The Video Game Theory Reader - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415965799 ISBN 13: 9780415965798

Publisher: Routledge, 2003

Synopsis

In the early days of Pong and Pac Man, video games appeared to be little more than an idle pastime. Today, video games make up a multi-billion dollar industry that rivals television and film.

The Video Game Theory Reader brings together exciting new work on the many ways video games are reshaping the face of entertainment and our relationship with technology. Drawing upon examples from widely popular games ranging from Space Invaders to Final Fantasy IX and Combat Flight Simulator 2, the contributors discuss the relationship between video games and other media; the shift from third- to first-person games; gamers and the gaming community; and the important sociological, cultural, industrial, and economic issues that surround gaming.

The Video Game Theory Reader is the essential introduction to a fascinating and rapidly expanding new field of media studies.

About this title

Review:

"If anyone has doubts that video games warrant serious reflection and examination as a creative medium, "The Video Game Theory Reader will dispel them. If anyone involved in the creation of video games is looking for fresh perspectives on their art, they'll find them right here."
-D.B. Weiss, author of "Lucky Wander Boy
"Computer and video games have been with us for only a few short decades. As with any young medium, important questions remain unanswered: What exactly are video games and how do they function? How do video games relate to other forms of media and culture? What is their effect on the minds and lives of players? And what are the larger implications for society? "The Video Game Theory Reader begins to answer these questions, and in doing so, sketches out an exciting, emerging field of vital importance for the future of design, technology, and culture."
-Eric Zimmerman, CEO of gameLab, co-author of "Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals
""The Video Game Theory Reader is a crucial and timely edited volume which focuses exclusively on the theorization of video games, and thereby makes great strides towards ameliorating a persisting gap in the academic literature.."
-Robert T. Wood, University of Lethbridge--"New Media & Society
""The Video Game Theory Reader serves as an excellent introduction to video game studies, the current positions in the field, and the current problems with video game studies.."
-Laurie Taylor, University of Florida, "Journal of Film and Video, Winter 2003

Synopsis:

The Video Game Theory Reader brings together exciting new work on video games as a unique medium and nascent field of study - one that is rapidly developing new modes of understanding and analysis, like film studies in the 1960s and television studies in the 1980s. This pioneering collection addresses the many ways video games are reshaping the face of entertainment and our relationship with technology. In the volume, leading media studies scholars develop new theoretical tools and concepts to study video games. Drawing upon examples from a number of popular games ranging from Space Invaders to Final Fantasy , the contributors discuss the relationship between video games and other media; the shift from third- to first-person games; gamers and the gaming community; and the important sociological, cultural, industrial, and economic issues that surround gaming.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0415965799
• ISBN 13: 9780415965798
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Wolf Mark J. P.