This paper is part of an experimental approach aimed to study the nature of videogames. We will focus on videogames rules in order to try to understand the anatomy of a videogame. Being inspired by the methodology that Propp used for his classification of Russian fairy tales, we have cleared out recurrent diagrams within rules of videogames. We then analysed these rules diagrams by using the definition of a game drawn by Salen & Zimmerman, which led us to propose a definition for the nature
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Keywords : gameplay, rules, Videogames, Typology, Classification
With nearly 1000 pages, this heavy book was baked for you by two of best videogames researchers. I gathers many articles that anyone serious about the study of games must (or at least should) have read. The articles gathers are quite different, ranging from scientific essays about the definition of videogames (Huinzingua, Caillois, Suits, etc.) to players gaming diaries and professional game developers postmortems (Valve Software on how they created Half-Life, Lucasart on their pioneering MMO &q
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Keywords : research, game studies, history, definition
Following the videogame classification project, Gam.B.A.S is a research project aimed to study the deep nature of videogames through formal deconstruction of their inner structure. Gam.B.A.S. - Prototype #1 The first step of this ongoing project is to try to provide answer to the following question: What is gameplay? Demonstation videos of the two prototypes created (2007): Publications related to this project Many analysis have yet to be done,
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Keywords : game design, game creation software
A research project designed to build a classification system suited to videogames. This projet resulted in a website featuring a collaborative classification system based on multiple criterias. The games are classified according to their gameplay, their purposes, their markets and target audience, alongside with user-contributed keywords. http://www.gameclassification.com The classification of videogames, a complex problem... The classification of videogame
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Keywords : classification, videogames
One of the flagship book of the current wave of Serious Games, focused on videogames. This 350 pages book start with a definition of Serious Games, through a comparative analysis with entertainment videogames. It then features a lot of games examples for each of the main Serious Games application domains in 2005: defense, government, corporate, education, healthcare, politics, religion and art. This book also gives some Serious Games design advices related to each of these domains. This bo
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Keywords : serious game, definition, examples
A great videogame analysis book written by one of the founders of the scientific study of games: the ludology. In this book, Jesper Juul explores the connections between videogames and fictional worlds, and he highlights the special features of videogames when it comes to "tell stories." The first part of the book features an essay about the definitions of "games" and "video games" which were heavily quoted (both endorsed or criticized) by most of the following scie
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Keywords : ludology, game studies, fiction, definition
An essay written by Gilles Brougère, a researcher specialized about games, dealing with the relations between playing and learning. This book addresses play as a general activity, ranging from kids play in preschools to video games. The author stars with the definition of "game" and "play", before diving into the relationships between play and leisure, education and leisure, and, last but not least, play and education. Through the idea of "informal learning",
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Keywords : essay, learning science, learning, game, play, education, leisure, school
One of the reference book about the scientific study and design of games. This huge 700 pages book will explore in great details the core concepts related to any kind of games: from outdoor sports to videogames games and TV games. The authors introduce a theoretical framework that defines three level of analysis, which were often cited by many others researchers: "Rules", to study games as artifacts, "Play", to analyze the human experience of playing games, "Culture"
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Keywords : theory, research, games, play, defintitons
A new edition of the book that founded the "Serious Games" current. Clark Abt, an American researcher who studied computer simulation games for military training during the Cold War, highlights the potential of games for "serious" applications, such as education. Alongside with definition and studies, this book features a lot of games examples used for learning purposes (both inside or outside schools) on various supports: board games, card games, outside games, computer
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Keywords : serious game, clark abt, definition, example, history
Answering the theories laid down by the pioneering book "Homo Ludens", Roger Caillois, an anthropologist, writes down a wonderful essay about play and game as a human activity. His work about the classification of games and their definition are part of the "founding books" that any researcher should have read...This french-written book was first translated into English in 1961 under the title "Man, Play and Games."
Keywords : anthropology, sociology, definition, classification