Computer Games Text, Narrative and Play

by Carr, Diane; Buckingham, David; Burn, Andrew; Schott, Gareth

• ISBN13: 9780745634005
• ISBN10: 0745634001
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-31
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

Computer games are one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving media of our time. Revenues from console and computer games have now overtaken those from Hollywood movies; and online gaming is one of the fastest-growing areas of the internet. Games are no longer just kids' stuff: the majority of players are now adults, and the market is constantly broadening. The visual style of games has become increasingly sophisticated, and the complexities of game-play are ever more challenging. Meanwhile, the iconography and generic forms of games are increasingly influencing a whole range of other media, from films and television to books and toys.This book provides a systematic, comprehensive introduction to the analysis of computer and video games. It introduces key concepts and approaches drawn from literary, film and media theory in an accessible and concrete manner; and it tests their use and relevance by applying them to a small but representative selection of role-playing and action-adventure games. It combines methods of textual analysis and audience research, showing how the combination of such methods can give a more complete picture of these playable texts and the fan cultures they generate. Clearly written and engaging, it will be a key text for students in the field and for all those with an interest in taking games seriously.

Author Biography

David Buckingham is Professor of Education and head of the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media (CSCYM) at the University of London.


Andrew Burn is Reader in Education and New Media and Associate Director of the CSCYM at the University of London.


Diane Carr is Research Officer of the CSCYM at the University of London.


Gareth Schott is Senior Lecturer of Screen and Media Studies at the University of Waikato.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Studying computer games

Defining game genres

Games and narrative

Play and pleasure

Space, navigation and affect

Playing roles

Reworking the text: online fandom

Motivation and online gaming

Social play and learning

Agency in and around play

Film, adaptation and computer games

Games and Gender

Doing game analysis

Notes

Games Cited

References

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.