How to Talk about Videogames

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Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
ISBN 13 : 1452949875
Total Pages : 219 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (529 download)

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Book Synopsis How to Talk about Videogames by : Ian Bogost

Download or read book How to Talk about Videogames written by Ian Bogost and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2015-11-15 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Videogames! Aren’t they the medium of the twenty-first century? The new cinema? The apotheosis of art and entertainment, the realization of Wagnerian gesamtkunstwerk? The final victory of interaction over passivity? No, probably not. Games are part art and part appliance, part tableau and part toaster. In How to Talk about Videogames, leading critic Ian Bogost explores this paradox more thoroughly than any other author to date. Delving into popular, familiar games like Flappy Bird, Mirror’s Edge, Mario Kart, Scribblenauts, Ms. Pac-Man, FarmVille, Candy Crush Saga, Bully, Medal of Honor, Madden NFL, and more, Bogost posits that videogames are as much like appliances as they are like art and media. We don’t watch or read games like we do films and novels and paintings, nor do we perform them like we might dance or play football or Frisbee. Rather, we do something in-between with games. Games are devices we operate, so game critique is both serious cultural currency and self-parody. It is about figuring out what it means that a game works the way it does and then treating the way it works as if it were reasonable, when we know it isn’t. Noting that the term games criticism once struck him as preposterous, Bogost observes that the idea, taken too seriously, risks balkanizing games writing from the rest of culture, severing it from the “rivers and fields” that sustain it. As essential as it is, he calls for its pursuit to unfold in this spirit: “God save us from a future of games critics, gnawing on scraps like the zombies that fester in our objects of study.”

The Psychology of Video Games

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000194760
Total Pages : 105 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis The Psychology of Video Games by : Celia Hodent

Download or read book The Psychology of Video Games written by Celia Hodent and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-07 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What impact can video games have on us as players? How does psychology influence video game creation? Why do some games become cultural phenomena? The Psychology of Video Games introduces the curious reader to the relationship between psychology and video games from the perspective of both game makers and players. Assuming no specialist knowledge, this concise, approachable guide is a starter book for anyone intrigued by what makes video games engaging and what is their psychological impact on gamers. It digests the research exploring the benefits gaming can have on players in relation to education and healthcare, considers the concerns over potential negative impacts such as pathological gaming, and concludes with some ethics considerations. With gaming being one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, The Psychology of Video Games shows the importance of understanding the human brain and its mental processes to foster ethical and inclusive video games.

How to Do Things with Videogames

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Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
ISBN 13 : 145293312X
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (529 download)

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Book Synopsis How to Do Things with Videogames by : Ian Bogost

Download or read book How to Do Things with Videogames written by Ian Bogost and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2011-08-05 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, computer games have moved from the margins of popular culture to its center. Reviews of new games and profiles of game designers now regularly appear in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and sales figures for games are reported alongside those of books, music, and movies. They are increasingly used for purposes other than entertainment, yet debates about videogames still fork along one of two paths: accusations of debasement through violence and isolation or defensive paeans to their potential as serious cultural works. In How to Do Things with Videogames, Ian Bogost contends that such generalizations obscure the limitless possibilities offered by the medium’s ability to create complex simulated realities. Bogost, a leading scholar of videogames and an award-winning game designer, explores the many ways computer games are used today: documenting important historical and cultural events; educating both children and adults; promoting commercial products; and serving as platforms for art, pornography, exercise, relaxation, pranks, and politics. Examining these applications in a series of short, inviting, and provocative essays, he argues that together they make the medium broader, richer, and more relevant to a wider audience. Bogost concludes that as videogames become ever more enmeshed with contemporary life, the idea of gamers as social identities will become obsolete, giving rise to gaming by the masses. But until games are understood to have valid applications across the cultural spectrum, their true potential will remain unrealized. How to Do Things with Videogames offers a fresh starting point to more fully consider games’ progress today and promise for the future.

Power Play

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Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1250089344
Total Pages : 237 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Power Play by : Asi Burak

Download or read book Power Play written by Asi Burak and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The phenomenal growth of gaming has inspired plenty of hand-wringing since its inception--from the press, politicians, parents, and everyone else concerned with its effect on our brains, bodies, and hearts. But what if games could be good, not only for individuals but for the world? In Power Play, Asi Burak and Laura Parker explore how video games are now pioneering innovative social change around the world. As the former executive director and now chairman of Games for Change, Asi Burak has spent the last ten years supporting and promoting the use of video games for social good, in collaboration with leading organizations like the White House, NASA, World Bank, and The United Nations. The games for change movement has introduced millions of players to meaningful experiences around everything from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the US Constitution. Power Play looks to the future of games as a global movement. Asi Burak and Laura Parker profile the luminaries behind some of the movement's most iconic games, including former Supreme Court judge Sandra Day O’Connor and Pulitzer-Prize winning authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. They also explore the promise of virtual reality to address social and political issues with unprecedented immersion, and see what the next generation of game makers have in store for the future.

How to Play Video Games

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Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 1479827983
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (798 download)

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Book Synopsis How to Play Video Games by : Nina Huntemann

Download or read book How to Play Video Games written by Nina Huntemann and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forty original contributions on games and gaming culture What does Pokémon Go tell us about globalization? What does Tetris teach us about rules? Is feminism boosted or bashed by Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? How does BioShock Infinite help us navigate world-building? From arcades to Atari, and phone apps to virtual reality headsets, video games have been at the epicenter of our ever-evolving technological reality. Unlike other media technologies, video games demand engagement like no other, which begs the question—what is the role that video games play in our lives, from our homes, to our phones, and on global culture writ large? How to Play Video Games brings together forty original essays from today’s leading scholars on video game culture, writing about the games they know best and what they mean in broader social and cultural contexts. Read about avatars in Grand Theft Auto V, or music in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. See how Age of Empires taught a generation about postcolonialism, and how Borderlands exposes the seedy underbelly of capitalism. These essays suggest that understanding video games in a critical context provides a new way to engage in contemporary culture. They are a must read for fans and students of the medium.

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Second Edition

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Author :
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1466886420
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

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Book Synopsis What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Second Edition by : James Paul Gee

Download or read book What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Second Edition written by James Paul Gee and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-12-02 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James Paul Gee begins his classic book with "I want to talk about video games--yes, even violent video games--and say some positive things about them." With this simple but explosive statement, one of America's most well-respected educators looks seriously at the good that can come from playing video games. In this revised edition of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, new games like World of WarCraft and Half Life 2 are evaluated and theories of cognitive development are expanded. Gee looks at major cognitive activities including how individuals develop a sense of identity, how we grasp meaning, how we evaluate and follow a command, pick a role model, and perceive the world.

The Novice

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Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 125006712X
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis The Novice by : Taran Matharu

Download or read book The Novice written by Taran Matharu and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discovering his rare ability to summon demons from another world, blacksmith's apprentice Fletcher practices his skills at a magical academy where he prepares to serve his Empire in the war against the Orcs. A first novel. Simultaneous eBook.

The Gamer's Brain

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Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 1351650769
Total Pages : 387 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis The Gamer's Brain by : Celia Hodent

Download or read book The Gamer's Brain written by Celia Hodent and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-08-10 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making a successful video game is hard. Even games that are successful at launch may fail to engage and retain players in the long term due to issues with the user experience (UX) that they are delivering. The game user experience accounts for the whole experience players have with a video game, from first hearing about it to navigating menus and progressing in the game. UX as a discipline offers guidelines to assist developers in creating the experience they want to deliver, shipping higher quality games (whether it is an indie game, AAA game, or "serious game"), and meeting their business goals while staying true to their design and artistic intent. In a nutshell, UX is about understanding the gamer’s brain: understanding human capabilities and limitations to anticipate how a game will be perceived, the emotions it will elicit, how players will interact with it, and how engaging the experience will be. This book is designed to equip readers of all levels, from student to professional, with neuroscience knowledge and user experience guidelines and methodologies. These insights will help readers identify the ingredients for successful and engaging video games, empowering them to develop their own unique game recipe more efficiently, while providing a better experience for their audience. Key Features Provides an overview of how the brain learns and processes information by distilling research findings from cognitive science and psychology research in a very accessible way. Topics covered include: "neuromyths", perception, memory, attention, motivation, emotion, and learning. Includes numerous examples from released games of how scientific knowledge translates into game design, and how to use a UX framework in game development. Describes how UX can guide developers to improve the usability and the level of engagement a game provides to its target audience by using cognitive psychology knowledge, implementing human-computer interaction principles, and applying the scientific method (user research). Provides a practical definition of UX specifically applied to games, with a unique framework. Defines the most relevant pillars for good usability (ease of use) and good "engage-ability" (the ability of the game to be fun and engaging), translated into a practical checklist. Covers design thinking, game user research, game analytics, and UX strategy at both a project and studio level. Offers unique insights from a UX expert and PhD in psychology who has been working in the entertainment industry for over 10 years. This book is a practical tool that any professional game developer or student can use right away and includes the most complete overview of UX in games existing today.

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters

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Publisher : Seven Stories Press
ISBN 13 : 1609803736
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis Rise of the Videogame Zinesters by : Anna Anthropy

Download or read book Rise of the Videogame Zinesters written by Anna Anthropy and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2012-03-20 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Anna Anthropy is a key personality in the ongoing paradigm shift that is slowly changing the way videogames are understood, by creators and players, and by the wider culture." —Patrick Alexander, Eegra.com "Equal parts autobiography, ethnography, and how-to manual, this book concisely makes the case for the unique power of 'zinester' games." —Adam Parrish, NYU's Interactive Telecommunication Program (Tisch School of the Arts), and author of the ZZT game "Winter" "These days, everybody can make and distribute a photograph, or a video, or a book. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters shows you that everyone can make a videogame, too. But why should they? For Anna Anthropy, it's not for fame or for profit, but for the strange, aimless beauty of personal creativity.” —Ian Bogost, Director, Graduate Program in Digital Media, Georgia Institute of Technology "Rise is a great guidebook to understanding—and more importantly, participating in—this dynamically evolving culture." —Jim Munroe, co-founder of the Hand Eye Society and the Difference Engine Initiative “Here, Anna Anthropy demonstrates how people from every background and walk of life are breaking free of the commercial cowardice of major publishers, and bringing their individual visions of the game to life. . . . If game design is to be an art, as those of us who love games fervently hope, it must be rescued from its crushing commercial pressures. You can be a part of its future.” —Greg Costikyan, author of I Have No Mouth and I Must Design "Anna gives the world of video games a crucial perspective from her seat of authority within outsider culture, and illustrates how essential it is for the space to empower voices of all kinds if it is to evolve." —Leigh Alexander, editor-at-large of Gamasutra

Real Games

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Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262042606
Total Pages : 219 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Real Games by : Mia Consalvo

Download or read book Real Games written by Mia Consalvo and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. In videogame criticism, the worst insult might be “That's not a real game!” For example, “That's not a real game, it's on Facebook!” and “That's not a real game, it's a walking simulator!” But how do people judge what is a real game and what is not—what features establish a game's gameness? In this engaging book, Mia Consalvo and Christopher Paul examine the debates about the realness or not-realness of videogames and find that these discussions shape what games get made and who is invited to play them. Consalvo and Paul look at three main areas often viewed as determining a game's legitimacy: the game's pedigree (its developer), the content of the game itself, and the game's payment structure. They find, among other things, that even developers with a track record are viewed with suspicion if their games are on suspect platforms. They investigate game elements that are potentially troublesome for a game's gameness, including genres, visual aesthetics, platform, and perceived difficulty. And they explore payment models, particularly free-to-play—held by some to be a marker of illegitimacy. Finally, they examine the debate around such so-called walking simulators as Dear Esther and Gone Home. And finally, they consider what purpose is served by labeling certain games “real."

Video Games as Culture

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317223926
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (172 download)

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Book Synopsis Video Games as Culture by : Daniel Muriel

Download or read book Video Games as Culture written by Daniel Muriel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-03-14 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Video games are becoming culturally dominant. But what does their popularity say about our contemporary society? This book explores video game culture, but in doing so, utilizes video games as a lens through which to understand contemporary social life. Video games are becoming an increasingly central part of our cultural lives, impacting on various aspects of everyday life such as our consumption, communities, and identity formation. Drawing on new and original empirical data – including interviews with gamers, as well as key representatives from the video game industry, media, education, and cultural sector – Video Games as Culture not only considers contemporary video game culture, but also explores how video games provide important insights into the modern nature of digital and participatory culture, patterns of consumption and identity formation, late modernity, and contemporary political rationalities. This book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such Video Games, Sociology, and Media and Cultural Studies. It will also be useful for those interested in the wider role of culture, technology, and consumption in the transformation of society, identities, and communities.

Learn the Language of Video Games

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Author :
Publisher : Enslow Publishing, LLC
ISBN 13 : 1978524943
Total Pages : 34 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (785 download)

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Book Synopsis Learn the Language of Video Games by : William Anthony

Download or read book Learn the Language of Video Games written by William Anthony and published by Enslow Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2021-07-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The video game industry isn’t slowing down. It’s only finding new ways and platforms from which to engage users. Even the youngest elementary students now often have experience with some kinds of video games! Nonetheless, the vocabulary used to talk about video games can seem foreign and extensive. Readers are introduced to the essential terms gamers use in this helpful book. Definitions are written at-level for young readers and word games throughout the book aid in comprehension and memory.

Thinking about Video Games

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Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253017181
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Thinking about Video Games by : David S. Heineman

Download or read book Thinking about Video Games written by David S. Heineman and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2015-08-03 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The growth in popularity and complexity of video games has spurred new interest in how games are developed and in the research and technology behind them. David Heineman brings together some of the most iconic, influential, and interesting voices from across the gaming industry and asks them to weigh in on the past, present, and future of video games. Among them are legendary game designers Nolan Bushnell (Pong) and Eugene Jarvis (Defender), who talk about their history of innovations from the earliest days of the video game industry through to the present; contemporary trailblazers Kellee Santiago (Journey) and Casey Hudson (Mass Effect), who discuss contemporary relationships between those who create games and those who play them; and scholars Ian Bogost (How to Do Things With Videogames) and Edward Castronova (Exodus to the Virtual World), who discuss how to research and write about games in ways that engage a range of audiences. These experts and others offer fascinating perspectives on video games, game studies, gaming culture, and the game industry more broadly.

The Rhetoric of Videogames as Embodied Practice

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351399470
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (513 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rhetoric of Videogames as Embodied Practice by : Steve Holmes

Download or read book The Rhetoric of Videogames as Embodied Practice written by Steve Holmes and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-11 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Rhetoric of Videogames as Embodied Practice offers a critical reassessment of embodiment and materiality in rhetorical considerations of videogames. Holmes argues that rhetorical and philosophical conceptions of "habit" offer a critical resource for describing the interplay between thinking (writing and rhetoric) and embodiment. The book demonstrates how Aristotle's understanding of character (ethos), habit (hexis), and nature (phusis) can productively connect rhetoric to what Holmes calls "procedural habits": the ways in which rhetoric emerges from its interactions with the dynamic accumulation of conscious and nonconscious embodied experiences that consequently give rise to meaning, procedural subjectivity, control, and communicative agency both in digital game design discourse and the activity of play.

Difficult Questions about Video Games

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 374 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (318 download)

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Book Synopsis Difficult Questions about Video Games by : James Newman

Download or read book Difficult Questions about Video Games written by James Newman and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Inside the Video Game Industry

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134076584
Total Pages : 404 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis Inside the Video Game Industry by : Judd Ruggill

Download or read book Inside the Video Game Industry written by Judd Ruggill and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inside the Video Game Industry offers a provocative look into one of today's most dynamic and creative businesses. Through in-depth structured interviews, industry professionals discuss their roles, providing invaluable insight into game programming, art, animation, design, production, quality assurance, audio and business professions. From hiring and firing conventions, attitudes about gender disparity, goals for work-life balance, and a span of legal, psychological, and communal intellectual property protection mechanisms, the book's combination of accessible industry talk and incisive thematic overviews is ideal for anyone interested in games as a global industry, a site of cultural study, or a prospective career path. Designed for researchers, educators, and students, this book provides a critical perspective on an often opaque business and its highly mobile workforce. Additional teaching materials, including activities and study questions, can be found at https://www.routledge.com/9780415828284.

Overcoming the Exploitation of Passion in Videogame Labor

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Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1666915262
Total Pages : 165 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (669 download)

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Book Synopsis Overcoming the Exploitation of Passion in Videogame Labor by : Joshua Jackson

Download or read book Overcoming the Exploitation of Passion in Videogame Labor written by Joshua Jackson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-02-06 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overcoming the Exploitation of Passion in Videogame Labor: Playing with Passion examines the intersection of passion, precarity, and collocation to pinpoint where and how interventions can be made towards better working conditions. Jackson contends that videogames and passion are inextricably linked and explores this intrinsic link where passion is expected and valorized, be it in the context of play, work, or culture. Passion, Jackson argues, is the connective tissue that sews together the shared experiences that people all over the world will undertake through videogames, including winning close matches, experiencing new worlds, and forging new friendships. This book interrogates the outcomes of labor, videogames, and passion colliding – work and play become inextricably linked, and suddenly a ‘passion for games’ becomes an insistent and expected ‘passion for work.’ This, Jackson ultimately posits, leads to the current reality of much of the videogame production industry, where passion is used as a workplace policing tool and a way to push workers to periods of extended work, or crunch periods. Through theorizations regarding passion, bodies, assembly, and assemblage, this text wrestles with what can be done to manifest real change in the videogame industry. Scholars of media studies, technology, and labor studies will find this book of particular interest.