{"product_id":"the-stuff-games-are-made-of-isbn-9780262546119","title":"The Stuff Games Are Made Of","description":"\u003cb\u003eA deep dive into practical game design through playful philosophy and philosophical play.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat are video games made of? And what can that tell us about what they mean? In \u003ci\u003eThe Stuff Games Are Made Of\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eexperimental game maker Pippin Barr explores the materials of video game design. Taking the reader on a deep dive into eight case studies of his own games, Barr illuminates the complex nature of video games and video game design, and the possibilities both offer for exploring ideas big and small.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough a variety of engaging and approachable examples, Barr shows how every single aspect of a game—whether it is code, graphics, interface, or even time itself—can be designed with and related to the player experience. Barr’s experimental approach, with its emphasis on highly specific elements of games, will leave readers armed with intriguing design philosophy, conceptual rigor, and diverse insights into the inner life of video games. Upon finishing this book, readers will be ready to think deeply about the nature of games, to dive into expressive and experimental game design themselves, or simply to play with a new and expanded mindset.On Thinking Playfully ix\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments xi\u003cbr\u003e1 Introduction: What is all This Stuff? 1\u003cbr\u003e2 Rules: Change Comes from Within 13\u003cbr\u003e3 Computation: Is You Computer Having Fun? 29\u003cbr\u003e4 Graphics: Water, Water Everywhere 43\u003cbr\u003e5 User Interface: Playing at Work 59\u003cbr\u003eInterlude 75\u003cbr\u003e6 Time: Get in Line 77\u003cbr\u003e7 Cinema: The \u003ci\u003eCitizen Kane\u003c\/i\u003e of Video Games 93\u003cbr\u003e8 Violence: Less is More 113\u003cbr\u003e9 Money: One Easy Payment of $4.99 129\u003cbr\u003e10 Conclusion: Have You Seen the Moon Today? 147“Challenging both human and hardware is at the centre of Barr’s new book,\u003ci\u003e The Stuff Games Are Made Of,\u003c\/i\u003e an entertaining unpacking of the systems and quirks behind game design, illustrated by the oddities of his own works and a smattering of video game history.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“If you love Pippin Barr’s weird, delightful games as much as I do, imagine picking them up, like rocks in a garden, and discovering whole ecosystems of bugs and aliens had been living underneath. Reading this book is picking up those rocks.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eIan Bogost, author of \u003ci\u003ePlay Anything\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e How to Talk About Videogames\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Feels like walking along a beach at sunset with a perceptive friend, if the beach is digital computer code \u0026amp; data, the sunset is playful curiosity, and the friend is one of games' greatest tinkerer-thinkers.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eRami Ismail, Game Developer \u0026amp; Games Industry Ambassador\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Of all the books that have made me think deeply about games and design, this is my favorite. It’s winningly personal while inviting you to join in genuinely new philosophies of play and being. Don’t miss it!”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eTanya X. Short, Creative Director, Kitfox Games; Co-editor of \u003ci\u003eProcedural Generation in Game Design\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eProcedural Storytelling in Game Design\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003ePippin Barr is Associate Professor of Computation Arts at Concordia University. Barr has collaborated with artists including Marina Abramović and @seinfeld2000 and produced games about everything from airplane safety instructions to chess to parenting. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Play a Video Game\u003c\/i\u003e and cohost of the podcast \u003ci\u003eGAMETHING\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301524590821,"sku":"NP9780262546119","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262546119.jpg?v=1767741714","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-stuff-games-are-made-of-isbn-9780262546119","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}