated video games for familiarizing kids with technology essential for the information age.

Beginning with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey and Pong in 1972, video games, whether played in arcades and taverns or in family rec rooms, became part of popular culture,…

As pop culture, games are as important as film or television--but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of Play Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman present a much-needed primer for this emerging

As pop culture, games are as important as film or television--but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of Play Katie Salen and…

We are living in a world full of games.
More than 31 million people in the UK are gamers.
The average young person will spend 10,000 hours gaming by the age of twenty-one.
The future belongs to those who play games.

In this ground-breaking book, visionary game designer Jane McGonigaI challenges conventional thinking and shows that games - far from being simply escapist entertainment - have the potential not only to radically improve our own lives but to change the world.

We are living in a world full of games.
More than 31 million people in the UK are gamers.
The average young person will spend 10,000 hours gaming by the age of twenty-one.…

125 лет назад в древней японской столице Киото появилась компания Nintendo. В конце семидесятых компания совершила головокружительный прорыв в область высоких технологий, и, создав классическую видеоигровую консоль Famicom, NES навсегда изменила досуг многих миллионов людей в мире. В знаменитой книге авторитетного американского публициста Дэвида Шеффа увлекательно и подробно рассказывается о длинной истории Nintendo, о создании консолей и игр для них, о бизнесе и о том, как происходило формирование видеоигровой индустрии.

125 лет назад в древней японской столице Киото появилась компания Nintendo. В конце семидесятых компания совершила головокружительный прорыв в область высоких технологий, и,…

An Introduction to Game Studies is a core textbook for game studies as an academic discipline, and is the comprehensive guide to the field. It introduces the student to the history and character of games studies as an analytical study of games in culture, and then moves to provide an overview of games as signifying and dynamic cultural constructs. This book shows how to analyze games by introducing the core analytical concepts in the contexts of games and game cultures of four periods. It covers the prehistory of games, the 70s, 80s, and 90s and also contemporary developments. Students will be introduced to both the theoretical core and the essential genres and classics of the subject.

An Introduction to Game Studies is a core textbook for game studies as an academic discipline, and is the comprehensive guide to the field. It introduces the student to the…

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 reaction to tragedy is often explained as catharsis, as a purging of negative emotions. But, Juul points out, this doesn't seem to be the case for video game players. Games do not purge us of unpleasant emotions; they produce them in the first place. What, then, does failure in video game playing do?

Juul argues that failure in a game is unique in that when you fail in a game, you (not a character) are in some way inadequate. Yet games also motivate us to play more, in order to escape that inadequacy, and the feeling of escaping failure (often by improving skills) is a central enjoyment of games. Games, writes Juul, are the art of failure: the singular art form that sets us up for failure and allows us to experience it and experiment with it.

The Art of Failure is essential reading for anyone interested in video games, whether as entertainment, art, or education.

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…

ИГРАЙ! ИСТОРИЯ ВИДЕОИГР представляет собой увлекательный рассказ о странном зарождении и необычайной эволюции важнейшей, после возникновения телевидения, области развлечений - видеоиграх.

Материал книги базируется на исчерпывающих исследованиях и свыше 140 эксклюзивных интервью с влиятельными людьми из видеоигровой индустрии. Книга рассказывает поразительную историю того, как творческое видение игровых разработчиков привело к появлению и становлению одной из самых популярных и динамичных художественных форм в мире.

Кто в 1958 из посетителей Брукхейвенской национальной лаборатории году, глядя на экран осциллографа,на котором отображались тонкие линии и точки, мог бы подумать, что из всего этого родится абсолютно новая среда с мощнейшим творческим потенциалом? Мало кто в этом был уверен и в начале 1970-х, когда в пабах и игровых залах стали появляться игровые автоматы со звонким именем Pong. Все смеялись и в середине восьмидесятых над нелепой, как всем тогда казалось, попыткой японской компании Nintendo вернуть видеоигры в культурный контекст. К середине нулевых, когда видеоигры обошли кино по прибыльности и интересу, уже никто не смеялся, а приняли это как должный факт.
За какие-то 60 лет видео- и компьютерные игры прошли стремительный путь от специфических развлечений ученых до полноценной и бурно развивающейся художественной среды. В своей книге "Играй! История видеоигр" британский журналист Тристан Донован дотошно исследует тот путь, который прошли видео-и компьютерные игры с момента своего зарождения в послевоенном мире. "Настоящая история видеоигр - это история человеческой креативности, которой помогает технологический рост, - объясняет сам Донован. - Цель "Играй!" -воспеть живучесть и богатейшее творческое воображение наиболее талантливых создателей игр и рассказать о том, почему развитие видеоигр пошло так, а не иначе".
Донована интересует не технологическая гонка, вокруг которой, казалось бы, крутится все происходящее в игровой среде, а то, как с помощью технических средств человек реализует свои идеи, расширяя границы игровой среды.
На 648-ми страницах довольно подробно рассказывается история становления и развития видео- и компьютерных игр не только на территории США и Японии, но и Европы и Азии. Рассказывается об истоках зарождения и эволюции всех основных игровых жанров. В легкой и увлекательной форме приводятся примеры активного влияния игровой среды на современную популярную культуру. Специально для российского издания Тристан Донован написал дополнительную главу о современных реалиях игровой индустрии и ее российской части.

На русском языке это первая книга, в которой так подробно изучается история становления и эволюции видео- и компьютерных игр.

ИГРАЙ! ИСТОРИЯ ВИДЕОИГР представляет собой увлекательный рассказ о странном зарождении и необычайной эволюции важнейшей, после возникновения телевидения, области развлечений -…

Это была война куда убийственней любой видеоигры...
Настоящая смертельная битва между Sega и Nintendo!
Можно ли оказать сопротивление и вступить в яростную конкуренцию с компанией, которой принадлежит 90% рынка? Можно ли рассчитывать на победу? Как и любые другие знаменитые противостояния конкурентов, вроде Apple и Microsoft, Pepsi и CocaCola, яростная вражда между Sega и Nintendo выявила все лучшие (и худшие) качества каждой компании, попутно изменив пейзаж развлекательного сектора.
"Консольные войны" - захватывающий бизнес-триллер, в котором рассказывается о том, как Sega, небольшая, агрессивная видеоигровая компания под предводительством необычного визионера и команды бунтарей выступила против могущественной Nintendo, попутно произведя революцию в индустрии видеоигр.
"Конец 80-х и начало 90-х в истории видеоигр - это время захватывающих и невероятных историй. Индустрия только формировалась, поэтому происходили вещи, которые сейчас представить невозможно: возможностей было больше, и небольшая компания могла за короткий срок превратиться в гиганта. Противостояние маленькой Sega и монополиста Nintendo - самая фантастическая из этих историй, и Блейк Харрис рассказывает её блестяще." Григорий Пророков, Look At Me
"Эта книга для тех, кто хочет понять, как видеоигры превратились в многомиллиардный бизнес. А началось все - с войны, Дикого Запада и взаимной агрессии двух ключевых игроков рынка." Вадим Милющенко, Kanobu
""Консольные войны" - это захватывающая сага об эпохальной конкурентной борьбе за сердца, сделавшей миллионы игроков воинами джойстика и светового пистолета." Gamemag
"Пожалуй самая подробная и при этом увлекательная книга о развитии консольного рынка на Западе. Зарождение титанов бизнеса, выбывание старых игроков, конкурентная борьба и роль конкретных личностей в становлении консольной индустрии. Все это собрано воедино и читается на одном дыхании." Сергей Бабаев, VC.ru
"Спасибо Блейку Дж.Харрису за триллер, позволяющий в деталях уяснить, что именно за драма творилась за океаном, пока российские бизнесмены упражнялись в клонировании античной восьмибитки." Валерий Корнеев
"С "Консольными войнами" Харрис сделал для видеоигр то, что Гомер сделал для Троянской войны, а Норман Мейлер для Второй мировой войны, - он оживил людей и сражения." Стивен Кент, автор "The Ultimate History Of Video Games"


В 1990 компания Nintendo фактически была абсолютным монополистом в индустрии видеоигр. Sega, специализировавшаяся на играх для игровых автоматов, представляла из себя компанию, неуверенно стоящую на ногах, но с большими амбициями и еще более амбициозными персонажами.
Однако все радикально изменилось с приходом Тома Калински, бывшего руководителя Mattel, который ничего не понимал в видеоиграх, но прекрасно понимал, как вести неравный бой. Его нестандартные тактики, помноженные на смелые идеи его сотрудников-нонконформистов, полностью изменили Sega и привели к полноценному сражению с Nintendo, словно вторя библейскому сюжету о Давиде и Голиафе. Но мало кто тогда мог предвидеть, что успех Sega взрастит множество новых врагов и, что самое главное, еще больше укрепит Nintendo.
Война была безжалостной, неустанной и с большими ставками. Эта глобальная корпоративная война велась разом на нескольких фронтах: в квартирах обычных людей, на школьных площадках, в советах директоров и даже в конгрессе США. Это был тот тип конфликтов, когда не жалко никого, когда брат восстает против брата, дети против взрослых, Соник против Марио, а Соединенные Штаты против Японии.
Основанная на более чем двухстах интервью, взятых у бывших сотрудников Sega и Nintendo, книга "Консольные войны" рассказывает историю того, как Том Калински чудесным образом превратил аутсайдера в лидера рынка. В своей книге Блейк Дж.Харрис рассказывает о войнах, стратегиях и сражениях, выясняя, как именно происходящее навсегда изменило облик популярной культуры. По сути дела, "Консольные войны" - это история о том, как скромный семьянин с исключител

Это была война куда убийственней любой видеоигры...
Настоящая смертельная битва между Sega и Nintendo!
Можно ли оказать сопротивление и вступить в яростную конкуренцию с…

Маркетинговый успех и популярность игры не происходят внезапно. За каждой шумной пиар-историей или любимцем прессы стоят месяцы, если не годы планирования и подготовки, проб и ошибок. “Сенсация за ночь”, которая случается в самый подходящий для этого момент всегда была продумана и запланирована заранее именно на этот самый удачный момент.

Продвигать игры несложно. Вам всего лишь необходимо понять, кому ваша игра может понравиться (аудитория), что им сказать, чтобы заинтересовать игрой (сообщение), и как это до них донести (канал). Продвижение игр для разных платформ и с разными бизнес-моделями может отличаться инструментами, но общий подход остаётся одним и тем же: привлечь, увлечь, завлечь.

Книга описывает такие нюансы, как с чего начать, с кем работать, что подготовить к анонсу, релиз и что делать после него. Сергей знает не только о маркетинге игр, но знает об их разработке, много играет, и это помогает ему смотреть на маркетинг с очень интересной точки зрения. А еще он умеет кратко и понятно излагать свои мысли. Эта книга — отправной пункт, трамплин, с которого вы можете сделать быстрый старт и попробовать не сломать себе шею. Приятного чтения и хороших продаж!

Маркетинговый успех и популярность игры не происходят внезапно. За каждой шумной пиар-историей или любимцем прессы стоят месяцы, если не годы планирования и подготовки, проб и…

Это подлинная история Леннона и Маккартни в мире компьютерных игр – Джона Кармака и Джона Ромеро. Вместе они управляли большим бизнесом. Вместе меняли поп-культуру. Они породили много споров. Они жили большой американской мечтой и создали самые культовые и успешные игровые сериалы в истории: Doomи Quake, которые их же и разлучили. Это история дружбы и предательства, бизнеса и творчества, история творческих молодых людей, которые получали удовольствие от своего дела.

Это подлинная история Леннона и Маккартни в мире компьютерных игр – Джона Кармака и Джона Ромеро. Вместе они управляли большим бизнесом. Вместе меняли поп-культуру. Они породили…

Video games have a bad reputation in the mainstream media. They are blamed for encouraging social isolation, promoting violence, and creating tensions between parents and children. In this book, Sinem Siyahhan and Elisabeth Gee offer another view. They show that video games can be a tool for connection, not isolation, creating opportunities for families to communicate and learn together.

Like smartphones, Skype, and social media, games help families stay connected. Siyahhan and Gee offer examples: One family treats video game playing as a regular and valued activity, and bonds over Halo. A father tries to pass on his enthusiasm for Star Wars by playing Lego Star Wars with his young son. Families express their feelings and share their experiences and understanding of the world through playing video games like The Sims, Civilization, and Minecraft. Some video games are designed specifically to support family conversations around such real-world issues and sensitive topics as bullying and peer pressure.

Siyahhan and Gee draw on a decade of research to look at how learning and teaching take place when families play video games together. With video games, they argue, the parents are not necessarily the teachers and experts; all family members can be both teachers and learners. They suggest video games can help families form, develop, and sustain their learning culture as well as develop skills that are valued in the twenty-first century workplace. Educators and game designers should take note.

Video games have a bad reputation in the mainstream media. They are blamed for encouraging social isolation, promoting violence, and creating tensions between parents and…

Long ago, in 1985, personal computers came in two general categories: the friendly, childish game machine used for fun (exemplified by Atari and Commodore products); and the boring, beige adult box used for business (exemplified by products from IBM). The game machines became fascinating technical and artistic platforms that were of limited real-world utility. The IBM products were all utility, with little emphasis on aesthetics and no emphasis on fun. Into this bifurcated computing environment came the Commodore Amiga 1000. This personal computer featured a palette of 4,096 colors, unprecedented animation capabilities, four-channel stereo sound, the capacity to run multiple applications simultaneously, a graphical user interface, and powerful processing potential. It was, Jimmy Maher writes in The Future Was Here, the world’s first true multimedia personal computer.

Maher argues that the Amiga’s capacity to store and display color photographs, manipulate video (giving amateurs access to professional tools), and use recordings of real-world sound were the seeds of the digital media future: digital cameras, Photoshop, MP3 players, and even YouTube, Flickr, and the blogosphere. He examines different facets of the platform—from Deluxe Paint to AmigaOS to Cinemaware—in each chapter, creating a portrait of the platform and the communities of practice that surrounded it. Of course, Maher acknowledges, the Amiga was not perfect: the DOS component of the operating systems was clunky and ill-matched, for example, and crashes often accompanied multitasking attempts. And Commodore went bankrupt in 1994. But for a few years, the Amiga’s technical qualities were harnessed by engineers, programmers, artists, and others to push back boundaries and transform the culture of computing.

Long ago, in 1985, personal computers came in two general categories: the friendly, childish game machine used for fun (exemplified by Atari and Commodore products); and the…

Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality videogames. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses one hundred sets of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game designer and will understand how to do it.* Jesse Schell is a highly recognizable name within the game industry - he is the former chair of the International Game Developer's Association, and has designed many successful games, including Disney's award-winning Toontown Online. * The book's design methodology was developed at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, co-founded by Dr. Randy Pausch, of "Last Lecture" fame. * 100 'lenses' are scattered throughout the book. These are boxed sets of questions, each a different way of seeing a game that will inspire the creative process.* 600 pages of detailed, practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again.

Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of…

Ready to give your design skills a real boost? This eye-opening book helps you explore the design structure behind most of today’s hit video games. You’ll learn principles and practices for crafting games that generate emotionally charged experiences—a combination of elegant game mechanics, compelling fiction, and pace that fully immerses players.

In clear and approachable prose, design pro Tynan Sylvester also looks at the day-to-day process necessary to keep your project on track, including how to work with a team, and how to avoid creative dead ends. Packed with examples, this book will change your perception of game design.

Ready to give your design skills a real boost? This eye-opening book helps you explore the design structure behind most of today’s hit video games. You’ll learn principles and…

Freemium Mobile Games: Design & Monetization reveals the essence of what freemium games are and provides a framework of best practices and in-depth game design schematics for developers to follow. Although the interaction of brilliant game design and monetization mechanisms based on scientific psychological research has successfully stormed the top grossing mobile charts, the roadmap to success remains elusive… until now.

Freemium Mobile Games: Design & Monetization is a detailed guide for the new wave of gaming industry professionals that have to embrace the overwhelming trend of games as a service. The free games that already dominate the billion mobile market, have stolen a lot of the industry's brightest away from console and desktop game production, but this new mobile playground also has new base rules. The book frames this ongoing industry shift as the substitution of AAA publishing with HHH polishing and outlines for developers the new path to success.

Freemium Mobile Games: Design & Monetization is also suitable for casual gamers who enjoy playing Clash of Clans in the mornings, Puzzle & Dragons in the evenings and Candy Crush Saga in-between. Examples from these and many more iOS and Android games are employed, to illustrate both best practices and poor game design decisions that can make or break the user experience. Many of the psychological mechanisms exploited by freemium game design to keep casual gamers playing and spending are demystified, which allows users to identify and counteract exploitative biases such as priming, loss aversion, anchoring, sunk cost fallacy, and many others.

Freemium Mobile Games: Design & Monetization reveals the essence of what freemium games are and provides a framework of best practices and in-depth game design schematics for…

Writing for the multibillion-dollar video-game industry is unlike writing for any other medium. Slay the Dragon will help you understand the challenges and offer creative solutions to writing for a medium where the audience not only demands a great story, but to be a driving force within it. Aimed at traditional writers who want to learn interactive narrative as well as game creators who want to tell better, more emotionally involving stories, the book is written by two creative veterans of both Hollywood and "Nerdyhood." Through lively discussions and self-paced-exercises, Bryant and Giglio step you such topics as: the "no-act" structure of video games; writing great game characters; making gameplay emotionally meaningful; and bringing your game world alive.

Writing for the multibillion-dollar video-game industry is unlike writing for any other medium. Slay the Dragon will help you understand the challenges and offer creative…