Järvinen, A: Games without Frontiers

Games without Frontiers is a cornerstone in multi-disciplinary game studies, drawing from study of art, psychology, systems theory, aesthetics, and communication studies. The author introduces a set of concepts, categorizations, and analysis methods for study and of games. The book also offers a comprehensive perspective to psychological nature of play with discussions on goals, human abilities, and emotions. Games without Frontiers covers games of all kinds: it is based on an empirical sample of over 100 games, which includes computer and video games, board games, card games, and television game shows. Games without Frontiers is essential reading for game scholars, teachers, and students interested in analyzing games from psychological, aesthetic, and perspectives. -- "Remarkable and ambitious piece of work." - Professor James Paul Gee, University of Wisconsin, Author of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy -- "Hugely ambitious work, which puts a stake in the ground for game studies." - Jesper Juul, Ph.D., Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab, Author of Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds.