Download or read book Asking Questions about Video Games written by Marie Powell and published by Cherry Lake. This book was released on 2015-08-01 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world of gaming has changed a lot since the days of Pong and PacMan. Asking Questions about Video Games gives young readers a look at the technology behind today's games, the messages they send, and what they say about our values as a culture. Case studies prompt inquiry, further thinking, and close examination of specific issues. Additional text features and search tools, including a glossary and an index, help students locate information and learn new words.
Download or read book The Psychology of Video Games written by Celia Hodent and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-07 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What impact can video games have on us as players? How does psychology influence video game creation? Why do some games become cultural phenomena? The Psychology of Video Games introduces the curious reader to the relationship between psychology and video games from the perspective of both game makers and players. Assuming no specialist knowledge, this concise, approachable guide is a starter book for anyone intrigued by what makes video games engaging and what is their psychological impact on gamers. It digests the research exploring the benefits gaming can have on players in relation to education and healthcare, considers the concerns over potential negative impacts such as pathological gaming, and concludes with some ethics considerations. With gaming being one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, The Psychology of Video Games shows the importance of understanding the human brain and its mental processes to foster ethical and inclusive video games.
Download or read book The PlayStation Dreamworld written by Alfie Bown and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-10-16 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From mobile phones to consoles, tablets and PCs, we are now a generation of gamers. The PlayStation Dreamworld is – to borrow a phrase from Slavoj Zizek – the pervert's guide to videogames. It argues that we can only understand the world of videogames via Lacanian dream analysis. It also argues that the Left needs to work inside this dreamspace – a powerful arena for constructing our desires – or else the dreamworld will fall entirely into the hands of dominant and reactionary forces. While cyberspace is increasingly dominated by corporate organization, gaming, at its most subversive, can nevertheless produce radical forms of enjoyment which threaten the capitalist norms that are created and endlessly repeated in our daily relationships with mobile phones, videogames, computers and other forms of technological entertainment. Far from being a book solely for dedicated gamers, this book dissects the structure of our relationships to all technological entertainment at a time when entertainment has become ubiquitous. We can no longer escape our fantasies but rather live inside their digital reality.
Download or read book How to Talk about Videogames written by Ian Bogost and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2015-11-15 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Videogames! Aren’t they the medium of the twenty-first century? The new cinema? The apotheosis of art and entertainment, the realization of Wagnerian gesamtkunstwerk? The final victory of interaction over passivity? No, probably not. Games are part art and part appliance, part tableau and part toaster. In How to Talk about Videogames, leading critic Ian Bogost explores this paradox more thoroughly than any other author to date. Delving into popular, familiar games like Flappy Bird, Mirror’s Edge, Mario Kart, Scribblenauts, Ms. Pac-Man, FarmVille, Candy Crush Saga, Bully, Medal of Honor, Madden NFL, and more, Bogost posits that videogames are as much like appliances as they are like art and media. We don’t watch or read games like we do films and novels and paintings, nor do we perform them like we might dance or play football or Frisbee. Rather, we do something in-between with games. Games are devices we operate, so game critique is both serious cultural currency and self-parody. It is about figuring out what it means that a game works the way it does and then treating the way it works as if it were reasonable, when we know it isn’t. Noting that the term games criticism once struck him as preposterous, Bogost observes that the idea, taken too seriously, risks balkanizing games writing from the rest of culture, severing it from the “rivers and fields” that sustain it. As essential as it is, he calls for its pursuit to unfold in this spirit: “God save us from a future of games critics, gnawing on scraps like the zombies that fester in our objects of study.”
Download or read book Exploding the Castle written by Michael F. Young and published by IAP. This book was released on 2017-07-01 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lacking a digital crystal ball, we cannot predict the future of education or the precise instructional role games will have going forward. Yet we can safely say that games will play some role in the future of K?12 and higher education, and members of the games community will have to choose between being passive observers or active, progressive contributors to the complex and often political process of weaving together pedagogy, technology, and culture. This will involve agreeing that games—or, more specifically, game mechanics and the engagement in joyful learning that they engender—are not only critical for shaping online and classroom instruction but also the evolution of schooling as a whole. Likewise, it will involve a hard push beyond questions like “Are video games ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for education?” and “Are games ‘better’ for all students than traditional face?to?face teaching” to unpack how game experiences vary with individual learner goals as an interaction with the parameters of an educational environment. Simply put, we need to form a cohesive, compelling argument in support of the notion that games are entire learning ecologies in and of themselves. This edited volume is designed to anchor collective thinking with respect to the value?added nature of games for learning and the complexities involved in player experience, narrative context, and environmental?player interactions. As could be expected, we are not interested in debates about “gamification,” game violence, individual game quality, and other topics that have become standard fare in extant games literature. Instead, we seek to emphasize issues of scalability, the induction of player goal adoption, affordances of game?based instructional environments, relationships between play and transfer, and the value of games as part of an ecopsychological worldview. As long?time contributors in a field that has made a habit of playing it safe—pun intended—we seek to bring the dialogue in a more nuanced and meaningful direction that will reach teachers, researchers, designers, and players alike.
Download or read book Frequently Asked Questions About Wii and Video Game Injuries and Fitness written by Jeanne Nagle and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2009-08-15 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who would ever have imagined that the typically sedentary pleasures of video games would become responsible for sparking a growing trend towards movement-based and fitness-oriented home entertainment programs? With the introduction of Nintendo's Wii and other, similar game systems, Americans are suddenly hoisting themselves off their couches, grabbing a console, and getting heart-healthy workouts--all while remaining in front of their TV screens and having a blast. Early reports indicate the health benefits of these activity- and fitness-based video games are considerable. Yet there have also been reports of certain kinds of injuries peculiar to Wii and similar game systems. This book sorts out the reality from the hype and shows how you can minimize the likelihood of injury while maximizing your fitnessand funlevels. Includes some common myths and facts about video game fitness and injuries and ten great questions to ask a doctor.
Download or read book Difficult Questions about Video Games written by James Newman and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy Second Edition written by James Paul Gee and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-12-02 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James Paul Gee begins his classic book with "I want to talk about video games--yes, even violent video games--and say some positive things about them." With this simple but explosive statement, one of America's most well-respected educators looks seriously at the good that can come from playing video games. In this revised edition of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, new games like World of WarCraft and Half Life 2 are evaluated and theories of cognitive development are expanded. Gee looks at major cognitive activities including how individuals develop a sense of identity, how we grasp meaning, how we evaluate and follow a command, pick a role model, and perceive the world.
Download or read book Of Games and God written by Kevin Schut and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Video games are big business, generating billions of dollars annually. The long-held stereotype of the gamer as a solitary teen hunched in front of his computer screen for hours is inconsistent with the current makeup of a diverse and vibrant gaming community. The rise of this cultural phenomenon raises a host of questions: Are some games too violent? Do they hurt or help our learning? Do they encourage escapism? How do games portray gender? Such questions have generated lots of talk, but missing from much of the discussion has been a Christian perspective. Kevin Schut, a communications expert and an enthusiastic gamer himself, offers a lively, balanced, and informed Christian evaluation of video games and video game culture. He expertly engages a variety of issues, encouraging readers to consider both the perils and the promise of this major cultural phenomenon. The book includes a foreword by Quentin J. Schultze.
Download or read book The Connected Family written by Seymour Papert and published by Taylor Trade Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the advantages and pitfalls of using computers in childhood education, and suggests ways parents can help children who are more computer-literate than they
Download or read book Frequently Asked Questions About Online Gaming Addiction written by Holly Cefrey and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2010-01-15 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses online gaming addiction, including its signs and symptoms, why it can be dangerous, and how to keep it under control.
Download or read book Language and Learning in the Digital Age written by James Paul Gee and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Language and Learning in the Digital Age, linguist James Paul Gee and educator Elisabeth Hayes deal with the forces unleashed by today’s digital media, forces that are transforming language and learning for good and ill. They argue that the role of oral language is almost always entirely misunderstood in debates about digital media. Like the earlier inventions of writing and print, digital media actually power up or enhance the powers of oral language. Gee and Hayes deal, as well, with current digital transformations of language and literacy in the context of a growing crisis in traditional schooling in developed countries. With the advent of new forms of digital media, children are increasingly drawn towards video games, social media, and alternative ways of learning. Gee and Hayes explore the way in which these alternative methods of learning can be a force for a paradigm change in schooling. This is an engaging, accessible read both for undergraduate and graduate students and for scholars in language, linguistics, education, media and communication studies.
Download or read book Conference Proceedings of The Philosophy of Computer Games 2008 written by Stephan Günzel and published by Universitätsverlag Potsdam. This book was released on 2009 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first volume of the DIGAREC Series holds the proceedings of the conference The Philosophy of Computer Gamesʺ, held at the University of Potsdam from May 8-10, 2008. The contributions of the conference address three fields of computer game research that are philosophically relevant and, likewise, to which philosophical reflection is crucial. These are: ethics and politics, the action-space of games, and the magic circle. All three topics are interlinked and constitute the paradigmatic object of computer games: Whereas the first describes computer games on the outside, looking at the cultural effects of games as well as on moral practices acted out with them, the second describes computer games on the inside, i.e. how they are constituted as a medium. The latter finally discusses the way in which a border between these two realms, games and non-games, persists or is already transgressed in respect to a general performativity.
Download or read book Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy written by Anthony M. Bean and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-18 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy moves beyond stereotypes about video game addiction and violence to consider the role that games play in psychological experiences and mental health. Chapters examine the factors that compel individual gamers to select and identify with particular games and characters, as well as the different play styles, genres, and archetypes common in video games. For clinicians looking to understand their clients’ relationships with video games or to use games as a therapeutic resource in their own practice, this is a thoughtful, comprehensive, and timely resource.
Download or read book Video Games written by Jeffrey Graham and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Video games are not necessarily uniform in the "lessons" they teach players. Indeed, even violent video games are not simply hotbeds of violent content. For example, the popular Call of Duty and Resident Evil series require players to behave violently in order to protect other people or computer characters. Thus, in these games, aggression is taught in simultaneity with altruism. The questions, then, arise 1) whether social learning is an appropriate explanation for long-term effects of games, and 2) whether games can only teach antisocial lessons. The first chapter of this book addresses video game effects from a long-term, holistic perspective, focusing on antisocial and prosocial outcomes, using a conveniently collected survey dataset. Moreover, this book also analyses video games by different genres. Furthermore, this book provides information on associations and gender differences in children's situational motivation, rate of perceived exertion and physical activity levels in exergaming; the efficiency of brain training versus recreational video games; the effect of social media in the video game industry; video games and their correlation with school and cognitive performance; video games and the effect they may have on seizures; and video gaming and the enhancement of prosocial behaviours.
Download or read book The Ethics of Computer Games written by Miguel Sicart and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-08-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why computer games can be ethical, how players use their ethical values in gameplay, and the implications for game design. Despite the emergence of computer games as a dominant cultural industry (and the accompanying emergence of computer games as the subject of scholarly research), we know little or nothing about the ethics of computer games. Considerations of the morality of computer games seldom go beyond intermittent portrayals of them in the mass media as training devices for teenage serial killers. In this first scholarly exploration of the subject, Miguel Sicart addresses broader issues about the ethics of games, the ethics of playing the games, and the ethical responsibilities of game designers. He argues that computer games are ethical objects, that computer game players are ethical agents, and that the ethics of computer games should be seen as a complex network of responsibilities and moral duties. Players should not be considered passive amoral creatures; they reflect, relate, and create with ethical minds. The games they play are ethical systems, with rules that create gameworlds with values at play. Drawing on concepts from philosophy and game studies, Sicart proposes a framework for analyzing the ethics of computer games as both designed objects and player experiences. After presenting his core theoretical arguments and offering a general theory for understanding computer game ethics, Sicart offers case studies examining single-player games (using Bioshock as an example), multiplayer games (illustrated by Defcon), and online gameworlds (illustrated by World of Warcraft) from an ethical perspective. He explores issues raised by unethical content in computer games and its possible effect on players and offers a synthesis of design theory and ethics that could be used as both analytical tool and inspiration in the creation of ethical gameplay.
Download or read book Extra Lives written by Tom Bissell and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Extra Lives, acclaimed writer and life-long video game enthusiast Tom Bissell takes the reader on an insightful and entertaining tour of the art and meaning of video games. In just a few decades, video games have grown increasingly complex and sophisticated, and the companies that produce them are now among the most profitable in the entertainment industry. Yet few outside this world have thought deeply about how these games work, why they are so appealing, and what they are capable of artistically. Blending memoir, criticism, and first-rate reportage, Extra Lives is a milestone work about what might be the dominant popular art form of our time.
