The Pleasures of Computer Gaming

The Pleasures of Computer Gaming

Author: Melanie Swalwell

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-05-12

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 9780786451203

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This collection of essays situates the digital gaming phenomenon alongside broader debates in cultural and media studies. Contributors to this volume maintain that computer games are not simply toys, but rather circulate as commodities, new media technologies, and items of visual culture that are embedded in complex social practices. Apart from placing games within longer arcs of cultural history and broader critical debates, the contributors to this volume all adopt a pedagogical and theoretical approach to studying games and gameplay, drawing on the interdisciplinary resources of the humanities and social sciences, particularly new media studies. In eight essays, the authors develop rich and nuanced understandings of the aesthetic appeals and pleasurable engagements of digital gameplay. Topics include the role of “cheats” and “easter eggs” in influencing cheating as an aesthetic phenomenon of gameplay; the relationship between videogames, gambling, and addiction; players’ aesthetic and kinaesthetic interactions with computing technology; and the epistemology and phenomenology of popular strategy-based wargames and their relationship with real-world military applications. Notes and a bibliography accompany each essay, and the work includes several screenshots, images, and photographs.


Book Synopsis The Pleasures of Computer Gaming by : Melanie Swalwell

Download or read book The Pleasures of Computer Gaming written by Melanie Swalwell and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-05-12 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays situates the digital gaming phenomenon alongside broader debates in cultural and media studies. Contributors to this volume maintain that computer games are not simply toys, but rather circulate as commodities, new media technologies, and items of visual culture that are embedded in complex social practices. Apart from placing games within longer arcs of cultural history and broader critical debates, the contributors to this volume all adopt a pedagogical and theoretical approach to studying games and gameplay, drawing on the interdisciplinary resources of the humanities and social sciences, particularly new media studies. In eight essays, the authors develop rich and nuanced understandings of the aesthetic appeals and pleasurable engagements of digital gameplay. Topics include the role of “cheats” and “easter eggs” in influencing cheating as an aesthetic phenomenon of gameplay; the relationship between videogames, gambling, and addiction; players’ aesthetic and kinaesthetic interactions with computing technology; and the epistemology and phenomenology of popular strategy-based wargames and their relationship with real-world military applications. Notes and a bibliography accompany each essay, and the work includes several screenshots, images, and photographs.


Screenplay

Screenplay

Author: Geoff King

Publisher: Wallflower Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 9781903364239

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Hollywood film franchises are routinely translated into games and some game-titles make the move onto the big screen. This collection investigates the interface between cinema and games console or PC.


Book Synopsis Screenplay by : Geoff King

Download or read book Screenplay written by Geoff King and published by Wallflower Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hollywood film franchises are routinely translated into games and some game-titles make the move onto the big screen. This collection investigates the interface between cinema and games console or PC.


Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul

Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul

Author: James Paul Gee

Publisher: Common Ground

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 186335574X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Imprint. In this text, built entirely around computer games and game play, the author shows how good video games marry pleasure and learning and, at the same time, have the potential to empower people.


Book Synopsis Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul by : James Paul Gee

Download or read book Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul written by James Paul Gee and published by Common Ground. This book was released on 2005 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imprint. In this text, built entirely around computer games and game play, the author shows how good video games marry pleasure and learning and, at the same time, have the potential to empower people.


More Than a Game

More Than a Game

Author: Barry Atkins

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2003-09-06

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780719063657

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Taking its cue from practices of reading texts in literary and cultural studies, this book considers the computer game as a new and emerging mode of contemporary storytelling. In a carefully organized study, Barry Atkins discusses questions of narrative and realism in four of the most significant games of the last decade: Tomb Raider, Half-Life, Close Combat and SimCity. This is a work for both the student of contemporary culture and those game-players who are interested in how computer games tell their stories.


Book Synopsis More Than a Game by : Barry Atkins

Download or read book More Than a Game written by Barry Atkins and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2003-09-06 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking its cue from practices of reading texts in literary and cultural studies, this book considers the computer game as a new and emerging mode of contemporary storytelling. In a carefully organized study, Barry Atkins discusses questions of narrative and realism in four of the most significant games of the last decade: Tomb Raider, Half-Life, Close Combat and SimCity. This is a work for both the student of contemporary culture and those game-players who are interested in how computer games tell their stories.


Gamers

Gamers

Author: Shanna Compton

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2004-10-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 1932360573

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Gamers, writers, artists, scholars, poets, and programmers talk about what gaming means to them and discuss the growing impact of video games on fashion, fiction, film, and music. Essays feature a glittering mix of topics from the esoteric to the purely entertaining: gender identity in relation to gaming, video golf as a meditative exercise, Ms. Pacman versus The Sims, the similarities between writing fiction and programming, the confessions of a video poker junkie, and much more.


Book Synopsis Gamers by : Shanna Compton

Download or read book Gamers written by Shanna Compton and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2004-10-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Gamers, writers, artists, scholars, poets, and programmers talk about what gaming means to them and discuss the growing impact of video games on fashion, fiction, film, and music. Essays feature a glittering mix of topics from the esoteric to the purely entertaining: gender identity in relation to gaming, video golf as a meditative exercise, Ms. Pacman versus The Sims, the similarities between writing fiction and programming, the confessions of a video poker junkie, and much more.


Computer Gaming

Computer Gaming

Author: Betsy Rathburn

Publisher: Bellwether Media

Published: 2021-01-01

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13: 1648341322

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

People have played computer games for more than 50 years! Today, computer games are still some of the most popular video games. In this high-interest book, leveled text introduces readers to the history of computer gaming from the 1950s to the present day. Special features include a timeline, a list of top-selling games, a profile of one of today’s most popular titles, and a gaming event spotlight. This title is sure to excite reluctant readers who love video games!


Book Synopsis Computer Gaming by : Betsy Rathburn

Download or read book Computer Gaming written by Betsy Rathburn and published by Bellwether Media. This book was released on 2021-01-01 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People have played computer games for more than 50 years! Today, computer games are still some of the most popular video games. In this high-interest book, leveled text introduces readers to the history of computer gaming from the 1950s to the present day. Special features include a timeline, a list of top-selling games, a profile of one of today’s most popular titles, and a gaming event spotlight. This title is sure to excite reluctant readers who love video games!


Media Entertainment

Media Entertainment

Author: Dolf Zillmann

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2000-05-01

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1135667535

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This collection represents a systematic exploration of media entertainment from an academic perspective. Editors Zillmann and Vorderer have assembled scholars from psychology, sociology, and communication to provide a broad examination of the primary function of media entertainment--the attainment of gratification. Chapters included here address vital aspects of media entertainment and summarize pertinent findings, providing an overview of what is presently known about the appeal and function of the essential forms of media entertainment, and offering some degree of integration. Written in a clear, non-technical style, this volume provides a lively and entertaining study of media entertainment for academic study and coursework.


Book Synopsis Media Entertainment by : Dolf Zillmann

Download or read book Media Entertainment written by Dolf Zillmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2000-05-01 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection represents a systematic exploration of media entertainment from an academic perspective. Editors Zillmann and Vorderer have assembled scholars from psychology, sociology, and communication to provide a broad examination of the primary function of media entertainment--the attainment of gratification. Chapters included here address vital aspects of media entertainment and summarize pertinent findings, providing an overview of what is presently known about the appeal and function of the essential forms of media entertainment, and offering some degree of integration. Written in a clear, non-technical style, this volume provides a lively and entertaining study of media entertainment for academic study and coursework.


Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality

Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality

Author: Melanie Swalwell

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2021-08-17

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 026236560X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The overlooked history of an early appropriation of digital technology: the creation of games though coding and hardware hacking by microcomputer users. From the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, low-end microcomputers offered many users their first taste of computing. A major use of these inexpensive 8-bit machines--including the TRS System 80s and the Sinclair, Atari, Microbee, and Commodore ranges--was the development of homebrew games. Users with often self-taught programming skills devised the graphics, sound, and coding for their self-created games. In this book, Melanie Swalwell offers a history of this era of homebrew game development, arguing that it constitutes a significant instance of the early appropriation of digital computing technology. Drawing on interviews and extensive archival research on homebrew creators in 1980s Australia and New Zealand, Swalwell explores the creation of games on microcomputers as a particular mode of everyday engagement with new technology. She discusses the public discourses surrounding microcomputers and programming by home coders; user practices; the development of game creators' ideas, with the game Donut Dilemma as a case study; the widely practiced art of hardware hacking; and the influence of 8-bit aesthetics and gameplay on the contemporary game industry. With Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality, Swalwell reclaims a lost chapter in video game history, connecting it to the rich cultural and media theory around everyday life and to critical perspectives on user-generated content.


Book Synopsis Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality by : Melanie Swalwell

Download or read book Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality written by Melanie Swalwell and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2021-08-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The overlooked history of an early appropriation of digital technology: the creation of games though coding and hardware hacking by microcomputer users. From the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, low-end microcomputers offered many users their first taste of computing. A major use of these inexpensive 8-bit machines--including the TRS System 80s and the Sinclair, Atari, Microbee, and Commodore ranges--was the development of homebrew games. Users with often self-taught programming skills devised the graphics, sound, and coding for their self-created games. In this book, Melanie Swalwell offers a history of this era of homebrew game development, arguing that it constitutes a significant instance of the early appropriation of digital computing technology. Drawing on interviews and extensive archival research on homebrew creators in 1980s Australia and New Zealand, Swalwell explores the creation of games on microcomputers as a particular mode of everyday engagement with new technology. She discusses the public discourses surrounding microcomputers and programming by home coders; user practices; the development of game creators' ideas, with the game Donut Dilemma as a case study; the widely practiced art of hardware hacking; and the influence of 8-bit aesthetics and gameplay on the contemporary game industry. With Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality, Swalwell reclaims a lost chapter in video game history, connecting it to the rich cultural and media theory around everyday life and to critical perspectives on user-generated content.


Lost in a Good Game

Lost in a Good Game

Author: Pete Etchells

Publisher: Icon Books

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781785784811

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An exploration of the psychological effects - the pleasures, benefits and disbenefits - of computer games, and a touching memoir of a dedicated gamer.


Book Synopsis Lost in a Good Game by : Pete Etchells

Download or read book Lost in a Good Game written by Pete Etchells and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of the psychological effects - the pleasures, benefits and disbenefits - of computer games, and a touching memoir of a dedicated gamer.


Game Cultures: Computer Games As New Media

Game Cultures: Computer Games As New Media

Author: Dovey, Jon

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)

Published: 2006-05-01

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 033521357X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book introduces the critical concepts and debates that are shaping the emerging field of game studies. Exploring games in the context of cultural studies and media studies, it analyses computer games as the most popular contemporary form of new media production and consumption. This is key reading for students, academics and industry practitioners in the fields of cultural studies, new media, media studies and game studies, as well as human-computer interaction and cyberculture.


Book Synopsis Game Cultures: Computer Games As New Media by : Dovey, Jon

Download or read book Game Cultures: Computer Games As New Media written by Dovey, Jon and published by McGraw-Hill Education (UK). This book was released on 2006-05-01 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the critical concepts and debates that are shaping the emerging field of game studies. Exploring games in the context of cultural studies and media studies, it analyses computer games as the most popular contemporary form of new media production and consumption. This is key reading for students, academics and industry practitioners in the fields of cultural studies, new media, media studies and game studies, as well as human-computer interaction and cyberculture.