Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Use coupon code “MARCH20” for a 20% discount on all items! Valid until 31-03-2025

Site Logo
Site Logo

Royal Mail  express delivery to UK destinations

Regular sales and promotions

Stock updates every 20 minutes!

Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds

Out of stock

Firm sale: non returnable item
SKU 9780262516518 Categories ,
Select Guide Rating
An in-depth analysis of game development and rules and fiction in video games—with concrete examples, including The Legend of Zelda, Grand Theft Auto, and more

A video game is half-real: we play by real rules while imagining a fictional world....

£24.00

Buy new:

Delivery: UK delivery Only. Usually dispatched in 1-2 working days.

Shipping costs: All shipping costs calculated in the cart or during the checkout process.

Standard service (normally 2-3 working days): 48hr Tracked service.

Premium service (next working day): 24hr Tracked service – signature service included.

Royal mail: 24 & 48hr Tracked: Trackable items weighing up to 20kg are tracked to door and are inclusive of text and email with ‘Leave in Safe Place’ options, but are non-signature services. Examples of service expected: Standard 48hr service – if ordered before 3pm on Thursday then expected delivery would be on Saturday. If Premium 24hr service used, then expected delivery would be Friday.

Signature Service: This service is only available for tracked items.

Leave in Safe Place: This option is available at no additional charge for tracked services.

Description

Product ID:9780262516518
Product Form:Paperback / softback
Country of Manufacture:GB
Series:Half-Real
Title:Half-Real
Subtitle:Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds
Authors:Author: Jesper Juul
Page Count:244
Subjects:Media studies, Media studies, Computer games / online games: strategy guides, Computer games / online games: strategy guides
Description:Select Guide Rating
An in-depth analysis of game development and rules and fiction in video games—with concrete examples, including The Legend of Zelda, Grand Theft Auto, and more

A video game is half-real: we play by real rules while imagining a fictional world. We win or lose the game in the real world, but we slay a dragon (for example) only in the world of the game. In this thought-provoking study, Jesper Juul examines the constantly evolving tension between rules and fiction in video games. Discussing games from Pong to The Legend of Zelda, from chess to Grand Theft Auto, he shows how video games are both a departure from and a development of traditional non-electronic games. The book combines perspectives from such fields as literary and film theory, computer science, psychology, economic game theory, and game studies, to outline a theory of what video games are, how they work with the player, how they have developed historically, and why they are fun to play.

Locating video games in a history of games that goes back to Ancient Egypt, Juul argues that there is a basic affinity between games and computers. Just as the printing press and the cinema have promoted and enabled new kinds of storytelling, computers work as enablers of games, letting us play old games in new ways and allowing for new kinds of games that would not have been possible before computers. Juul presents a classic game model, which describes the traditional construction of games and points to possible future developments. He examines how rules provide challenges, learning, and enjoyment for players, and how a game cues the player into imagining its fictional world. Juul’s lively style and eclectic deployment of sources will make Half-Real of interest to media, literature, and game scholars as well as to game professionals and gamers.
Imprint Name:MIT Press
Publisher Name:MIT Press Ltd
Country of Publication:GB
Publishing Date:2011-08-19