This is a list of resources I came across while putting together this course. I made it for my own use, so I haven't done much here to clean it up or organize it, but you might find it helpful (you can search it using control or apple F). If you have suggestions for additions, please send them
QUESTIONS:
Can games be used for serious/educational purposes? Make us Smarter?
Are they addictive?
Anti-social/promote violence? Militaristic?
Sexist?
Parallels to panics about comic books, TV, Rock N Roll (hiphop?)
Can games become an art form? narrative?
a not entirely simple but
useful definition of art: http://www.pet-portraitartist.com/learning-to-paint-and-draw/meaning-of-art.htm
====================================
DIRECTORY/INDEX
http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/
--------------------------------------------------------------
IMAGES
archive: http://www.gamegirlz.com/screenshots/
http://www.gamegirlz.com/screenshots/hellforces/hellforces002.jpg
eg ghostrider (too lo rez? ) http://www.1up.com/do/slideshow?pager.offset=0&mt=0&cId=3142009&mId=3005509
project eden http://www.gamegirlz.com/screenshots/eden/eden04.jpg
bladestorm http://www.1up.com/do/slideshow?pager.offset=0&mt=0&cId=3148395&mId=3163003
virtual fighter http://www.1up.com/do/media?cId=3150467&sec=IMAGES
===================================
emergame.txt
future directions? http://www.gamespy.com/articles/491/491538p1.html
---
list (sales) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best_selling_computer_and_video_games
top 100 (quality) http://top100.ign.com/2005/001-010.html
top 10 http://www.cnet.com/4520-11136_1-6310088-1.html
===============================================
FAN/INDUSTRY MAGAZINES
LIST: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_and_video_game_journalism
ElectronicGaming_Monthly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly
(Has game of year list and top 200)
http://egm.1up.com/ large archive of screenshots
http://www.gameinformer.com/default.htm
player comment on their current games: http://www.gamelog.cl/
==================================================
JOURNALS
Game Studies: the international journal of computer game research http://gamestudies.org/0501/
Game studies [electronic resource] : the international journal of computer game
research
Published [S.l.] : Game Studies, c2001-
Library has available online: http://gamestudies.org/0501/
v.1(2001)-
gender: http://gamestudies.org/0501/nakamura_wirman/
Not so scholarly: http://ludology.org/index.php
Journal of popular culture http://cruzcat.ucsc.edu/search/t?SEARCH=journal+of+popular+culture&searchscope=2
================================================================================================
===================================
TOPICS/ISSUES
DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT:
COURSES:
http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/classes/cmps080k/Winter06/
Juul: definition of games http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/classes/cmps080k/Winter06/lectures/juul-half-real-ch2.pdf
==================================================
EDUCATION
http://www.educationarcade.org/
*** classic kurt squire; good overview: http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:VFaTWAHtEBsJ:website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/manuscripts/IJIS.doc+image+analysis+critique+video+game&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=14&client=firefox-a
Erik Champion Meaningful interaction in virtual learning environments ACM
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1109180.1109186&coll=portal&dl=ACM&type=series&idx=1109180&part=Proceedings&WantType=Proceedings&title=ACM%20International%20Conference%20Proceeding%20Series&CFID=15151515&CFTOKEN=6184618
**Virtual Kids of the 21st Century: Understanding the Children in Schools Today.
NICOLA A. YELLAND and MARGARET LLOYD.
Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual (Annual 2001): p175. [australian
survey data)
http://find.galegroup.com.oca.ucsc.edu/itx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C25%2529video%2Bgame%2Bculture%2Bsocial%2524&contentSet=IAC-Documents&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T002&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=EAIM&searchId=R1¤tPosition=6&userGroupName=ucsantacruz&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28K0%2CNone%2C25%29video+game+culture+social%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=A78177249&docType=IAC
===================================================
POLITICS
http://www.gamepolitics.com/ (industry bias)
A first-person perspective computer game called "Night of Bush Capturing,"
was released to jihadist forums today, Friday, September 15, 2006, by the Global
Islamic Media Front, a jihadist mouthpiece, and visual and print media organization.
The game, which is a modification of an older game, "Quest for Saddam,"
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/013190.php
http://www.waronterrortheboardgame.com/thegame/
Political games: http://www.interact.com.pt/11/Interact11_sub34.html see polgame.txt
LEGISLATION RELATED TO VG:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GamePolitics.com
==========================================
RELIGION
The Daily Show Does "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" http://www.talk2action.org/section/religious_war
ENVIRONMENT
***ZooTycoon[TM]: capitalism, nature, and the pursuit of happiness. Andy Opel
and Jason Smith.
Ethics & the Environment 9.2 (July 2004): p103.
http://find.galegroup.com.oca.ucsc.edu/itx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C25%2529video%2Bgame%2Bculture%2Bsocial%2524&contentSet=IAC-Documents&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T002&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=EAIM&searchId=R1¤tPosition=4&userGroupName=ucsantacruz&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28K0%2CNone%2C25%29video+game+culture+social%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=A138442813&docType=IAC
GENDER
http://gamestudies.org/0501/nakamura_wirman/
Digitalgirls (Canada) http://www.digitalgirls.org/txp/Bibliographies/44/video-games-bibliography
***
Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo?
On the Limits of Textual Analysis
by Helen W. Kennedy
http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/
Gailey, C. W. 1993. Mediated Messages - Gender, Class, and Cosmos in-Home Video-Games.
Journal of Popular Culture 27 (1):81–97
From Barbie To Mortal Kombat : Gender And Computer Games / edited By Justine
Cassell And Henry Jenkins : BOOKS c1998 McH Stacks GV1469.17.S63 F76 1998
From Barbie To Mortal Kombat Gender And Computer Games / [Electronic Resource]
: Edited By Justine Cassell And Henry Jenkins :
ch exerpt: http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/complete.html on gender
Ouellette, Marc. "Two Guns, a Girl, and a PlayStation: Gender in the Tomb
Raider Series." Popular Culture Assocation/American Culture Association
Conference. New Orleans, LA. April 2000.
male body image study: http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct06/magazines.html
=====================================================
VIOLENCE
The Impact Of Interactive Violence On Children : Hearing Before The Committee
On Commerce, Science, And Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred
Sixth Congress, Second Session, March 21, 2000 : United States.;
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_senate_hearings&docid=f:78656.wais
From Barbie To Mortal Kombat : Gender And Computer Games / edited By Justine
Cassell And Henry Jenkins : BOOKS c1998
2 From Barbie To Mortal Kombat Gender And Computer Games / [Electronic Resource]
: Edited By Justine Cassell And Henry Jenkins : BOOKS
ch exerpt: http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/complete.html on gender
Grossman, David. "Teaching Kids to Kill." Phi Kappa Phi National Forum
2000. http://www.killology.org/article_teachkid.htm cf 8myths
Taylor, Laurie. "The Learning, Cooperation, and Positives that Video Games
Engender." The Children, Culture, and Violence Conference. University of
Flordia. Gainesville, FL. March 2003. LGI SITE
http://www.ludonauts.com/2005/07/10/violence-in-videogames/
Menchaca, David. "So That's What an Exploded Head Looks Like: The Rhetoric
of
Computer Game Violence." The 25th Annual Conference of The Southwest/Texas
Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association. San Antonio, TX. April
2004. lgi site
2006 study http://techweb.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196600419
Unsettling the military entertainment complex: Video games and a pedagogy of
peace - group of 2 »
D Leonard - Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education, 2004 - utpjournals.com
--
Price J 'Social Science Research on Video Games' Journal of Popular Culture
18, 111-25 (1985)
? Selnow G 'The Fall and Rise of Video Games' Journal of Popular Culture 21,
53-60 (1987)
---
*** Columbine RPG Creator Talks About Dawson Shooting
http://web.lexis-nexis.com.oca.ucsc.edu/universe/document?_m=3c9fd80ec668a5e87511becdd9a2c3e9&_docnum=8&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=76c9fa853c29dd9f984add1ee0ad878a
gamecolumb.txt
---
Funk, J. B., Flores, G., Buchman, D. D., & Germann, J. N. (1999). Rating
electronic games: Violence is in the eye of the beholder. Youth and Society,
30, 283-312.
--
Provenzo, Eugene F. Jr. (1991) Video Kids: Making Sense of Nintento. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
Quittner, J., (1999). Are Video Games Really so Bad? Time. v 153 n 18, 30-34.
Sneed, C., and Runco, M.A., The Beliefs Adults and Childern Hold About Television
and Video Games. The Journal of Psychology v 126 n 3, 273-284.
---
Left behind: http://web.lexis-nexis.com.oca.ucsc.edu/universe/document?_m=3c9fd80ec668a5e87511becdd9a2c3e9&_docnum=13&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=9b3dbf98a94b971149d0846f2b0c3b48
Bully for You brief http://web.lexis-nexis.com.oca.ucsc.edu/universe/document?_m=a9e1bbc4adfb893e3e01803daae38d36&_docnum=11&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=e605cb541e7e9e9df424527caf210d42
Knapp, Herschel Edmond.
Title Desensitization aftereffects of playing violent videogames / by Herschel
Edmond Knapp.
Publisher 2001.
Description xii, 109 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.
Note Vita.
Note Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2001.
Note Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-109).
Language English
Subject Video games -- Psychological aspects -- Case studies.
Dissertations, Academic -- UCLA -- Social Welfare.
Format Dissertation
Archive/Manuscript
Library UC Los Angeles All
Library Call Number Availability Notes
So. Regional Library Facility
SRLF LD791.9.S65 K864 2001 Circ status D0009999145
Columbine shooter game http://www.columbinegame.com/ I saw an interview with
designer somewhere.
---------------------------------
PSYCHOLOGY
The Medium of the Video Game (INTRO http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exwolmed.html)
Edited by Mark J. P. Wolf
In Chapter 9, Rebecca R. Tews examines approaches that psychological research
has taken toward the video game and suggests that Jungian archetypes may provide
a key to understanding the role that video games play in culture
------------------------
ADDICTION
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070105/clark_01.shtml
==============================================================
----
HISTORY OF VG
Hardware gimmick or cultural innovation? Technological, cultural, and social
foundations of the Japanese video game industry. Yuko Aoyama and Hiro Izushi.
Research Policy 32.3 (March 2003): p423(22).
Videogames: In The Beginning
by Ralph H. Baer
=====================
BUSINESS
Dibbell (investigated making real money in digital world ) http://www.juliandibbell.com/playmoney/index.html
npr interview (audio) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6491313
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (Paperback)
by Daniel Pink
Blink?
John Seely Brown
Rushkoff, Douglas.
Title Playing the future : how kids' culture can teach us to thrive in an age
of chaos / Douglas Rushkoff.
Pub info New York : HarperCollins, c1996.
Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games by Edward Castronova
industry critique:
Death to the Games Industry, Part I
by Greg Costikyan http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/8/3
==================================
DESIGN/CAREER
site:
http://www.gamecareerguide.com/index.php
-------------------
GAME DESIGN COURSES/PROGRAMS
http://games.rit.edu/courses/graduate/#
==============================================
LOW TECH GAMES
http://www.waronterrortheboardgame.com/thegame/ rules http://www.waronterrortheboardgame.com/rules/WoT_rules_of_engagement.pdf
=====
LITERARY APPROACHES: CYBERPUNK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk
Storming the reality studio : a casebook of cyberpunk and postmodern science
fiction / edited by Larry McCaffery.
Pub info Durham : Duke University Press, 1991.
King 7th Floor PS374.S35 S76 1991
McH Stacks PS374.S35S76 1991 c.2 NOT CHECKD OUT
http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/
William Gibson http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/index.asp
Neal Stephenson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash
http://www.cyberartsweb.org/cpace/scifi/ns/snowcrashov.html
True names: whole novel online http://home.comcast.net/~kngjon/truename/truename.html
Steampunk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
========
VIDEO GAMES VS FILM
http://www.virtualfools.com/filler/videogames/videogamemovie.html
========================================================
VISUAL ASPECTS
Burnham, Van
Title Supercade : a visual history of the videogame age, 1971-1984 / text, design,
and production by Van Burnham ; contributors, Ralph H. Baer ... [et al.]
Edition 1st ed
Publisher Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 2001
Description 439 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm
Note Includes bibliographical references (p. 423) and index
Includes filmography (p. 423-424)
ISBN 0262024926 (alk. paper)
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.3 .B87 2001 checked out; due 11/20/2007
=======
CULTURE JAMMING/APPROPRiATION
Harold, Christine “Pranking Rhetoric - Culture Jamming as Media Activism”
Critical Studies in Media Communications Volume 21, No. 3 [UTL]
Carducci, Vince “Culture Jamming: A Sociological Perspective” Journal
of Consumer Culture Volume 6 No. 1, 2006 pp. 116-138.
In Class Viewing: CultureJam: Hijacking Commercial Culture [videorecording]
a film by Jill Sharpe Right to Jam Productions 2001.
November 29th - Media Convergence and its Pedagogical Possibilities
Jenkins, Henry “The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence” International
Journal of Cultural Studies Volume 7 No. 1, 2004 pp. 33-43.[UTL]
Shefrin, Elana “Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and participatory fandom:
mapping new congruencies between the internet and media entertainment culture”
Critical Studies in Media Communication Vol: 21, Issue: 3, September 1, 2004
[UTL]
Murray, Simone ‘Celebrating the Story the Way It Is’: Cultural Studies,
Corporate Media and the Contested Utility of Fandom. Continuum: Journal of Media
and Cultural Studies Vol. 18. No. 1, March 2004, pp. 7-25. [UTL]
====================
HISTORY
Dibbell on origin of games in Adventure: http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/cavespace.html
Steven Levy Hackers, (the epic history of coder culture).
Stewart Brand's II Cybernetic Frontiers (1974), early signif of games
Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon, Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the
Internet,
review/summary http://www.slate.com/id/2933/
What the Doormouse Said (the effect of the 60's counter-culture on technology)
============================================
SERIOUS GAMES SITES
talks: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.item&news_id=20313
SG Initiative: http://www.seriousgames.org/index2.html
non-entertainment games http://www.watercoolergames.org/
========================================
SMART PEOPLE (ED/SERIOUS):
Espen Aarseth (culture studies)
***John Seely Brown on business leaders (and links to ofther great Wired art'ls
on games) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/learn.html
philos of education: http://www.johnseelybrown.com/newlearning.pdf
Dibbell, Julian: My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World. Henry Holt,
1999.
Marc Prensky: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/default.asp
dig native vs immigrant/trivial vs complex: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-Complexity_Matters.pdf
policy talk c21 tools: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%2004-07-NCLB-post.ppt
---
Kurt Squire http://website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/
Henry Jenkins http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/
Global Kids unicef dance party http://www.holymeatballs.org/2006/12/podcast_audio_from_the_henry_j.html
Seymour Papert , a professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and worldrenowned pioneer of artificial intelligence (inspired Alan Kay )
Rushkoff, Douglas.
Title Playing the future : how kids' culture can teach us to thrive in an age
of chaos / Douglas Rushkoff.
Pub info New York : HarperCollins, c1996. same as children of chaos?
---
M. Wark: Hacker manifesto (pretty abstract and political/ on class)
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/WARHAC.html
http://www.futureofthebook.org/gamertheory/
Mackenzie wark new school
he's writing a book online (might relate to new narrative forms?) http://www.futureofthebook.org/gamertheory/
This Spartan Life interview
http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2006/09/mckenzie_wark_interview_in_hal.html
http://www.unfiction.com/compendium/2006/11/10/undefining-arg/ alternate reality
gaming/chaotic fiction
hilarious but great interview with Bob Stein, creator of swell ebook The Night
Kitchen http://www.nightkitchen.com/, in the middle of a Halo battle : http://www.futureofthebook.org/1001_stein_web.mov
download
Will Wright:
Apropos of Kim's post: if you want to hear a cool discussion with Brian Eno
and Will Wright you can checkout this discussion put on by the Long Now
foundation. It's very cool:
http://media. longnow.org/ seminars/ salt-0200606- wright-and- eno/salt- 0200606-wright-
and-eno.mp3
I'd also recommend this one by Danny Hillis (not game related):
http://media. longnow.org/ seminars/ salt-0200409- hillis/salt- 0200409-hillis.
mp3
=========================================================
ARTICLES
The Dramatism of Videogames PDF Print E-mail
Thompson, Jason. "The Dramatism of Videogames: A Burkean Reading of WWII
Games." SW/Texas PCA/ACA Conference. Albuquerque, NM, February 2006. lgi
SITE http://www.mesmernet.org/lgi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=163&Itemid=26
===============================
VIDEO
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/about/
VG Invasion: i have a copy
VIDEO
tetris doc ussr http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4662636869909322164
A hard to find documentary about Tetris and its creator Alexey Pajitnov. Also
covers the rivalaries between Nintendo and Atari and the ... all » absurdities
of buying copyrights for software from a country that doesn't believe in property,
much less intellectual property. Ultimately, a great documentary about a very
important game.
=========================================================
EVENTS (access archives?)
Organizers for the upcoming Indie MMO Game Developers Conference 2007 (IMGDC)
have announced that early registration has opened for the upcoming event, which
will be held in Minneapolis, MN on April 14th and 15th, 2007. Officials note
that reservations will be on a first come, first serve basis, as space is limited.
http://www.sgseurope.com/ IN fRENCH
Game Developers Conference
March 5-9, 2007
San Francisco, California
Join the world's leading developers to exchange ideas, be inspired, and
advance the art of game creation.
NEW -- Independent Games Summit
http://www.cmpevents.com/GD07/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=3845&cid=GDC07_EDENX2
==================================================
BOOKS-UCSC
From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network,
and the Rise of Digital Utopianism
UCSC:S & E Lib QA76.9.C66 T875 2006 checked out; due 04/15/2007
--
Herman, Leonard
Title Phoenix : the fall & rise of videogames / Leonard Herman
Publisher Springfield, NJ : Rolenta Press, c2001
Format Book
Library UCI
--
Joystick Nation
Herz, J. C. (Jessie Cameron), 1971-
Title Joystick nation : how videogames ate our quarters, won our hearts, and
rewired our minds / J.C. Herz.
Pub info Boston : Little, Brown, and Co., c1997.
book jacket
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
Cambrian Nonfiction 794.8 Herz CHECK SHELVES
King 6th Floor GV1469.15 .H47 1997
Amazon.com
This is a look at the revolution that changed the way we play video games. From
the prototypical Space Wars, Hunt the Wumpus, and Adventure to modern shoot-em-
ups, brain-busters and simulations. J. C. Herz examines what has kept us glued
to screens and joysticks. It also explores how video games shaped the way those
raised on them (like Herz herself) interact with their world. Joystick Nation
gives an overview of video game history, interviews with the brains behind the
most influential games, explorations of what makes various types of games work
for various people, and even a peek into a major game development company during
the critical countdown to a major release. Herz is a witty writer whose personal
approach to the topic can resemble a riff by a stand-up comic. You'll find yourself
nodding along with her reactions and smiling--maybe even laughing out loud.
From Booklist
Herz, whose Surfing on the Internet (1995) was described by a Booklist reviewer
as "an endearingly brazen travelogue," urges that video games matter
because "two generations of kids have grown up on five generations of videogames
. . . this is 50 million adults whose memory and imagination have been colored
by Atari, Nintendo, and Sega," just as earlier generations learned about
life through pop music, movies, and TV. For both game aficionados and parents
who still don't get it, Joystick Nation is full of fascinating information,
including savvy analysis of the fluctuating fortunes of video game producers;
enlightening background on the prehistoric ('60s mainframe) forebears of several
species of video games that scored big with kids in the '70s, '80s, and '90s;
and thoughtful discussion of controversies surrounding video games. Herz is
young ("born the same year as the first coin-operated videogame"),
smart, and female in a field dominated by men; her study of this huge, often
ignored entertainment medium will enhance her technoscribe reputation. Mary
Carroll
---
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
(Paperback)
by David Kushner
Video Games : A Popular Culture Phenomenon / Arthur Asa Berger : Berger, Arthur
Asa,; McH Stacks GV1469.34.S63 B47 2002
The Impact Of Interactive Violence On Children : Hearing Before The Committee
On Commerce, Science, And Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred
Sixth Congress, Second Session, March 21, 2000 : United States.;
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_senate_hearings&docid=f:78656.wais
Berger, Arthur Asa, 1933-
Title Video games : a popular culture phenomenon / Arthur Asa Berger.
Pub info New Brunswick, N.J. : Transaction, c2002.
book jacket
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
King 6th Floor GV1469.34.S63 B47 2002 CHECK SHELVES
Descript ix, 119 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Bibliog. Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-114) and index.
Subject Video games -- Social aspects.
Video games -- Psychological aspects.
ISBN 0765801027 (cloth)
0765809133 (paper : alk. paper)
Standard # 2001058538
--
Gee, James Paul
Title What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy [electronic
resource] / James Paul Gee
Published New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003 avail online UCSC?
An electronic book available to SJSU Students & Faculty
--
Gee, James Paul.
Title Why video games are good for your soul : pleasure and learning / James
Paul Gee.
Pub info [Melbourne, Vic.] : Common Ground Publishing, 2005.
book jacket
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
King 6th Floor GV1469.3 .G443x 2005 CHECK SHELVES
Descript 122 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.
Bibliog. Includes bibliographical references (p.121-122).
Contents Introduction -- Tetris and Castlevania -- Castlevania and learning
-- Full Spectrum Warrior, Thief, and Riddick -- Full Spectrum Warrior and learning
-- Rise of Nations -- Rise of Nations and learning -- The Elder Scrolls III
: Morrowind -- The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind and learning -- Conclusion
-- References.
Subject Video games -- Psychological aspects.
Learning, Psychology of.
ISBN 186335574X
---
Play between worlds UCSC:McHenry GV1469.17.S63 T38 2006
============================================
=====================================================
PEDAGOGY/EDUCATION
Don't Bother Me Mom-I'm Learning!: How Computer And Video Games Are Preparing
Your Kids for Twenty-First Century Success - And How You Can Help! James Paul
Gee
Game On: Video Games Teach Technical Writing PDF Print E-mail
Moeller, Ryan M. “Game On: Video Games Teach Technical Writing.”
Presented at Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). March
2005.
---
Claire Dormann and Robert Biddle. Humour in game-based learning. Learning, Media,
and Technology, To Appear, 2006.
--
de Winter, Jennifer, David Menchaca, and James Johnson. "Introduction to
EduModding." The International Digital Media and Arts Association Conference.
Orlando, FL, March 2005. LGI
--
Adolescents and literacies in a digital world / edited by Donna E. Alvermann
Published New York : P. Lang, c2002
LOC CALL # STATUS
McH Stacks LB1033.5 .A36 2002 NOT CHECKD OUT
==============================================
=============================================
San Jose Public Library BOOKS
Morris, Dave, 1957-
Title Game art : the graphic art of computer games / Dave Morris and Leo Hartas.
Pub info New York : Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003.
King 8th Floor T385 .M663 2003
--
Gosney, John.
Title Beyond reality [electronic resource] : a guide to alternate reality gaming
/ John W. Gosney.
Pub info Boston : Thomson Course Technology, c2005.
Click on the following to:
An electronic book available to San Jose Library customers
Descript xx, 320 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Note Includes index.
Reproduction Electronic reproduction. Boston, MA : Safari Tech Books Online,
[200-]. Mode of access: World Wide Web. Available to subscribing institutions.
Subject Fantasy games.
Computer games.
Add author Safari Tech Books Online (Online service).
---
King, Brad, 1972-
Title Dungeons and dreamers : the rise of computer game culture : fron geek
to chic / Brad King and John Borland.
Pub info Emeryville, Calif. : McGraw-Hill/Osborne, c2003.
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
Cruz Alum Rock Nonfiction 794.8 King CHECK SHELVES
King 6th Floor GV1469.15 .K56x 2003 CHECK SHELVES
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.15 .K564 2003 in transit; please check at circulation desk
for information
Descript xi, 273 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.
Bibliog. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents Part I. The rise of digital gaming. Together -- Machines at play --
Building community, building business -- Brave new worlds -- Part II. Networked
gaming age. Log on, shoot down -- Homebrewed gamers -- Losing the game -- Part
III. The era of gamers. Gamers, interrupted -- Unleashed -- Herding gamers.
Subject Computer games.
Subculture.
Add author Borland, John (John M.)
Alt title Rise of computer game culture
ISBN 0072228881
Standard # 1207576 QBI
inteview: http://www.gamegirlz.com/articles/dungeons_and_dreamers.shtml
--
The electronic library [electronic resource]. Vol. 20, No. 2, The impact of
computer games / guest editors, Alfred Loo and Charlie Choi.
Pub info Bradford, England : Emerald Group Publishing, c2002.
Click on the following to:
An electronic book available to SJSU Students & Faculty
also sjpl: https://mill1.sjlibrary.org/validate/http%3A%2F%2F0-www.netlibrary.com.mill1.sjlibrary.org%3A80%2Furlapi.asp%3Faction%3Dsummary%26v%3D1%26bookid%3D135558
Descript 99 p.
Reproduction Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2005. Available
via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.
Subject Technology -- Social aspects.
Computer games.
Genre Electronic books.
Add author Loo, Alfred.
Choi, Charlie.
ebrary, Inc.
ISBN 0861766784
--
Douglas, J. Yellowlees, 1962-
Title The end of books--or books without end? : reading interactive narratives
/ J. Yellowlees Douglas.
Pub info Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, c2000.
book jacket
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
King 7th Floor PN3377.5.C57 D68 2000 CHECK SHELVES
Descript vi, 205 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Note Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-197) and index.
Subject Fiction -- Technique -- Data processing.
Fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism -- Theory, etc.
Experimental fiction -- History and criticism -- Theory, etc.
Authors and readers -- Data processing.
Creative writing -- Data processing.
Postmodernism (Literature)
Literature and technology.
Narration (Rhetoric)
Closure (Rhetoric)
Hypertext systems.
Computer games.
Literary form.
ISBN 0472111140
Standard # 99006689
---
Bennahum, David S.
Title Extra life : coming of age in cyberspace / David S. Bennahum.
Pub info New York, NY : Basic Books, c1998.
UCSC:S & E Lib QA76.9.C66 B46 1998 not checked out
book jacket
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
King Nonfiction 3rd Floor 303.4834 Bennahum CHECK SHELVES
Edition 1st ed.
Descript 238 p. ; 22 cm.
Subject Computers and civilization.
Computer games.
Cyberspace.
ISBN 0465012353 (hc) :
Standard # 98039251
---
Flynt, John P.
Title In the mind of a game / John P. Flynt.
Pub info Boston, Mass. : Thomson/Course Technology, c2006.
book jacket
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
King 6th Floor GV1469.2 .F59x 2006 DUE 03-15-07
Descript xix, 356 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Note Includes index.
Subject Computer games.
ISBN 1592009379 (pbk.)
----
Aldrich, Clark, 1967-
Title Learning by doing : a comprehensive guide to simulations, computer games,
and pedagogy in e-learning and other educational experiences / Clark Aldrich.
Pub info San Francisco, CA : Pfeiffer, c2005.
Connect to http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip057/2005002491.html
Connect to http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0621/2005002491-b.html
Connect to http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0621/2005002491-d.html
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
King 7th Floor LB1029.S53 A42 2005 CHECK SHELVES
Descript xli, 353 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Note Includes index.
Contents Building and buying the right simulation in corporations and higher
education today -- The broader opportunities of simulations -- Next gen sims
-- Managing the simulation process.
Subject Education -- Simulation methods.
Computer-assisted instruction.
Computer games.
ISBN 0787977357 (alk. paper)
0787997358 (cased)
Standard # 2005002491
9780787997351
---
Atkins, Barry.
Title More than a game [electronic resource] : the computer game as fictional
form / Barry Atkins.
Pub info Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2003.
Click on the following to:
An electronic book available to SJSU Students & Faculty
UCSC: http://melvyl.cdlib.org/F/E4F4H5QXC3DDXTA9L5SLAXAURJ7FPT1UFCNKKXRKVYFPV1THQ5-04069?func=full-set-set&set_number=020969&set_entry=000003&doc_number=025955815&expand=Y&format=999
Descript 176 p.
Bibliog. Includes bibliographic references and index.
Reproduction Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2005. Available
via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.
Subject Computer games -- Social aspects.
Computer games.
Genre Electronic books.
Add author ebrary, Inc.
ISBN 0719063647 :
0719063655 :
---
** Pesce, Mark.
Title The playful world : how technology is transforming our imagination / Mark
Pesce.
Pub info New York : Ballantine Books, 2000.
UCSC:S & E Lib QA76.9.C66 P485 2000 not checked out
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
King 8th Floor T174 .P42 2000 CHECK SHELVES
King Nonfiction 3rd Floor 303.493 Pesce CHECK SHELVES
King Nonfiction 3rd Floor 303.493 Pesce CHECK SHELVES
Edition 1st ed.
Descript ix, 287 p. ; 22 cm.
Note Includes index.
Subject Technological forecasting -- Social aspects.
Computer games.
Virtual reality.
ISBN 0345439430 (hardcover)
Standard # 00106984
----
Michael, David R.
Title Serious games [electronic resource] : games that educate, train, and inform
/ David R. Michael and Sande Chen.
Pub info Boston, MA : Thomson Course Technology PTR, 2006.
Click on the following to:
An electronic book available to SJSU Students & Faculty
ucsc: http://melvyl.cdlib.org/F/E4F4H5QXC3DDXTA9L5SLAXAURJ7FPT1UFCNKKXRKVYFPV1THQ5-04512?func=full-set-set&set_number=021147&set_entry=000002&doc_number=026747216&expand=Y&format=999
Descript xviii, 287 p. : ill.
Note Includes index.
Reproduction Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2005. Available
via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.
Subject Computer games.
Educational games.
Genre Electronic books.
Add author Chen, Sande.
ebrary, Inc.
ISBN 1592006221
---
Casanave, Christine Pearson, 1944-
Title Writing games [electronic resource] : multicultural case studies of academic
literacy practices in higher education / Christine Pearson Casanave.
Pub info Mahwah, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.
Click on the following to:
An electronic book available to SJSU Students & Faculty
Descript xx, 316 p. 24 cm.
Bibliog. Includes bibliographical references (p. 291-306) and index.
Contents Machine generated contents note: 1. GAMES AND FRAMES: WHEN WRITING
IS MORE THAN 1 -- WRITING -- A Word on Frames 1 -- Common Sense Beginnings 3
-- Framing in the Voices of Others 13 -- Assumptions: The End of the Beginning
29 -- Case Study Methodology 31 -- 2. THE BEGINNINGS OF CHANGE: LEARNING AND
TEACHING 35 -- UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC LITERACY GAMES -- Clueless 35 -- Published
Studies 37 -- Case Study: Communities of Practice? Game Strategies -- in Two
Teachers' EAP Classes in a Japanese University 53 -- Chapter Reflections 78
-- 3. STEPPING INTO THE PROFESSION: WRITING GAMES 8 2 -- IN MASTERS PROGRAMS
-- From Observer to Participant 82 -- Published Studies 84 -- Case Study: Five
Masters Students Step Into the Second -- Language Education Profession 92 --
Chapter Reflections 128 -- 4. REDEFINING THE SELF: THE UNSETTLING DOCTORAL 13
4 -- PROGRAM GAME -- From Clarity to Confusion 134 -- Published Studies 136
-- Case Study: Virginia: Not Her Kind of Game 149 -- Chapter Reflections 176
-- 5. JUGGLING AND BALANCING GAMES OF BILINGUAL FACULTY 17 8 -- Personal Reflections
on Multilingualism 178 -- Published Studies 181 -- Case Study: The Juggling
Games of Bilingual Faculty 191 -- Chapter Reflections 216 -- 6. BENDING THE
RULES 220 -- Conforming and Resisting 220 -- Published Studies 225 -- Case Study:
Author-Editor Games in the Construction -- of Unconventional Textual Identities
233 -- The Authors 235 -- Issues 238 -- Chapter Reflections 254 -- 7. THE PARADOXICAL
EFFORT AFTER COHERENCE IN 256 -- ACADEMIC WRIING GAMES -- Games, Transitions,
and Identity Revisited 260 -- Effort After Coherence 265 -- The End and the
Continuation 279.
Reproduction Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2006. Available
via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.
Subject English language -- Rhetoric -- Study and teaching -- Social aspects
-- Case studies.
English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers -- Case
studies.
Academic writing -- Study and teaching -- Social aspects -- Case studies.
Second language acquisition -- Case studies.
Multicultural education -- Case studies.
Educational games -- Case studies.
Genre Electronic books.
Add author ebrary, Inc.
ISBN 080583530X (acid-free paper)
0805835318 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
Standard # 2001055592
---
Koster, Raph.
Title A theory of fun for game design [electronic resource] / by Raph Koster.
Pub info Scottsdale, AZ : Paraglyph Press, c2005.
Click on the following to:
An electronic book available to SJSU Students & Faculty
Descript x, 244 p. : ill.
Note "Foreword by Will Wright."
Reproduction Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2005. Available
via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.
Subject Computer games -- Design.
Computer games -- Social aspects.
Genre Electronic books.
Add author ebrary, Inc.
ISBN 1932111972
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.17.S63 K6 2005 checked out; due 09/25/2007
http://melvyl.cdlib.org/F/E4F4H5QXC3DDXTA9L5SLAXAURJ7FPT1UFCNKKXRKVYFPV1THQ5-00027?func=full-set-set&set_number=021216&set_entry=000001&format=999
======================================================
AMAZON: BOOKS (some avail UC)
The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind
the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World (Paperback)
by Steven L. Kent
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.3 .K45 2001 checked out; due 10/02/2007
not sjpl
Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this rollicking, mammoth history of video games from pinball to Pong to Playstation
II Kent, a technology journalist and self-professed video game addict, covers
almost every conceivable aspect of the industry, from the technological leaps
that made the games possible to the corporate power struggles that won (and
lost) billions of dollars. Anecdotes are legion. Readers learn that early Atari,
for example, had the corporate climate of a dot-com startup, with rampant drug
use and meetings staged in outdoor hot tubs. The original name for Pac-Man turns
out to be Puck-Man; its creators changed the name after worrying that vandals
in arcades would replace the P with an F. In 1978, there were so many people
playing Space Invaders in Japan that the game caused a national coin shortage.
Kent meticulously documents the rise of home video games and the console wars
of the past decade, when Sega, Nintendo, Sony and others raced to produce the
fastest, most powerful game system. Also addressed is the public backlash of
the '80s, when video games were thought to distract students from homework,
and the '90s, when Doom and other violent games were linked to the massacre
at Columbine High School. Along the way, Kent interviews virtually every key
player in the industry. At times, Kent's comprehensiveness is exhausting 500-plus
pages on video games may be a bit much, even for their most ardent admirers.
But most often Kent's infectious enthusiasm is enough to carry the reader along.
Equal parts oral history, engineering study, business memoir, game catalogue
and Gen-X nostalgia trip, Kent's book is a loving tribute to one of the most
dynamic (and profitable) industries in the world today.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
---
Reviews
Book Description
BradyGames' Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life,
by Chris Kohler, is a unique book that gives readers an entertaining and authoritative
look at the indelible influence the video gaming, particularly, Japanese gaming,
has had on the world.Power-Up is the first English-language work of its kind
to examine the reasons behind the success of Japanese video games, rather than
focusing on the history of video games. Just some of the features readers will
find in this book include:
Profiles of some of the most fascinating Japanese video game designers in the
industry, along with a critical look at Japanese video games from their earliest
beginnings to new, exciting trends that ride the bleeding edge of popular culture.
Explanations on why Japanese video games are unique and why they resonate so
well with young American players.
Fresh insight into classic Japanese video games and the elements that made them
so different from American games, the origin of Nintendo, Japan's oldest and
largest video game producer, Japanese Role-Playing Games, and much more!
In addition, the future of the Japanese gaming industry is also explored.
* This product is available for sale worldwide.
About the Author
Chris Kohler currently lives in North Branford, Connecticut. He graduated summa
cum laude from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts in May 2002, receiving
a BA in Japanese and the Japanese Language and Literature Prize. His graduation
thesis was titled "The Cinematic Japanese Video Game" and earned highest
honors.
---
# The Medium of the Video Game by Ralph H. Baer
Review
Heather Gilmour, Executive Producer, American Film Institute New Media Ventures
: This book offers a historical, formal analysis of video games that no other
book to date has provided in such detail. . . . Wolf also effectively investigates
the scientific and market forces that aligned with the development of video
games to create a powerful cultural force.
Book Description
Over a mere three decades, the video game has become the entertainment medium
of choice for millions of people, who now spend more time in the interactive
virtual world of games than they do in watching movies or even television. The
release of new games or game-playing equipment, such as the PlayStation 2, generates
great excitement and even buying frenzies. Yet, until now, this giant on the
popular culture landscape has received little in-depth study or analysis.
In this book, Mark J. P. Wolf and four other scholars conduct the first thorough
investigation of the video game as an artistic medium. The book begins with
an attempt to define what is meant by the term "video game" and the
variety of modes of production within the medium. It moves on to a brief history
of the video game, then applies the tools of film studies to look at the medium
in terms of the formal aspects of space, time, narrative, and genre. The book
also considers the video game as a cultural entity, object of museum curation,
and repository of psychological archetypes. It closes with a list of video game
research resources for further study.
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.3 .M43 2001 checked out; due 10/02/2007
CALL # STATUS
King 6th Floor GV1469.3 .M43 200 CHECK SHELVES
Edition 1st ed.
Descript xvi, 203 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Bibliog. Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-191) and index.
Subject Video games -- United States.
Video games -- United States -- History.
Add author Wolf, Mark J. P.
ISBN 0292791488 (cloth : alk. paper)
029279150X (pbk. : alk. paper)
Standard # 2001037625
---
Review
Videogames: In The Beginning
by Ralph H. Baer "
is a remarkable document. Anyone who gives a damn about videogame history must
own a copy. --Zach Meston, PSE2 Magazine, January 2005
Product Description
THE REAL STORY BEHIND VIDEOGAMES Long before there was a Sony Playstation, Microsoft
Xbox or Nintendo Gamecube, there was the Magnavox Odyssey, the worlds first
home videogame console. But the story of videogames predates the Odyssey by
six years. It begins in 1966 when a television engineer named Ralph H. Baer
sat down at a New York bus station and entered history. Videogames: In The Beginning
is Ralph H. Baers account of how todays $11-billion per year videogame industry
began. A meticulous note keeper, Baer presents in his own words the real story
of what led to the Odyssey and beyond. But he doesnt end there. In this book
Baer also examines other products that he has worked on such as Simon, the most
popular electronic toy ever created. He also discusses his pioneering work into
early forms of CD-ROMs and digital imagery. Whether you are a student of videogame
design, a game player, or a fan of inventions and history, you are sure to find
Baers history fascinating and informative. Included in this book are: The
actual four-page treatise that Baer presented to his employers Original schematics
and photos of the first videogame prototypes Original top secret internal
notes and memos Original United States patents
review: http://www.breakingwindows.com/new/2005/04/videogames_in_t.php
---
Game on : the history and culture of videogames / [edited by Lucien King]
Publisher New York, N.Y. : Universe Pub. : Distributed to the U.S. trade by
St. Martin's Press, 2002
Format Book
Library UCSD UCLA
not sjpl
----
Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and
Electronic Media (Parallax: Re-visions of Culture and Society) by Marie-Laure
Ryan
----
First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game by Noah Wardrip-Fruin
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.17.S63 F57 2004 not checked out
---
The Video Game Theory Reader (Paperback)
by Mark J. P. Wolf (Editor), Bernard Perron scholarly
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.3 .V57 2003 checked out; due 09/18/2007
Book Description
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.
--
Trigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution (Paperback)
by Steven Poole
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.3 .P66 2000 not checked out
Amazon.com
Steven Poole's substantial examination of the world inside your console combines
an exhaustive history of the games industry with a subtle look at what makes
certain kinds of games more engaging than others. For example, what works in
which genres--the RPG (role-playing game) versus the god game--and the relationship
of video games to other forms of media.
A writer and composer, Poole makes the case that video games--like films and
popular music--deserve serious critical treatment: "The inner life of video
games--how they work--is bound up with the inner life of the player. And the
player's response to a well-designed video game is in part the same sort of
response he or she has to a film, or to a painting: it is an aesthetic one."
Trigger Happy is packed with references not just to games and game history but
also to writers and theorists who may never have played a video game in their
lives, from Adorno and Benjamin to Plato. At times this approach verges on the
pedantic, dwelling at length on points that will seem obvious to serious gamers
("We don't want absolutely real situations in video games. We can get that
at home"; "The fighting game, like fighting itself, will always be
popular"). Nonetheless, Poole's book may be favored bedside reading for
both the keen gamer and the armchair philosopher looking to understand this
cultural phenomenon. --Liz Bailey, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
Book Description
The Edge calls Trigger Happy a "seminal piece of work." For the first
time ever, an aficionado with a knowledge of art, culture, and a real love of
gaming takes a critical look at the future of our videogames, and compares their
aesthetic and economic impact on society to that of film. Thirty years after
the invention of the simplest of games, more videogames are played by adults
than children. This revolutionary book is the first-ever academically worthy
and deeply engaging critique of one of today's most popular forms of play: videogames
are on track to supersede movies as the most innovative form of entertainment
in the new century.
---
Killing Monsters Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence
(Paperback)
by Gerard Jones, Lynn Ponton
UCSC:McHenry P94.5.C55 J66 2002 not checked out
From Publishers Weekly
Violent entertainment is good for kids, and demonizing it can do great harm
to their emotional development, claims Jones (Honey, I'm Home!) in this provocative
and groundbreaking work. Drawing on his experience as a parent and as a creator
of children's cartoons, as well as interviews with dozens of psychologists and
educators, Jones forcefully argues that violent video games, movies, music and
comics provide a safe fantasy world within which children learn to become familiar
with and control the frightening emotions of anger, violence and sexuality.
He debunks studies linking violent media with violence in society and argues
that children clearly understand the difference between pretend and reality.
Providing realistic and helpful advice, Jones says parents need to learn to
differentiate between what violent games mean to children and what they mean
to adults, and to stop imposing their understanding of them on children. Adults
may be horrified at the literal meaning of a video game, but children are far
more interested in its emotional meaning; "through identifying with a fantasy
figure who displays intense sexuality, wields destructive power, and exudes
heroism, kids can help themselves feel more control over these forces."
Jones speaks to adult fears of the power of popular culture and cautions that
"entertainment has its greatest influence when it's speaking to something
that isn't otherwise being addressed in a child's life." To lessen the
impact, adults should "model nonaggression, empathy, respect, a clear distinction
between fantasy and reality, and the integration of aggression and other scary
feelings."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out
of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Jones's thesis is straightforward: the violence in popular culture is to be
embraced rather than feared. In his estimation, it provides a vehicle for objectifying
the volatile emotions that young people already experience, presents an opportunity
to learn control and to experience power in a culture that perpetuates the helplessness
of children and adolescents, and affords a sense of community for those whose
limited social skills often result in alienation and loneliness. Adult objections
to popular culture violence, the author says, result from failing to recognize
that the constructs are fantasy and not asking children about the appeal of
action figures, comic books, video games, and rap music. Rather than provide
a sequence of logical arguments, Jones uses the 13 chapters to repeat variations
on his themes. Employing both anecdotes from his own experience and those of
other professionals, and drawing upon existing scientific research, he debunks
the "prevailing wisdom" that directly correlates the viewing of violence
with violent behavior. Although not an academic, the author has done his homework.
He presents his case convincingly, and the concluding notes provide support.
Killing Monsters belongs on public library parent shelves and in collections
that support teacher training, library science, and the communication arts.
Sue Burgess, Framingham State College, MA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out
of print or unavailable edition of this title.
---
Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture
T. L. Taylor
UCSC:McHenry GV1469.17.S63 T38 2006 not checked out
From Publishers Weekly
Refuting the idea that playing video games is an act of isolation undertaken
by teenaged boys in dark basement rooms, Taylor presents the world of online
gaming as a thriving social scene where players create friendships that transcend
the digital domain. In playing EverQuest, (an MMOG, or massively multiplayer
online game), Taylor travels through the digital fantasyland, slays other players,
builds up her character's inventory and skills and, most importantly, shows
how playing creates a huge network of people, many of whom take an almost job-like
approach to gaming. She even meets up with fellow gamers and notes how "Recounting
fights is a common topic of conversation among players." Also insightful
are her thoughts on women and gaming, an underreported topic to which she dedicates
a chapter. Taylor is, however, an academic, and tends to make simple concepts
overcomplicated. So, sentences like: "There is no culture, there is no
game, without the labor of the players. Whether designers want to acknowledge
it fully or not, MMOGs already are participatory spaces (if only partially realized)
by their very nature as social and cultural spaces" are far from uncommon.
Save the moments of impenetrable jargon, Taylor's immersion into the online
gaming world is a fascinating one that proves video games aren't just for the
geeky neighbor kid anymore.
also bought:
# Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games: The People, the Addiction
and the Playing Experience Richard V. Kelly
# Synthetic Worlds: The Business And Culture of Online Games Edward Castronova
# Serious Games: Games That Educate, Train, And Inform David Michael
---
In Unit Operations, Ian Bogost argues that similar principles underlie both
literary theory and computation, proposing a literary-technical theory that
can be used to analyze particular videogames. Moreover, this approach can be
applied beyond videogames: Bogost suggests that any medium--from videogames
to poetry, literature, cinema, or art--can be read as a configurative system
of discrete, interlocking units of meaning, and he illustrates this method of
analysis with examples from all these fields. The marriage of literary theory
and information technology, he argues, will help humanists take technology more
seriously and hep technologists better understand software and videogames as
cultural artifacts. This approach is especially useful for the comparative analysis
of digital and nondigital artifacts and allows scholars from other fields who
are interested in studying videogames to avoid the esoteric isolation of "game
studies."
The richness of Bogost's comparative approach can be seen in his discussions
of works by such philosophers and theorists as Plato, Badiou, Zizek, and McLuhan,
and in his analysis of numerous videogames including Pong, Half-Life, and Star
Wars Galaxies. Bogost draws on object technology and complex adaptive systems
theory for his method of unit analysis, underscoring the configurative aspects
of a wide variety of human processes. His extended analysis of freedom in large
virtual spaces examines Grand Theft Auto 3, The Legend of Zelda, Flaubert's
Madame Bovary, and Joyce's Ulysses. In Unit Operations, Bogost not only offers
a new methodology for videogame criticism but argues for the possibility of
real collaboration between the humanities and information technology.
Bogost, Ian. Unit operations : Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2006. xv, 243
p. ; 24 cm.
Library Call Number Notes Date Due
UCB:Bus&Econ QA76.76.C672 B65 2006
---