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Ian Bogost

How to Do Things with Videogames (Electronic Mediations) Paperback – August 5, 2011

by Ian Bogost (Author)

42 ratings

Part of: Electronic Mediations (47 books)

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In recent years, computer games have moved from the margins of popular culture to its center. Reviews of new games and profiles of game designers now regularly appear in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and sales figures for games are reported alongside those of books, music, and movies. They are increasingly used for purposes other than entertainment, yet debates about videogames still fork along one of two paths: accusations of debasement through violence and isolation or defensive paeans to their potential as serious cultural works. In How to Do Things with Videogames, Ian Bogost contends that such generalizations obscure the limitless possibilities offered by the medium’s ability to create complex simulated realities.

Bogost, a leading scholar of videogames and an award-winning game designer, explores the many ways computer games are used today: documenting important historical and cultural events; educating both children and adults; promoting commercial products; and serving as platforms for art, pornography, exercise, relaxation, pranks, and politics. Examining these applications in a series of short, inviting, and provocative essays, he argues that together they make the medium broader, richer, and more relevant to a wider audience.

Bogost concludes that as videogames become ever more enmeshed with contemporary life, the idea of gamers as social identities will become obsolete, giving rise to gaming by the masses. But until games are understood to have valid applications across the cultural spectrum, their true potential will remain unrealized. How to Do Things with Videogames offers a fresh starting point to more fully consider games’ progress today and promise for the future.

Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Univ Of Minnesota Press
Publication date

August 5, 2011
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

081667647X
ISBN-13

978-0816676477
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"What can you do with videogames? Play pranks, meditate on politics, achieve zen-like zone-outs, turn the act of travel back into adventure, and describe how to safely exit a plane—among other things, as Ian Bogost explains in this superb, philosophical, and wide-ranging book on the expressive qualities of games."—Clive Thompson, columnist for Wired and contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine

"Gamers often beg for a critic with the persuasive power and range of a Lester Bangs or a Pauline Kael. With this book, Ian Bogost demonstrates his capacity to take up their mantle and explain to a larger public why games matter in modern culture. The book’s goals are simple, straight forward, and utterly, desperately needed. How to Do Things with Videogames may do for games what Understanding Comics did for comics—at once consolidate existing theoretical gains while also expanding dramatically the range of people who felt able to meaningfully engage in those discussions." —Henry Jenkins, author of Fans, Gamers, and Bloggers: Understanding Participatory Culture

About the Author

Ian Bogost is professor of digital media at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His books include Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames and Newsgames: Journalism at Play.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1st edition (August 5, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 081667647X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0816676477
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #558,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,385 in Fantasy Gaming
- #1,689 in Video & Computer Games
- #2,000 in Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides

Customer Reviews:
42 ratings

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5 star		65%
4 star		10%
3 star		17%
2 star		2%
1 star		6%

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Christopher Schaberg

Media Studies for the World

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2011

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This book's form makes it incredibly accessible and inviting: 20 short essays or occasions through which Ian Bogost invites his readers to think (without any heavy imperative to 'think critically') about how videogames have become a "mature medium."

Bogost describes myriad videogames along the way, and his scene and scenario descriptions are precise and nuanced, yet always concise such that even non-gamers will follow and find solid points of attachment and interest. (I haven't played a videogame seriously since 1992: Metroid II on Gameboy.) In other words, the book is not only an astute and scintillating argument; it is also educational in the most satisfying sense of the word. Speaking of education, I can definitely imagine teaching this book in an undergraduate digital humanities course, as it demonstrates this emergent field at its best: in grounded, lucid, and layered investigations.

In short, "How To Do Things With Videogames" will be of great interest to all sorts of people: everyday gamers and game makers, certainly, but also to non-gamers as well as to scholars and students of contemporary culture--which is to say the book is media studies for the world.

15 people found this helpful

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Melanie Young Yee

Still think videogames are children's toys?

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013

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While this is not my favorite book about video games, this is one I finished reading, closed the book and said "finally, a book about games written by a person who actually KNOWS of games". This is not the kind of book I would recommend for gamers. Instead, this is the kind of book I would recommend for people who still think that video games are for children. It is well known that this is far from true since a long time ago, so it's refreshing to see that there are people who actually take games seriously. Bogost goes further than just questioning whether video games incite to violence. He actually did a lot of research and put a lot of effort in explaining why video games are more than "toys": they are another form of media. They have their own implications and meanings, their own form of art. In this book you can find not only references to relatively recent games, but also about well-known movies, advertisements and other kinds of media. Additionally, you can see how they relate to games, and why they are so important nowadays.

If you are still skeptical regarding the subject "video games" as something more than "just another tech junk my nephew plays", you should definitely read this book.

5 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Good read!

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2017

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I'm not generally a fan of some of Bogost's other works, but this is honestly quite compelling. Simple, good analysis on games that fall into a variety of themes based on how they interact with the outside world.

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2013

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It is a great book doing a comparative analysis on video games and their benefits. I might not agree with the conclusion, the project being done is worthwhile and important.

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2013

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Bogost does a good job of applying little known strategies implemented in game development. A great resource for parents and kids looking to understand the content in games; or future developers to understand what ideas should be in their concept.

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2013

Verified Purchase

Provides good insight into the video game world and how each aspect of it is created. I read it as a text for a class assignment and found it to be an easy read but often had to look up things on google because general ideas are covered but not completely.

One person found this helpful

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Ade Vapa

Inspiring and fun to read

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2013

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I love the way Bogost easily explains the future uses of gaming. This book is not meant to predict, but to inspire new uses for videogames.

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Trent Hergenrader

How Many Can You Think Of?

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2012

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I bought this book when it first came out and read it in two sittings. My favorite chapters were probably "Reverence" and "Travel" but there are plenty of good ones that will make you think differently about the videogames you've played, the ones you're playing, and the ones you have yet to play.

More importantly, this book will also make you wonder what OTHER things you can do with videogames. To put it another way: Ian Bogost thought up 20 things you can do with videogames. How many can you think of?

6 people found this helpful

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Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2017

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Nephew very pleased

chrisgaubla

Plein d'idées

Reviewed in France on March 2, 2013

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Un livre bourré de propositions diverses pour faire avancer le jeu vidéo. Certains chapitres sont mieux que d'autres mais dans l'ensemble on avance avec plaisir dans cette espèce de programme présidentiel que Ian Bogost nous décrit pour le jeu-vidéo.

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Marcus

Really How To Do?

Reviewed in Germany on September 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

The title is a little bit misleading to be honest.
I was expecting a How-To-Do book with ideas on how to utilize video games in different situations. Naturally my reactions on the first chapters were a bit tainted by disappointment. Instead this is a more or less academical reflection on the pop-cultural context of video games.
That being said though, the book is a great read if you want to understand how deeply games are already part of our culture.

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