9780470597187

Game Invaders takes an innovative approach to game design, combining genre theory and semiotics. U.K. games professor Clive Fencott introduces a practical critical DIY toolbox for analyzing existing games and designing future games. He explores an unconventional assortment of specific games in depth to show the value and limitations of various theories, paying close attention to several games outside of the mainstream. Fencott also investigates possible futures in game building, applications, and virtual realities. Personable and engaging, this book is meant for undergraduate and graduate students in games programming, games design, communications studies, and media studies, as well as recent grads looking for an edge in beginning their programming/design careers.

Clive Fencott, PhD, is a freelance writer and researcher in new media. For many years, he taught and researched the theory of computer games at Teesside University .in the UK. He also worked in the games industry. Dr. Fencott has authored over fifty publications including the successful textbook Formal Methods for Concurrency. Mike Lockyer, BSc, PhD, is a Professor of Web Services at Teesside University, where he has taught for over twenty-five years. He has published over thirty journal papers, successfully supervised more than ten PhDs, and is currently involved with developments in web services arid rich client applications. Jo Clay completed a multimedia master's degree at Teesside University, under the supervision of "Give Fencott, before joining the games analysis team. As a gamer herself and apprentice semiotician, Jo assisted in the development of the Game Invaders method for application in computer software. Paul Massey, CENG, MBCS, CITP, is a senior lecturer in computing at Teesside University, where he teaches and consults on databases. Paul believes databases are central to most IT systems and applies techniques (such as data mining) to a range of disciplines (such as games analysis and decision support).

Preface	p. ix
Abbreviations	p. xi
Why Do People Play Games?	p. 3
You Are the One	p. 3
Tools to Think With	p. 5
Getting Started	p. 8
Summary	p. 12
Genre	p. 13
What Are Genres?	p. 14
What Are Genres For?	p. 16
Genre Maps	p. 18
Computer Game Genres	p. 19
A Theory of Computer Game Genres	p. 21
Summary	p. 25
Further Reading and Tasks	p. 26
Activity	p. 29
The Story of Activity Groups	p. 29
An Overview of Activity Profiles	p. 33
Three Driving Games	p. 35
Calculating Genres	p. 38
Summary	p. 43
Tasks	p. 44
Pleasure	p. 45
Aesthetics and Computer Games	p. 47
Spacewar	p. 51
Zork	p. 52
Pac-Man	p. 56
Comparative Aesthetics	p. 57
Summary	p. 59
Tasks	p. 60
Two Rail-Shooters	p. 61
Star Fox and Rez	p. 61
Activity Profiling and Genre Theory	p. 63
Applying Aesthetic Theory	p. 65
The Method of Game Analysis	p. 67
Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Rez, and Beyond	p. 67
Summary	p. 69
Further Reading and Tasks	p. 70
Why Don't People Play Games	p. 71
What Do We Mean by Games?	p. 72
Resident Evil	p. 73
Why Not Ask the Players?	p. 75
Emotional Models of Play	p. 76
Player Types	p. 79
Demographic Research	p. 81
Why Don't People Play Games?	p. 82
Conclusions	p. 83
What Is a Game?
Just an Ordinary Day	p. 87
The Glass Vial	p. 89
Unrealisms	p. 90
Perceptual Opportunities	p. 91
Sureties	p. 92
Surprises	p. 93
Attractors	p. 93
Connectors	p. 95
Rewards	p. 97
Getting It All Together in SinCity	p. 99
Perceptual Mapping in SinCity	p. 100
AS-OceanFloor	p. 103
Summary	p. 108
Further Reading and Tasks	p. 109
Big Bad Streets	p. 111
Driver School	p. 111
Sureties	p. 113
Surprises	p. 114
Driver and SinCity Comparisons	p. 119
Summary	p. 122
Further Reading and Tasks	p. 123
Time to Visit Yokosuka	p. 125
Shenmue	p. 125
Genre and Activity Profile	p. 126
Aesthetics	p. 128
Shenmue POs	p. 129
PSAS and Cut Scenes	p. 131
Interactive Storytelling?	p. 133
And On With General Aesthetics	p. 134
Summary	p. 135
Further Reading and Tasks	p. 137
Meaning What?	p. 139
Semiotics and Signs	p. 140
Pac-Man's Signs	p. 143
Icons, Indexes, and Symbols	p. 144
Denotation, Connotation, and Myth	p. 146
Syntagms and Paradigms	p. 148
Codes	p. 151
Making Up Pac-Man	p. 154
Filling Gaps	p. 155
Summary	p. 159
Further Reading and Tasks	p. 161
All Work and Play
The Work of Meaning	p. 164
Signs of Interaction	p. 167
The Mechanics of Interaction	p. 170
The Inside-Out Code	p. 176
Where Is the Player?	p. 178
Summary	p. 180
Further Reading and Tasks	p. 181
Big Game Hunting	p. 183
Semiosphere	p. 183
The Code of Interaction	p. 185
The Myth of Interaction	p. 189
What Is a Game?	p. 191
How Do You Get Out of Here?	p. 192
Big Game Hunting	p. 194
Glossary	p. 197
List of Games	p. 203
Bibliography	p. 205
Index	p. 207
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Game Invaders The Theory and Understanding of Computer Games

Game Invaders The Theory and Understanding of Computer Games

0470597186

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