crowyhead's review against another edition
3.0
I was all set not to like Jim Rossignol. When someone opens a book with a description of how they lost their job because they spent all their time playing Quake instead, it doesn't quite win my sympathy or admiration. Rossignol was lucky, though; through his connections in the gaming world, he eventually landed a job working for a videogame magazine and writing about his travels in the world of gaming.
Out of this came this book, a "tour guide" of three different gaming communities. The cities he travels to are Seoul, London, and Reyjkavik, but the only time his actual location really matters is in Seoul, where gaming culture is like nothing US or Europe has ever seen. What's more important are the games. Rossignol explores the world of people who mod games like Quake, in effect creating entirely new games based off of the platform of the original. He tries to describe the density and intrigue of EVE Online, and the politics of this and other online, multiplayer games.
Those who are interested in the shifting nature of videogames, of the ideas behind player-driven games, and the weird politics of online gaming, will enjoy this book. However, if you have already done any in-depth reading in the field, you probably will not find anything here that you haven't already run across.
Out of this came this book, a "tour guide" of three different gaming communities. The cities he travels to are Seoul, London, and Reyjkavik, but the only time his actual location really matters is in Seoul, where gaming culture is like nothing US or Europe has ever seen. What's more important are the games. Rossignol explores the world of people who mod games like Quake, in effect creating entirely new games based off of the platform of the original. He tries to describe the density and intrigue of EVE Online, and the politics of this and other online, multiplayer games.
Those who are interested in the shifting nature of videogames, of the ideas behind player-driven games, and the weird politics of online gaming, will enjoy this book. However, if you have already done any in-depth reading in the field, you probably will not find anything here that you haven't already run across.
pearwaldorf's review
4.0
We do not really have a framework to talk about the influence of games intelligently or games as an art form. Jim Rossignol's book makes a great leap towards that. Highly recommended for anybody interested in games or their effect on society.
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