Now in paperback, Gaming the Game delves inside the FBI investigation of illegal gambling involving former basketball NBA referee, Tim Donaghy. The story examines Donaghy's relationships with professional gambler Jimmy Battista and Tommy Martino (the intermediary between Donaghy and Battista), the involvement of Italian-American crime families in the scheme, and the FBI's failed efforts to "flip" Battista into a cooperating witness.

More gamers than ever are watching others play games rather than playing the games themselves. Gaming Live will provide a complete guide to live streaming and gaming, taking advantage of the huge audiences across all live streaming platforms.

This book offers a practical yet powerful way to understand the psychological appeal and strong motivation to play video games. Video games have come a long way, from Atari's pinging, monochromatic Pong to the garish mayhem of Grand Theft Auto and the stylish sophistication of Beatles Rock Band. And it is no longer just teenagers that are hooked, audiences both young and old can't seem to get enough. But while "video-game addict" has become a common term, are these games really physically and psychologically addictive? With video game sales in the billions and anxious concerns about their longterm effects growing louder, this volume brings something new to the discussion. It is a research-based analysis on the games and gamers, addressing both the positive and negative aspects of habitual playing by drawing on significant recent studies and established motivational theory. Filled with examples from popular games and the real experiences of gamers themselves, it gets to the heart of gaming's powerful psychological and emotional allure, the benefits as well as the dangers. It gives everyone from researchers to parents to gamers themselves a clearer understanding the psychology of gaming, while offering prescriptions for healthier, more enjoyable games and gaming experiences.

The computer games industry has rapidly matured. Once a preoccupation only of young technophiles, games are now one of the dominant forms of global popular culture. From consoles such as Nintendo Wii and Microsoft's Xbox, to platforms such as iPhones and online gaming worlds, the realm of games and their scope have become all-pervasive. The study of games is no longer a niche interest but rather an integral part of cultural and media studies. The analysis of games reveals much about contemporary social relations, online communities and media engagement. Presenting a range of approaches and analytical tools through which to explore the role of games in everyday life, and packed with case material, Games and Gaming provides a comprehensive overview of this new media and how it permeates global culture in the twenty-first century.

A highly visual, example-led introduction to the video game industry, its context and practitioners. Video Games explores the industry's diversity and breadth through its online communities and changing demographics, branding and intellectual property, and handheld and mobile culture. Bossom and Dunning offer insights into the creative processes involved in making games, the global business behind the big budget productions, console and online markets, as well as web and app gaming. With 19 interviews exploring the diversity of roles and different perspectives on the game industry you'll enjoy learning from a range of international practitioners.

Digital games are one of the most significant media interfaces of contemporary life. Games today interweave with the social, economic, material, and political complexities of living in a digital age. But who makes games, who plays them, and what, how and where do we play? This book explores the ways in which games and game cultures can be understood. It investigates the sites, genres, platforms, interfaces and contexts for games and gameplay, offering a critical overview of the breadth of contemporary game studies. It is an essential companion for students looking to understand games and games cultures in our increasingly playful and ‘gamified’ digital society.

In this book, Nathan Hulsey explores the links between game design, surveillance, computation, and the emerging technologies that impact our everyday lives at home, at work, and with our family and friends.

Introduction : Games in the age of empire -- Game engine : labor, capital, machine -- Immaterial labor : a workers' history of videogaming -- Cognitive capitalism : electronic arts -- Machinic subjects : the XBOX and its rivals -- Gameplay : virtual/actual -- Banal war : full spectrum warrior -- Biopower play : world of warcraft -- Imperial city : grand theft auto -- New game? -- Games of multitude -- Exodus : the metaverse and the mines.

Are games the knowledge-producers of the future? Imagine if new knowledge and insights came not just from research centers, think tanks, and universities but also from games, of all things. Video games have been viewed as causing social problems, but what if they actually helped solve them? This question drives Karen Schrier’s Knowledge Games, which seeks to uncover the potentials and pitfalls of using games to make discoveries, solve real-world problems, and better understand our world. For example, so-called knowledge games—such as Foldit, a protein-folding puzzle game, SchoolLife, which crowdsources bullying interventions, and Reverse the Odds, in which mobile game players analyze breast cancer data—are already being used by researchers to gain scientific, psychological, and humanistic insights. Schrier argues that knowledge games are potentially powerful because of their ability to motivate a crowd of problem solvers within a dynamic system while also tapping into the innovative data processing and computational abilities of games. In the near future, Schrier asserts, knowledge games may be created to understand and predict voting behavior, climate concerns, historical perspectives, online harassment, susceptibility to depression, or optimal advertising strategies, among other things. In addition to investigating the intersection of games, problem solving, and crowdsourcing, Schrier examines what happens when knowledge emerges from games and game players rather than scientists, professionals, and researchers. This accessible book also critiques the limits and implications of games and considers how they may redefine what it means to produce knowledge, to play, to educate, and to be a citizen.

Like movies, television, and other preceding forms of media, video games are undergoing a dynamic shift in its content and perception. While the medium can still be considered in its infancy, the mark of true artistry and conceptual depth is detectable in the evolving styles, various genres and game themes. Doris C. Rusch’s, Making Deep Games, combines this insight along with the discussion of the expressive nature of games, various case studies, and hands-on design exercises. This book offers a perspective into how to make games that tackle the whole bandwidth of the human experience; games that teach us something about ourselves, enable thought-provoking, emotionally rich experiences and promote personal and social change. Grounded in cognitive linguistics, game studies and the reflective practice of game design, Making Deep Games explores systematic approaches for how to approach complex abstract concepts, inner processes, and emotions through the specific means of the medium. It aims to shed light on how to make the multifaceted aspects of the human condition tangible through gameplay experiences.