Reset Changing the Way We Look at Video Games

DeMaria delves deeply into the realities of the gaming world, analyzing both the business forces driving game development and the unique qualities that distinguish video games from all other popular media. Drawing on the latest research on play and learning, he explains that it is precisely these qualities—a combination DeMaria calls the "magic edge"—that make video games such potentially powerful tools. He shows how games can be designed to integrate content that educates, inspires, motivates, and empowers players—even as they lure them in with their drama and thrill them with special effects—and offers numerous examples of popular games that do just that. Key Features DeMaria presents video games in a new light and details many of the ways they can facilitate learning. As Rusel DeMaria shows, video games may represent one of the most powerful learning technologies ever invented. Delves deeply into the realities of the gaming world, analyzing both the business forces driving game development and the unique qualities that distinguish video games from all other popular media. Drawing on the latest research on play and learning, he explains that it is precisely these qualities—a combination DeMaria calls the "magic edge"—that make video games such potentially powerful tools.

Introduction. Dangerous Games. Gamers and Game-Makers. Why We Play. Your Brain on Games. The Magic Edge and TMSI. Better Games, by Design. Playing to the Future. Serious Entertainment. Smart Parents, Smart Players. Get in the Game. Digital Advocacy. Resources. Notes. Recommended Reading. Index.

Rusel DeMaria is the author or coauthor of more than sixty books, most of them in the gaming field, including Myst: The Official Strategy Guide, which sold more than 1.2 million copies, as well as one of the most comprehensive histories of the industry, High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. He founded and served as creative director for the most successful strategy guide publishing imprint in the industry and is a former senior editor and columnist for several national video game magazines.