Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds,Books,Free Shipping,0262101106,

	Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds by Jesper Juul
	List Price $36.00 Our Price $28.80 You Save $7.20 (20%) Prices subject to change. Eligible for FREE Shipping See details Availability Usually ships in 24 hours
	Marketplace New from $25.00 Used from $18.00
Product Details Binding Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number 794.8 EAN 9780262101103 ISBN 0262101106 Manufacturer The MIT Press Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 243 Publication Date December 02, 2005 Publisher The MIT Press Availability Usually ships in 24 hours Product Description A video game is half-real: we play by real rules while imagining a fictional world. We win or lose the game in the real world, but we slay a dragon (for example) only in the world of the game. In this thought-provoking study, Jesper Juul examines the constantly evolving tension between rules and fiction in video games. Discussing games from Pong to The Legend of Zelda, from chess to Grand Theft Auto, he shows how video games are both a departure from and a development of traditional non-electronic games. The book combines perspectives from such fields as literary and film theory, computer science, psychology, economic game theory, and game studies, to outline a theory of what video games are, how they work with the player, how they have developed historically, and why they are fun to play. Locating video games in a history of games that goes back to Ancient Egypt, Juul argues that there is a basic affinity between games and computers. Just as the printing press and the cinema have promoted and enabled new kinds of storytelling, computers work as enablers of games, letting us play old games in new ways and allowing for new kinds of games that would not have been possible before computers. Juul presents a classic game model, which describes the traditional construction of games and points to possible future developments. He examines how rules provide challenges, learning, and enjoyment for players, and how a game cues the player into imagining its fictional world. Juul's lively style and eclectic deployment of sources will make Half-Real of interest to media, literature, and game scholars as well as to game professionals and gamers. 'Half-Real tackles key issues in games, from rules and structure to aesthetics and fiction to the complexities of player experience. Juul puts these topics in the context of current intellectual debates, making the book not just a playful exploration of games themselves but a celebration of the emerging fields of game studies and game design theory. Half-Real is essential reading for scholars, designers, and everyone in between.' —Eric Zimmerman, Cofounder & CEO, gameLab 'Jesper Juul gives us an insightful analysis of the interplay of rules and fiction. Unlike so much of the academic literature on gaming, it's both concise and readable. Strongly recommended.' —Ernest W. Adams, freelance game designer A video game is half-real: we play by real rules while imagining a fictional world. We win or lose the game in the real world, but we slay a dragon (for example) only in the world of the game. In this thought-provoking study, Jesper Juul examines the constantly evolving tension between rules and fiction in video games. Discussing games from Pong to The Legend of Zelda, from chess to Grand Theft Auto, he shows how video games are both a departure from and a development of traditional non-electronic games. The book combines perspectives from such fields as literary and film theory, computer science, psychology, economic game theory, and game studies, to outline a theory of what video games are, how they work with the player, how they have developed historically, and why they are fun to play. Locating video games in a history of games that goes back to Ancient Egypt, Juul argues that there is a basic affinity between games and computers. Just as the printing press and the cinema have promoted and enabled new kinds of storytelling, computers work as enablers of games, letting us play old games in new ways and allowing for new kinds of games that would not have been possible before computers. Juul presents a classic game model, which describes the traditional construction of games and points to possible future developments. He examines how rules provide challenges, learning, and enjoyment for players, and how a game cues the player into imagining its fictional world. Juul's lively style and eclectic deployment of sources will make Half-Real of interest to media, literature, and game scholars as well as to game professionals and gamers. Jesper Juul is Assistant Professor, Center for Computer Games Research, IT University of Copenhagen. He is author of The Ludologist, a blog on 'game research and other important things.' Customers who bought this item also bought Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game Customer Reviews for: Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds Rating - A Fresh Approach to Videogame Theory Very good book on the theory of videogames. Accessible, innovative, thoughtful, and centered on concrete (and popular) examples. He also includes lots of screenshots, which is good. Juul takes what might be called a "grassroots" approach to game studies, not bringing heavy disciplinary baggage to colonize the area, but instead trying to build a formal theory of games from the ground up. He takes his lead primarily from game and culture ... Read More Rating - For everyone interested in game design theory or game studies In Half-Real, Jesper Juul presents us a not only a new definition for games (computer-based or not), but also an original perspective on videogames and how they operate. Going beyond the 'Ludology x Narratology' discussion, Juul balances the 'Rules' and 'Fiction' elements of video games, emphasizing how they relate to each other. The book is very insightful, containing information that will be valuable to game designers, academics, gamers and ... Read More See all books by author Jesper Juul

Books : Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds