The study of online gaming is changing. It is no longer enough to analyse one type of online community in order to understand the plethora of players who take part in online worlds and the behaviours they exhibit. MacCallum-Stewart studies the different ways in which online games create social environments and how players choose to interpret these. These games vary from the immensely popular social networking games on Facebook such as Farmville to Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games to "Free to Play" online gaming and console communities such as players of Xbox Live and PS3 games. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of social gaming online, breaking down when games are social and what narrative devices make them so. This cross-disciplinary study will appeal to those interested in cyberculture, the evolution of gaming technology, and sociologies of media.

Being different from the masses is one of the greatest gifts that you possess! Let s face it: Who wants to be just like everyone else? Talk about boring! People come in all shapes and sizes and are born with natural and unnatural gifts and talents like no other, and your greatest challenge is to discover your gifts and then apply them to the world to create a better place, a better planet, a better universe! That is my challenge to you so that all of us can get along peacefully and become truly a population of one. I would like to ask you some questions to help you discover what makes you unique, different, and awesome. Are you different? Are you unique? Do you look different than others? Talk differently than others? Do you walk differently than others? Have you been born with talents that very few others have? Have you been brainwashed to look at your talents as a disability? Do you stay up nights dwelling on all the things in life you don t have, rather than focus on all the blessings you do have? Have you ever been bullied at school, at home, and in many areas in your life? Have you ever been called a retard, dumb, disabled ? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, perhaps you have yet to understand, accept, and apply your unique gifts to make the world a better place. If you have answered Yes to any of these questions, I feel your pain, I have walked in your shoes, and I can empathize with your situation. I have been bullied, called a retard, told that I am disabled, put in special classes, advised that I should not expect to reach my goals. My name is Tyler McNamer and I have been called ALL of the above many, many times in my life. I am nineteen years old and have been blessed with autism my entire life. I have chosen to accept my label of autism not as a disability but as an extraordinary ability and I want to help you overcome the label that you may have suffered from for many years of your life. So what is autism? The dictionary defines autism as a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with others. Also, it is defined as a mental condition in which fantasy dominates over reality. So just how many people today are affected by this condition? According to a recent WebMD study, 1 in 88 kids today has autism and for boys the numbers is 1 in 54. Also you might be surprised to learn that since 2002, autism has increased by 78 percent. Let s put those numbers in perspective. A high school with 1,000 students enrolled is going to have 11 students with this condition, and a bigger high school with 2,500 students is going to have 28 students with autism. So, now that you know more about autism, let me highlight some of the things you will learn by reading this book since I want to assure you that this book is not just a book about autism it is a book about how we can all live together in harmony regardless of our differences. In this book, you are going to learn that, despite our differences and diversities, we can get along and become a population of one to serve others. In this book, you will learn the importance of becoming the leader in your own life, following your dreams. You will learn to focus on your blessings instead of being discouraged by your challenges. In this book, you will learn to embrace change and continue to learn for a lifetime. In this book, you will learn what it is like to be blessed with the unique ability of having autism. You will learn how not only to cope with your gifts, but to thrive in life and pursue your goals despite your challenges. In this book, you will learn how to turn your ability into a blessing to serve others

"Text first published in 1990 by Children's Press, Inc."

"This book addressing an emerging field of study, ethics and gamesand answers how we can better design and use games to foster ethical thinking and discourse in classrooms"--Provided by publisher.

Despite its significant growth over the past five years, the mobile and social videogame industry is still maturing at a rapid rate. Due to various storage and visual and sound asset restrictions, mobile and social gaming must have innovative storytelling techniques. Narrative Tactics grants readers practical advice for improving narrative design and game writing for mobile and social games, and helps them rise to the challenge of mobile game storytelling. The first half of the book covers general storytelling techniques, including worldbuilding, character design, dialogue, and quests. In the second half, leading experts in the field explore various genres and types of mobile and social games, including educational games, licensed IP, games for specific demographics, branding games, and free to play (F2P). Key Features The only book dedicated to narrative design and game writing in social and mobile games, an explosive market overtaking the console gaming market. Provides tips for narrative design and writing tailored specifically for mobile and social game markets. Guides readers along with conclusions that include questions to help the reader in narrative design and/or writing. Explores real games to illustrate theory and best practices with analyses of game case studies per chapter, covering indie, social/mobile, and AAA games. Includes checklists to help readers critique their own narrative design/writing.

Different social stories to help teach children with autism everyday social skills.

As a game designer or new media storyteller, you know that the story is critical to the success of your project. Telling that story interactively is an even greater challenge, one that involves approaching the story from many angles. Here to help you navigate and open your mind to more creative ways of producing your stories is the authority on interactive design and a longtime game development guru, Chris Crawford. To help you in your quest for the truly interactive story, Crawford provides a solid sampling of what works and doesn't work, and how to apply the lessons to your own storytelling projects. After laying out the fundamental ideas behind interactive storytelling and explaining some of the misconceptions that have crippled past efforts, the book delves into all the major systems that go into interactive storytelling: personality models, actors, props, stages, fate, verbs, history books, and more. Crawford also covers the Storytron technology he has been working on for several years, an engine that runs interactive electonic storyworlds, giving readers a first-hand look into practical storytelling methods.