The Edge calls Trigger Happy a "seminal piece of work." For the first time ever, an aficionado with a knowledge of art, culture, and a real love of gaming takes a critical look at the future of our videogames, and compares their aesthetic and economic impact on society to that of film. Thirty years after the invention of the simplest of games, more videogames are played by adults than children. This revolutionary book is the first-ever academically worthy and deeply engaging critique of one of today's most popular forms of play: videogames are on track to supersede movies as the most innovative form of entertainment in the new century.
Author(s): Steven Poole
Edition: 0
Publisher: Arcade
Year: 2011
Language: English
Pages: 259
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1 RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
Our virtual history
Pixel generation
Meme machines
The shock of the new
2 THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
Beginnings
Art types
Happiness is a warm gun
In my mind and in my car
Might as well jump
Sometimes you kick
Heaven in here
Two tribes
Running up that hill
It’s a kind of magic
We can work it out
Family fortunes
3 UNREAL CITIES
Let’s get physical
Let’s stick together
Life in plastic
Out of control
4 ELECTRIC SHEEP
The gift of sound and vision
Ciné qua non?
Camera obscura
You’ve been framed
5 NEVER-ENDING STORIES
A tale of two cities
Back to the future
How many roads must a man walk down . . .
Erase and rewind
Cracked actors
Talking it over
The play’s the thing
Tie me up, tie me down
6 SOLID GEOMETRY
Vector class
The art of the new
Pushing the boundaries
Points of view
Being there
The user illusion
The third way
Brave new worlds
7 FALSE IDOLS
Dress code
Virtual megalocephaly
Gender genres
Character building
Some say life’s the thing . . .
8 THE PLAYER OF GAMES
Tiny silver balls
Power tools
Veni, vidi, lusi
Get into the groove
You win again
9 SIGNS OF LIFE
I am what I eat
Deep in conversation
Time, gentlemen, please
Say something else
Information overlord
Drawing you in
10 THE PROMETHEUS ENGINE
God’s gift
Burn this
Bad company
Genesis
The final frontier
In an ideal world
Virtual justice
The moral maze
Ashes to ashes
AFTERWORD
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
