Book Description
In Play Between Worlds, T. L. Taylor examines multiplayer gaming life as it is lived on the borders, in the gaps--as players slip in and out of complex social networks that cross online and offline space. Taylor questions the common assumption that playing computer games is an isolating and alienating activity indulged in by solitary teenage boys. Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), in which thousands of players participate in a virtual game world in real time, are in fact actively designed for sociability. Games like the popular Everquest, she argues, are fundamentally social spaces.
Taylor's detailed look at Everquest offers a snapshot of multiplayer culture. Drawing on her own experience as an Everquest player (as a female Gnome Necromancer)--including her attendance at an Everquest Fan Faire, with its blurring of online-and offline life--and extensive research, Taylor not only shows us something about games but raises broader cultural issues. She considers "power gamers," who play in ways that seem closer to work, and examines our underlying notions of what constitutes play--and why play sometimes feels like work and may even be painful, repetitive, and boring. She looks at the women who play Everquest and finds they don't fit the narrow stereotype of women gamers, which may cast into doubt our standardized and preconceived ideas of femininity. And she explores the questions of who owns game space--what happens when emergent player culture confronts the major corporation behind the game.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic ethnographic approach to MMORPGs.......2006-11-07
In her book on the MMO gaming world, Taylor brings an ethnographic approach to the game Everquest. Through interviews and personal experience, she gives an insight into the gaming world that portrays it for the rich, complex, social world that it is. A gamer herself, Taylor does an excellent job shining new light on the "frowned upon" gaming world. She also goes beyond the gaming world to show how things are connected through the internet and "in real life" to things within the game.
As far as this being too "basic" in covering the genre - this wasn't aimed to be a book only for advanced gamers. For those of the academic world, who have no experience whatsoever with games, the chapters provide sufficient information about the games to allow understanding. The summary/analysis is as comprehensive as it is rich. There are parts that she could have gone further and I do hope she does write a second book (although she does have articles on this topic as well).
All in all, this is an absolutely fantastic book for academics (or just interested people) who want an ethnographic approach to the gaming world that treats it not as a deviant, subersive "alternate" reality. Gamers and academics alike can appreciate it. Think Jenkins' Textual Poachers (written about the fan world) for gamers.
I sincerely hope this is the tip of the iceberg for this serious academic research into the community, social aspects of MMOs.
Could have gone further.......2006-08-08
I would term the first few chapters of this book to be MMOs for dummies. They were fairly redundant filled with the basics of the genre. I realize that to a certain extent she had to write about this sort of stuff to ground the book for non-genre players, it went on for a little to long I think. If you took away the stuff that explained how the genre worked, this book may very well have been about 75 pages.
Once you got past this point, the book was fairly good. I especially like Taylor's insight into the ownership rights in online games as I think this subject is currently of major concern to players. The women in MMO section was also fairly good, but again fairly redundant at the same time.
I would like to point out that Taylor is a woman and not a man as a previous reviewer implies. A point she makes quite clear early in the book, and a point which I do think offers a fresh perspective on the genre considering much of what has already been written has come from a male-centric point of view.
Overall, the read is pretty good. I think it would work best for those who are not familiar with online gaming, and maybe even someone who hasn't yet started really reading material on the culture of online gaming. As someone who has both been an MMO gamer for over a decade and someone who has read a number of theories and books on the genre I didn't really feel that this book brought much new to the table which was too bad.
For clarification .......2006-06-13
TL Taylor is a brilliant woman, and the thoughtfulness and scientific rigor of her research shine through in this book.
entire, elaborate, virtual worlds.......2006-04-17
For those who wonder what on earth online gaming is about, Taylor furnishes an education. He covers the history of how it sprang from the MUDs [Multi User Dungeons] and MOOs [MUDs with object orientation] of the 80s. When those were of necessity primarily text based. Then, in the 90s, with the advent of the Web and faster bandwidth and more powerful personal computers, multiuser online games emerged. Notably EverQuest, which is well documented here. Other games are also mentioned.
Taylor himself took part as a player in one of these. Partly of his own recreational interest. But also as background research for this book. He shows that these games became virtual worlds. Where players could build up their personas and environments. Even to the extent of trading these assets in the real world. Some players took these on as "jobs", building up characters that they would subsequently sell on eBay. Amazing indeed.
Important issues are aired. Like what rights, if any, do players have to sell these personas? Much of the value in a persona arises out of the creativity of its owner. Much more than just the passive watching of a film. Or even of playing a twitch game like Quake, which is not really about character development. The book reaches no definitive conclusion. Which is a good assessment of how things stand now, anyways.
Book Description
BradyGames' FINAL FANTASY XI Official Strategy Guide provides incredible character strategy featuring coverage of races, standard and advanced jobs, attributes, abilities, macros and more. The detailed quest and mission lists are arranged by city and incorporate the character giving the quest, requirements, items needed, rewards, and maps for specific quests-everything gamers need to finish each task! The guide also provides a variety of aids to help players master their environment, including comprehensive weapons, armor, and accessory tables, an in-depth bestiary, spell lists, a skillchain chart and more. And for those gamers wishing to follow the path of a crafter, the guide gives guild-specific information for each trade.
This product is available for sale in the U.S. and Canada only.
Customer Reviews:
Final Fantasy online helper.......2007-05-16
Gives good information, but disappointed there aren't better details on objects.
Outdated but useful in some ways.......2006-05-09
This book is not even in print anymore. There are three expansion packs out now. This book only covers the first one (Rise of the Zilart) and does not cover Chains of Promathia or Treasures of Aht Urghan at all. It is useful to newbs who are trying to find their way around the game, but there is nothing in this book that cannot be found on the internet if you just search for it. There are numerous sites that contain much more useful information (Such as allakhazam) but the problem with them is that the way this game is written, you cannot Alt-tab out of it to view another web page. Once you are in the game, you have to exit it to access any other programs on your pc (I play pc version exclusively....this doesn't apply to PS2 or X-Box players).
there is an updated verison.......2004-09-23
because online games such as these change on a regular basis, this particular book is out of date as a newer version has been issued. also since there is another expansion for teh final fantasy 11 game called Chains of Permathia, another version, probably called fall 2004 will probably be released soon.
Should Have Shipped With The Game. . ........2004-05-07
This guide is nothing more than a decent instruction manual for FFXI. The idea was good and if you started playing the game, let's say, back when it was first released in Japan, this so-called guide may have been helpful. But times change and so do MMORPG's. Don't get this guide unless you have a time machine so you can go back to when it would have been useful.
For the Newbies _ONLY_.......2004-04-30
This is a great book for those JUST STARTING OUT on FFXI, much of the information from Fall of '03 still works with the current incarnation of FFXI, however, due to the ever-changing nature of FFXI, it will be out of date sometime next year. The job guidelines are great, and it's really geared to the new player. A good buy for any wanting to know a bit more about the game, but don't expect everything in here. There's a level 50 Cutoff on spells, equipment, and information in general (the game currently goes up to level 75) My copy has gotten much use, and I still break it out once in a while. ^_^
Book Description
Welcome to Eberron
• With risk comes reward, and Prima will guide you through one to get the other. These pages contain the knowledge necessary to build your character and survive the quests you must face.
• Labeled dungeon maps guide you to victory through even the most challenging adventures.
• Comprehensive character class overviews, including suggested races, feats, skills, and multiclass options for each. Plus path notes so you'll make the right low-level choices to ensure a powerful high-level character.
• Detailed "Quest Logs" reveal each quest's monsters, treasures, secrets, completion rewards, and more. You'll be able to find every quest and level up quickly.
• In-depth looks at controls and gameplay mechanics to help maximize your abilities.
Customer Reviews:
okay.......2007-01-06
Has a lot of general info but not much specifics, like any of the hints, what the skills actually do, anything on the enhancements, that kind of stuff.
Dungeons and Dragons Online.......2006-06-28
One of the better internet games I have played. Well put together and not buggy.
Book Description
Interactivity is one of the most important and distinguishable features of a game. Designing effective interactivity, however, can be a challenge for even the most experienced game developer. This is especially true in the design process of multiplayer online games, so it is critical that developers have a solid understanding of game design and interactivity. Online Game Interactivity Theory is about online game design?its concepts, techniques, and tools. It guides you through the design process for multiplayer online games, beginning with discussions of online game history, the differences between single-player games and online games, and how the various categories of online games affect design. The emphasis throughout the process is on interactivity?how to define it, how to cope with its complexity, and how to integrate it into your designs. Online Game Interactivity Theory defines interactivity on three different levels: player-to-computer, player-to-player, and player-to-game. By understanding the key factors of the three types of interactivity, you will gain insights into how a game?s level of interactivity can influence its potential for success, and what you can do to improve it. Methods for applying interactivity to your online game designs are discussed, and techniques for "designing" it into your games are provided. Details on multiplayer game design issues are also discussed along with guidelines and suggestions for integrating these issues into your games. These guidelines range from community design to the unique importance of a player?s avatar. The book concludes with discussions of valuable tools and strategies that will help improve your workflow. Interviews with some of the most influential people in the computer game industry are also included, to provide insight into their thoughts on online games, the unique features of online game design, and various interpretations of interactivity.
Customer Reviews:
game design theory.......2004-01-18
The book is, as the titles suggests, theory and there are no code listings... The book is about game design and you can hope to learn fundamental lessons in how to design the programming libraries, but you're not going to learn the actual source code that does the job.
It is nicely divided up to cover the major interactivity types - player-player, player-game, player-computer... It also covers the other necessary theory - tools and the development process. These are done very well.
It also covers the pure theory behind why humans play games in the "anthropology and playology" section. On face value, it's something you would actually expect in a psychology or philosophy text book... but this makes you realize that issues like that are a part of the game design process too... and the book teaches you those fundamentals...
One of the best features of this book is the inclusion of examples. In the tools section there are several recognizable illustrations of recent popular games. They are also referenced in the actual text. Doing this, the author makes his book on theory become more practical by letting the reader easily relate the text to a real-world experience.
Another great tie-in: interviews and opinions which are covered in the book's last section. After the author has had his say, in this section he invites other prominent figures - game designers, game industry insiders and game theorists - to offer their views and experiences on the subject. This opens up the floor to the theory of not just one, but many individuals.
Great insight into theoretical principles of game design!.......2003-11-13
Friedl provides extremely helpful insight for those interested in learning game design theory. Although there are many practical guides to game design, to my knowledge, no other book addresses theory. I found this to be very well written and organized with in depth coverage of material within each chapter. I highly recommend Online Game Interactivity Theory and cannot wait for more books from this author!
Book Description
This book is about the fastest growing form of electronic game in the world—the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). It introduces these self-contained three-dimensional virtual worlds, often inhabited by thousands of players, and describes their evolution and sometimes become addicted to it. It also delves into the psychology of the people who inhabit the game universe and explores the development of the unique cultures, economies, moral codes, and slang in these virtual communities. It explains how the games are built, the spin-offs that players create to enhance their game lives, and peeks at the future of MMORPGs as they evolve from a form of amusement to an educational, scientific, and business tool.
Based on hundreds of interviews over a three-year period, the work explores reasons people are attracted to and addicted to these games. It also surveys many existing and upcoming games, identifying their unique features and attractions. Two appendices list online addiction organizations and MMORPG information sites.
Product Description
A girl-centric comic collection that is delightfully surreal, charmingly twisted and sometimes just plain funny.
Book Description
Virtual worlds have exploded out of online game culture and now capture the attention of millions of ordinary people: husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, workers, retirees. Devoting dozens of hours each week to massively multiplayer virtual reality environments (like World of Warcraft and Second Life), these millions are the start of an exodus into the refuge of fantasy, where they experience life under a new social, political, and economic order built around fun. Given the choice between a fantasy world and the real world, how many of us would choose reality? Exodus to the Virtual World explains the growing migration into virtual reality, and how it will change the way we live--both in fantasy worlds and in the real one.
Average customer rating:
- Welcome Back, Miss Switch!
- A fantasy that could happen
- She's Ba-a-a-a-ack!
- Hurray! Miss Switch is Back!
- Granny from Palos Verdes
|
Miss Switch Online
Barbara Brooks Wallace
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Humorous
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
School
| Issues
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Miss Switch to the Rescue (Miss Switch)
-
The Trouble with Miss Switch
ASIN: 0689860285 |
Book Description
Fifth grade was a year full of flying brooms, spells-gone-wrong, and general craziness for Rupert P. Brown III. Sixth grade should be a little more normal, right?
Wrong!
Sixth grade brings a new teacher named Miss Blossom, a principal who is every girl's crush, a bird who's got a thing for math, and a whacked-out computer that leads Rupert to a Web site called computowitch.com -- with a password that's also the name of an evil witch from Rupert's past!
As clever as he is, Rupert can probably use some help -- and who better to assist than his favorite bewitching teacher, Miss Switch?
Customer Reviews:
Welcome Back, Miss Switch!.......2002-12-01
Everyone's favorite witch is back, and the many fans of author Barbara Brooks Wallace are welcoming Miss Switch's return with open and eager arms.
Written with Ms. Wallace's usual wit, charm and impeccable plotting, the story reunites young Rupert P. Brown III with his former school teacher, that most admirable witch, Miss Switch, about whom he says, "Once you've had the best, nothing else is ever going to seem that good."
The same can be said for Ms. Wallace's book. In an age of heavy, morbidly serious children's fantasy, MISS SWITCH ONLINE comes as a welcome breath of fresh air, jiggling the reader's funny bone and charming a new generation of children looking for a good read and a good laugh.
Don't miss this one. It's a winner.
A fantasy that could happen.......2002-07-10
I like stories where I could be the main character, like Rubert in this book. Rubert doesn't have magic powers and I don't have them. If Rubert did he wouldn't need Miss Switch. I wish I had a teacher like Miss Switch. She is scary and funny. This book is fun and I am telling my friends about it.
She's Ba-a-a-a-ack!.......2002-07-03
Snap, crackle, pop! Sharp, prickly (but with a heart of gold) Miss Switch is back at last! It's been too many years since she first appeared, but what's a few years to a witch once condemned to sweep Witch's Mountain for one hundred fifty
years? The crazy computowitch returns, but this time as wicked Saturna's web site computowitch.com. Rupert P. Brown again humorously records the story in his journal, but make no mistake about it, he hasn't a magic (or scientific) power to his name, and considers himself lucky to have Miss Switch around to save his skin, and that of his whole class at Pepperdine Elementary School. This book is as funny as the first two! I hope that Rupert doesn't wait one hundred fifty years, give or take, to record another encounter with the fantastic Miss Switch.
Hurray! Miss Switch is Back!.......2002-06-30
This long-awaited third installment of the Miss Switch series is sure to please old fans and new. This time Rupert and Miss Switch (disguised as a substitute teacher) take on the evil witch Saturna who's spreading her nasty schemes through the Internet. Pure light-hearted fun guaranteed to make kids laugh (especially during the Romeo and Juliet scene: "I didn't come here to get insulted...I came here to woo"), MISS SWITCH ONLINE rules!
Granny from Palos Verdes.......2002-06-15
My children (and I!) once all enjoyed THE TROUBLE WITH MISS SWITCH and MISS SWITCH TO THE RESCUE so much I was happy to learn of the new book, MISS SWITCH ONLINE. I gave copies to my grandchildren, and they LOVE it! They think this is a "really, really funny" book. They dislike writing letters, but thought everyone should be told about this new Miss Switch book, in case they haven't already heard about it. I suggested thaat I might write a letter for them, which, as all can see, I have!
Average customer rating:
|
Autobiography of an Online Vampire: Tealie's Story
T.L. Darling
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Vampires
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 142412462X
Release Date: 2006-05-30 |
Book Description
Welcome. My name is Tealie and this is my story. I was raised in poverty and shame, but this I endured. With the passing years came a fierce devotion to the life I thought I always deserved. I earned a degree in art history, and after I finished college I started at the Museum of Fine Arts in Manhattan. I quickly worked my way up and soon became the director of the Antiquities Division. Time moved on. My children were young, eleven and thirteen, when it happened: a drunk driver ran them off the road on their way home from a camping trip. A year passed and I decided to get out and meet people. I found vampires. Not only did I happen upon the knowledge of their existence, I also set out to become one of them.
Average customer rating:
|
The Circle Weave: Apprentice To A God, Vol. I
Indigo Kelleigh
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Magic & Wizards
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Action & Adventure
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1588989275
Release Date: 2003-09-16 |
Book Description
Troubled times were they when the Gods walked among Men. It was an age of confusion, an age of unrest, an age of religious wars. This is a history of friends and enemies, of truth and deceit, of swords and secrets, of love and hate, of good and evil. This is the Circle Weave... The town of Maplehead fell under seige late one night by a mysterious and unstoppable dark army, and now it falls on young Rowan to race to the palace at Iscia to warn the King of this impending doom.
Books:
- Public Relations: The Complete Guide
- Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence
- Quick & Healthy Volume II: More Help for People Who Say They Don't Have Time to Cook Healthy Meals
- Real Food for Dogs: 50 Vet-Approved Recipes to Please the Canine Gastronome
- Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut
- Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?
- Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics
- The Age of Innocence
- The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream
- The Art of Being a Woman: A Simple Guide to Everyday Love and Laughter
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably
- Professional Practice for Interior Designers, 3rd Edition
- My Method: Writings and Interviews
- Me : Stories of My Life
- Ships of the Line
- The English Assassin
- Plants of Northern British Columbia: Revised Second Edition
- Where the Money Grows and Anatomy of the Bubble
- One World Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism
- Architectural Drafting and Design, 4E
Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games
Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds
Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot
Designing Virtual Worlds
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games: The People, the Addiction and the Playing Experience
