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Platform Embedded Security Technology Revealed: Safeguarding the Future of Computing with Intel Embedded Security and Management Engine
by Xiaoyu RuanPlatform Embedded Security Technology Revealed is an in-depth introduction to Intel s platform embedded solution: the security and management engine. The engine is shipped inside most Intel platforms for servers, personal computers, tablets, and smartphones. The engine realizes advanced security and management functionalities and protects applications secrets and users privacy in a secure, light-weight, and inexpensive way. Besides native built-in features, it allows third-party software vendors to develop applications that take advantage of the security infrastructures offered by the engine. Intel s security and management engine is technologically unique and significant, but is largely unknown to many members of the tech communities who could potentially benefit from it. Platform Embedded Security Technology Revealed reveals technical details of the engine. The engine provides a new way for the computer security industry to resolve critical problems resulting from booming mobile technologies, such as increasing threats against confidentiality and privacy. This book describes how this advanced level of protection is made possible by the engine, how it can improve users security experience, and how third-party vendors can make use of it. It's written for computer security professionals and researchers; embedded system engineers; and software engineers and vendors who are interested in developing new security applications on top of Intel s security and management engine. It s also written for advanced users who are interested in understanding how the security features of Intel s platforms work. What you'll learn The cyber security challenges behind the creation of the embedded security and management engine, and the solutions it presentsThe pros and cons of enforcing security in the embedded engine Basic cryptography and security infrastructure of the engineSecurity-hardening features of the engineHandling dynamically loaded applicationsHow anonymous authentication works with enhanced privacy protectionContent protection at the hardware levelSecure boot with a hardware root of trustFirmware-based TPMIdentity protection with a hardware-based, one-time password Who this book is for Computer security professionals and researchers; embedded system engineers; software engineers and vendors who are interested in developing new security applications on top of Intel s security and management engine; OEM (such as Lenovo, HP, etc. ) marketing and R&D staff. Table of Contents Cyber Security in the Mobile Age Intel s Embedded Solutions: from Management to Security Building Blocks of the Security and Management Engine The Engine: Safeguarding Itself before Safeguarding Others Your Privacy at the Next Level with Intel's Enhanced Privacy Identification (EPID) Technology Boot with Integrity, or Don t Boot Trust Computing, Backed by Intel's Firmware-Based TPMUnleashing Premium Entertainment with Hardware-Based Content Protection Technology Breaking the Boundaries with Dynamically Loaded Applications Intel Identity Protection Technology: the Robust, Convenient, and Cost-Effective Way to Deter Identity TheftLooking Ahead: Tomorrow's Innovations Built on Today's Foundation "
Platform Engineering on Kubernetes
by Mauricio SalatinoEmpower your team with platforms built on top of Kubernetes using open source tools.Adopting Kubernetes is complex—especially when you&’re working in an organization with multiple teams, deploying to multiple cloud providers, and working with different stacks. Platform Engineering on Kubernetes shows you how to solve these common cloud native problems with open-source tools and emerging best practices from the Kubernetes community. In Platform Engineering on Kubernetes you will learn about: The principles behind platform engineering and how these apply to Kubernetes Evaluating and adopting open-source projects to build domain specific platforms Creating Platform APIs to enable teams to release more software more efficiently Reducing the cognitive load of a platform for your teams Measuring your platform initiatives using established software delivery metrics Package, version, distribute, and deploy with Helm, Tekton, Dagger and Argo CD Implement a multi-cloud infrastructure strategy using Crossplane Progressive upgrades with Knative Serving and Argo Rollouts Enable development teams with standard application-level APIs with Dapr A platform helps your team stay focused on delivering amazing software. But building a reliable platform on top of Kubernetes demands real expertise. Platform Engineering on Kubernetes reveals how to combine multiple popular open-source projects into a custom platform that works for your applications and your teams. It&’s the perfect guide for your organization&’s journey to Kubernetes, simplifying cloud native development for your dev teams and helping them deliver software faster. Foreword by Jared Watts. About the technology Kubernetes is an amazing orchestration tool, but it&’s just the start of your journey to the cloud. To efficiently deliver cloud-native software, your team needs a solid build pipeline, an efficient package manager and distribution mechanism, and APIs that reduce your team&’s cognitive load. This book will show you how to build custom platforms on top of Kubernetes—all with open-source tools such as Dapr, Knative, Argo CD and Rollouts, and Tekton. About the book Platform Engineering on Kubernetes starts by clearly defining the elements of a great Kubernetes-based platform. Then, it systematically introduces the tools you&’ll need to build a platform that exactly matches your organization&’s requirements. Hands-on examples and detailed code guide you through each step. By the end, you&’ll be able to create a complete platform to efficiently deliver cloud-native software without being tied to a specific cloud provider or vendor. About the reader For developers and software architects familiar with the basics of containers and Kubernetes. About the author Mauricio Salatino is currently a Dapr OSS Contributor, a Knative Steering Committee member, and co-lead of the Knative Functions working group. Table of Contents 1 (The rise of) platforms on top of Kubernetes 2 Cloud-native application challenges 3 Service pipelines: Building cloud-native applications 4 Environment pipelines: Deploying cloud-native applications 5 Multi-cloud (app) infrastructure 6 Let&’s build a platform on top of Kubernetes 7 Platform capabilities I: Shared application concerns 8 Platform capabilities II: Enabling teams to experiment 9 Measuring your platforms
The Platform Paradox: How Digital Businesses Succeed in an Ever-Changing Global Marketplace
by Mauro F. GuillénDigital platforms are changing the rules of competition in the global economy. Until recently, it took Fortune 500 companies an average of 20 years to reach billion-dollar market valuations. Successful platforms now reach that milestone in an average of four years. In The Platform Paradox: How Digital Businesses Succeed in an Ever-Changing Global Marketplace, Wharton professor Mauro F. Guillén highlights a key incongruity in this new world. Most platforms considered to be successful have triumphed in only some, rather than all, parts of the world. There are very few truly global digital platforms. In more than three decades of studying multinational firms, Guillén has found they often misunderstand key aspects of what it takes to succeed globally, from culture and institutions to local competitive dynamics and pursuing markets in a logical sequence. Seeing multibillion-dollar companies like Amazon flounder in certain markets has led Guillén to research what it takes to create a successful global strategy. In The Platform Paradox, Guillén details: How the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitization and forced companies like Airbnb to pivot and adapt; How platforms like Tinder and Uber have used local advantages to grow rapidly in different countries; How traditional companies have transformed themselves into digital platforms, like Lego undertaking a digital revolution to emerge from bankruptcy and become the “Apple of toys”; and The possibilities and limits to global expansion, as illustrated by companies like Zoom and Skype. In The Platform Paradox, Guillén offers an integrated framework for these platforms to identify and implement a digital platform strategy on a truly global scale.
Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy--and How to Make Them Work for You
by Marshall W. Van Alstyne Geoffrey G. Parker Sangeet Paul ChoudaryA practical guide to the new economy that is transforming the way we live, work, and play. Uber. Airbnb. Amazon. Apple. PayPal. All of these companies disrupted their markets when they launched. Today they are industry leaders. What's the secret to their success? These cutting-edge businesses are built on platforms: two-sided markets that are revolutionizing the way we do business. Written by three of the most sought-after experts on platform businesses, Platform Revolution is the first authoritative, fact-based book on platform models. Whether platforms are connecting sellers and buyers, hosts and visitors, or drivers with people who need a ride, Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary reveal the what, how, and why of this revolution and provide the first "owner's manual" for creating a successful platform business. Platform Revolution teaches newcomers how to start and run a successful platform business, explaining ways to identify prime markets and monetize networks. Addressing current business leaders, the authors reveal strategies behind some of today's up-and-coming platforms, such as Tinder and SkillShare, and explain how traditional companies can adapt in a changing marketplace. The authors also cover essential issues concerning security, regulation, and consumer trust, while examining markets that may be ripe for a platform revolution, including healthcare, education, and energy. As digital networks increase in ubiquity, businesses that do a better job of harnessing the power of the platform will win. An indispensable guide, Platform Revolution charts out the brilliant future of platforms and reveals how they will irrevocably alter the lives and careers of millions.
Platform Strategy: How to Unlock the Power of Communities and Networks to Grow Your Business
by Laure Claire Reillier Benoit ReillierDuring the last decade, platform businesses such as Uber, Airbnb, Amazon and eBay have been taking over the world. In almost every sector, traditional businesses are under attack from digital disrupters that are effectively harnessing the power of communities. But what exactly is a platform business and why is it different? In Platform Strategy, Laure Claire Reillier and Benoit Reillier provide a practical guide for students, digital entrepreneurs and executives to understand what platforms are, how they work and how you can build one successfully. Using their own "rocket model" and original case studies (including Google, Apple, Amazon), they explain how designing, igniting and scaling a platform business requires learning a whole new set of management rules. Platform Strategy also offers many fascinating insights into the future of platforms, their regulation and governance, as well as how they can be combined with other business models. Benoit Reillier and Laure Claire Reillier are co-founders of Launchworks, a leading advisory firm focused on helping organizations develop and scale innovative business models.
Platforms and Artificial Intelligence: The Next Generation of Competences (Progress in IS)
by Ahmed BounfourArtificial intelligence (AI) and platforms are closely related. Most investments in AI, especially in critical technologies, are provided by large platforms. This book describes how platforms invest in AI and how AI will impact the next generation of competences, following a twofold approach to do so: on the one hand, the book seeks to understand how platforms for investment in intangibles and AI are organized, but on the other hand, it provides a framework to describe how AI will change jobs and competences in the future.Moreover, the book addresses five main themes: 1. platforms, platformization, and the foundations of their business models; 2. artificial intelligence, technological tendencies, and the policy agenda; 3. artificial intelligence, productivity, and the next generation of competences; 4. artificial intelligence, productivity, and the digital divide; 5. artificial intelligence, ethics, and the post-truth society.The book’s content is mostly based on papers presented at the last two installments of the World Conference on Intellectual Capital for Communities. It brings together the views of leading scholars and experts on how artificial intelligence and platformization will impact competences in the near future.
Platons grotesker Irrtum
by Gunter DueckSeit 2005 schreibt der Bestsellerautor Gunter Dueck auf seiner Hompepage www.omnisophie.com alle 14 Tage ein neues "Daily Dueck". Mehr als 5000 Stammleser finden dort Satirisches, Ergötzliches oder auch herb Kritisches. Der Band versammelt die ersten 99 "Daily Duecks" für diejenigen, die lieber ein Buch in den Händen halten möchten. Dueck warnte schon früh vor der Finanzkrise, er schreibt witzige oder ätzend scharfe Pointen über Heuschrecken, treudoofe Bestandskunden, Arbeitsstress und Werteverluste und wirbt für mehr Vertrauen im Arbeitsleben.
Plattform-Geschäftsmodelle: Rahmenwerke, Konzepte und Design
by R. SrinivasanDieses Buch stellt Plattformfirmen als einzigartige Geschäftsmodelle vor. Unter Rückgriff auf die frühe Literatur zur Netzwerkökonomie und zu Strategiekonzepten untersucht dieses Buch, wie sich Plattformunternehmen in der modernen Geschäftswelt entwickeln. Aus einer strategischen Perspektive heraus vermittelt dieses Buch dem Leser Kernkonzepte, Fallstudien und Rahmenwerke zur Analyse von Plattformunternehmen. Das Buch unterscheidet Plattformunternehmen von traditionellen Pipeline-Firmen; es untersucht das Engagement mit verschiedenen Akteuren, die Wertschöpfung und den Betrieb von Plattformen; es erläutert die Ressourcen und Fähigkeiten von Plattformunternehmen, die ihnen einen nachhaltigen Wettbewerbsvorteil verschaffen; es analysiert die Leistungshebel beim Betrieb von Plattformgeschäftsmodellen, einschließlich der Komplementarität mit anderen Geschäftsmodellen; und es erörtert die Nachhaltigkeit von Plattformgeschäftsmodellen, unter anderem angesichts regulatorischer und gesellschaftlicher Herausforderungen.Das Buch ist als Leitfaden für Unternehmer gedacht, die Plattformunternehmen gründen und betreiben, für Führungskräfte in großen Unternehmen, die ihre Ressourcen umwidmen, um die Netzwerkdynamik in ihren Unternehmen in Gang zu setzen, für Nachwuchsführungskräfte und für Fachleute, die für ihre beruflichen und persönlichen Bedürfnisse mit unzähligen Plattformunternehmen zusammenarbeiten. Dieses Buch soll Entscheidungsträgern ein Portfolio von Entscheidungen an die Hand geben, die sie treffen müssen, um eine Plattformfirma zu gründen, zu betreiben, aufrechtzuerhalten und aus ihr Wert zu schöpfen. Es ist auch für Fachleute aus der Politik nützlich, um die wirtschaftlichen und politischen Implikationen der Regulierung und Steuerung von Plattformen in einer postdigitalen Welt zu verstehen.
Play and Learning in Adulthood: Reimagining Pedagogy and the Politics of Education
by Nicola WhittonThis book provides a theoretical and philosophical examination of games, play and playfulness and their relationships to learning and wellbeing in adulthood. It draws on an interdisciplinary literature base (including game-based learning, game studies, education, psychology, and game design) to present a critical manifesto for playful learning in post-compulsory education and lifelong learning. While there is an established body of work in games and learning in adulthood, and a wide literature on the value of play in childhood, the wider potential of play in adulthood and playfulness is under-explored and still emergent. This book offers a comprehensive overview of play in adulthood, exploring the benefits and drawbacks, examining why play in adulthood is different from play in childhood, the role of play in culture, and making an argument for why it is important in our society that we embrace the principles of playfulness.
Play for Java
by Nicolas Leroux Sietse de KaperSummaryPlay for Java shows you how to build Java-based web applications using the Play 2 framework. The book starts by introducing Play through a comprehensive overview example. Then, you'll look at each facet of a typical Play application, both by exploring simple code snippets and by adding to a larger running example. Along the way, you'll contrast Play and JEE patterns and learn how a stateless web application can fit seamlessly in an enterprise environment.About the BookFor a Java developer, the Play web application framework is a breath of fresh air. With Play you get the power of Scala's strong type system and functional programming model, and a rock-solid Java API that makes it a snap to create stateless, event-driven, browser-based applications ready to deploy against your existing infrastructure.Play for Java teaches you to build Java-based web applications using Play 2. This book starts with an overview example and then explores each facet of a typical application by discussing simple snippets as they are added to a larger example. Along the way, you'll contrast Play and JEE patterns and learn how a stateless web application can fit seamlessly in an enterprise Java environment. You'll also learn how to develop asynchronous and reactive web applications.The book requires a background in Java. No knowledge of Play or of Scala is assumed.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.What's InsideBuild Play 2 applications using JavaLeverage your JEE skillsWork in an asynchronous waySecure and test your Play applicationAbout the AuthorsNicolas Leroux is a core developer of the Play framework. Sietse de Kaper develops and deploys Java-based Play applications.Table of ContentsPART 1 INTRODUCTION AND FIRST STEPSAn introduction to PlayThe parts of an applicationA basic CRUD applicationPART 2 CORE FUNCTIONALITYAn enterprise app, Play-styleControllers—handling HTTP requestsHandling user inputModels and persistenceProducing output with view templatesPART 3 ADVANCED TOPICSAsynchronous dataSecurityModules and deploymentTesting your application
Play for Scala: Covers Play 2
by Peter Hilton Erik BakkerSummaryPlay for Scala shows you how to build Scala-based web applications using the Play 2 framework. This book starts by introducing Play through a comprehensive overview example. Then, you'll look at each facet of a typical Play application both by exploring simple code snippets and by adding to a larger running example. Along the way, you'll deepen your knowledge of Scala as a programming language and work with tools like Akka.About this BookPlay is a Scala web framework with built-in advantages: Scala's strong type system helps deliver bug-free code, and the Akka framework helps achieve hassle-free concurrency and peak performance. Play builds on the web's stateless nature for excellent scalability, and because it is event-based and nonblocking, you'll find it to be great for near real-time applications.Play for Scala teaches you to build Scala-based web applications using Play 2. It gets you going with a comprehensive overview example. It then explores each facet of a typical Play application by walking through sample code snippets and adding features to a running example. Along the way, you'll deepen your knowledge of Scala and learn to work with tools like Akka.Written for readers familiar with Scala and web-based application architectures. No knowledge of Play is assumed.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.What's InsideIntro to Play 2Play's MVC structureMastering Scala templates and formsPersisting data and using web servicesUsing Play's advanced featuresAbout the AuthorsPeter Hiltonv, Erik Bakker, and Francisco Canedo, are engineers at Lunatech, a consultancy with Scala and Play expertise. They are contributors to the Play framework.Table of ContentsPART 1: GETTING STARTED Introduction to PlayYour first Play applicationPART 2: CORE FUNCTIONALITYDeconstructing Play application architectureDefining the application's HTTP interfaceStoring data—the persistence layerBuilding a user interface with view templatesValidating and processing input with the forms APIPART 3: ADVANCED CONCEPTSBuilding a single-page JavaScript application with JSONPlay and moreWeb services, iteratees, and WebSockets
Play Framework Cookbook
by Alexander ReelsenThis book is in Packt's Cookbook series. A Packt Cookbook contains recipes for solutions to the most important problems you face when working with a topic. Inside the Cookbook you will find: A straightforward and easy to follow format, A selection of the most important tasks and problems, Carefully organized instructions for solving the problem efficiently, Clear explanations of what you did, Details for applying the solution to other situations. This is the ideal book for people who have already written a first application with the Play Framework or have just finished reading through the documenation. In other words - anyone who is ready to get to grips with Play! Having a basic knowledge of Java is good, as well as well as some web developer skills - HTML and JavaScript
Play Framework Cookbook - Second Edition
by Alexander Reelsen Giancarlo InductivoThis book is aimed at advanced developers who are looking to harness the power of Play 2.x. This book will also be useful for professionals looking to dive deeper into web development. Play 2 .x is an excellent framework to accelerate your learning of advanced topics.
Play Framework Essentials
by Julien Richard-FoyThis book targets Java and Scala developers who already have some experience in web development and who want to master Play framework quickly and efficiently. This book assumes you have a good level of knowledge and understanding of efficient Java and Scala code.
Play It Safe Online
by Phyllis CornwallIntroduces proper online safety for children, including cyberbullies, limiting personal information, and being responsible.
Play like a Feminist. (Playful Thinking)
by Shira ChessAn important new voice provides a riveting look at why video games need feminism and why all of us should make space for more play in our lives."You play like a girl": it's meant to be an insult, accusing a player of subpar, un-fun playing. If you're a girl, and you grow up, do you "play like a woman"--whatever that means? In this provocative and enlightening book, Shira Chess urges us to play like feminists. Furthermore, she urges us to play video games like feminists. Playing like a feminist is empowering and disruptive; it exceeds the boundaries of gender yet still advocates for gender equality. Feminism need video games as much as video games need feminism.
Play My Game: A Stark Ever After Novella (Stark Series #17)
by J. KennerNew York Times bestselling author J. Kenner continues her beloved Stark series with an emotionally charged Stark Ever After novella for Nikki and Damien Stark and the story of their first Valentine's Day as newlyweds. For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey, Sylvia Day, Meredith Wild and Jodi Ellen Malpas.Happy Ever After is just the beginning... I never imagined that anything could top our honeymoon, but life as Mrs Damien Stark is sweeter than any fantasy. We are forever bound by our love and our desire. His touch is my greatest treasure - and is purely mine alone. Yet no matter where we go, the ghosts of our pasts follow. We can't escape our secrets, or the people who desperately want to bring us down. Even on Valentine's Day, neither of us is safe. I'll do whatever it takes to protect Damien, to fulfill his every need. His kiss is my calling, his passion my truest bliss. The dangers we face, we now face together - and nothing can make me run. Includes a preview of Say My Name, the first novel in J. Kenner's Stark International series, and its hero Jackson Steele...Find out how it all began for Damien and Nikki in J. Kenner's hot and addictive bestselling Stark series: Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, Take Me, Have Me, Play My Game, Seduce Me and Unwrap Me.Don't miss J. Kenner's sizzling Most Wanted series of three enigmatic and powerful men, and the striking women who can bring them to their knees: Wanted, Heated and Ignited.
Play My Game: A Stark Ever After Novella (Stark Series #17)
by J. KennerNew York Times bestselling author J. Kenner continues her beloved Stark series with an emotionally charged Stark Ever After novella for Nikki and Damien Stark and the story of their first Valentine's Day as newlyweds. For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey, Sylvia Day, Meredith Wild and Jodi Ellen Malpas.Happy Ever After is just the beginning... I never imagined that anything could top our honeymoon, but life as Mrs Damien Stark is sweeter than any fantasy. We are forever bound by our love and our desire. His touch is my greatest treasure - and is purely mine alone. Yet no matter where we go, the ghosts of our pasts follow. We can't escape our secrets, or the people who desperately want to bring us down. Even on Valentine's Day, neither of us is safe. I'll do whatever it takes to protect Damien, to fulfill his every need. His kiss is my calling, his passion my truest bliss. The dangers we face, we now face together - and nothing can make me run. Includes a preview of Say My Name, the first novel in J. Kenner's Stark International series, and its hero Jackson Steele...Find out how it all began for Damien and Nikki in J. Kenner's hot and addictive bestselling Stark series: Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, Take Me, Have Me, Play My Game, Seduce Me and Unwrap Me.Don't miss J. Kenner's sizzling Most Wanted series of three enigmatic and powerful men, and the striking women who can bring them to their knees: Wanted, Heated and Ignited.(P)2015 Random House Audio
A Play of Bodies: How We Perceive Videogames (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Brendan KeoghAn investigation of the embodied engagement between the playing body and the videogame: how player and game incorporate each other.Our bodies engage with videogames in complex and fascinating ways. Through an entanglement of eyes-on-screens, ears-at-speakers, and muscles-against-interfaces, we experience games with our senses. But, as Brendan Keogh argues in A Play of Bodies, this corporal engagement goes both ways; as we touch the videogame, it touches back, augmenting the very senses with which we perceive. Keogh investigates this merging of actual and virtual bodies and worlds, asking how our embodied sense of perception constitutes, and becomes constituted by, the phenomenon of videogame play. In short, how do we perceive videogames?Keogh works toward formulating a phenomenology of videogame experience, focusing on what happens in the embodied engagement between the playing body and the videogame, and anchoring his analysis in an eclectic series of games that range from mainstream to niche titles. Considering smartphone videogames, he proposes a notion of co-attentiveness to understand how players can feel present in a virtual world without forgetting that they are touching a screen in the actual world. He discusses the somatic basis of videogame play, whether games involve vigorous physical movement or quietly sitting on a couch with a controller; the sometimes overlooked visual and audible pleasures of videogame experience; and modes of temporality represented by character death, failure, and repetition. Finally, he considers two metaphorical characters: the “hacker,” representing the hegemonic, masculine gamers concerned with control and configuration; and the “cyborg,” less concerned with control than with embodiment and incorporation.
The Play of Political Culture, Emotion and Identity (Studies in the Psychosocial)
by Candida YatesOffering a uniquely 'psycho-cultural' take on the emotional dynamics of UK political culture this book uses theories and research in psychoanalysis, cultural and media studies and political sociology. It explores the cultural and emotional processes that shape our relationship to politics in a media age, referencing Joanna Lumley to Nigel Farage.
Play Redux: The Form of Computer Games
by David MyersA new look at digital gaming and the aesthetics of play
Play to Submission: Gaming Capitalism in a Tech Firm
by Tongu WuGames are often a fun perk of a tech company job, and employees can “play to win” in the competition to succeed. But in studying “Behemoth” (a pseudonym for a top American tech company), Tongyu Wu discovered that gaming work culture was far more insidious. Play to Submission shows how Behemoth’s games undermined and manipulated workers. They lost their work-life balance and the constant competition made labor organizing difficult. Nonetheless, many workers embraced management’s games as a chance to show off their “gamer” identities and create a workplace culture with privileged insiders and exiled outsiders, with female and migrant workers usually in the latter group. Moreover, Wu indicates this may be the future of work for high- and low-skilled and, creative workers in an environment where capitalists have heightened demands for technology and creativity. Drawing from 13 months of ethnographic work, Wu presents a persistent reality in which the company reaps the reward of surplus productivity, leaving employees themselves in a highly competitive and sometimes precarious work position.
Player vs. Monster: The Making and Breaking of Video Game Monstrosity (Playful Thinking)
by Jaroslav SvelchA study of the gruesome game characters we love to beat—and what they tell us about ourselves.Since the early days of video games, monsters have played pivotal roles as dangers to be avoided, level bosses to be defeated, or targets to be destroyed for extra points. But why is the figure of the monster so important in gaming, and how have video games come to shape our culture&’s conceptions of monstrosity? To answer these questions, Player vs. Monster explores the past half-century of monsters in games, from the dragons of early tabletop role-playing games and the pixelated aliens of Space Invaders to the malformed mutants of The Last of Us and the bizarre beasts of Bloodborne, and reveals the common threads among them.Covering examples from aliens to zombies, Jaroslav Švelch explores the art of monster design and traces its influences from mythology, visual arts, popular culture, and tabletop role-playing games. At the same time, he shows that video games follow the Cold War–era notion of clearly defined, calculable enemies, portraying monsters as figures that are irredeemably evil yet invariably vulnerable to defeat. He explains the appeal of such simplistic video game monsters, but also explores how the medium could evolve to present more nuanced depictions of monstrosity.
Player vs. Player #1: Ultimate Gaming Showdown (Player vs. Player #1)
by M.K. EnglandIn this action-packed illustrated series, four kid gamers meet at a virtual tournament and battle for the ultimate grand prize. Perfect for young fans of Ready Player One and Mr. Lemoncello's Library.Sixty-four teams.One mysterious grand prize.Four gamers determined to win it all. Welcome to Affinity, the hottest battle royale video game in the world! Gamers can be anything they want to be in Affinity&’s high-tech, magical universe—and test their skills in fierce PvP combat. So when Hurricane Games announces an epic tournament with killer prizes, four kids form a team that feels unstoppable . . . but also maybe doomed from the start? Josh is the tank . . . when his parents let him game.Hannah is the melee fighter . . . but she can only play at the public library.Larkin is the healer . . . as long as her family&’s not around.Wheatley is the ranger . . . with a secret that might wreck the whole team. As solo gamers, they&’re good. Really good. But the tournament is a whole new level of competition, and it'll take all four of them to bring it home. Can they step up their game in time for the final match?
Player vs. Player #2: Attack of the Bots (Player vs. Player #2)
by M.K. EnglandIn book 2 of this action-packed illustrated series, the best kid gamers return to the world of eSports and battle for glory at their first pro tournament. Perfect for young fans of Ready Player One and Mr. Lemoncello's Library.Welcome to Affinity, the hottest battle royale video game around! Since winning the first-ever Affinity tournament, The Weird Ones are supposed to be on top of the world. Josh, Hannah, Larkin, and Wheatley have formed their own professional team and launched a popular streaming channel, and they&’re set to take eSports by storm.But the kids have an awful secret: Wheatley is missing. And considering the threats he received before he disappeared, the other team members are worried. Plus, they keep getting matched with random players in-game who seem . . . disturbingly Wheatley-like? It&’s creepy. Sinister, even. And it&’s getting worse.With their first pro match looming, the kids are running out of time. They need help, and fast—because without Wheatley, their pro dreams may be dashed before the game even begins.