An Introduction to Game Studies

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Publisher : SAGE
ISBN 13 : 1473902924
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (739 download)

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Book Synopsis An Introduction to Game Studies by : Frans Mäyrä

Download or read book An Introduction to Game Studies written by Frans Mäyrä and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2008-02-18 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Game Studies is the first introductory textbook for students of game studies. It provides a conceptual overview of the cultural, social and economic significance of computer and video games and traces the history of game culture and the emergence of game studies as a field of research. Key concepts and theories are illustrated with discussion of games taken from different historical phases of game culture. Progressing from the simple, yet engaging gameplay of Pong and text-based adventure games to the complex virtual worlds of contemporary online games, the book guides students towards analytical appreciation and critical engagement with gaming and game studies. Students will learn to: - Understand and analyse different aspects of phenomena we recognise as 'game' and play' - Identify the key developments in digital game design through discussion of action in games of the 1970s, fiction and adventure in games of the 1980s, three-dimensionality in games of the 1990s, and social aspects of gameplay in contemporary online games - Understand games as dynamic systems of meaning-making - Interpret the context of games as 'culture' and subculture - Analyse the relationship between technology and interactivity and between 'game' and 'reality' - Situate games within the context of digital culture and the information society With further reading suggestions, images, exercises, online resources and a whole chapter devoted to preparing students to do their own game studies project, An Introduction to Game Studies is the complete toolkit for all students pursuing the study of games. The companion website at www.sagepub.co.uk/mayra contains slides and assignments that are suitable for self-study as well as for classroom use. Students will also benefit from online resources at www.gamestudiesbook.net, which will be regularly blogged and updated by the author. Professor Frans Mäyrä is a Professor of Games Studies and Digital Culture at the Hypermedia Laboratory in the University of Tampere, Finland.

An Introduction to Game Studies

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Author :
Publisher : SAGE
ISBN 13 : 1849205396
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (492 download)

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Book Synopsis An Introduction to Game Studies by : Frans Mäyrä

Download or read book An Introduction to Game Studies written by Frans Mäyrä and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2008-02-18 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Game Studies is the first introductory textbook for students of game studies. It provides a conceptual overview of the cultural, social and economic significance of computer and video games and traces the history of game culture and the emergence of game studies as a field of research. Key concepts and theories are illustrated with discussion of games taken from different historical phases of game culture. Progressing from the simple, yet engaging gameplay of Pong and text-based adventure games to the complex virtual worlds of contemporary online games, the book guides students towards analytical appreciation and critical engagement with gaming and game studies. Students will learn to: - Understand and analyse different aspects of phenomena we recognise as ′game′ and play′ - Identify the key developments in digital game design through discussion of action in games of the 1970s, fiction and adventure in games of the 1980s, three-dimensionality in games of the 1990s, and social aspects of gameplay in contemporary online games - Understand games as dynamic systems of meaning-making - Interpret the context of games as ′culture′ and subculture - Analyse the relationship between technology and interactivity and between ′game′ and ′reality′ - Situate games within the context of digital culture and the information society With further reading suggestions, images, exercises, online resources and a whole chapter devoted to preparing students to do their own game studies project, An Introduction to Game Studies is the complete toolkit for all students pursuing the study of games. The companion website at www.sagepub.co.uk/mayra contains slides and assignments that are suitable for self-study as well as for classroom use. Students will also benefit from online resources at www.gamestudiesbook.net, which will be regularly blogged and updated by the author. Professor Frans Mäyrä is a Professor of Games Studies and Digital Culture at the Hypermedia Laboratory in the University of Tampere, Finland.

Games | Game Design | Game Studies

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Author :
Publisher : Fuego
ISBN 13 : 3862871770
Total Pages : 233 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (628 download)

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Book Synopsis Games | Game Design | Game Studies by : Gundolf S. Freyermuth

Download or read book Games | Game Design | Game Studies written by Gundolf S. Freyermuth and published by Fuego. This book was released on 2016-03-18 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did games rise to become the central audiovisual form of expression and storytelling in digital culture? How did the practices of their artistic production come into being? How did the academic analysis of the new medium's social effects and cultural meaning develop? Addressing these fundamental questions and aspects of digital game culture in a holistic way for the first time, Gundolf S. Freyermuth's introduction outlines the media-historical development phases of analog and digital games, the history and artistic practices of game design, as well as the history, academic approaches, and most important research topics of game studies.

Critical Play

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Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262518651
Total Pages : 363 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Critical Play by : Mary Flanagan

Download or read book Critical Play written by Mary Flanagan and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2013-02-08 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of subversive games like The Sims—games designed for political, aesthetic, and social critique. For many players, games are entertainment, diversion, relaxation, fantasy. But what if certain games were something more than this, providing not only outlets for entertainment but a means for creative expression, instruments for conceptual thinking, or tools for social change? In Critical Play, artist and game designer Mary Flanagan examines alternative games—games that challenge the accepted norms embedded within the gaming industry—and argues that games designed by artists and activists are reshaping everyday game culture. Flanagan provides a lively historical context for critical play through twentieth-century art movements, connecting subversive game design to subversive art: her examples of “playing house” include Dadaist puppet shows and The Sims. She looks at artists’ alternative computer-based games and explores games for change, considering the way activist concerns—including worldwide poverty and AIDS—can be incorporated into game design. Arguing that this kind of conscious practice—which now constitutes the avant-garde of the computer game medium—can inspire new working methods for designers, Flanagan offers a model for designing that will encourage the subversion of popular gaming tropes through new styles of game making, and proposes a theory of alternate game design that focuses on the reworking of contemporary popular game practices.

Games of Empire

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Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
ISBN 13 : 1452942706
Total Pages : 462 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (529 download)

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Book Synopsis Games of Empire by : Nick Dyer-Witheford

Download or read book Games of Empire written by Nick Dyer-Witheford and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2013-11-30 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the first decade of the twenty-first century, video games are an integral part of global media culture, rivaling Hollywood in revenue and influence. No longer confined to a subculture of adolescent males, video games today are played by adults around the world. At the same time, video games have become major sites of corporate exploitation and military recruitment. In Games of Empire, Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greig de Peuter offer a radical political critique of such video games and virtual environments as Second Life, World of Warcraft, and Grand Theft Auto, analyzing them as the exemplary media of Empire, the twenty-first-century hypercapitalist complex theorized by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. The authors trace the ascent of virtual gaming, assess its impact on creators and players alike, and delineate the relationships between games and reality, body and avatar, screen and street. Games of Empire forcefully connects video games to real-world concerns about globalization, militarism, and exploitation, from the horrors of African mines and Indian e-waste sites that underlie the entire industry, the role of labor in commercial game development, and the synergy between military simulation software and the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan exemplified by Full Spectrum Warrior to the substantial virtual economies surrounding World of Warcraft, the urban neoliberalism made playable in Grand Theft Auto, and the emergence of an alternative game culture through activist games and open-source game development. Rejecting both moral panic and glib enthusiasm, Games of Empire demonstrates how virtual games crystallize the cultural, political, and economic forces of global capital, while also providing a means of resisting them.

Queer Game Studies

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Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
ISBN 13 : 1452954631
Total Pages : 355 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (529 download)

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Book Synopsis Queer Game Studies by : Bonnie Ruberg

Download or read book Queer Game Studies written by Bonnie Ruberg and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Video games have developed into a rich, growing field at many top universities, but they have rarely been considered from a queer perspective. Immersion in new worlds, video games seem to offer the perfect opportunity to explore the alterity that queer culture longs for, but often sexism and discrimination in gamer culture steal the spotlight. Queer Game Studies provides a welcome corrective, revealing the capacious albeit underappreciated communities that are making, playing, and studying queer games. These in-depth, diverse, and accessible essays use queerness to challenge the ideas that have dominated gaming discussions. Demonstrating the centrality of LGBTQ issues to the gamer world, they establish an alternative lens for examining this increasingly important culture. Queer Game Studies covers important subjects such as the representation of queer bodies, the casual misogyny prevalent in video games, the need for greater diversity in gamer culture, and reading popular games like Bayonetta, Mass Effect, and Metal Gear Solid from a queer perspective. Perfect for both everyday readers and instructors looking to add diversity to their courses, Queer Game Studies is the ideal introduction to the vast and vibrant realm of queer gaming. Contributors: Leigh Alexander; Gregory L. Bagnall, U of Rhode Island; Hanna Brady; Mattie Brice; Derek Burrill, U of California, Riverside; Edmond Y. Chang, U of Oregon; Naomi M. Clark; Katherine Cross, CUNY; Kim d’Amazing, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology; Aubrey Gabel, U of California, Berkeley; Christopher Goetz, U of Iowa; Jack Halberstam, U of Southern California; Todd Harper, U of Baltimore; Larissa Hjorth, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology; Chelsea Howe; Jesper Juul, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts; merritt kopas; Colleen Macklin, Parsons School of Design; Amanda Phillips, Georgetown U; Gabriela T. Richard, Pennsylvania State U; Toni Rocca; Sarah Schoemann, Georgia Institute of Technology; Kathryn Bond Stockton, U of Utah; Zoya Street, U of Lancaster; Peter Wonica; Robert Yang, Parsons School of Design; Jordan Youngblood, Eastern Connecticut State U.

Introduction to Game Analysis

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 113447413X
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (344 download)

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Book Synopsis Introduction to Game Analysis by : Clara Fernández-Vara

Download or read book Introduction to Game Analysis written by Clara Fernández-Vara and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-07-17 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Game analysis allows us to understand games better, providing insight into the player-game relationship, the construction of the game, and its sociocultural relevance. As the field of game studies grows, videogame writing is evolving from the mere evaluation of gameplay, graphics, sound, and replayablity, to more reflective writing that manages to convey the complexity of a game and the way it is played in a cultural context. Introduction to Game Analysis serves as an accessible guide to analyzing games using strategies borrowed from textual analysis. Clara Fernández-Vara’s concise primer provides instruction on the basic building blocks of game analysis—examination of context, content and reception, and formal qualities—as well as the vocabulary necessary for talking about videogames' distinguishing characteristics. Examples are drawn from a range of games, both digital and non-digital—from Bioshock and World of Warcraft to Monopoly—and the book provides a variety of exercises and sample analyses, as well as a comprehensive ludography and glossary.

Game Research Methods: An Overview

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Publisher : Lulu.com
ISBN 13 : 1312884738
Total Pages : 374 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (128 download)

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Book Synopsis Game Research Methods: An Overview by : Patri Lankoski

Download or read book Game Research Methods: An Overview written by Patri Lankoski and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2015 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Games are increasingly becoming the focus for research due to their cultural and economic impact on modern society. However, there are many different types of approaches and methods than can be applied to understanding games or those that play games. This book provides an introduction to various game research methods that are useful to students in all levels of higher education covering both quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. In addition, approaches using game development for research is described. Each method is described in its own chapter by a researcher with practical experience of applying the method to topic of games. Through this, the book provides an overview of research methods that enable us to better our understanding on games."--Provided by publisher.

Digital Culture, Play, and Identity

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Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262033704
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Digital Culture, Play, and Identity by : Hilde Corneliussen

Download or read book Digital Culture, Play, and Identity written by Hilde Corneliussen and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book examines the complexity of World of Warcraft from a variety of perspectives, exploring the cultural and social implications of the proliferation of ever more complex digital gameworlds.The contributors have immersed themselves in the World of Warcraft universe, spending hundreds of hours as players (leading guilds and raids, exploring moneymaking possibilities in the in-game auction house, playing different factions, races, and classes), conducting interviews, and studying the game design - as created by Blizzard Entertainment, the game's developer, and as modified by player-created user interfaces. The analyses they offer are based on both the firsthand experience of being a resident of Azeroth and the data they have gathered and interpreted.The contributors examine the ways that gameworlds reflect the real world - exploring such topics as World of Warcraft as a "capitalist fairytale" and the game's construction of gender; the cohesiveness of the gameworld in terms of geography, mythology, narrative, and the treatment of death as a temporary state; aspects of play, including "deviant strategies" perhaps not in line with the intentions of the designers; and character - both players' identification with their characters and the game's culture of naming characters." -- BOOK JACKET.

Black Game Studies

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781794779143
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (791 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Game Studies by : Lindsay Grace

Download or read book Black Game Studies written by Lindsay Grace and published by . This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black Game Studies introduces the work of game makers from the African diaspora through academic scholarship, personal narratives and a catalog of works.It aims to provide a foundation from which researchers, designers, developers, game historians and others can draw an understanding of patterns, present practice, and a potential afro-future. Its works tomake more visible, through aggregation and showcase, the creative contributions of Black game makers. It is an effort to meet the need todiversify the game-making communityby not only highlighting the work of Black people, but in creatingan enduring archiveof such work.

Ludoliteracy

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Publisher : Lulu.com
ISBN 13 : 0557277914
Total Pages : 164 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (572 download)

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Book Synopsis Ludoliteracy by : José P. Zagal

Download or read book Ludoliteracy written by José P. Zagal and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2010 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the surface, it seems like teaching about games should be easy. After all, students are highly motivated, enjoy engaging with course content, and have extensive personal experience with videogames. However, games education can be surprisingly complex.

The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies

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Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000886026
Total Pages : 832 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies by : Mark J.P. Wolf

Download or read book The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies written by Mark J.P. Wolf and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-06-19 with total page 832 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A definitive guide to contemporary video game studies, this second edition has been fully revised and updated to address the ongoing theoretical and methodological development of game studies. Expertly compiled by well-known video game scholars Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron, the Companion includes comprehensive and interdisciplinary models and approaches for analyzing video games, new perspectives on video games both as an art form and cultural phenomenon, explorations of the technical and creative dimensions of video games, and accounts of the political, social, and cultural dynamics of video games. Brand new to this second edition are chapters examining topics such as preservation; augmented, mixed, and virtual reality; eSports; disability; diversity; and identity, as well as a new section that specifically examines the industrial aspects of video games including digital distribution, game labor, triple-A games, indie games, and globalization. Each essay provides a lively and succinct summary of its target area, quickly bringing the reader up-to-date on the pertinent issues surrounding each aspect of the field, including references for further reading. A comprehensive overview of the present state of video game studies that will undoubtedly prove invaluable to students, scholars, and game designers alike.

Understanding Video Games

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317533127
Total Pages : 552 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding Video Games by : Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen

Download or read book Understanding Video Games written by Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-07 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding Video Games is a crucial guide for newcomers to video game studies and experienced game scholars alike. This revised and updated third edition of the pioneering text provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of game studies, and highlights changes in the gaming industry, advances in video game scholarship, and recent trends in game design and development—including mobile, casual, educational, and indie gaming. In the third edition of this textbook, students will: Learn the major theories and schools of thought used to study games, including ludology and narratology; Understand the commercial and organizational aspects of the game industry; Trace the history of games, from the board games of ancient Egypt to the rise of mobile gaming; Explore the aesthetics of game design, including rules, graphics, audio, and time; Analyze the narrative strategies and genre approaches used in video games; Consider the debate surrounding the effects of violent video games and the impact of "serious games." Featuring discussion questions, recommended games, a glossary of key terms, and an interactive online video game history timeline, Understanding Video Games provides a valuable resource for anyone interested in examining the ways video games are reshaping entertainment and society.

An Introduction to Games Studies

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781446214572
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (145 download)

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Book Synopsis An Introduction to Games Studies by : Frans Mäyrä

Download or read book An Introduction to Games Studies written by Frans Mäyrä and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume shows how to analyze games by introducing the core analytical concepts in the contexts of games and game cultures of four periods. It covers the prehistory of games, the '70s '80s and '90s and also contemporary developments.

Game Production Studies

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9789463725439
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (254 download)

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Book Synopsis Game Production Studies by : Olli Sotamaa

Download or read book Game Production Studies written by Olli Sotamaa and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-18 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1. Production as a major factor of video game culture Media research often revolves around the triumvirate of texts, audiences, and industries as its main focal points. Writing in 2017, Aphra Kerr, the leading expert on video game industry, noted that video game production is an understudied area both in game studies and in media studies more broadly, especially when compared to how much has been written games and players. This edited collection aims to address this research gap by zooming in on particular issues connected to labor, development, publishing, and monetization and catch up on other areas of research, such as screen studies, which started paying attention to production decades ago. 2. A contextualized treatment of video game production As the first collection to exclusively focus on video game production, Game Production Studies offers a unique package of 16 chapters, which explore major themes of labor, development, publishing, and monetization. Building upon the rich foundations of production studies, the collection combines various methodological approaches in order to analyze the cultural practices of video game production. Altogether, it tackles a wide range of issues and topics and aspires to provide the go-to resource for anyone interested in video game production. 3. Timely case studies from across the world This edited collection brings together 16 all-new essays based on empirical research carried out in recent years across the world. Our contributors present case studies from Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, and the US among other countries. Considering how fast the video game production networks are evolving, the collection provides both timely discussion of new trends and phenomena such as boutique publishers, in-game monetization regulation, or game jam natives and also historical probes into particular industries, which address the wider socio-historical context of these changes.

Board Games as Media

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN 13 : 1501357174
Total Pages : 297 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Board Games as Media by : Paul Booth

Download or read book Board Games as Media written by Paul Booth and published by Bloomsbury Academic. This book was released on 2021-01-14 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading expert Paul Booth explores the growth in popularity of board games today, and unpacks what it means to read a board game. What does a game communicate? How do games play us? And how do we decide which games to play and which are just wastes of cardboard? With little scholarly research in this still-emerging field, Board Games as Media underscores the importance of board games in the ever-evolving world of media.

The Art of Computer Game Design

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Publisher : McGraw-Hill/Glencoe
ISBN 13 : 9780078811173
Total Pages : 120 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (111 download)

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Book Synopsis The Art of Computer Game Design by : Linda L Crawford

Download or read book The Art of Computer Game Design written by Linda L Crawford and published by McGraw-Hill/Glencoe. This book was released on 1984-01-01 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the elements of games, surveys the various types of computer games, and describes the steps in the process of computer game development