Short description:

Internationally renowned media and literature scholars, social scientists, game designers and artists explore the cultural potential of computer games in this rich anthology, which introduces the latest approaches in the central fields of game studies and provides an extensive survey of contemporary game culture.

Long description:

Internationally renowned media and literature scholars, social scientists, game designers and artists explore the cultural potential of computer games in this rich anthology, which introduces the latest approaches in the central fields of game studies and provides an extensive survey of contemporary game culture.

'The book is an excellent option for everyone interested in cultural criticism and/or videogames to get an overview of the subject...the contributors have excellent insights into both the current literature, as well as the most important discussions related to their specific field of interest. ' - Kulturkapellet

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction; A.Jahn-Sudmann & R.Stockmann PART 1: GAME DESIGN AND AESTHETICS The Aesthetic Vocabulary of Video Games; J.Van Dreunen Can Games Get Real? A Closer Look at 'Documentary' Digital Games; I.Bogost & C.Poremba Emotional Design of Computer Games and Fiction Films; D.C.Rusch 'Applied Game Theory': Innovation, Diversity, Experimentation in Contemporary Game Design; H.Jenkins & K.Squire PART 2: SPACE AND TIME There and Back Again: Reuse, Signifiers, and Consistency in Created Game Spaces; P.Berger Another Bricolage in the Wall: Deleuze and Teenage Alienation; J.P.Cain PART 3: WAR AND VIOLENCE Programming Violence: Language and the Making of Interactive Media; C.Herbst Impotence and Agency: Computer Games as a Post-9/11 Battlefield; H.Lowood S(t)imulating War: From Early Films to Military Games; D.Rentfrow PART 4: ETHICS AND MORALITY Player in Fabula. Ethics of Interaction as Semiotic Negotiation Between Authorship and Readership; M.Maietti 'Moral Management': Dealing with Moral Concerns to Maintain Enjoyment of Violent Video Games; C.Klimmt, H.Schmid, A.Nosper, T.Hartmann & P.Vorderer Beyond Good and Evil: The Inhuman Ethics of Redemption and Bloodlines; W.Slocombe PART 5: POLITICS AND IDEOLOGY Preconscious Apocalypse. The Failure of Capitalism in Computer Games; S.O.Cavalcanti Borders and Bodies in City of Heroes: (Re)imaging American Identity Post 9/11; N.Marshall Anti-PC Games. Exploring Articulations of the Politically Incorrect in GTA San Andreas; A.Jahn-Sudmann & R.Stockmann Strip-Shift-Impose-Recycle-Overload-Spill-Breakout-Abuse. Artists' (Mis-)Appropriations of Shooter Games; M.Engeli PART 6: COMPUTER GAME PLAY(ERS) AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES Presence-Play: The Hauntology of the Computer Game; D.Lockwood & T.Richards Negotiating Online Computer Games in East Asia: Manufacturing Asian MMORPGs and Marketing 'Asianness'; D.Chan Teenage Girls 'Play House' - The Cyber-drama of the Sims; L.Dyson Cited Computer Games References Index