New Issue out. Volume 11 issue 2 May 2011.
Game Studies: Journal of Computer Game Research
Articles, abstracts and more details below the jump.
Interactivity, Inhabitation and Pragmatist Aesthetics
by Phillip D. Deen
Pragmatist philosophy of art provides an account of aesthetic experience particularly suited to the transactive and immersive qualities of video games and superior to spectatorial and institutional alternatives. It also distinguishes between mere emotion and artistic expression, providing a response to those who assert games cannot be aesthetic.
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/deen
Optimizing Play: How Theorycraft Changes Gameplay and Design
by Christopher A. Paul
As an emergent practice of World of Warcraft (WoW) players, theorycrafting is the search for the optimal set of strategies with which to play WoW. By using statistical analysis and mathematical modeling, theorycrafters seek out the underlying formulae that govern WoW, largely in an attempt to play WoW better. Using rhetorical analysis and game studies literature to analyze the discourse surrounding theorycraft, this paper discusses the implications of theorycraft, arguing that this player-created practice has fundamentally changed how WoW is played, while also reshaping the relationship between players and designers. Understanding theorycraft demonstrates a distinct approach of how to ‘play’ WoW, uniting game studies research that focuses on procedural rhetoric and paratexts, while expanding the role of rhetoric for the analysis of games.
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/paul
Bishōjo Games: ‘Techno-Intimacy’ and the Virtually Human in Japan
by Patrick W. Galbraith
This paper offers an in-depth analysis of bishōjo games. Observing that interactions with shōjo characters are central to the play experience, and building on Thomas LaMarre’s discussion of a free or open relation to technology grounded by the shōjo as “god,” the paper considers what it means for players to interact intimately with gaming machines.
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/galbraith
The Leisure of Serious Games: A Dialogue
by Geoffrey M. Rockwell, Kevin Kee
In this dialogue, performed at a conference, the presenters test the claim that “games can be educational”. They draw on the insights of philosophers and theorists in an attempt to provoke discussion, and eventually agree that the line separating games and learning may be blurry, and that in game design we may find the seeds of serious play.
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/geoffrey_rockwell_kevin_kee
Subjective Measures of the Influence of Music Customization on the Video Game Play Experience: A Pilot Study
by Alexander Wharton, Karen Collins
The Xbox 360 introduced the ability for players to substitute a personal music playlist into any game produced for the console. We carried out a smalls study to explore the influence that a player’s selection of music has on both gameplay tactics and on their reported perceived levels of immersion.
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/wharton_collins
Book Reviews
What is love?
by Olli Leino
Gaming – Essays on Algorithmic Culture. Alexander R. Galloway, 2006. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-8166-4851-1
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/leino
Tensions Between Meaning Construction and Persuasion in Games
by Jan H.G. Klabbers
Persuasive Games. The expressive power of video games. Ian Bogost, 2007. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Pp. xii+450. ISBN-13: 978- 0-262-02614-7 (hardcover)
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/klabbers_book_review
Congenial by Design: A Review of A Casual Revolution
by Stewart Woods
A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players. Jesper Juul, 2009. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-262- 01337-6
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/woods
Not a Casual Review: Reading Jesper Juul’s A Casual Revolution
by Staffan Björk
A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players. Jesper Juul, 2009. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-262- 01337-6
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/bjork
Reading Processes: Groundwork for Software Studies
by Raine Koskima
Expressive Processing: Digital Fictions, Computer Games and Software Studies. Noah Wardrip-Fruin, 2009. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-262-01343-7
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/koskima
Critical Theory, Political Economy and Game Studies: A Review of “Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games”
by Bart Simon
Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games. Nick Dyer-Witherford and Greig de Peuter, 2009. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN: 978-08166-6611-9
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/simon
Hackers, History, and Game Design: What Racing the Beam Is Not
by José P. Zagal
Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost, 2009. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN-13: 978- 0-262-01257-7
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/zagal
The Fun is Back!
by Lars Konzack
Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost, 2009. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-262-01257-7
http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/konzack