Pleasures of the Game

Pleasures of the Game PDF

Author: Austin Allen

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781904130826

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A book of deceptively playful poems, of sparkling surfaces that conceal dark undercurrents. Its subjects include games of all kinds: from schoolyard Double Dutch to the chess match of love, from painters' illusions to professional ice hockey, from the stratagems of spies to the life-and-death game we play against the universe. Born in Middletown, C

Pleasures of Small Motions

Pleasures of Small Motions PDF

Author: Ph. D. Fancher

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2022-06-01

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1493072714

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A psychotherapist and pool columnist breaks new ground by applying good science to the mental game of billiards and gives invaluable insight on competitive play.

The Pleasures of Computer Gaming

The Pleasures of Computer Gaming PDF

Author: Melanie Swalwell

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-05-12

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 9780786451203

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This collection of essays situates the digital gaming phenomenon alongside broader debates in cultural and media studies. Contributors to this volume maintain that computer games are not simply toys, but rather circulate as commodities, new media technologies, and items of visual culture that are embedded in complex social practices. Apart from placing games within longer arcs of cultural history and broader critical debates, the contributors to this volume all adopt a pedagogical and theoretical approach to studying games and gameplay, drawing on the interdisciplinary resources of the humanities and social sciences, particularly new media studies. In eight essays, the authors develop rich and nuanced understandings of the aesthetic appeals and pleasurable engagements of digital gameplay. Topics include the role of “cheats” and “easter eggs” in influencing cheating as an aesthetic phenomenon of gameplay; the relationship between videogames, gambling, and addiction; players’ aesthetic and kinaesthetic interactions with computing technology; and the epistemology and phenomenology of popular strategy-based wargames and their relationship with real-world military applications. Notes and a bibliography accompany each essay, and the work includes several screenshots, images, and photographs.

Pleasure Games

Pleasure Games PDF

Author: Daire St. Denis

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2018-05-01

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1488082499

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A honeymoon for one… Pleasure for two! After catching her fiancé cheating, Jasmine Sweet is on her Parisian honeymoon alone. She’s determined to have an adventure! But an altercation resulting in temporary amnesia is more the stuff of nightmares. Then she meets a gorgeous stranger, and her time in France becomes a tour de fantasy! Luca shows her desires she never dreamed of—until their sexy dalliances become more than just a game… “Dare is Harlequin’s hottest line yet. Every book should come with a free fan. I dare you to try them!” —Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author

Play Anything

Play Anything PDF

Author: Ian Bogost

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0465096506

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How filling life with play-whether soccer or lawn mowing, counting sheep or tossing Angry Birds -- forges a new path for creativity and joy in our impatient age Life is boring: filled with meetings and traffic, errands and emails. Nothing we'd ever call fun. But what if we've gotten fun wrong? In Play Anything, visionary game designer and philosopher Ian Bogost shows how we can overcome our daily anxiety; transforming the boring, ordinary world around us into one of endless, playful possibilities. The key to this playful mindset lies in discovering the secret truth of fun and games. Play Anything, reveals that games appeal to us not because they are fun, but because they set limitations. Soccer wouldn't be soccer if it wasn't composed of two teams of eleven players using only their feet, heads, and torsos to get a ball into a goal; Tetris wouldn't be Tetris without falling pieces in characteristic shapes. Such rules seem needless, arbitrary, and difficult. Yet it is the limitations that make games enjoyable, just like it's the hard things in life that give it meaning. Play is what happens when we accept these limitations, narrow our focus, and, consequently, have fun. Which is also how to live a good life. Manipulating a soccer ball into a goal is no different than treating ordinary circumstances- like grocery shopping, lawn mowing, and making PowerPoints-as sources for meaning and joy. We can "play anything" by filling our days with attention and discipline, devotion and love for the world as it really is, beyond our desires and fears. Ranging from Internet culture to moral philosophy, ancient poetry to modern consumerism, Bogost shows us how today's chaotic world can only be tamed-and enjoyed-when we first impose boundaries on ourselves.

The Game Believes in You

The Game Believes in You PDF

Author: Greg Toppo

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2015-04-21

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1466879459

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What if schools, from the wealthiest suburban nursery school to the grittiest urban high school, thrummed with the sounds of deep immersion? More and more people believe that can happen - with the aid of video games. Greg Toppo's The Game Believes in You presents the story of a small group of visionaries who, for the past 40 years, have been pushing to get game controllers into the hands of learners. Among the game revolutionaries you'll meet in this book: *A game designer at the University of Southern California leading a team to design a video-game version of Thoreau's Walden Pond. *A young neuroscientist and game designer whose research on "Math Without Words" is revolutionizing how the subject is taught, especially to students with limited English abilities. *A Virginia Tech music instructor who is leading a group of high school-aged boys through the creation of an original opera staged totally in the online game Minecraft. Experts argue that games do truly "believe in you." They focus, inspire and reassure people in ways that many teachers can't. Games give people a chance to learn at their own pace, take risks, cultivate deeper understanding, fail and want to try again—right away—and ultimately, succeed in ways that too often elude them in school. This book is sure to excite and inspire educators and parents, as well as provoke some passionate debate.

Media Entertainment

Media Entertainment PDF

Author: Dolf Zillmann

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2000-05-01

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1135667535

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This collection represents a systematic exploration of media entertainment from an academic perspective. Editors Zillmann and Vorderer have assembled scholars from psychology, sociology, and communication to provide a broad examination of the primary function of media entertainment--the attainment of gratification. Chapters included here address vital aspects of media entertainment and summarize pertinent findings, providing an overview of what is presently known about the appeal and function of the essential forms of media entertainment, and offering some degree of integration. Written in a clear, non-technical style, this volume provides a lively and entertaining study of media entertainment for academic study and coursework.

The Little Women Book

The Little Women Book PDF

Author: Lucille Recht Penner

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 9780679874058

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A collection of games, recipes, and activities that would have delighted Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - the four sisters from Louisa May Alcott's novel, Little Women.