Dragon's Lair and the Fantasy of Interactivity

Dragon's Lair and the Fantasy of Interactivity PDF Author: MJ Clarke
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793636044
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
Perhaps no arcade game is so nostalgically remembered, yet so critically bemoaned, as Dragon’s Lair. A bit of a technological neanderthal, the game implemented a unique combination of videogame components and home video replay, garnering great popular media and user attention in a moment of contracted economic returns and popularity for the videogame arcade business. But subsequently, writers and critics have cast the game aside as a cautionary tale of bad game design. In Dragon’s Lair and the Fantasy of Interactivity, MJ Clarke revives Dragon’s Lair as a fascinating textual experiment interlaced with powerful industrial strategies, institutional discourse, and textual desires around key notions of interactivity and fantasy. Constructing a multifaceted historical study of the game that considers its design, its makers, its recording medium, and its in-game imagery, Clarke suggests that the more appropriate metaphor for Dragon’s Lair is not that of a neanderthal, but a socio-technical network, infusing and advancing debates about the production and consumption of new screen technologies. Far from being the gaming failure posited by evolutionary-minded lay critics, Clarke argues, Dragon’s Lair offers a fascinating provisional solution to still-unsettled questions about screen media.

Dragon's Lair and the Fantasy of Interactivity

Dragon's Lair and the Fantasy of Interactivity PDF Author: MJ Clarke
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793636044
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151

Get Book Here

Book Description
Perhaps no arcade game is so nostalgically remembered, yet so critically bemoaned, as Dragon’s Lair. A bit of a technological neanderthal, the game implemented a unique combination of videogame components and home video replay, garnering great popular media and user attention in a moment of contracted economic returns and popularity for the videogame arcade business. But subsequently, writers and critics have cast the game aside as a cautionary tale of bad game design. In Dragon’s Lair and the Fantasy of Interactivity, MJ Clarke revives Dragon’s Lair as a fascinating textual experiment interlaced with powerful industrial strategies, institutional discourse, and textual desires around key notions of interactivity and fantasy. Constructing a multifaceted historical study of the game that considers its design, its makers, its recording medium, and its in-game imagery, Clarke suggests that the more appropriate metaphor for Dragon’s Lair is not that of a neanderthal, but a socio-technical network, infusing and advancing debates about the production and consumption of new screen technologies. Far from being the gaming failure posited by evolutionary-minded lay critics, Clarke argues, Dragon’s Lair offers a fascinating provisional solution to still-unsettled questions about screen media.

Fifty Key Video Games

Fifty Key Video Games PDF Author: Bernard Perron
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000596168
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
This volume examines fifty of the most important video games that have contributed significantly to the history, development, or culture of the medium, providing an overview of video games from their beginning to the present day. This volume covers a variety of historical periods and platforms, genres, commercial impact, artistic choices, contexts of play, typical and atypical representations, uses of games for specific purposes, uses of materials or techniques, specific subcultures, repurposing, transgressive aesthetics, interfaces, moral or ethical impact, and more. Key video games featured include Animal Crossing, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, PONG, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and World of Warcraft. Each game is closely analyzed in order to properly contextualize it, to emphasize its prominent features, to show how it creates a unique experience of gameplay, and to outline the ways it might speak about society and culture. The book also acts as a highly accessible showcase to a range of disciplinary perspectives that are found and practiced in the field of game studies. With each entry supplemented by references and suggestions for further reading, Fifty Key Video Games is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in video games.

Interactive Storytelling for Video Games

Interactive Storytelling for Video Games PDF Author: Josiah Lebowitz
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 113612733X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
What really makes a video game story interactive? What's the best way to create an interactive story? How much control should players be given? Do they really want that control in the first place? Do they even know what they want-or are their stated desires at odds with the unconscious preferences? All of these questions and more are examined in this definitive book on interactive storytelling for video games. You'll get detailed descriptions of all major types of interactive stories, case studies of popular games (including Bioshock, Fallout 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain, and Metal Gear Solid), and how players interact with them, and an in-depth analysis of the results of a national survey on player storytelling preferences in games. You'll get the expert advice you need to generate compelling and original game concepts and narratives.With Interactive Storytelling for Video Games, you'll:

Don Bluth's

Don Bluth's PDF Author: Gary Goldman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692933619
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 78

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Book Description


Gamish

Gamish PDF Author: Edward Ross
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 1846149495
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
*Shortlisted for the British Book Design and Production Award for Graphic Novels* 'A love letter to gaming in all its forms - from board games, to role-play, to virtual reality and video games. For fans of gaming, this is the perfect read. For those new to gaming, it is the perfect introduction' The Scotsman A thrilling illustrated journey through the history of video games and what they really mean to us Pac-Man. Mario. Minecraft. Doom. Ever since he first booted up his brother's dusty old Atari, comic artist Edward Ross has been hooked on video games. Years later, he began to wonder: what makes games so special? Why do we play? And how do games shape the world we live in? This lovingly illustrated book takes us through the history of video games, from the pioneering prototypes of the 1950s to the modern era of blockbuster hits and ingenious indie gems. Exploring the people and politics behind one of the world's most exciting art-forms, Gamish is a love letter to something that has always been more than just a game.

Ezaara

Ezaara PDF Author: Eileen Mueller
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780995115200
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
As the new Queen's Rider, Ezaara faces monsters, but who is worse? Her dragon masters or the beasts she fights? In Lush Valley, it's a crime to even talk about dragons... When Ezaara meets Zaarusha the Dragon Queen, she's swept up in a blaze of color and they imprint, forming a deep bond. She must give up her home and family to become the new Queen's Rider. Ignorant and unprepared, how can she possibly succeed? Luckily, she has a dragon master - although rumors say she'd be better off with the enemy. Plunged into a world of cutthroat politics and traitors in every shadow, who can Ezaara trust as Commander Zens and his army of bestial tharuks march closer, razing villages and enslaving the people of Dragons' Realm? What personal price must Ezaara and her Dragon Master pay to save their people? A great fantasy read. Dean O'Gorman, actor, Fili the dwarf in The Hobbit

In the Kingdom of Dragons

In the Kingdom of Dragons PDF Author: D. L. Burnett
Publisher: Effertrux Publishing
ISBN: 0985842717
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description


Dragon Age RPG Core Rulebook

Dragon Age RPG Core Rulebook PDF Author: Chris Pramas
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781934547625
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In Dragon Age, a pen & paper roleplaying game of dark fantasy adventure, you and your friends take on the personas of warriors, mages, and rogues in the world of Thedas and try to make your names by overcoming sinister foes and deadly challenges. Based on the video game franchise, this Core Rulebook includes the full rules for the Dragon Age RPG under one cover for the first time, including the Adventure Game Engine.

Killing Monsters

Killing Monsters PDF Author: Gerard Jones
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0786723610
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Children choose their heroes more carefully than we think. From Pokemon to the rapper Eminem, pop-culture icons are not simply commercial pied pipers who practice mass hypnosis on our youth. Indeed, argues the author of this lively and persuasive paean to the power of popular culture, even violent and trashy entertainment gives children something they need, something that can help both boys and girls develop in a healthy way. Drawing on a wealth of true stories, many gleaned from the fascinating workshops he conducts, and basing his claims on extensive research, including interviews with psychologists and educators, Gerard Jones explains why validating our children's fantasies teaches them to trust their own emotions, helps them build stronger selves, leaves them less at the mercy of the pop-culture industry, and strengthens parent-child bonds. Jones has written for the Spider-Man, Superman, and X-Men comic books and created the Haunted Man series for the Web. He has also explored the cultural meanings of comic books and sitcoms in two well-received books. In Killing Monsters he presents a fresh look at children's fantasies, the entertainment industry, and violence in the modern imagination. This reassuring book, as entertaining as it is provocative, offers all of us-parents, teachers, policymakers, media critics-new ways to understand the challenges and rewards of explosive material. News From Killing Monsters: Packing a toy gun can be good for your son-or daughter. Contrary to public opinion, research shows that make-believe violence actually helps kids cope with fears. Explosive entertainment should be a family affair. Scary TV shows can have a bad effect when children have no chance to discuss them openly with adults. It's crucial to trust kids' desires. What excites them is usually a sign of what they need emotionally. Violent fantasy is one of the best ways for kids to deal with the violence they see in real life.

The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games

The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games PDF Author: Michael J. Tresca
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786460091
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Tracing the evolution of fantasy gaming from its origins in tabletop war and collectible card games to contemporary web-based live action and massive multi-player games, this book examines the archetypes and concepts within the fantasy gaming genre alongside the roles and functions of the game players themselves. Other topics include: how The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings helped shape fantasy gaming through Tolkien's obsessive attention to detail and virtual world building; the community-based fellowship embraced by players of both play-by-post and persistent browser-based games, despite the fact that these games are fundamentally solo experiences; the origins of gamebooks and interactive fiction; and the evolution of online gaming in terms of technological capabilities, media richness, narrative structure, coding authority, and participant roles.