The Video Game Theory Reader

In the early days of Pong and Pac Man, video games appeared to be little more than an idle pastime. Today, video games make up a multi-billion dollar industry that rivals television and film. The Video Game Theory Readerbrings together exciting new work on the many ways video games are reshaping the face of entertainment and our relationship with technology. Drawing upon examples from widely popular games ranging fromSpace InvaderstoFinal Fantasy IXandCombat Flight Simulator 2, the contributors discuss the relationship between video games and other media; the shift from third- to first-person games; gamers and the gaming community; and the important sociological, cultural, industrial, and economic issues that surround gaming. The Video Game Theory Readeris the essential introduction to a fascinating and rapidly expanding new field of media studies.

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
Introduction	p. 1
Theory by Design	p. 25
Abstraction in the Video Game	p. 47
Immersion, Engagement, and Presence: A Method for Analyzing 3-D Video Games	p. 67
Hyperidentities: Postmodern Identity Patterns in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games	p. 87
Playing at Being: Psychoanalysis and the Avatar	p. 103
Stories for Eye, Ear, and Muscles: Video Games, Media, and Embodied Experiences	p. 129
As We Become Machines: Corporealized Pleasures in Video Games	p. 157
Hot Dates and Fairy-Tale Romances: Studying Sexuality in Video Games	p. 171
Video Games and Configurative Performances	p. 195
Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to Ludology	p. 221
From Gamers to Players and Gameplayers: The Example of Interactive Movies	p. 237
Interactive Storytelling	p. 259
Gametime: History, Narrative, and Temporality in Combat Flight Simulator 2	p. 275
Home Video Game Systems: The First Thirty Years (1972-2001)	p. 303
Bibliography	p. 315
About the Contributors	p. 327
Index	p. 333
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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The Video Game Theory Reader

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Table of Contents

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