{"product_id":"computer-games-and-the-social-imaginary-paperback-softback-9780745641119","title":"Computer Games and the Social Imaginary (Paperback \/ softback) 9780745641119","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eComputer Games and the Social Imaginary\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eGraeme Kirkpatrick (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780745641119, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 6 September 2013\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e248 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.1 x 14.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.318 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"It is well researched, well argued, and one of the finest books to date on the subject of digital games.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew Media and Society\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"The classic studies of games argue that play mirrors social life. But what kind of story must theory tell when society begins to resemble a game? This is the argument of Graeme Kirkpatrick's brilliant new book, \u003ci\u003eComputer Games and the Social Imaginary\u003c\/i\u003e. Drawing on recent social theory and an original analysis of the social role of aesthetics, Kirkpatrick makes a major contribution to our understanding of both games and society.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eAndrew Feenberg, Simon Fraser University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"A rich and ambitious attempt to situate computer games relative to the transformation of capitalism over the last four decades. Kirkpatrick's thesis - which effortlessly combines sophisticated readings of the history of microcomputing and games with social and cultural theory - is nuanced, fresh and powerful. When I finished, I wanted to begin all over again.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eMelanie Swalwell, Flinders University\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\"Kirkpatrick’s discussion of the social significance of computer games is very thought provoking, and provides a valuable inclusion to the field of media and game studies.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Christian Dewar, University of South Australia\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this compelling book, Graeme Kirkpatrick argues that computer games have fundamentally altered the relation of self and society in the digital age.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTracing the origins of gaming to the revival of play in the 1960s counter culture, \u003ci\u003eComputer Games and the Social Imaginary\u003c\/i\u003e describes how the energies of that movement transformed computer technology from something ugly and machine-like into a world of colour and ‘fun’. In the process, play with computers became computer gaming – a new cultural practice with its own values.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom the late 1980s gaming became a resource for people to draw upon as they faced the challenges of life in a new, globalizing digital economy. Gamer identity furnishes a revivified capitalism with compliant and ‘streamlined’ workers, but at times gaming culture also challenges the corporations that control game production.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalysing topics such as the links between technology and power, the formation of gaming culture and the subjective impact of play with computer games, this insightful text will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media, games studies and the information society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eContents\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e Chapter one: Computer games in social theory\u003cbr\u003e 1. Gaming and the social imaginary\u003cbr\u003e 2. The gamer as a ‘streamlined self’\u003cbr\u003e 3. Social theory and critique\u003cbr\u003e Chapter two: Lineages of the computer game\u003cbr\u003e 1. The revival of play\u003cbr\u003e 2. Technology and the dialectic of invention\u003cbr\u003e 3. Artistic critique and the transformation of computing\u003cbr\u003e Chapter three: The formation of gaming culture\u003cbr\u003e 1. From games as technology to the discovery of ‘gameplay’\u003cbr\u003e 2. The ‘authentic’ gamer\u003cbr\u003e 3. Gaming’s constitutive ambivalence\u003cbr\u003e Chapter four: Technology and power\u003cbr\u003e 1. Organising an industry\u003cbr\u003e 2. Globalisation and cultures of production\u003cbr\u003e 3. Technology, power and resistance\u003cbr\u003e Chapter five: The phenakisticon\u003cbr\u003e 1. MMPGs in recognition-theoretic perspective\u003cbr\u003e 2. The limitations of engineered sociability\u003cbr\u003e 3. Gamification and the diminution of gameplay\u003cbr\u003e Chapter six: Aesthetics and politics\u003cbr\u003e 1. The aesthetic dimension\u003cbr\u003e 2. Art, play and critique\u003cbr\u003e 3. Critical gaming?\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e References\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Society \u0026amp; culture: general [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Society \u0026amp; culture: general\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Society%20\u0026amp;%20culture:%20general%20%5BJF%5D%22\"\u003eJF\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52407306322200,"sku":"9780745641119","price":14.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9780745641119.jpg?v=1784160503","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/computer-games-and-the-social-imaginary-paperback-softback-9780745641119","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}