Interviews with female gamers about structural sexism across the gaming landscape When the Nintendo Wii was released in 2006, it ushered forward a new era of casual gaming in which video games appealed to not just the stereotypical hardcore male gamer, but also to a much broader, more diverse audience. However, the GamerGate controversy six years later, and other similar public incidents since, laid bare the internalized misogyny and gender stereotypes in the gaming community. Today, even as women make up nearly half of all gamers, sexist assumptions about the what and how of women’s gaming are more actively enforced. In Gaming Sexism, Amanda C. Cote explores the video game industry and its players to explain this contradiction, how it affects female gamers, and what it means in terms of power and gender equality. Across in-depth interviews with women-identified gamers, Cote delves into the conflict between diversification and resistance to understand their impact on gaming, both casual and “core” alike. From video game magazines to male reactions to female opponents, she explores the shifting expectations about who gamers are, perceived changes in gaming spaces, and the experiences of female gamers amidst this gendered turmoil. While Cote reveals extensive, persistent problems in gaming spaces, she also emphasizes the power of this motivated, marginalized audience, and draws on their experiences to explore how structural inequalities in gaming spaces can be overcome. Gaming Sexism is a well-timed investigation of equality, power, and control over the future of technology.
From Windows Solitaire to Bejeweled to Wii Tennis, casual games have radically changed the landscape of games. By simplifying gameplay and providing quick but intense blasts of engaging play, casual games have drawn in huge new audiences of players. To entertain and engage the casual player, game designers must learn to think about what makes casua
How casual games like Guitar Hero, Bejeweled, and those for Nintendo Wii are expanding the audience for video games. We used to think that video games were mostly for young men, but with the success of the Nintendo Wii, and the proliferation of games in browsers, cell phone games, and social games video games changed changed fundamentally in the years from 2000 to 2010. These new casual games are now played by men and women, young and old. Players need not possess an intimate knowledge of video game history or devote weeks or months to play. At the same time, many players of casual games show a dedication and skill that is anything but casual. In A Casual Revolution, Jesper Juul describes this as a reinvention of video games, and of our image of video game players, and explores what this tells us about the players, the games, and their interaction. With this reinvention of video games, the game industry reconnects with a general audience. Many of today's casual game players once enjoyed Pac-Man, Tetris, and other early games, only to drop out when video games became more time-consuming and complex. Juul shows that it is only by understanding what a game requires of players, what players bring to a game, how the game industry works, and how video games have developed historically that we can understand what makes video games fun and why we choose to play (or not to play) them. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book is missing some of the images found in the physical edition.
An engaging look at how mobile games are increasingly part of our day-to-day lives and the ways that we interact across real as well as digital landscapes. We often play games on our mobile devices when we have some time to kill--waiting in line, pausing between tasks, stuck on a bus. We play in solitude or in company, alone in a bedroom or with others in the family room. In Ambient Play, Larissa Hjorth and Ingrid Richardson examine how mobile gameplay fits into our day-to-day lives. They show that as mobile games spread across different genres, platforms, practices, and contexts, they become an important way of experiencing and navigating a digitally saturated world. We are digital wayfarers, moving constantly among digital, social, and social worlds.
Games live and die commercially on the player experience. Games User Research is collectively the way we optimise the quality of the user experience (UX) in games, working with all aspects of a game from the mechanics and interface, visuals and art, interaction and progression, making sure every element works in concert and supports the game UX. This means that Games User Research is essential and integral to the production of games and to shape the experience of players. Today, Games User Research stands as the primary pathway to understanding players and how to design, build, and launch games that provide the right game UX. Until now, the knowledge in Games User Research and Game UX has been fragmented and there were no comprehensive, authoritative resources available. This book bridges the current gap of knowledge in Games User Research, building the go-to resource for everyone working with players and games or other interactive entertainment products. It is accessible to those new to Games User Research, while being deeply comprehensive and insightful for even hardened veterans of the game industry. In this book, dozens of veterans share their wisdom and best practices on how to plan user research, obtain the actionable insights from users, conduct user-centred testing, which methods to use when, how platforms influence user research practices, and much, much more.
This book explores patterns of gameplay and sociality afforded by online gaming. Bringing together essays from leading and emerging academics, this book explores key issues in understanding online gaming, including: patterns of play, legality, production, identity, gamer communities, communication, social exclusion and inclusion, and considers future directions in online gaming.
THE REVOLUTION WILL BE GAMIFIED MASTER THE GAMIFIED STRATEGIES THAT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS--OR BE LEFT BEHIND Gamification: It's the hottest new strategy in business, and for good reason--it's helping leading companies create unprecedented engagement with customers and employees. Gamification uses the latest innovations from game design, loyalty programs, and behavioral economics to help you cut through the noise and transform your organization into a lean, mean machine ready to fight the battle for user attention and loyalty. With The Gamification Revolution you'll learn how top companies: Recruit and retain the best talent from the gamer generation and beyond Train employees and drive excellence with noncash incentives Cut through the market noise and ignite consumer sales growth Generate unprecedented customer loyalty without breaking the bank Drawing inspiration from the most popular games of all time--from Angry Birds to World of Warcraft--the authors reveal the secrets of market leaders that you can apply immediately to your business. As a bonus, the book gives you full access to The Gamification Revolution app--a great way to optimize and enhance your experience with videos, tips, and social tools, including the ability to easily share the best ideas with your colleagues and workgroup. You'll learn the new rules of engagement that are guaranteed to generate excitement and enthusiasm--in your employees and your customers. You'll understand how game designers predict and motivate behaviors--and how you can get the results you want. You'll also find a winning selection of fascinating case studies, best practices, and game-ready tools of the trade you can easily apply to your specific needs. It's all here in one ready-to-use strategy guide filled with the best ideas and pitfalls you can avoid. If you're going to play the game, this is how you play it. To win. Praise for The Gamification Revolution: "For consumer-facing businesses today, nothing matters more than delivering a great user experience and creating lasting engagement with your consumers and employees. The Gamification Revolution will show you how leaders have reached for the top and won." -- ALEXANDRA WILKIS WILSON, Cofounder, Gilt Groupe, and author of the New York Times bestseller By Invitation Only "In today's fast-paced world, people are more distracted than ever. To stand out, you'll need to cut through the noise and get them engaged. The Gamification Revolution will teach you the essential building blocks for achieving long-term success and growth." -- JESSE REDNISS, SVP, USA Network/NBCU "From engaging customers to retaining a team, The Gamification Revolution will provide you with tactics that generate results. I know. Gabe's wisdom has helped the Founder Institute expand to every inhabited continent and change thousands of lives." -- ADEO RESSI, CEO, Founder Institute "Zichermann and Linder propose a pragmatic approach to gamification that will provide breakthrough results. Sales is the last bastion of corporate innovation, and this spectacular read is a must for any sales leader." -- HI LEVA, Senior VP Sales Operations, Clear Channel Outdoor
This volume offers a view of the cultural, interpersonal and family consequences of mobile communication across the globe. The contributors analyse the effects of moble communications on all aspects of life, from the relationship between literacy and the textual features of phones, to the use of ringtones as a form of social exchange.
Design great Facebook, iOS, and Web games and learn from the experts what makes a game a hit. This book shows how to put into action the proven design and marketing techniques from the industry's best game designers, who all started on a small scale