Playing War

Playing War

Author: Matthew Thomas Payne

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1479895105

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Explores the culture that made military shooter video games popular, and key in understanding the War on Terror No video game genre has been more popular or more lucrative in recent years than the “military shooter.” Franchises such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, and those bearing Tom Clancy’s name turn over billions of dollars annually by promising to immerse players in historic and near-future battles, converting the reality of contemporary conflicts into playable, experiences. In the aftermath of 9/11, these games transformed a national crisis into fantastic and profitable adventures, where seemingly powerless spectators became solutions to these virtual Wars on Terror. Playing War provides a cultural framework for understanding the popularity of military-themed video games and their significance in the ongoing War on Terror. Matthew Payne examines post-9/11 shooter-style game design as well as gaming strategies to expose how these practices perpetuate and challenge reigning political beliefs about America’s military prowess and combat policies. Far from offering simplistic escapist pleasures, these post-9/11 shooters draw on a range of nationalist mythologies, positioning the player as the virtual hero at every level. Through close readings of key games, analyses of marketing materials, and participant observations of the war gaming community, Playing War examines an industry mobilizing anxieties about terrorism and invasion to craft immersive titles that transform international strife into interactive fun.


The Drone Age

The Drone Age

Author: Michael J. Boyle

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 019063586X

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Over the last decade, the rapid pace of innovation with drone technology has led to dozens of new and innovative commercial and scientific applications, from Amazon drone deliveries to the patrolling of national parks with drones. But what is less understood is how the spread of unmanned technology will change the patterns of war and peace in the future. Will the use of drones produce a more stable world or will it lead to more conflict? Will drones gradually replace humans on the battlefield or will they empower soldiers to act more precisely, and humanely, in crisis situations? How will drones change surveillance around the world and at home? The Drone Age traces the rise of unmanned technology and how it is reshaping our world. The spread of drones is reordering geopolitical fault lines and providing new ways for states to test the nerves and strategic commitments of their rivals. Drones are also allowing terrorist groups like the Islamic State to take to the skies and to level the playing field against their enemies. Across the world, the low financial cost of drones and the reduced risks faced by pilots is making drone technology an essential tool for militaries, peacekeeping forces and even private companies. From large surveillance drones to insect-like micro-drones, unmanned technology is revolutionizing the way that states and non-state actors compete with each other and is providing game-changing benefits to those who can most rapidly adapt unmanned technology to their own purposes. Yet peacekeeping and humanitarian organizations are also utilizing drones too. An essential guide to a surprisingly complex disruptive force in world politics, The Drone Age shows how the mastery of drone technology will become central to the ways that governments and non-state actors seek power and influence in the coming decades.


The Player of Games

The Player of Games

Author: Iain M. Banks

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 2009-12-01

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0316095869

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The Culture — a human/machine symbiotic society — has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy. Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game. . . a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life — and very possibly his death. The Culture Series Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons The State of the Art Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata


Cultural Politics of Targeted Killing

Cultural Politics of Targeted Killing

Author: Kyle Grayson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-07-15

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1317238974

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The deployment of remotely piloted air platforms (RPAs) - or drones - has become a defining feature of contemporary counter-insurgency operations. Scholarly analysis and public debate has primarily focused on two issues: the legality of targeted killing and whether the practice is effective at disrupting insurgency networks, and the intensive media and activist scrutiny of the policy processes through which targeted killing decisions have been made. While contributing to these ongoing discussions, this book aims to determine how targeted killing has become possible in contemporary counter-insurgency operations undertaken by liberal regimes. Each chapter is oriented around a problematisation that has shaped the cultural politics of the targeted killing assemblage. Grayson argues that in order to understand how specific forms of violence become prevalent, it is important to determine how problematisations that enable them are shaped by a politico-cultural system in which culture operates in conjunction with technological, economic, governmental, and geostrategic elements. The book also demonstrates that the actors involved - what they may be attempting to achieve through the deployment of this form of violence, how they attempt to achieve it, and where they attempt to achieve it - are also shaped by culture. The book demonstrates how the current social relations prevalent in liberal societies contain the potential for targeted killing as a normal rather than extraordinary practice. It will be of great use for academic specialists and graduate students in international studies, geography, sociology, cultural studies and legal studies.


Monolithic Undertow

Monolithic Undertow

Author: Harry Sword

Publisher:

Published: 2022-04-19

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 9781737382935

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"An inspired and intuitive navigation of the drone continuum . . . with a compass firmly set to new and enlightening psychedelic truths"-- BECK In 1977 Sniffin' Glue verbalised the musical zeitgeist with their infamous 'this is a chord; this is another; now form a band' illustration. The drone requires neither chord nor band, representing - via its infinite pliability and accessibility - the ultimate folk music: a potent audio tool of personal liberation. Immersion in hypnotic and repetitive sounds allows us to step outside of ourselves, be it chant, a 120dB beasting from Sunn O))), standing front of the system as Jah Shaka drops a fresh dub or going full headphone immersion with Hawkwind. These experiences are akin to an audio portal - a sound Tardis to silence the hum and fizz of the unceasing inner voice. The drone exists outside of us, but also - paradoxically - within us all; an aural expression of a universal hum we can only hope to fleetingly channel. Monolithic Undertow is the definitive text to explore the music of drone and its related genres. Exhaustively researched this tome will not leave music fans interested in drone, doom, metal, and folk music unsatisfied.


Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games

Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games

Author: Toiya Kristen Finley

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2018-07-24

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1351651250

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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.


The Mystery of the Magic Toilet

The Mystery of the Magic Toilet

Author: Pungence

Publisher:

Published: 2018-09-02

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 9781726472906

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The Amazing Frog is back! Swindon's favorite resident is always seeking out exciting new adventures, but when the Amazing Frog is called upon to solve an unusual emergency on the moon, little does he know it's the start of his craziest escapade yet. The most important moon worm of all time has gone missing, and it looks like it's up to the Amazing Frog to find out where he's gone. And when the space ants decide they want to send along one of their representatives to "help" the Amazing Frog in his quest, things only get stranger. Aided by his trusty pal Pig Newton, the Amazing Frog must draw on all his weapons, contraptions, and-above all-wits to find the missing moon worm before it's too late. When clues begin pointing to a mysterious magic toilet-that appeared out of nowhere in Swindon one day, and seems to have awesome transformative powers-the Amazing Frog realizes that all may not be as it seems, and that strange dangers will stand between him and the missing moon worm.As the Amazing Frog makes his way through a world of fun puzzles and challenges, he encounters old friends (or in some cases "frenemies") like Joke Frog and Megalodon, and interesting new adversaries like Red Megalodon. He also learns more than he ever wanted to know about the nuanced relations between moon worms and space ants! But will he rescue the missing moon worm in time to avert disaster? You'll have to read on to find out! Fans of Pungence and the Amazing Frog are sure to enjoy this rollicking adventure for readers of all ages!


Politics of Play

Politics of Play

Author: Aggie Hirst

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2024-03-22

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0197629202

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In the current century, games play a key role in many areas of our lives. Once thought frivolous and nerdy, videogames are now the leading global entertainment medium, and games are widely used in education, medicine, government...and war. Since 2014, the US government has directed the military to expand the use of wargames across their training, planning, and rehabilitation spheres. Combining original empirical data gathered at US military computer-assisted command post exercises (CPXs) and school-houses with a distinctive theory of immersive play, The Politics of Play offers a new critical analysis of the use of wargaming to produce soldiers in the digital age.


Drones in Education

Drones in Education

Author: Christopher Carnahan

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 9781564846150

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This book was written for educators who want to incorporate drones into their curriculum but have no idea where to start. It covers all you need to implement a drone program in your school, including recommendations as to the drones that are best for specific students' age levels and subject areas, and which drones need to be registered and where you can fly them. It provides.lesson plans, real-world applications, and tips on securing funding for drones.


Playing War

Playing War

Author: Matthew Thomas Payne

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 147980522X

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Explores the culture that made military shooter video games popular, and key in understanding the War on Terror No video game genre has been more popular or more lucrative in recent years than the “military shooter.” Franchises such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, and those bearing Tom Clancy’s name turn over billions of dollars annually by promising to immerse players in historic and near-future battles, converting the reality of contemporary conflicts into playable, experiences. In the aftermath of 9/11, these games transformed a national crisis into fantastic and profitable adventures, where seemingly powerless spectators became solutions to these virtual Wars on Terror. Playing War provides a cultural framework for understanding the popularity of military-themed video games and their significance in the ongoing War on Terror. Matthew Payne examines post-9/11 shooter-style game design as well as gaming strategies to expose how these practices perpetuate and challenge reigning political beliefs about America’s military prowess and combat policies. Far from offering simplistic escapist pleasures, these post-9/11 shooters draw on a range of nationalist mythologies, positioning the player as the virtual hero at every level. Through close readings of key games, analyses of marketing materials, and participant observations of the war gaming community, Playing War examines an industry mobilizing anxieties about terrorism and invasion to craft immersive titles that transform international strife into interactive fun.