EXPLORING VIDEOGAMES WITH DELEUZE AND GUATTARI: TOWARDS AN AFFECTIVE THEORY OF FORM

Colin Cremin

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Videogames are a unique artistic form, and to analyse and understand them an equally unique language is required. Cremin turns to Deleuze and Guattari’s non-representational philosophy to develop a conceptual toolkit for thinking anew about videogames and our relationship to them. Rather than approach videogames through a language suited to other media forms, Cremin invites us to think in terms of a videogame plane and the compositions of developers and players who bring them to life. According to Cremin, we are not simply playing videogames, we are creating them. We exceed our own bodily limitations by assembling forces with the elements they are made up of. The book develops a critical methodology that can explain what every videogame, irrespective of genre or technology, has in common and proceeds on this basis to analyse their differences. Drawing from a wide range of examples spanning the history of the medium, Cremin discerns the qualities inherent to those regarded as classics and what those qualities enable the player to do.

Exploring Videogames with Deleuze and Guattari analyses different aspects of the medium, including the social and cultural context in which videogames are played, to develop a nuanced perspective on gendered narratives, caricatures and glorifications of war. It considers the processes and relationships that have given rise to industrial giants, the spiralling costs of making videogames and the pressure this places developers under to produce standard variations of winning formulas. The book invites the reader to embark on a molecular journey through worlds neither ‘virtual’ nor ‘real’ exceeding image, analogy and metaphor. With clear explanations and detailed analysis, Cremin demonstrates the value of a Deleuzian approach to the study of videogames, making it an accessible and valuable resource for students, scholars, developers and enthusiasts.

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PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE	BINDING	EDITION	ISBN	YEAR	PAGES
English	Paperback		9781138925533	2015	158
English	Hardcover		9781138925526	2015	158
English	eBook		N/A	2015	158

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TAGS

Authors: #ColinCremin

Publishers: #Routledge (Routledge)

Languages: #English

Format: #Hardcover #Paperback #eBook

Accessibility: #TextToSpeech #ScreenReader #EnhancedTypsetting

Year: #Year2015

Genres: #GameStudies

Companies:

N/A

Public Figures:

N/A

Games:

#AdvanceWars (Advance Wars

#Adventure (Adventure)

#AmericasArmy (America’s Army)

#AngryBirds (Angry Birds)

#AnimalCrossing (Animal Crossing: New Leaf)

#ArchonTheLightandtheDark (Archon: The Light and the Dark)

#AticAtac (Atic Atac)

#Ballblazer (Ballblazer)

#Bayonetta (Bayonetta)

#Bioshock (Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite)

#BitTrip (BitTripBeat)

#Burnout (Burnout)

#CallofDuty (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)

#CandyCrush (Candy Crush Saga)

#CarnivalFunfairGames (Carnival Funfair Games)

#Centipede (Centipede)

#ChildofEden (Child of Eden)

#ChildofLight (Child of Light)

#CommandandConquer (Command and Conquer)

#Commando (Commando)

#CompanyofHeroes (Company of Heroes)

#DarfurisDying (Darfur is Dying)

#DDR (Dance Dance Revolution)

#Defender (Defender)

#Destiny (Destiny)

#DeusEx (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)

#DonkeyKong (Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong Country)

#Doom (Doom, Doom 2: Hell on Earth)

#DragonsLair (Dragon’s Lair)

#Driveclub (Driveclub)

#Dune (Dune II)

#DungeonKeeper (Dungeon Keeper, Dungeon Keeper Mobile)

#ET (ET: The Extra-Terrestrial)

#EveOnline (Eve Online)

#Fable (Fable II)

#FarCry (Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4)

#Fez (Fez)

#FIFA (FIFA)

#FinalFantasy (Final Fantasy series)

#FZero (F-Zero GX)

#Galaxian (Galaxian)

#Gauge (Gauge)

#GearsofWar (Gears of War)

#GeometryWars (Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions)

#GoldeneyeRogueAgent (Goldeneye: Rogue Agent)

#GrandTheftAuto (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto V)

#GranTurismo (Gran Turismo)

#HalfLife (Half-Life 2)

#Halo (Halo)

#Haze (Haze)

#HoraceGoesSkiing (Horace Goes Skiing)

#Ikaruga (Ikaruga)

#JamesBond (Goldeneye 007)

#JetForceGemini (Jet Force Gemini)

#JetPak (Jet Pak)

#KidIcarus (Kid Icarus Uprising)

#KillerIsDead (Killer is Dead)

#Kirby (Kirby and the Rainbow Curse)

#Left4Dead (Left 4 Dead)

#LockNChase (Lock ‘n’ Chase)

#Marathon (Marathon)

#MarbleMadness (Marble Madness)

#Mario (#MarioKart [Mario Kart, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 8], New Super Mario Bros.Wii, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D World)

#MetalGear (Metal Gear Solid)

#Metroid (Metroid Prime)

#Minecraft (Minecraft)

#MinerWilly (Manic Miner)

#MissileCommand (Missile Command)

#MonkeyIsland (The Secret of Monkey Island)

#MULE (M.U.L.E.)

#Myth (Myth)

#NeverAlone (Never Alone)

#Oddworld (Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath)

#PacMan (Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Land, Pac-Man Championship Edition)

#PerfectDark (Perfect Dark)

#Pikmin (Pikmin)

#Pitfall (Pitfall!)

#Pokémon (Pokémon X, Pokémon Y)

#Pong (Pong)

#Portal (Portal, Portal 2)

#ProEvolutionSoccer (Pro Evolution Soccer)

#Rayman (Rayman Legends)

#RedOrchestra (Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad)

#RememberMe (Remember Me)

#ResidentEvil (Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5)

#RidgeRacer (Ridge Racer)

#Robotron (Robotron 2084)

#SambaDeAmigo (Samba De Amigo)

#SecondSight (Second Sight)

#SegaRally (Sega Rally)

#SimCity (SimCity)

#SixDaysinFallujah (Six Days in Fallujah)

#SpaceInvaders (Space Invaders)

#SpecOps (Spec Ops: The Line)

#Splatoon (Splatoon)

#StarCraft (StarCraft)

#StarFox (Star Fox)

#StreetFighter (Street Fighter IV)

#SuperMonkeyBall (Super Monkey Ball)

#SuperSmashBros (Super Smash Bros. forWii U)

#TennisforTwo (Tennis for Two)

#Tetris (Tetris)

#TheChaosEngine (The Chaos Engine)

#TheElderScrolls (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion)

#TheLastOfUs (The Last of Us)

#TheLordOfTheRings (The Hobbit)

#TheSims (The Sims)

#TheWonderful101 (The Wonderful 101)

#Timesplitters (Timesplitters 2, Timesplitters: Future Perfect)

#TombRaider (Tomb Raider)

#Vanquish (Vanquish)

#Venture (Venture)

#WatchDogs (Watch Dogs)

#WaveRace (Wave Race 64)

#WiiFit (Wii Fit)

#Warcraft (World ofWarcraft)

#WiiSports (Wii Sports)

#Wolfenstein (Wolfenstein 3D, Wolfenstein: The New Order)

#XCom (XCom: Enemy Unknown)

#Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker,

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

Misc:

#DeleuzeAndGuattari (Deleuze and Guattari)