Players Making Decisions 2nd Edition

Game designers today are expected to have an arsenal of multi-disciplinary skills at their disposal in the fields of art and design, computer programming, psychology, economics, composition, education, mythology—and the list goes on. How do you distill a vast universe down to a few salient points? Players Making Decisions brings together the wide range of topics that are most often taught in modern game design courses and focuses on the core concepts that will be useful for students for years to come. A common theme to many of these concepts is the art and craft of creating games in which players are engaged by making meaningful decisions. It is the decision to move right or left, to pass versus shoot, or to develop one’s own strategy that makes the game enjoyable to the player. As a game designer, you are never entirely certain of who your audience will be, but you can enter their world and offer a state of focus and concentration on a task that is intrinsically rewarding. This detailed and easy-to-follow guide to game design is for both digital and analog game designers alike and some of its features include: A clear introduction to the discipline of game design, how game development teams work, and the game development process Full details on prototyping and playtesting, from paper prototypes to intellectual property protection issues A detailed discussion of cognitive biases and human decision making as it pertains to games Thorough coverage of key game elements, with practical discussions of game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics Practical coverage of using simulation tools to decode the magic of game balance A full section on the game design business, and how to create a sustainable lifestyle within it

From the individual to the largest organization, everyone today has to make investments in IT. Making a smart investment that will best satisfy all the necessary decision-making criteria requires careful and inclusive analysis. This textbook provides an up-to-date, in-depth understanding of the methodologies available to aid in this complex process of multi-criteria decision-making. It guides readers on the process of technology acquisition — what methods to use to make IT investment decisions, how to choose the technology and justify its selection, and how the decision will impact the organization. Unique to this textbook are both financial investment models and more complex decision-making models from the field of management science so that readers can extend the analysis benefits to enhance and confirm their IT investment choices. The wide range of methodologies featured in the book gives readers the opportunity to customize their best-fit solutions for their unique IT decision situation. This textbook is especially ideal for educators and students involved in programs dealing with technology management, operations management, applied finance, operations research, and industrial engineering. A complimentary copy of the ‘Instructor's Manual and Test Bank’ and the PowerPoint presentations of the text materials are available for all instructors who adopt this book as a course text. Please send your request to [email protected]. Errata(s) Errata (47 KB)

A thoroughly revised and updated edition of the leading textbook on government and business policy, presenting the key principles underlying sound regulatory and antitrust policy. Regulation and antitrust are key elements of government policy. This new edition of the leading textbook on government and business policy explains how the latest theoretical and empirical economic tools can be employed to analyze pressing regulatory and antitrust issues. The book departs from the common emphasis on institutions, focusing instead on the relevant underlying economic issues, using state-of-the-art analysis to assess the appropriate design of regulatory and antitrust policy. Extensive case studies illustrate fundamental principles and provide insight on key issues in regulation and antitrust policy. This fifth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, reflecting both the latest developments in economic analysis and recent economic events. The text examines regulatory practices through the end of the Obama and beginning of the Trump administrations. New material includes coverage of global competition and the activities of the European Commission; recent mergers, including Comcast-NBC Universal; antitrust in the new economy, including investigations into Microsoft and Google; the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the Dodd-Frank Act; the FDA approval process; climate change policies; and behavioral economics as a tool for designing regulatory strategies.

This volume puts forth an original theoretical framework, the ludonarrative model, for studying video games which foregrounds the empirical study of the player experience. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to and description of the model, which draws on theoretical frameworks from multimodal discourse analysis, game studies, and social semiotics, and its development out of participant observation and qualitative interviews from the empirical study of a group of players. The volume then applies this approach to shed light on how players’ experiences in a game influence how they understand and make use of game components in order to progress its narrative. The book concludes with a frame by frame analysis of a popular game to demonstrate the model’s principles in action and its subsequent broader applicability to analyzing video game interaction and design. Offering a new way forward for video game research, this volume is key reading for students and scholars in multimodality, discourse analysis, game studies, interactive storytelling, and new media.

The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Understanding Football, Second Edition, provides new and intermediate football fans with all the information they need to understand and enjoy football. From high school to the NFL, coverage includes the basics of offense and defense, players, rules, strategies and even what to wear! New coverage for this edition includes: the draft—how it works for teams and players including parity, new technology on the field including instant replay, dangerous referee flags and rules changes for college and pro ball, XFL, arena league, expansion teams and NFL Europe, and the changing business and team strategy for professional football today.

Written for the Australian and New Zealand markets, the second edition of Business Analytics & Statistics (Black et al.) presents statistics in a cutting-edge interactive digital format designed to motivate students by taking the road blocks out of self-study and to facilitate master through drill-and-skill practice.

This systematically organized text, now in its second edition, gives an in-depth analysis of the multidimensional aspects of strategic marketing. Comprising a harmonious blend of theoretical aspects and real-world applications, the book presents the framework that governs a firm's strategic decisions in the area of marketing. Divided into five parts, the text attempts to provide an explanation and critical analysis of the core concepts that have driven the growth and development of the subject for decades. At the same time, emerging concepts that would shape the scope of the subject have also been highlighted. The book is specifically written for the students who pursue academic and professional programmes in marketing, management and business studies. KEY FEATURES • Provides case studies in the context of Indian business at the end of each chapter to reinforce the understanding of the theory. • Comprises glossary of terms in addition to chapter-end summary, exercises and references. • Emphasizes self-study approach by explaining complex issues in a simple and student-friendly manner. NEW TO THE SECOND EDITION • Entirely revamped and updated to make the book an effective teaching and learning resource. • New chapters on ‘Service Marketing Strategies’, ‘Global Marketing Strategies’ and ‘Internal Marketing: A Tool for Implementation’. • Inclusion of several new sections throughout the text as per the latest development in the field. TARGET AUDIENCE • Marketing MBA • (Specialisation–Marketing)

Motor Learning and Development, Second Edition With Web Resource, provides a foundation for understanding how humans acquire and continue to hone their movement skills throughout the life span.