Real Games

Real Games by Mia Consalvo

How we talk about games as real or not-real, and how that shapes what games are made and who is invited to play them.

In videogame criticism, the worst insult might be That's not a real game For example, That's not a real game, it's on Facebook and That's not a real game, it's a walking simulator But how do people judge what is a real game and what is not--what features establish a game's gameness? In this engaging book, Mia Consalvo and Christopher Paul examine the debates about the realness or not-realness of videogames and find that these discussions shape what games get made and who is invited to play them.

Consalvo and Paul look at three main areas often viewed as determining a game's legitimacy: the game's pedigree (its developer), the content of the game itself, and the game's payment structure. They find, among other things, that even developers with a track record are viewed with suspicion if their games are on suspect platforms. They investigate game elements that are potentially troublesome for a game's gameness, including genres, visual aesthetics, platform, and perceived difficulty. And they explore payment models, particularly free-to-play--held by some to be a marker of illegitimacy. Finally, they examine the debate around such so-called walking simulators as Dear Esther and Gone Home. And finally, they consider what purpose is served by labeling certain games real.

Paul, Christopher: - Christopher Paul is a social scientist working out of RAND's Pittsburgh office. He received his PhD in sociology from UCLA in 2001. His current research interests include military influence operations, integration of air and naval forces, simulation training, press-military relations, counterterrorism, and military operations on urban terrain. He is the author of Information Operations (Praeger Security International, 2008).

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780262042604
ISBN 10	0262042606
Title	Real Games
Author	Mia Consalvo
Series	Playful Thinking
Condition	Nicht verfügbar
Binding type	Hardback
Publisher	MIT Press Ltd
Year published	2019-10-01
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Note	Nicht verfügbar