Introduction to Game Analysis

Clara Fernández-Vara

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781032410074
• eBook ISBN: 9781040033814
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

This accessible, third edition textbook gives students the tools they need to analyze games, using strategies borrowed from textual analysis.

As game studies has become an established academic field, writing about games needs the language and methods that allow authors to reflect the complexity of a game and how it is played in a cultural context. This volume provides readers with an overview of the basic building blocks of game analysis—examination of context, content and distinctive features, and formal qualities—as well as the vocabulary necessary to talk about the distinguishing characteristics of a game. Examples are drawn from a range of games, non-digital and digital, and across history—from Pong to Fortnite—and the book includes a variety of examples and sample analysis, as well as a wealth of additional sources to continue exploring the field of game studies. This third edition revision brings the book firmly up to date, pulling in new examples and sources, and incorporating current key topics in this dynamic field, such as artificial intelligence and game streaming.

Introduction to Game Analysis remains an essential practical tool for students who want to become fluent writers and informed critics of games, as well as digital media in general.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Endorsement Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Figures
• Preface to the Third Edition
• Acknowledgements for the Third Edition
• Preface to the Second Edition
• Acknowledgements for the First Edition
• 1 The Whys and Wherefores of Game Analysis
• 2 Preparing for the Analysis
• 3 Areas of Analysis 1: Context
• 4 Areas of Analysis 2: Game Overview
• 5 Areas of Analysis 3: Formal Elements
• 6 Writing the Analysis
• 7 Wrapping Things Up
• Appendix I: Sample Analyses
• Appendix II List of Other Published Analyses
• Glossary
• Ludography
• Index