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Gamelife: A Memoir
by Michael W. CluneIn telling the story of his youth through seven computer games, critically acclaimed author Michael W. Clune (White Out) captures the part of childhood we live alone. You have been awakened.Floppy disk inserted, computer turned on, a whirring, and then this sentence, followed by a blinking cursor. So begins Suspended, the first computer game to obsess seven-year-old Michael, to worm into his head and change his sense of reality. Thirty years later he will write: "Computer games have taught me the things you can't learn from people."Gamelife is the memoir of a childhood transformed by technology. Afternoons spent gazing at pixelated maps and mazes train Michael's eyes for the uncanny side of 1980s suburban Illinois. A game about pirates yields clues to the drama of cafeteria politics and locker-room hazing. And in the year of his parents' divorce, a spaceflight simulator opens a hole in reality.
Gamer Army
by Trent ReedyIn this timely and thrilling novel, Ender's Game meets Ready Player One and several terabytes of fast-paced video game action as five gamers are recruited into a tech giant's secret program.After Rogan Webber levels up yet again on his favorite video game, Laser Viper, the world-famous creator of the game invites him to join the five best players in the country for an exclusive tournament. The gamers are flown to the tech mogul's headquarters, where they stay in luxury dorms and test out cutting edge virtual-reality gaming equipment, doing digital battle as powerful fighting robots. It's the ultimate gaming experience.But as the contest continues, the missions become harder, losing gamers are eliminated, and the remaining contestants face the growing suspicion that the game may not be what it seems. Why do the soldiers and robots they fight in Laser Viper act so weird? What's behind the strange game glitches? And why does the game feel so... real?Rogan and his gamer rivals must come together, summoning the collective power of their Gamer Army to discover the truth and make things right... in a dangerous world where video games have invaded reality.
Gamer Nation: The Rise of Modern Gaming and the Compulsion to Play Again
by Eric GeissingerA tech-industry insider takes a critical look at the effect games are having on our short- and long-term happiness and assesses the cultural prospects of a society increasingly obsessed with gaming.The American "game economy" has become an enormous enterprise, devouring roughly one-ninth of America's entire economic output. This overview of arguably the most influential segment of the entertainment industry examines the perspectives of gaming enthusiasts, addicts, designers, arcade owners, psychologists, philosophers, and more. Weighing the positive and negative aspects of games, the author considers their effect not only upon the players but upon culture and society. What trade-offs are being made when people play games for twenty-plus hours a week? The author puts particular emphasis on Candy Crush, whose enormous popularity has left all other games far behind. Since 2013 it has been installed over a billion times and its simplicity has disrupted previous game-design assumptions, proving new games don't have to be sophisticated and graphically immersive. He also offers insights from interviews with experts on the mechanics of manipulation. Sophisticated psychological tools are used to design games that are compelling, irresistible, and possibly addicting. In a few case, obsessive game-playing has been the cause of death. Whether you enjoy games as a harmless pastime or are suspicious of their effects on the quality of your family's life, you'll want to read this wide-ranching exploration of the growing game phenomenon.
Gamer Nation: Video Games and American Culture
by John WillsExplores how games actively influence the ways people interpret and relate to American life.In 1975, design engineer Dave Nutting completed work on a new arcade machine. A version of Taito's Western Gun, a recent Japanese arcade machine, Nutting's Gun Fight depicted a classic showdown between gunfighters. Rich in Western folklore, the game seemed perfect for the American market; players easily adapted to the new technology, becoming pistol-wielding pixel cowboys. One of the first successful early arcade titles, Gun Fight helped introduce an entire nation to video-gaming and sold more than 8,000 units.In Gamer Nation, John Wills examines how video games co-opt national landscapes, livelihoods, and legends. Arguing that video games toy with Americans' mass cultural and historical understanding, Wills show how games reprogram the American experience as a simulated reality. Blockbuster games such as Civilization, Call of Duty, and Red Dead Redemption repackage the past, refashioning history into novel and immersive digital states of America. Controversial titles such as Custer's Revenge and 08.46 recode past tragedies. Meanwhile, online worlds such as Second Life cater to a desire to inhabit alternate versions of America, while Paperboy and The Sims transform the mundane tasks of everyday suburbia into fun and addictive challenges.Working with a range of popular and influential games, from Pong, Civilization, and The Oregon Trail to Grand Theft Auto, Silent Hill, and Fortnite, Wills critically explores these gamic depictions of America. Touching on organized crime, nuclear fallout, environmental degradation, and the War on Terror, Wills uncovers a world where players casually massacre Native Americans and Cold War soldiers alike, a world where neo-colonialism, naive patriotism, disassociated violence, and racial conflict abound, and a world where the boundaries of fantasy and reality are increasingly blurred. Ultimately, Gamer Nation reveals not only how video games are a key aspect of contemporary American culture, but also how games affect how people relate to America itself.
Gamer Psychology and Behavior
by Barbaros BostanThis book provides an introduction and overview of the increasingly important topic of gamer psychology and behavior by presenting a range of theoretic perspectives and empirical evidence casting new light on understanding gamer behavior and designing interactive gaming experiences that maximize fun. This book aims to provide a snapshot on research approaches/advances in player psychology and behavior, discuss issues, solutions, challenges, and needs for player behavior research, and report gameplay experience and lessons as well as industry case studies from both social sciences and engineering perspectives. The nine chapters in this book, which are divided into three sections: Neuro-Psychology and Gaming; Player Behavior and Gameplay; Player Psychology and Motivations, do not represent all the topics in the psychology of gaming, however, they include a variety of topics in this field: the effects of violent video games on cognitive processes, the reward systems in the human brain and the concept of 'fun', goal-directed player behavior and game choices, psychological player profiling techniques, game design requirements and player psychology, motivational gamer profiles, and many more. This book is suitable for students and professionals with different disciplinary backgrounds such as computer science, design, software engineering, psychology, interactive media, and information systems. Students will be interested in the theory of gamer psychology and its impact on game design. Professionals will be interested in the fundamentals of gamer behavior and how interactive virtual environments can improve user experience.
Gamer Theory
by Mckenzie WarkListen to a short interview with McKenzie WarkHost: Chris Gondek | Producer: Heron & Crane Ever get the feeling that life's a game with changing rules and no clear sides, one you are compelled to play yet cannot win? Welcome to gamespace. Gamespace is where and how we live today. It is everywhere and nowhere: the main chance, the best shot, the big leagues, the only game in town. In a world thus configured, McKenzie Wark contends, digital computer games are the emergent cultural form of the times. Where others argue obsessively over violence in games, Wark approaches them as a utopian version of the world in which we actually live. Playing against the machine on a game console, we enjoy the only truly level playing field--where we get ahead on our strengths or not at all. Gamer Theory uncovers the significance of games in the gap between the near-perfection of actual games and the highly imperfect gamespace of everyday life in the rat race of free-market society. The book depicts a world becoming an inescapable series of less and less perfect games. This world gives rise to a new persona. In place of the subject or citizen stands the gamer. As all previous such personae had their breviaries and manuals, Gamer Theory seeks to offer guidance for thinking within this new character. Neither a strategy guide nor a cheat sheet for improving one's score or skills, the book is instead a primer in thinking about a world made over as a gamespace, recast as an imperfect copy of the game.
Games As A Service: How Free to Play Design Can Make Better Games
by Oscar ClarkThe games industry is serious business and the role of a games designer has dramatically changed over just the last few years. Developers now have to rethink everything they know about the creative, technical and business challenges to adapt to the transition to games as a service. <P><P> Games as a Service: How Free to Play Design Can Make Better Games has been written to help designers overcome many of the fears and misconceptions surrounding freemium and social games. It provides a framework to deliver better games rather than the ‘evil’ or ‘manipulative’ experiences some designers fear with the move away from wasteful Products to sustainable, trustworthy Services. <P><P> Oscar Clark is a consultant and Evangelist for Everyplay from Applifier. He has been a pioneer in online, mobile and console social games services since 1998 including Wireplay (British Telecom), Hutchison Whampoa (3UK) and PlayStation®Home. He is a regular columnist on PocketGamer.Biz and is an outspoken speaker and moderator at countless games conferences on Games Design, Discovery, and Monetisation. He is also a notorious hat wearer.
Games Industry Management: Gründung, Strategie und Leadership – Theoretische Grundlagen
by Lutz AnderieDieses Buch dokumentiert und analysiert die marktorientierte Unternehmensführung in der Games-Branche sowie die damit einhergehenden Managementprozesse. Unternehmensgründungen werden unter branchenrelevanten Aspekten dargestellt, die Erstellung von Businessplänen, das Gewinnen von Pitches sowie die Möglichkeiten der Unternehmensfinanzierung, auch durch Förderprogramme, werden aufgezeigt und durch konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen abgerundet. Die Zusammenstellung von Teams einschließlich der Aspekte des Female Managements und Diversity sowie die erfolgsorientierte Unternehmensführung werden praxisnah erläutert. Zahlreiche strategische und taktisch-operative Analysen, die für die erfolgreiche Vermarktung von Videogames entscheidend sind, werden anhand von über 100 Fallbeispielen dokumentiert. Managemententscheidungen, einschließlich der Games-Unternehmen Tencent, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Crytek, Plaion, Deck 13 und Microsoft, werden im Kontext des unternehmerischen Erfolgs beleuchtet. Künstliche Intelligenz, Neuronale Netzwerke, Bilderkennung, Spracherkennung und Chatbots in Computerspielen werden verständlich erklärt. Monetarisierungsmodelle, Spielökonomien, Blockchain und Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) werden ebenso erläutert wie KI-basierte Planung & Prognosemodelle für In-Game Items. Die Vertriebskanäle und Businessopportunitäten für Online- und Mobile Games sowie E-Sports und Serious Games werden aufgezeigt. Aktuelle Entwicklungen im Game Design, bei Game-Engines, dem Game Hacking und bei Gamification werden dokumentiert. Ein einzigartiges Fachbuch, der bereits in der 2. Auflage veröffentlicht wird, für Studierende mit Schwerpunkt Games Management, aber auch für Unternehmensgründer, Manager und Investoren der Games-Branche.
Games User Research: A Case Study Approach
by Miguel Angel Garcia-Ruiz"Fundamentally, making games is designing with others, everyone contributing from different angles towards the best possible product. Conclusively, Garcia-Ruiz has chosen a collection of chapters that demonstrates several different aspects of working in gaming and working with others that stands to raise the level of expertise in the field."—Veronica Zammitto, Senior Lead Games User Research, Electronic Arts, Inc., from the Foreword Usability is about making a product easy to use while meeting the requirements of target users. Applied to video games, this means making the game accessible and enjoyable to the player. Video games with high usability are generally played efficiently and frequently while enjoying higher sales volumes. The case studies in this book present the latest interdisciplinary research and applications of games user research in determining and developing usability to improve the video game user experience at the human–computer interface level. Some of the areas examined include practical and ethical concerns in conducting usability testing with children, audio experiences in games, tangible and graphical game interfaces, controller testing, and business models in mobile gaming. Games User Research: A Case Study Approach provides a highly useful resource for researchers, practitioners, lecturers, and students in developing and applying methods for testing player usability as well as for conducting games user research. It gives the necessary theoretical and practical background for designing and conducting a test for usability with an eye toward modifying software interfaces to improve human–computer interaction between the player and the game.
Games and Ethics: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures (Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation #7)
by Angela Tillmann Maike Groen Nina Kiel André WeßelThe number of digital gamers is increasing worldwide, but public debates about digital games commonly focus on questionable game content or problematic gaming behavior. This book offers a broader ethical perspective on digital game cultures, presenting theoretical and empirical work on the ethical dimensions of the development, production and distribution of digital games, as well as issues relating to responsible gaming and the pedagogical use of digital games. Questions of the communicative-cultural change in game cultures are linked with questions of media education and media ethics. With such a comprehensive approach, the volume promotes ethical discourse on digital game cultures.
Games and Learning Alliance
by Alessandro De GloriaThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2014, held in Bucharest, Romania, in July 2014. The 15 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 26 submissions. The papers presented cover a variety of aspects and knowledge fields. They are grouped into four sessions: pedagogy, technology, design, and applications.
Games and Learning Alliance
by Remco Veltkamp Alessandro De GloriaThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2015, held in Rome, Italy, in December 2015. The 33 revised full papers and 15 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 102 submissions. The papers presented cover a variety of aspects and knowledge fields. They are grouped around the following topics: games for health, games for mobility, pervasive gaming and urban mobility.
Games and Learning Alliance
by Rosa Bottino Johan Jeuring Remco C. VeltkampThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2016, held in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in December 2016. The 27 revised regular papers presented together with 14 poster papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 55 submissions. The papers cover topics such as games and sustainability; games for math and programming; games and health; games and soft skills; games and management; games and learning; game development and assessment; and mobile games.
Games and Learning Alliance
by João Dias Remco C. Veltkamp Pedro A. SantosThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2017, held in Lisbon, Portugal, in December 2017. The 16 revised regular papers presented together with 6 poster papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 45 submissions. The papers cover topics such as games in education and training; games for health and special children; augmented and virtual reality; methods and tools (for desing and development); and poster abstracts.
Games and Learning Alliance: 10th International Conference, GALA 2021, La Spezia, Italy, December 1–2, 2021, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #13134)
by Margarida Romero Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge Francesco Bellotti Francesca De Rosa Iza Marfisi Schottman Pierpaolo DondioThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2021, held in La Spezia, Italy, in December 2021. The 21 full papers and 10 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 50 submissions. The papers cover a broad spectrum of topics: Serious Games Applications; Serious Game to Improve Literacy; Technology used for Serious Games; Serious Game Usage; Serious Games Design.
Games and Learning Alliance: 11th International Conference, GALA 2022, Tampere, Finland, November 30 – December 2, 2022, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #13647)
by Michael Kickmeier-Rust Francesco Bellotti Francesca De Rosa Kristian Kiili Koskinen Antti Muhterem DindarThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2022, held in Tampere, Finland, in November/December 2022. The 27 full papers and 9 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 61 submissions. The papers cover a broad spectrum of topics: Serious Games and Game Design; Serious Games for Instruction; Serious Game for Digital Literacy and Numeracy; Novel Approaches and Application Domains; Taxonomies and Evaluation Frameworks.
Games and Learning Alliance: 12th International Conference, GALA 2023, Dublin, Ireland, November 29 – December 1, 2023, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #14475)
by Avo Schönbohm Francesco Bellotti Attracta Brennan Francesca De Rosa Pierpaolo Dondio Mariana Rocha Antti KoskinenThis LNCS volume constitutes the proceedings of 12th International Conference, GALA 2023, in Dublin, Ireland, held during November/December 2023. The 36 full papers and 13 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 88 submissions. The papers contained in this book have been organized into six categories, reflecting the variety of theoretical approaches and application domains of research into serious games: 1. The Serious Games and Game Design2. User experience, User Evaluation and User Analysis in Serious Games3. Serious Games for Instruction4. Serious Games for Health, Wellbeing and Social Change5. Evaluating and Assessing Serious Games Elements6. Posters
Games and Learning Alliance: 13th International Conference, GALA 2024, Berlin, Germany, November 20–22, 2024, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15348)
by Antonio Bucchiarone Manuel Ninaus Avo Schönbohm Francesco Bellotti Francesca De Rosa Pierpaolo Dondio Vanissa Wanick Alf WangThis volume LNCS constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2024, held in Berlin, Germany during November 20-22, 2024. The 30 full papers and 15 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 93 submissions. They focus on Designing for Engagement;, Sustainability and Environmental Literacy in Serious Games; Detecting Deception and Developing Leadership; Futures Literacy; Serious Games for Health and Immersive Learning.
Games and Learning Alliance: 7th International Conference, GALA 2018, Palermo, Italy, December 5–7, 2018, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #11385)
by Manuel Gentile Mario Allegra Heinrich SöbkeThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2018, held in Palermo, Italy, in December 2018.The 38 revised regular papers presented together with 9 poster papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 68 submissions. The papers cover the following topics: games for skills training; game design; methods and tools; gamification and innovative game approaches.
Games and Learning Alliance: 8th International Conference, GALA 2019, Athens, Greece, November 27–29, 2019, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #11899)
by Georgios N. Yannakakis Antonios Liapis Manuel Gentile Manuel NinausThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2019, held in Athens, Greece, in November 2019. The 38 regular papers presented together with 19 poster papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 76 submissions. The papers cover the following topics: serious game design and pedagogical foundations; AI and technology for SG; gamification; applications and case studies; and posters.The chapter "Cyber Chronix, Participatory Research Approach to Develop and Evaluate a Storytelling Game on Personal Data Protection Rights and Privacy Risks" is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.
Games and Learning Alliance: 9th International Conference, GALA 2020, Laval, France, December 9–10, 2020, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #12517)
by Iza Marfisi-Schottman Francesco Bellotti Ludovic Hamon Roland KlemkeThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2020, held in Laval, France, in December 2020. The 35 full papers and 10 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 77 submissions. The papers cover a broad spectrum of topics: Serious Game Design; Serious Game Analytics; Virtual and Mixed Reality Applications; Gamification Theory; Gamification Applications; Serious Games for Instruction; and Serious Game Applications and Studies.
Games and Narrative: Theory and Practice (International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology)
by Barbaros BostanThis book provides an introduction and overview of the rapidly evolving topic of game narratives, presenting the new perspectives employed by researchers and the industry, highlighting the recent empirical findings that illustrate the nature of it. The first section deals with narrative design and theory, the second section includes social and cultural studies on game narrative, the third section focuses on new technologies and approaches for the topic, the fourth section presents practices and case studies, and the final section provides industry cases from professionals.
Games and Simulations in Teacher Education (Advances in Game-Based Learning)
by Elizabeth BradleyThis book includes more than twenty computer games and simulations for use in teacher training. Each of these simulations is innovative and presents an opportunity for pre-service teachers to have hands-on experience in an area of need prior to teaching in the classroom. Information on the simulation origins, including theoretical underpinnings, goals, characteristics, relevant research/program evaluation results, discussion of benefits and limitations as well as dissemination, recommended use, scope of practice, etc. of each game or simulation are included. Pre-service and new teachers will gain a number of useful skills through completion of these simulations and higher education faculty and administrators will gain a plethora of research-based and effective training tools for use in their teacher training programs.
Games as Texts: A Practical Application of Textual Analysis to Games
by Alayna Cole Dakoda BarkerGames as Texts provides an overview and practical steps for analysing games in terms of their representations of social structures, class, power, race, sexuality, gender, animals, nature, and ability. Each chapter applies a traditional literary theory to the narrative and mechanics of games and explores the social commentary the games encourage. This approach demonstrates to players, researchers, games media, and non-gamers how they can engage with these cultural artefacts through both critical reading and theoretical interpretations. Key Features: Explores games through various literary and theoretical lenses Provides exemplar analysis and guiding questions to help readers think critically about games Highlights the social commentary that all texts can reveal—including games—and how this impacts narrative and mechanics
Games as Transformative Experiences for Critical Thinking, Cultural Awareness, and Deep Learning: Strategies & Resources
by David SeelowAll games are potentially transformative experiences because they engage the player in dynamic action. When repurposed in an educational context, even highly popular casual games played online to pass the time can engage players in a way that deepens learning. Games as Transformative Experiences for Critical Thinking, Cultural Awareness, and Deep Learning: Strategies & Resources examines the learning value of a wide variety of games across multiple disciplines. Organized just like a well-made game, the book is divided into four parts highlighting classroom experiences, community and culture, virtual learning, and interdisciplinary instruction. The author crosses between the high school and college classroom and addresses a range of disciplines, both online and classroom practice, the design of curriculum, and the transformation of assessment practices. In addition to a wealth of practical exercises, resources, and lesson ideas, the book explains how to use a wide and diverse range of games from casual to massively multiplayer online games for self-improvement as well as classroom situations.