STS 145/HPS 163.

History of Computer Game Design:

Technology, Culture, Business

Winter 2005

Source: Softline 2 (March 1983). Front cover.
Instructor: Henry Lowood  Office: M 9.30-11; W 2.30-4, Green Library 321C
TA: Waynn Lue. Graders: Douglas Wilson & Galen Davis

T 2.15-3.30; Th 2.15-4.05

Cummings Art Building, Art2

Bibliography (in progress)

General Topics

Adams, Roe R. III, "Computer Gaming Methodology," pp. 339-41 in: Digital Deli: The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy, by The Lunch Group & Guests. Ed. Steve Ditlea. New York: Workman, 1984. (With sidebars, "Computerized Dragons," on adventure games, and "Wizardsd in Gray Flannel," on businessmen playing adventure games.]

Anderson, Craig A.; and Karen E. Dill, "Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 78 (April 2000): 772-90. Often-cited study concludes, "The results from both studies are consistent with the General Affective Aggression Model, which predicts that exposure to violent video games will increase aggressive behavior in both the short term (e.g., laboratory aggression) and the long term (e.g., delinquency)."--from the abstract.

Berlyn, Michael; and Marc Blank, "Interactive Fiction and the Future of the Novel," pp. 174-77 in: Digital Deli: The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy, by The Lunch Group & Guests. Ed. Steve Ditlea. New York: Workman, 1984.

Bloom, Steve, "The First Golden Age," pp. 327-32 in: Digital Deli: The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy, by The Lunch Group & Guests. Ed. Steve Ditlea. New York: Workman, 1984. (Sidebars on "Bushnell's Lost Arcade Classics," "The Joys of Joysticks," "Game Graphics," and "How Computer Games Saved My Life.")

Bryce, Jo; and Jason Rutter, "Gender Dynamics and the Social and Spatial Organization of Computer Gaming," Leisure Studies 22 (June 2003): 1-15.

Bryce, Jo; and Jason Rutter, "The Gendering of Computer Gaming: Experience and Space", pp. 3-22 in S. Fleming and I. Jones, eds., Leisure Cultures: Investigations in Sport, Media and Technology. Eastbourne, Eng.: Leisure Studies Association, 2003.

Bryce, Jo; and Jason Rutter, "Spectacle of the Deathmatch: Character and Narrative in First-Person Shooters," Pp. 66-80 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Bushnell, Nolan, "Computers and Creative Play," pp. 333-35 in: Digital Deli: The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy, by The Lunch Group & Guests. Ed. Steve Ditlea. New York: Workman, 1984. (With sidebar by Chris Crawford, "The Masterpieces.")

Choquet, David, ed. 1000 Game Heroes. Cologne and London: Taschen, 2002. Impressive collection of game graphics focused on characters in computer and video games.

Dittler, Ulrich, Computerspiele und Jugendschutz. Neue Anforderungen durch Computerspiele und Internet. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1997.

Douglas, J. Yellowlees. The End of Books--Or Books without End: Reading Interactive Narratives. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 2000. Discussion of hypertext and interactive fiction, including games like Myst and Titanic.

Entertainment Software Association. Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry. 2004. URL: http://www.theesa.com/pressroom.html

Fromm, Rainer. Digital Spielen - real morden? Shooter, Clans und Fragger: Videospiele in der Jugendszene. (Marburg: Schüren, 2002)

Torben Grodal, "Video Games and the Pleasure of Control," Pp. 197-214 in: D. Zillmann & Peter Vorderer, eds., Media Entertainment: The Psychology of Its Appeal. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000.

Herman, Leonard. Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of Videogames. 2d ed. Union, N.J.: Rolenta Press, 1999. Solid narrative history of videogame development.

Herz, J. C. Joystick Nation: How Videogames Ate Our Quarters, Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our Minds. Boston and New York: Little, Brown, 1997. Studies history of videogames as popular culture.

Howells, Sacha A., "Watching a Game, Playing a Movie: When Media Collide," Pp. 110-21 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Hunt, Leon, "'I Know Kung Fu!' The Martial Arts in the Age of Digital Reproduction," Pp. 194-205 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

King, Geoff, "Die Hard/Try Harder: Narrative, Spectacle and Beyond, from Hollywood to Videogame," Pp. 50-65 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Krzywinska, Tanya, "Hands-On Horror," Pp. 206-23 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

LaPlante, Alice; and Rich Seidner, Playing for Profit: How Digital Entertainment is Making Big Business Out of Child's Play. New York: John Wiley, 1999.

Larrue, Philippe; William Lazonick, and Mary O'Sullivan, "The European Challenge in Videogame Software: The 'French Touch' and the 'Britsoft Paradox,'" pp. 65-77 in Secrets of the Game Business. Ed. François Dominic Laramée. (Hingham, Mass.: Charles River, 2003).

Morris, Sue, "First-Person Shooters--A Game Apparatus," Pp. 81-97 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Rogers, Artie, "From Raw Material to Final Product: Life in a Social Economy," pp. 409-20, and "City-State Governments--Their Roles in Online Communities," pp. 464-76 in Massively Multiplayer Game Development, ed. Thor Alexander. Hingham, Mass.: Charles River Media, 2003.

Sudnow, David. Pilgrim in the Microworld. New York: Warner Books, 1983. Pioneering study of the the elements of videogame playing skill.

Sheff, David; and Andy Eddy. Game Over: Press Start to Continue. GamePress, 1999. ISBN: 0966961706. Now OUT OF PRINT. Excellent history of Nintendo.

Tong, Wee Liang; and Marcus Cheng Chye Tan, "Vision and Virtuality: The Construction of Narrative Space in Film and Computer Games," Pp. 98-109 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Ward, Paul, "Videogames as Remediated Animation," Pp. 122-135 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Specific Games

Aarseth, Espen, "Aporia and Epiphany in Doom and The Speaking Clock: The Temporality of Ergodic Art," Pp. 31-41 in: Marie-Laure Ryan, ed., Cyberspace Textuality and Literary Theory. Indianapolis: Indiana Univ. Press, 1999.

Bessell, David, "What's That Funny Noise? An Examination of the Role of Music in Cool Boarders 2, Alien Trilogy, and Medieval 2," Pp. 136-44 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Brockington, Mark, "Building a Reputation System: Hatred, Forgiveness, and Surrender in Neverwinter Nights," pp. 454-63 in: Massively Multiplayer Game Development, ed. Thor Alexander. Hingham, Mass.: Charles River Media, 2003.

Burrill, Derek A., "'Oh, Grow up OO7', The Performance of Bond and Boyhood in Film and Videogames," Pp. 181-93 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Carr, Diane, "Playing with Lara," Pp. 171-80 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002. [Tomb Raider]

Carr, Doug, "Computer Ball, " p. 338 in: Digital Deli: The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy, by The Lunch Group & Guests. Ed. Steve Ditlea. New York: Workman, 1984. (Use of microcomputers by baseball managers.)

Crawford, Chris; and David Shannon, Balance of Power: International Politics as the Ultimate Global Game. Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft Press, 1986.

Goslin, Mike; Joe Shochet, and Jesse Schell, "Toontown Online: Massively Multiplayer Games for the Masses," pp. 3-19 in Massively Multiplayer Game Development, ed. Thor Alexander. Hingham, Mass.: Charles River Media, 2003.

Mactavish, Andrew, "Technological Pleasure: the Performance and Narrative of Technology in Half-Life and other High-Tech Computer Games." Pp. 33-49 in: Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska, eds., ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London and New York: Wallflower, 2002.

Marks, Robert; and Tim Green, Everquest Companion: The Inside Story. Berkeley, Calif.: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2003.

Morningstar, Chip; and F. Randall Farmer, "The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat." Pp. 273-301 in: Michael Benedikt, ed., Cyberspace: First Steps. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1991.

Ow, Jeffrey, "The Revenge of the Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator: The Rape of Digital Geishas and the Colonization of Cyber-Coolies in 3D Realms' Shadow Warrior," pp. 249-66 in Rachel C. Lee and Sau-ling Cynthia Wong, eds., Asian American.Net: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Cyberspace. New York and London: Routledge, 2003.

Spracklen, Dan; and Kathe Spracklen, "Computer Chess," pp. 252-55 in: Digital Deli: The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy, by The Lunch Group & Guests. Ed. Steve Ditlea. New York: Workman, 1984. (By the designers of Sargon and focusing on that chess-playing program.)

Military Simulation

Fitzsimmons, Ed, "The Defense Modeling and Simulation Office: How It Started," Simulation Technology Magazine. URL: http://www.sisostds.org/webletter/Preview_Article.cfm?article_id=245&article_Status=Approved.

Scales, Robert H., "Kosovo, 2020: A Wargame," pp. 121-39 in his Yellow Smoke: The Future of Land Warfare for America's Military. Lanham, N.J.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.