Spielerisches Denken Reihe

Why play is a productive, expressive way of being, a form of understanding, and a fundamental part of our well-being.

An important new voice provides an empowering look at why video games need feminism—and why all of us should make space for more play in our lives. You play like a girl: It’s meant to be an insult, accusing a player of subpar, un-fun playing. If you’re a girl, and you grow up, do you “play like a woman”—whatever that means? In this provocative and enlightening book, Shira Chess urges us to play like feminists. Playing like a feminist is empowering and disruptive—it exceeds the boundaries of gender yet still advocates for gender equality. Roughly half of all players identify as female, and “Gamergate” galvanized many of gaming’s disenfranchised voices. Chess argues games are in need of a creative platform-expanding, metaphysical explosion—and feminism can take us there. She reflects on the importance of play, playful protest, and how feminist video games can help us rethink the ways that we tell stories. Feminism needs video games as much as video games need feminism. Play and games can be powerful. Chess’s goal is for all of us—regardless of gender orientation, ethnicity, ability, social class, or stance toward feminism—to spend more time playing as a tool of radical disruption.

How uncertainty in games-from Super Mario Bros. to Rock/Paper/Scissors-engages players and shapes play experiences.

A new vision of the future of games and game design, enabled by AI.

How game designers can use the psychological phenomenon of loss aversion to shape player experience. Getting something makes you feel good, and losing something makes you feel bad. But losing something makes you feel worse than getting the same thing makes you feel good. So finding $10 is a thrill; losing $10 is a tragedy. On an “intensity of feeling” scale, loss is more intense than gain. This is the core psychological concept of loss aversion, and in this book game creator Geoffrey Engelstein explains, with examples from both tabletop and video games, how it can be a tool in game design. Loss aversion is a profound aspect of human psychology, and directly relevant to game design; it is a tool the game designer can use to elicit particular emotions in players. Engelstein connects the psychology of loss aversion to a range of phenomena related to games, exploring, for example, the endowment effect—why, when an object is ours, it gains value over an equivalent object that is not ours—as seen in the Weighted Companion Cube in the game Portal; the framing of gains and losses to manipulate player emotions; Deal or No Deal’s use of the utility theory; and regret and competence as motivations, seen in the context of legacy games. Finally, Engelstein examines the approach to loss aversion in three games by Uwe Rosenberg, charting the designer’s increasing mastery.

How we talk about games as real or not-real, and how that shapes what games are made and who is invited to play them.

"Games have becomes embedded in our daily activities and Ambient Play shows how this affects our creative and ludic practices in everyday life"-- Provided by publisher

This is a renaissance moment for video games - in the variety of genres they represent, and the range of emotional territory they cover. But how do games create emotion? In How Games Move Us, Katherine Isbister takes the reader on a timely and novel exploration of the design techniques that evoke strong emotions for players. She counters arguments that games are creating a generation of isolated, emotionally numb, antisocial loners. Games, Isbister shows us, can actually play a powerful role in creating empathy and other strong, positive emotional experiences; they reveal these qualities over time, through the act of playing. She offers a nuanced, systematic examination of exactly how games can influence emotion and social connection, with examples - drawn from popular, indie, and art games - that unpack the gamer's experience.

Games and art have intersected since the early twentieth century, evident in the Surrealists' Exquisite Corpse, Duchamp's fascination with Chess, and Fluxus event scores. In recent years, the relationship between art and games has become muddled. Contemporary art has utilized video game tools without recognizing their unique cultural significance. Conversely, game developers and players often overlook the artistic aspects of game creation and evaluation. John Sharp addresses this disconnect by proposing a formal aesthetics of games that highlights both their similarities and differences with art. He identifies three communities of practice: 1. "Game Art," featuring artists like Julian Oliver and Cory Arcangel, who view video games as a popular culture source for subject matter and tools. 2. "Artgames," crafted by developers such as Jason Rohrer and Brenda Romero, which delve into themes typically explored in poetry, painting, literature, or film. 3. "Artists' Games," involving creators like Blast Theory and Mary Flanagan, who embrace a more integrated view of games as an artistic medium. Sharp argues that the works produced by these gamemakers demonstrate the potential for creating game-based artworks that resonate with both contemporary art and gaming communities.

An exploration of why we play video games despite the fact that we are almost certain to feel unhappy when we fail at them.

Reclaiming fun as a meaningful concept for understanding games and play.

Trzecia i najnowsza książka Jespera Juula znacznie różni się od wcześniejszych: w przeciwieństwie do tamtych szczegółowych, skrupulatnych i systematycznych wykładów teorii gier wideo otrzymujemy teraz książkę lżejszą, bardziej atrakcyjną i przystępniejszą. U jej podstaw leżą zapewne nie mniej szczegółowe, skrupulatne i systematyczne studia, jednak tytuł nas nie okłamuje: to wysmakowany esej. Tym bardziej urzekający, że niby to zajmuje się grami wideo, a jednak w końcu stają się one, co najwyżej, pretekstem do refleksji na temat człowieka. Człowieka, który choć nie lubi przegrywać, wciąż od nowa wystawia się na ryzyko porażki. Owszem, ten opis pasuje do gracza. Ale przecież stanowi też – a może: przede wszystkim – charakterystykę uniwersalnej ludzkiej kondycji. I to o niej jest ta książka.