The stuff games are made of

• Main Author: Barr, Pippin
• Format: eBook Book
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge The MIT Press 2023; MIT Press
• Edition: 1
• Series: Playful Thinking
• Subjects: art games; Computer games / online games: strategy guides; Computing and Information Technology; design thinking; Digital Lifestyle and online world: consumer and user guides; Digital, video and new media arts; experimental games; game design; game development; GAMES & ACTIVITIES; History of art; material; materiality; Non-graphic and electronic art forms; Postmodernism; reflective practitioner; software studies; Style qualifiers; Styles (P); The Arts; The Arts: art forms; The Arts: treatments and subjects; Video games > Design; Video games > Design > Case studies
• ISBN: 9780262546119; 0262546116; 9780262375115; 0262375117; 0262375109; 9780262375108
• DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/14495.001.0001

A deep dive into practical game design through playful philosophy and philosophical play.What are video games made of? And what can that tell us about what they mean? In The Stuff Games Are Made Of,experimental game maker Pippin Barr explores the materials of video game design. Taking the reader on a deep dive into eight case studies of his own games, Barr illuminates the complex nature of video games and video game design, and the possibilities both offer for exploring ideas big and small. Through a variety of engaging and approachable examples, Barr shows how every single aspect of a game—whether it is code, graphics, interface, or even time itself—can be designed with and related to the player experience. Barr's experimental approach, with its emphasis on highly specific elements of games, will leave readers armed with intriguing design philosophy, conceptual rigor, and diverse insights into the inner life of video games. Upon finishing this book, readers will be ready to think deeply about the nature of games, to dive into expressive and experimental game design themselves, or simply to play with a new and expanded mindset.