The idea that such pervasive and ever-growing immersion in digital gaming affects gamers' real life seems obvious and is the focus of this volume. A wide range of topics was collected under the "Psychology of Gaming" header. The eight chapters in this edited book do not represent all the topics in the psychology of gaming, however, this book includes a variety of topics in this field: game theory, emotional engagement, fantasy world, game designs and development, and gambling with on-line games. This book discusses the psychological impact of games shaping gamer's self-perception and self-concept, socio-psychological implications of gaming, design criteria in games, educational uses, the role of fantasy in game play, psychological treatment of gambling-related behaviours, psychological factors of collaborative learning, and gaming as a means of gaining empathy and understanding for another culture.

Covers state-of-the-art in video and digital game research and development from traditional to emerging elements of gaming across multiple disciplines. Chapters will be presented with applicability across all gaming platforms over a broad range of topics from game content creation through game play at a level accessible for the professional game developer while being deep enough to provide a valuable reference of the state-of-the-art research in this field. Key Selling Points: International experts share their research and experience in game development and design Provided readers with Inside perspectives on the cross-disciplinary aspects of the industry Includes retrospective as well as forward looking examinations of gaming

Over the last decade, progress in deep learning has had a profound and transformational effect on many complex problems, including speech recognition, machine translation, natural language understanding, and computer vision. As a result, computers can now achieve human-competitive performance in a wide range of perception and recognition tasks. Many of these systems are now available to the programmer via a range of so-called cognitive services. More recently, deep reinforcement learning has achieved ground-breaking success in several complex challenges. This book makes an enormous contribution to this beautiful, vibrant area of study: an area that is developing rapidly both in breadth and depth. Deep learning can cope with a broader range of tasks (and perform those tasks to increasing levels of excellence). This book lays a good foundation for the core concepts and principles of deep learning in gaming and animation, walking you through the fundamental ideas with expert ease. This book progresses in a step-by-step manner. It reinforces theory with a full-fledged pedagogy designed to enhance students' understanding and offer them a practical insight into its applications. Also, some chapters introduce and cover novel ideas about how artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning, and machine learning have changed the world in gaming and animation. It gives us the idea that AI can also be applied in gaming, and there are limited textbooks in this area. This book comprehensively addresses all the aspects of AI and deep learning in gaming. Also, each chapter follows a similar structure so that students, teachers, and industry experts can orientate themselves within the text. There are few books in the field of gaming using AI. Deep Learning in Gaming and Animations teaches you how to apply the power of deep learning to build complex reasoning tasks. After being exposed to the foundations of machine and deep learning, you will use Python to build a bot and then teach it the game's rules. This book also focuses on how different technologies have revolutionized gaming and animation with various illustrations.

The rapid developments of new communication technologies have facilitated the popularization of digital games, which has translated into an exponential growth of the game industry in the last decades. The ubiquitous presence of digital games has resulted in an expansion of the applications of these games from mere entertainment purposes to a great variety of serious purposes. In this edited volume, we narrow the scope of attention by focusing on what game theorist Ian Bogost has called "persuasive games", that is, gaming practices that combine the dissemination of information with attempts to engage players in particular attitudes and behaviors.This volume offers a multifaceted reflection on persuasive gaming, that is, on the process of these particular games being played by players. The purpose is to better understand when and how digital games can be used for persuasion, by further exploring persuasive games and some other kinds of persuasive playful interaction as well. The book critically integrates what has been accomplished in separate research traditions to offer a multidisciplinary approach to understanding persuasive gaming that is closely linked to developments in the industry by including the exploration of relevant case studies.

Gain insight into what it takes to design and develop your first video game. This book offers a peek behind the scenes, where you will find in-depth knowledge of game design theory and insight into the technical and design aspects of video game development. The Way We Play allows you to explore game design and theory while also learning the nuances of how games in different genres should be approached, their workings, and successful unique selling points in a competitive gaming field. As you progress further into the book, BAFTA Nominated Young Games Design Mentor Michael Killick walks you through the more technical aspects of game development and shares techniques that will enable you to take your first steps in designing your own games. Upon completing this book, you will have a firm understanding of the gaming industry, from theory through design and production. What You Will Learn Understand theories within games design Grasp what it takes to design and create your first game Look back at previous popular games and what made them so great Cover all aspects of design to allow you to begin designing your first video game Who Is This Book For: Anyone who would like to explore the fundamentals of game design and the theory behind it. This is also a chance to learn what goes into a game and how a game can be designed to be fun.

About This Book Program your very own video game on the Raspberry Pi using the Scratch programming language Install and manage your Raspberry Pi Set up your Raspberry Pi to play hundreds of retro and classic games Who This Book Is For If you are someone who loves to play games and are interested in learning more about the capabilities of your Raspberry Pi, this book is for you. Basic knowledge of Raspberry Pi programming is expected.

An easy-to-follow primer on the fundamentals of digital game design The quickly evolving mobile market is spurring digital game creation into the stratosphere, with revenue from games exceeding that of the film industry. With this guide to the basics, you'll get in on the game of digital game design while you learn the skills required for storyboarding, character creation, environment creation, level design, programming, and testing. Teaches basic skill sets in the context of current systems, genres, and game-play styles Demonstrates how to design for different sectors within gaming including console, PC, handheld, and mobile Explores low-poly modeling for game play Addresses character and prop animation, lighting and rendering, and environment design Discusses the path from concept to product, including pre- and post-production Includes real-world scenarios and interviews with key studio and industry professionals With Game Design Essentials, you'll benefit from a general-but-thorough overview of the core art and technology fundamentals of digital game design for the 21st century.

Gaming is continuing to grow into one of the largest entertainment industries, not only in North America but also in the entire world. It has been estimated that, as of early 2015, nearly one-third (115 million) of Americans are playing video games. There is an average of two gamers in a United States household, and 80% of these households own at least one device that plays video games (Entertainment Software Association, 2015). The average gamer spends eight hours a week playing video games, with more hard-core gamers playing, on average, thirty hours a week (ESRB, 2010). Depending on the genre, video games can require a considerable time investment, often far beyond the time required to consume other entertainment media. This is especially the case with online-based video games (Yee, 2006). As a result, video games can significantly affect intimate relationships. The first chapter of this book discusses implications of video games for a couple's emotional health. Chapter Two examines the existing literature on active gaming and physical activity, and addresses game design components that have the potential to impact psychological factors such as motivation, emotions and well-being that may promote or deter long-term game play and physical activity behavior. Chapter Three systematically summarises and evaluates the effectiveness of exergaming on fundamental movement skill competence among children and young adults. Chapter Four reviews some neuroimaging internet gaming disorder (IGD) studies and discusses the findings. The book concludes with a commentary on internet gaming disorders and its impact on the children who play.

Catch a glimpse inside a school bus and you'll see lots of kids looking down. What are they doing? They're deciding on strategy, building cities, setting traps for monsters, sharing resources, and nurturing critical relationships. Over 90 percent of kids ages 2-17 play video games. InVideo Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure, young readers learn why games are so compelling and what ancient games such as mancala have in common with modern games likeMinecraft. Kids will even create their very own video games using software such as MIT'sScratch! Using a familiar, high-interest subject,Video Games introduces foundation subjects such as geometry, physics, probability, and psychology in a practical framework. Building Tetris pieces out of Rice Crispie Treats and designing board games are some of the hands-on projects that engage readers' building skills, while writing actual game code opens digital doors readers may not have known existed.

How can videogames portray love and loss? Games and Bereavement answers this question by looking at five videogames and carrying out a participatory design study with grievers. Sabine Harrer highlights possible connections between grief and videogames, arguing that game design may help make difficult personal feelings tangible. After a brief literary review of grief concepts and videogame theory, the book deep-dives into examples of tragic inter-character relationships from videogame history. Building on these examples, the book presents a case study on pregnancy loss as a potential grief experience that can be validated through game design dialogue.

Beginning with the structural features of design and play, this book explores video games as both compelling examples of story-telling and important cultural artifacts. The author analyzes fundamentals like immersion, world building and player agency and their role in crafting narratives in the Mass Effect series, BioShock, The Last of Us, Fallout 4 and many more. The text-focused "visual novel" genre is discussed as a form of interactive fiction.

Video games are a complex, compelling medium in which established art forms intersect with technology to create an interactive text. Visual arts, architectural design, music, narrative and rules of play all find a place within, and are constrained by, computer systems whose purpose is to create an immersive player experience. In the relatively short life of video game studies, many authors have approached the question of how games function, some focusing on technical aspects of game design, others on rules of play. Taking a holistic view, this study explores how ludology, narratology, visual rhetoric, musical theory and player psychology work (or don't work) together to create a cohesive experience and to provide a unified framework for understanding video games.

Charting the increase in the use of games for the dissemination of extremist propaganda, radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization, this book examines the 'gamification of extremism.'

Research on and with digital technologies is everywhere today. This timely, authoritative Handbook explores the issues of rapid technological development, social change, and the ubiquity of computing technologies which have become an integrated part of people′s everyday lives.   This is a comprehensive, up-to-date resource for the twenty-first century. It addresses the key aspects of research within the digital technology field and provides a clear framework for readers wanting to navigate the changeable currents of digital innovation.   Main themes include:   - Introduction to the field of contemporary digital technology research - New digital technologies: key characteristics and considerations - Research perspectives for digital technologies: theory and analysis - Environments and tools for digital research - Research challenges   Aimed at a social science audience, it will be of particular value for postgraduate students, researchers and academics interested in research on digital technology, or using digital technology to undertake research.