In recent years, computer technology has permeated all aspects of life--not just work and education, but also leisure time. Increasingly, digital games are the way we play. This volume addresses the world of digital games, with special emphasis on the role and input of the gamer. In fifteen essays, the contributors discuss the various ways the game player interacts with the game. The first half of the book considers the physical and mental aspects of digital game play. The second section concentrates on other factors that influence play. Essays cover the full range of digital gaming, including computer and video games. Topics include several detailed investigations of particular, often controversial games such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, as well as a consideration of the ways in which game-playing crosses socioeconomic, age, gender and racial lines. The concluding essays discuss scholars' perceptions of digital media and efforts to frame them. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

This book explores the lifecycle of digital games. Drawing upon a broad range of media studies perspectives with aspects of sociology, social theory, and economics, Aphra Kerr explores this all-pervasive, but under-theorized, aspect of our media environment.

In the past decade, digital games have become a widely accepted form of media entertainment, moving from the traditional 'core gamer' community into the mainstream media market. With millions of people now enjoying gaming as interactive entertainment there has been a huge increase in interest in social multiplayer gaming activities. However, despite the explosive growth in the field over the past decade, many aspects of social gaming still remain unexplored, especially from a media and communication studies perspective. Multiplayer: Social Aspects of Digital Gaming is the first edited volume of its kind that takes a closer look at the various forms of human interaction in and around digital games, providing an overview of debates, past and present. The book is divided into five sections that explore the following areas: Social Aspects of Digital Gaming Social Interactions in Virtual Worlds Online Gaming Co-located and Console Gaming Risks and Challenges of Social Gaming This engaging interdisciplinary book will appeal to upper level students, postgrads and researchers in games research, specifically those focusing on new media and digital games, as well as researchers in media studies and mass communication.

This book covers the state-of-the-art in digital games research and development for anyone working with or studying digital games and those who are considering entering into this rapidly growing industry. Many books have been published that sufficiently describe popular topics in digital games; however, until now there has not been a comprehensive book that draws the traditional and emerging facets of gaming together across multiple disciplines within a single volume.

Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. From the Shinto-inspired Japanese video game Okami to the internationally popular The Legend of Zelda and Halo, many video games rely on religious themes and symbols to drive the narrative and frame the storyline. Playing with Religion in Digital Games explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices. For example, how does religion help organize the communities in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft? What role has censorship played in localizing games like Actraiser in the western world? How do evangelical Christians react to violence, gore, and sexuality in some of the most popular games such as Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto? With contributions by scholars and gamers from all over the world, this collection offers a unique perspective to the intersections of religion and the virtual world.

Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games explores the need for people to experience enjoyment, excitement, anxiety, anger, frustration, and many other emotions. The book provides essential information on why it is necessary to have a greater understanding of the power these emotions have on players, and how they affect players during, and after, a game. This book takes this understanding and shows how it can be used in practical ways, including the design of video games for teaching and learning, creating tools to measure social and emotional development of children, determining how empathy-related thought processes affect ethical decision-making, and examining how the fictional world of game play can influence and shape real-life experiences. Details how games affect emotions—both during and after play Describes how we can manage a player’s affective reactions Applies the emotional affect to making games more immersive Examines game-based learning and education Identifies which components of online games support socio-emotional development Discusses the impact of game-based emotions beyond the context of games

From alternate to alternative reality : games as cultural probes / Patrick Jagoda, Melissa Gilliam, Peter McDonald, and Ashlyn Sparrow -- The game did not take place : this is not a game and blurring the lines of fiction / Alan Hook -- Alternate reality games for learning : a frame by frame analysis / Anthony Pellicone, Elizabeth Bonsignore, Kathryn Kaczmarek, Kari Kraus, June Ahn, & Derek Hansen -- Promotional alternate reality games and the TINAG philosophy / Stephanie Janes -- The coachella disaster : how the puppet masters of art of the h3ist pulled a victory from the jaws of defeat / Burcu S. Bakiolu -- Designing and playing peer-produced ARGs in the primary classroom : supporting literacies through play / Angela Colvert -- Games beyond the arg / Jeff Watson -- Methods : studying alternate reality games as virtual worlds / Calvin Johns -- A typology to describe alternate reality games for cultural contexts / Diane Dufort and Federico Tajariol -- Sociability by design in an alternate reality game : the case of the Trail / Roinioti Elina, Pandia Eleana, Skarpelos Yannis -- Ingress : a restructuring of the ARG or a new genre? : an ethnography of enlightened and resistance factions in Brazil / Thaiane Moreira de Oliveira