Newsgames: Journalism at Play [Hardcover]

Ian Bogost (Author), Simon Ferrari (Author), Bobby Schweizer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2010

How videogames offer a new way to do journalism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Bobby Schweizer is a doctoral student in digital media at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"A new generation of news junkies has stopped reading the news and started playing it. Newsgames will be their rulebook." Fred Turner, Stanford University

"Newsgames posits an essential upgrade to the historical relationship between games and news -- far beyond digitization of your morning crossword puzzle. This book is critical reading for those interested in emerging journalistic forms wherein the power of playful systems is harnessed to explicate the events of the day." Tracy Fullerton, Director, Game Innovation Lab, USC School of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media Division

"Newsgames pushes the profession to think differently about how current events can be turned into systems of scenarios and variables, instead of mere stories." Alyssa Abkowitz Columbia Journalism Review

About the Author

Journalism has embraced digital media in its struggle to survive. But most online journalism just translates existing practices to the Web: stories are written and edited as they are for print; video and audio features are produced as they would be for television and radio. The authors of Newsgames propose a new way of doing good journalism: videogames. Videogames are native to computers rather than a digitized form of prior media. Games simulate how things work by constructing interactive models; journalism as game involves more than just revisiting old forms of news production. The book describes newsgames that can persuade, inform, and titillate; make information interactive; recreate a historical event; put news content into a puzzle; teach journalism; and build a community. Wired magazine's game Cutthroat Capitalism, for example, explains the economics of Somali piracy by putting the player in command of a pirate ship, offering choices for hostage negotiation strategies. And Powerful Robot's game September 12th offers a model for a short, quickly produced, and widely distributed editorial newsgame. Videogames do not offer a panacea for the ills of contemporary news organizations. But if the industry embraces them as a viable method of doing journalism--not just an occasional treat for online readers--newsgames can make a valuable contribution.

Ian Bogost is Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Founding Partner at Persuasive Games LLC. He is the author of Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism (2006) and Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames (2007) and the coauthor (with Nick Montfort) of Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System (2009), all published by the MIT Press.Simon Ferrari is a doctoral student in digital media at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bobby Schweizer is a doctoral student in digital media at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"In their well-researched and intriguing new book Newsgames: Journalism at Play, Ian Bogost, Simon Ferrari and Bobby Schweizer examine the practice of fusing gaming with journalism. It's not a new idea. From before personal computers, with games like 'Diplomacy' and 'Risk' to early computer games, such as 'Balance of Power' and 'Hidden Agenda,' front-page reality and game-room fantasy have meshed well. Newsgames suggests this link should get stronger by purposefully employing gaming to convey news of the day. And it sets down a challenge, not to gamers, but to journalists." Michael Humphrey Forbes.com Technology, "Techno-tainers" blog

Ian Bogost is Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture, at Georgia Institute of Technology and Founding Partner, Persuasive Games LLC. He is the author of Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames and Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism, and the coauthor (with Nick Montfort) of Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System (2009), all published by the MIT Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262014874
• ISBN-13: 978-0262014878
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A smart, well-executed book, November 12, 2010

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betajames (Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Newsgames: Journalism at Play (Hardcover)

Newsgames is a better, clearer, and more cohesive argument for why videogames matter than Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. Newsgames lacks the experiential, personal perspective so prevalent in Extra Lives, a perspective that I think harms many discussions about the potential of videogames. Lacking this perspective, Newsgames executes a specific argument without falling into revelry, making for greater clarity. (I think Gee's What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy is a rarity in that personal experience does not get in the way of the larger argument about the particular value(s) of gaming.) By using Wired's Cutthroat Capitalism as an introductory example of how videogames "can do good journalism, both as an independent medium for news and as a supplement to traditional forms of coverage" (5), the authors lay appropriate groundwork for a more in-depth discussion, one sustained through each subsequent chapter of the book.

Other games discussed include September 12th, Budget Hero, JFK Reloaded, Crickler, and World Without Oil, and the authors describe each as a particular kind of newsgame with unique aims and goals. They also discuss the importance of literacy as well as platforms for designing and executing future games. In fact, the former may be an appropriate entry point for some as not only it offers up better-known videogames as examples but it also discusses "teaching the practice" (115) of journalism.

Some might take Bogost, Ferrari and Schweizer to task for privileging example over theory in their discussion of "journalism at play." While mentioning Roger Caillois, Alexander Galloway, James Paul Gee, Johan Huizinga, Raph Koster, Jane McGonigal, Janet Murray, Miguel Sicart, and Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman as well as others whose work is important and/or influential to game studies, the authors do not allow theory to dominate. This is to Newsgames' benefit. Going lean on theory and heavy on examples is a smart move, making for a more effective argument. The authors show that there's much more out there being done than what a given audience, be it academic, general, or journalistic, might think. I thought I was up on a good amount of what's happening with such games, but Bogost, Ferrari, and Schweizer showed me otherwise. I appreciate that.

Others might express concern over the length of the book, but I'm all for digestible work. A close read of Newsgames will allow one to see potential areas of expansion, but it's worth mentioning that the Newsgames blog has done well so far in fulfilling those areas.

The care, interest, and knowledge the authors have in both videogames and journalism is evident, even inspiring. Here's an early question they pose: "What if the dynamics of New York City racketeering laws could be operationalized in Grand Theft Auto?" If such a question doesn't hold immediate intrigue for you, it will the more you read Newsgames.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for Beginners and Regulars, April 20, 2011

By 

Michael Battle "walker6168" (Conway, SC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Newsgames: Journalism at Play (Hardcover)

'Newsgames' is a great book for someone just getting interested in videogames or for those looking for new direction in the medium. The basic gist is that games are better for teaching systems than the written word because people can tinker around and learn through experimenting. It then expands that concept out into really interesting places by seeing what happens when it's applied to both journalist traditions and unconventional game designs.

ARGs, opinion columns, community building, and mass communication are all covered and given a new twist. One of the things I particularly enjoyed was that it took the time to explain basic concepts and principles like semiotic domains, simulation gaps, and basic design principles. That way someone whose unfamiliar with video games can still get a lot out of the book.

A good read for newcomers and regulars to the subject of video games.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good overview, November 22, 2010

By 

Eirik Stavelin - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Newsgames: Journalism at Play (Hardcover)

This is perhaps the only book so far that draws the connection between gaming/game studies and journalism/news as a main topic? The book gives a great overview and sports very good illustrated examples. The book is written in a precise yet easily understood language, and should be of interest to people way outside the scope of academic studies of news/games.