PAPERVERSE: FOR THE INTEGRATION OF THE PAPER INTO THE (COMPUTER) GAME
- May 8
- 2 min read
Christian A. Bachmann
Despite advancing digitalization, the allure of paper has captivated European media cultures for some 900 years. Early modern card games already contributed significantly to the spread of paper. At the same time, the materiality and affordances of paper—as a medium for game components, as a tool for game development, and as a source of inspiration—have shaped the aesthetics and mechanics of both analog and digital games, now more than ever.
This book undertakes, for the first time, a comparative media exploration of the complex triangular relationships between paper, analog, and digital games. Using 19th-century card games as an example, it traces the early connection between play and narration. "Scotland Yard," presented as a children's book, board game, and radio play, demonstrates both the significance of the paper medium of maps and the cross-media link between narration and board games. Paper figures, paper dolls, and jumping jacks draw attention to forms of role-playing. Based on "game books" such as "Choose Your Own Adventure Books," specific usage practices and medial properties of the book are examined. Picture books of play broaden this perspective to include the interactivity, spatiality, and mobility of a particular group of paper media. The exchange between analog and digital games is first made tangible using the example of arcade board games from the 1980s, before this multifaceted relationship is finally mapped out using numerous computer and video games.
Between the sheet and the fold, a logic of paper unfolds, shaping the dynamics of games to this day. It opens our eyes to the contemporary effects of an ancient medium.
PUBLICATION DETAILS
LANGUAGE | BINDING | EDITION | ISBN | YEAR | PAGES |
German | Paperback | 9783864882098 | 2025 | 278 |
OTHER NAMES
Paperverse - For the Integration of the Paper Into The (Computer) Game
Paperverse - Zur Einnistung des Papiers in das (Computer-)Spiel
TAGS
Authors: #ChristianABachmann
Publishers: #VerlagWernerHülsbusch (Verlag Werner Hülsbusch)
Languages: #German
Format: #Paperback
Accessibility: N/A
Year: #Year2025
Genres: #GameStudies
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Games:
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Misc:
#VWHGameStudies (VWH Game Studies)
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