The Value Of Games

A theoretical and practical guide to integrating human values into the conception and design of digital games, with examples from Call of Duty, Journey, World of Warcraft, and more. All games express and embody human values, providing a compelling arena in which we play out beliefs and ideas. “Big ideas” such as justice, equity, honesty, and cooperation—as well as other kinds of ideas, including violence, exploitation, and greed—may emerge in games whether designers intend them or not. In this book, Mary Flanagan and Helen Nissenbaum present Values at Play, a theoretical and practical framework for identifying socially recognized moral and political values in digital games. Values at Play can also serve as a guide to designers who seek to implement values in the conception and design of their games. After developing a theoretical foundation for their proposal, Flanagan and Nissenbaum provide detailed examinations of selected games, demonstrating the many ways in which values are embedded in them. They introduce the Values at Play heuristic, a systematic approach for incorporating values into the game design process. Interspersed among the book's chapters are texts by designers who have put Values at Play into practice by accepting values as a design constraint like any other, offering a real-world perspective on the design challenges involved.

This work brings together a collection of games that have been a part of childhood through the ages, games that continue to be played in various forms around the world. Many anthologies of folktales, music, and other forms of art have been collected for readers, but there are not many works on the subject of traditional childhood games and their role in the important “work” of childhood, which is in fact play. This book helps to meet a growing interest among educators and parents to encourage natural play and creativity in a world that is increasingly digital. Directions, descriptions, illustrations, of traditional childhood games, supported by educational theory are included. The material covered will not only help parents and educators to support children in play, but will also provide an anthology for consultation by those who see the need to preserve traditional play long associated with childhood.

A comprehensive and up-to-date investigation of what research shows about the educational value of computer games for learning. Many strong claims are made for the educational value of computer games, but there is a need for systematic examination of the research evidence that might support such claims. This book fills that need by providing, a comprehensive and up-to-date investigation of what research shows about learning with computer games. Computer Games for Learning describes three genres of game research: the value-added approach, which compares the learning outcomes of students who learn with a base version of a game to those of students who learn with the base version plus an additional feature; the cognitive consequences approach, which compares learning outcomes of students who play an off-the-shelf computer game for extended periods to those of students who do not; and the media comparative approach, which compares the learning outcomes of students who learn material by playing a game to those of students who learn the same material using conventional media. After introductory chapters that describe the rationale and goals of learning game research as well as the relevance of cognitive science to learning with games, the book offers examples of research in all three genres conducted by the author and his colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara; meta-analyses of published research; and suggestions for future research in the field. The book is essential reading for researchers and students of educational games, instructional designers, learning-game developers, and anyone who wants to know what the research has to say about the educational effectiveness of computer games.

A new group of contributions to the development of this theory by leading experts in the field. The contributors include L. D. Berkovitz, L. E. Dubins, H. Everett, W. H. Fleming, D. Gale, D. Gillette, S. Karlin, J. G. Kemeny, R. Restrepo, H. E. Scarf, M. Sion, G. L. Thompson, P. Wolfe, and others.

The description for this book, Contributions to the Theory of Games (AM-40), Volume IV, will be forthcoming.

"Games are a unique art form. The game designer doesn't just create a world; they create who you will be in that world. They tell you what abilities to use and what goals to take on. In other words, they specify a form of agency. Games work in the medium of agency. And to play them, we take on alternate agencies and submerge ourselves in them. What can we learn about our own rationality and agency, from thinking about games? We learn that we have a considerable degree of fluidity with our agency. First, we have the capacity for a peculiar sort of motivational inversion. For some of us, winning is not the point. We take on an interest in winning temporarily, so that we can play the game. Thus, we are capable of taking on temporary and disposable ends. We can submerge ourselves in alternate agencies, letting them dominate our consciousness, and then dropping them the moment the game is over. Games are, then, a way of recording forms of agency, of encoding them in artifacts. Our games are a library of agencies. And exploring that library can help us develop our own agency and autonomy. But this technology can also be used for art. Games can sculpt our practical activity, for the sake of the beauty of our own actions. Games are part of a crucial, but overlooked category of art - the process arts. These are the arts which evoke an activity, and then ask you to appreciate your own activity. And games are a special place where we can foster beautiful experiences of our own activity. Because our struggles, in games, can be designed to fit our capacities. Games can present a harmonious world, where our abilities fit the task, and where we pursue obvious goals and act under clear values. Games are a kind of existential balm against the difficult and exhausting value clarity of the world. But this presents a special danger. Games can be a fantasy of value clarity. And when that fantasy leaks out into the world, we can be tempted to oversimplify our enduring values. Then, the pleasures of games can seduce us away from our autonomy, and reduce our agency."--

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.

Here is the perfect gift for novice and expert game enthusiasts alike. With Hoyle's Rules of Games you'll learn how to play games, sharpen your strategy, and settle disputes with the revised and updated edition of this essential reference guide—now covering over 250 classic and popular games! Whether you’re a casual gamer looking for a reference guide for your next family game night or whether you take the rules a little more seriously, this essential guide to card games, board games, and game strategy is for you. It also makes the perfect companion to board game gifts for children this holiday season: they'll love the game, but they’ll love winning even more! More than 250 years after Edmond Hoyle first published his guide to the game Whist, Hoyle’s is still the definitive name when it comes to the rules of the game—whether it’s bridge, backgammon, Scrabble® or Blackjack. With Hoyle’s Rules of Games, all you need to have hours of fun with family and friends is a board game or a deck of cards! The game player’s basic reference, this handy guide has now been updated and expanded and includes rules, strategies, and odds for over 250 games, including such favorites as: • Scrabble® • Canasta • Contract Bridge • Gin Rummy • Chess • Backgammon • Solitaire games: Nestor, Pounce, Pyramid, and Russian Bank • Poker variations: Anaconda, Blind Tiger, and Hold ’em • Children’s games: Beggar-your-neighbor, Memory, and Slapjack • Computer games: Minesweeper and Freecell • ...And more!