God or Hero: How Video Games Engage Us to Play Them PDF Download

Author: Lena Förste
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3346673472
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 10

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Book Description
Essay from the year 2012 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 1,3, University of Dortmund (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Academic Writing: Video Games, language: English, abstract: The action adventure game "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and the life simulation game "The Sims 3" are two of the best-selling video games ever produced. Although both are very popular, they differ strongly from each other, not only concerning their structure but also in the game experience they offer their players. Video games are primarily developed and produced to entertain people and to make them enjoy their leisure time (Dickey), however, people have different desires and views of fun, and as a consequence their requirements on video games differ as well. To meet these requirements, game designers developed various genres which use different methods to engage the player to play and especially to keep playing. In this essay I will compare some of the game play strategies used in "The Sims 3" and in "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" by investigating how they engage the player to keep on playing.

Author: Pete Etchells
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1785785060
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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'Etchells writes eloquently ... A heartfelt defence of a demonised pastime' The Times 'Once in an age, a piece of culture comes along that feels like it was specifically created for you, the beats and words and ideas are there because it is your life the creator is describing. Lost In A Good Game is exactly that. It will touch your heart and mind. And even if Bowser, Chun-li or Q-Bert weren't crucial parts of your youth, this is a flawless victory for everyone' Adam Rutherford When Pete Etchells was 14, his father died from motor neurone disease. In order to cope, he immersed himself in a virtual world - first as an escape, but later to try to understand what had happened. Etchells is now a researcher into the psychological effects of video games, and was co-author on a recent paper explaining why WHO plans to classify 'game addiction' as a danger to public health are based on bad science and (he thinks) are a bad idea. In this, his first book, he journeys through the history and development of video games - from Turing's chess machine to mass multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft- via scientific study, to investigate the highs and lows of playing and get to the bottom of our relationship with games - why we do it, and what they really mean to us. At the same time, Lost in a Good Game is a very unusual memoir of a writer coming to terms with his grief via virtual worlds, as he tries to work out what area of popular culture we should classify games (a relatively new technology) under.

Author: Richard Stivers
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532697252
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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The Media Creates Us in Its Image and Other Essays on Technology and Culture proposes that modern technology seriously influences every aspect of culture and personality. Technology shapes our beliefs and values and even how we think of ourselves. It affects religion, morality, education, language, communication, and sexual identity. Every institution, every organization, is brought under its purview. This book attempts to awaken the reader to the destructive side of modern technology that exists side-by-side with its constructive side. What modern technology is destroying, however, is the very meaning of being human. The essay “The Media Creates Us in Its Image” makes this case most dramatically. The book asks the reader the following question: Is what you have gained from the use of modern technology more important than what you have lost? How do we once again bring technology under our control in the face of its inexorable “progress”?

Author: Robert Houghton
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110712032
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
Games can act as invaluable tools for the teaching of the Middle Ages. The learning potential of physical and digital games is increasingly undeniable at every level of historical study. These games can provide a foundation of information through their stories and worlds. They can foster understanding of complex systems through their mechanics and rules. Their very nature requires the player to learn to progress. The educational power of games is particularly potent within the study of the Middle Ages. These games act as the first or most substantial introduction to the period for many students and can strongly influence their understanding of the era. Within the classroom, they can be deployed to introduce new and alien themes to students typically unfamiliar with the subject matter swiftly and effectively. They can foster an interest in and understanding of the medieval world through various innovative means and hence act as a key educational tool. This volume presents a series of essays addressing the practical use of games of all varieties as teaching tools within Medieval Studies and related fields. In doing so it provides examples of the use of games at pre-university, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels of study, and considers the application of commercial games, development of bespoke historical games, use of game design as a learning process, and use of games outside the classroom. As such, the book is a flexible and diverse pedagogical resource and its methods may be readily adapted to the teaching of different medieval themes or other periods of history.

Author: Scott Rigby
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
This book offers a practical yet powerful way to understand the psychological appeal and strong motivation to play video games. With video game sales in the billions and anxious concerns about their long-term effects growing louder, Glued to Games: How Video Games Draw Us In and Hold Us Spellbound brings something new to the discussion. It is the first truly balanced research-based analysis on the games and gamers, addressing both the positive and negative aspects of habitual playing by drawing on significant recent studies and established motivational theory. Filled with examples from popular games and the real experiences of gamers themselves, Glued to Games gets to the heart of gaming's powerful psychological and emotional allure—the benefits as well as the dangers. It gives everyone from researchers to parents to gamers themselves a clearer understanding the psychology of gaming, while offering prescriptions for healthier, more enjoyable games and gaming experiences.

Author: Robert H. Woods Jr.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313386552
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1097

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Book Description
This three-volume collection demonstrates the depth and breadth of evangelical Christians' consumption, critique, and creation of popular culture, and how evangelical Christians are both influenced by—and influence—mainstream popular culture, covering comic books to movies to social media. Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture: Pop Goes the Gospel addresses the full spectrum of evangelical media and popular culture offerings, even delving into lesser-known forms of evangelical popular culture such as comic books, video games, and theme parks. The chapters in this 3-volume work are written by over 50 authors who specialize in fields as diverse as history, theology, music, psychology, journalism, film and television studies, advertising, and public relations. Volume 1 examines film, radio and television, and the Internet; Volume 2 covers literature, music, popular art, and merchandise; and Volume 3 discusses public figures, popular press, places, and events. The work is intended for a scholarly audience but presents material in a student-friendly, accessible manner. Evangelical insiders will receive a fresh look at the wide variety of evangelical popular culture offerings, many of which will be unknown, while non-evangelical readers will benefit from a comprehensive introduction to the subject matter.

Author: Gregory Trefry
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1498717357
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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From Windows Solitaire to Bejeweled to Wii Tennis, casual games have radically changed the landscape of games. By simplifying gameplay and providing quick but intense blasts of engaging play, casual games have drawn in huge new audiences of players. To entertain and engage the casual player, game designers must learn to think about what makes casua

Author: Ferdig, Richard E.
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1599048116
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 1762

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"This book presents a framework for understanding games for educational purposes while providing a broader sense of current related research. This creative and advanced title is a must-have for those interested in expanding their knowledge of this exciting field of electronic gaming"--Provided by publisher.

Author: Chris Goodall
Publisher: eBook Partnership
ISBN: 0956836836
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The average young adult in the US reads for about 7 minutes a day, and the figure isn't much higher in Britain. The last few decades have seen striking and nearly continuous falls in the amount of time individuals spend with books and other printed material. And, perhaps as a result, the average level of literacy in the British and US populations is declining: our ability to comprehend complex writing, long words or sophisticated expressions is less than it was a few decades ago. Very surprisingly, the rate of decline is fastest amongst the best educated segment of the population. Chris Goodall's readable and comprehensive book asks why this is happening. 'In an ever more demanding world' he inquires 'why is our ability to understand and use the written word in gradual but apparently relentless retreat?' Chris Goodall's The Future of the Word: Technology, culture and the slow erosion of literacy examines the striking but largely unnoticed evidence from around the world. Using the latest research results from neuroscientists, from academics who work on reading skills and from cultural analysts, Goodall brings his commitment to scrupulous research to demonstrate how modern society is making it almost impossible for people to engage in deep reading. Not only are people reading less but they now consume the written word in a more cursory and less reflective way. The author has lost control of the reader: we all tend to skip across the page, searching exclusively for what is relevant to us rather than trying to understand the writer's point of view or memorise her arguments. There is a strong tendency to say that this doesn't matter. We longer need to read and to learn because all the information that we could possibly need is instantaneously available to us through electronic gadgets. The argument of Goodall's book is that this complacency is mistaken. Reading deeply helps us develop a framework and an intellectual structure to which we can add new ideas or opinions. The internet gives us orphaned facts but the reading of books or long articles gives us understanding. As importantly, deep reading trains our brains to cope with complex ideas, much as an athlete trains his muscles with repeated exercise. Goodall discusses the convincing scientific evidence that truly proficient literacy, a skill which is in sharp decline, helps improve other cognitive capabilities and may even improve IQ. If we don't go to the literacy gym often enough, he says, our intellectual capabilities suffer. Chris Goodall is a well known writer on climate change and energy, winning awards for his previous books and he is a regular commentator on scientific issues in newspapers in the UK and abroad. In an earlier part of his career he worked in television and other mass media. This book comes out of his fascination with how electronic technologies are affecting the way we think and live. 'Although the digital revolution has made life easier and has improved many of our cognitive skills', he says 'it is reversing our ability to read and to comprehend complex ideas'. Full of engaging reports of cutting-edge science, surprising and informative analysis and written with clarity and pace, Chris Goodall's The Future of the Word is the first attempt to bring rigour to questions that many of us worry about it: why do we find it more difficult to concentrate on the written word? And what can we do about it?

Author: Jon Cogburn
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135859698
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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How can Wii Sports teach us about metaphysics? Can playing World of Warcraft lead to greater self-consciousness? How can we learn about aesthetics, ethics and divine attributes from Zork, Grand Theft Auto, and Civilization? A variety of increasingly sophisticated video games are rapidly overtaking books, films, and television as America's most popular form of media entertainment. It is estimated that by 2011 over 30 percent of US households will own a Wii console - about the same percentage that owned a television in 1953. In Philosophy Through Video Games, Jon Cogburn and Mark Silcox - philosophers with game industry experience - investigate the aesthetic appeal of video games, their effect on our morals, the insights they give us into our understanding of perceptual knowledge, personal identity, artificial intelligence, and the very meaning of life itself, arguing that video games are popular precisely because they engage with longstanding philosophical problems. Topics covered include: * The Problem of the External World * Dualism and Personal Identity * Artificial and Human Intelligence in the Philosophy of Mind * The Idea of Interactive Art * The Moral Effects of Video Games * Games and God's Goodness Games discussed include: Madden Football, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Sims Online, Second Life, Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Elder Scrolls, Zork, EverQuest Doom, Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto, Civilization, Mortal Kombat, Rome: Total War, Black and White, Aidyn Chronicles