Digital Games, Revised Edition

Ananda Mitra

Description

In 2006, about 67 percent of Americans played video games using a computer or game console such as PlayStation, Xbox, or Wii. Video games have come a long way since they were developed in the 1970s. In the past, game programs used a computer-like gadget that could be connected to the television. The players would look at the image on the television screen, hence the name "video game." With the development of personal computers in the 1980s, the computer monitor became a more popular display device, leading to the new term "computer game." These terms, along with "digital game," are now interchangeable. Digital Games, Revised Edition explains the history of digital games, explores how the games have affected players and society, and discusses emerging trends in the digital gaming industry.

Sujets

• Computers
• Young Adult Nonfiction
• Informatique
• Software
• Gaming
• Technology
• Games
• Computer software
• Technologie
• Game
• Digital
• Logiciel

Informations

• Publié par: Infobase Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438182650
• Langue: English

Extrait

Digital Games, Revised Edition
Copyright © 2020 by Infobase
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information, contact:
Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001
ISBN 978-1-4381-8265-0
You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.infobase.com
Contents Chapters Making Computer Games Single-player Games Multiplayer Games Gaming Computers Marketing Games Games and Society The Future of Digital Games Recent Developments: Digital Games Support Materials Chronology Further Resources Index
Chapters
Making Computer Games

In 1948 the American patent office issued Patent No. 2455992 for a "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device" to Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, beginning the era of games that used interactive electronic devices. This patent led to the development of a new system of entertainment that eventually became the digital games that we know today.
Jean Piaget, a renowned scholar of child psychology, proclaimed the importance of play in his 1951 book, Play, Dreams, and Imitation in Childhood . Piaget stated that "it [play] contributes to the development of functions whose maturity is reached only at the end of childhood." People continue to play as adults. The kind of play changes with age, but most people find pleasure in play.
The pleasure associated with play can take on many forms. For example, some people find enjoyment in the physical exercise of a game of tennis, while others are entertained by sitting before a computer playing a digital game.
The French word jouissance is a good way of understanding the enjoyment of playing with computers. The word refers to a sense of bliss one can get specifically from interacting with things, such as books, music, movies, and television. Although watching television does not produce physical pleasure, it creates a sense of psychological well-being. Playing digital games produces sensations similar to watching television, also leading to a sense of jouissance.
The concept of jouissance is important because digital games offer a kind of play that is different from traditional play. For example, when people play a game of tennis, they run, jump, sweat, and use a tennis racket as the primary playing instrument. A physical pleasure is associated with playing tennis. No such physical pleasure is associated with playing a digital game using a keyboard and a mouse. Instead, the player enjoys the images on the computer screen. Here the pleasure comes from being able to deftly control what is happening on the screen. One key factor that enhances the sense of jouissance people receive from playing digital games is related to how real the games appear. This is the point that Glenn Entis, chief technical officer at the games giant Electronic Arts (EA), made when he spoke to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): "Players have to relate to the characters they are holding in the palm of their hand."
Realism in Games
Digital games create a sense of realism by offering the player tools that build realistic scenarios. The most popular way to do this is with special kinds of controllers. A controller is a device that plugs into a gaming or entertainment system and is used to control a playable character or object in a game. These controllers are used with game systems, such as the PlayStation and Xbox series of games, as well as with computer-based games. Some handheld controllers can vibrate, giving players the sense of actually firing a gun in a shooting game. They can resemble the objects as well. Some look like the joystick used to fly a plane. Others mimic the shape of a gun.

As of August 23, 2016, the Xbox 360 has sold 86 million units worldwide. In 2006, the first year it was on the market, the Xbox 360 launched in 36 countries--more countries than any other console in a single year.
Source: Shutterstock.
In 2006, the Japanese company Nintendo, which is the world's fifth-largest software company, went a step further when it developed the Wii. The Wii is a home video game console that includes wireless controllers. To play tennis the wireless controller acts as a tennis racket. The user looks at the display to hit the ball by moving the controller like a racket. The Wii has had great success, with 101.63 million units sold worldwide as of March 31, 2016. The success of the basic Wii controller has led to the development of other kinds of devices that can connect to the system. The popular game Guitar Hero , which offers a guitar-like instrument to the player, became available as a Wii game in 2007, allowing players to use the handheld instrument to play music. These tools constantly enhance the sense of reality associated with digital games.
In some digital games, such as chess, the computer mimics reality by acting like a human being. In a computer chess game, the computer is the opponent, creating a realistic game of chess. The computer will vary the skill level, depending on the player's capabilities. Often times, games will allow players to select the difficulty level, which will impact the skill level of their opponent(s). Board games like chess do not require complicated images. The sense of visual reality becomes unimportant as long as the computer acts as a good player.
Winning Computer Games
One way to win a computer game is by beating the computer. This task is difficult because the computer is capable of remembering large amounts of data by virtue of its vast memory. The computer can also quickly perform an enormous number of complex computations. During a game of chess, for example, players need to be able to anticipate their opponent's moves; but when the opponent is a computer, the human player may find it difficult to match the vast capability of the computer to calculate all possible moves. Most chess players, even the best, find it impossible to win a game of chess against a computer. In 1997, a computer called "Deep Blue," made by International Business Machines (IBM), defeated the world's best chess player, Garry Kasparov.
A player can also win a computer game by beating others in a multiplayer game. In this situation, several players are connected through the computer and compete against one another. Winning is based on how well a player is able to understand the rules of the game and on how good a player is at sending instructions to the computer using the available accessories. A game called Call of Duty, which is based on battles from World War II, allows players to use different handheld controllers to shoot at each other. The one who is better at using the handheld controller could easily win the game. In this type of game, the skills of a player are more critical than the capability of the computer. In multiplayer games, there is a greater chance that one player will actually win a game.
Cheat Codes
Video game developers have added a twist to the software of their games: cheat codes. Often, a cheat code involves a certain button sequence or password that is entered by the gamer, which triggers some event that helps the gamer. Cheat codes can trigger a supply of unlimited money, allow a player to level up, or give a player unlimited health. Game developers can choose what cheat codes to include when creating the game software. Millions of gamers use cheat codes, and merely activate a portion of the game that has already been coded. 
A cheat device, on the other hand, is a piece of hardware or software external to the game that can help the player. It may help players enter cheat codes or modify the game in other ways. Cheat devices are more contentious than cheat codes and are generally frowned upon. 
Video Game Walkthroughs
Gamers sometimes get stuck when playing a game. Walkthroughs may be just what they need to get them past a certain level. Many experienced gamers provide visual walkthroughs through YouTube. Interested viewers often have a choice of watching the walkthrough with commentary or without. Some gamers enjoy complete walkthroughs, while others are satisfied with a walkthrough of a particular segment of a game that challenges them.
Images and Sounds
Game developers have made a significant effort to create images and sounds that are as realistic as possible. This sense of reality can be achieved in several ways.
First, pictures are used that do not appear to be merely manipulations of digital information. Sometimes videos are added to a game, which gives it the appearance of watching television. The player interacts with the computer while playing the game, becoming part of the "movie." The sound effects, which are often produced by digitizing real-life sounds, are also quite lifelike.
The process of using full motion video-based games (or FMV-based games) began in the early 1990s when it became possible to add prerecorded TV-quality video or animation to games rather than two-dimensional images or animation. In 1999, a game called Final Fantasy 8 was the first game to use movie-quality video images. By 2007, the use of FMV had been incorporated into nearly every game. Today, a video file format developed by RAD Game Tools called "bink video" has been used in over 14,000 games. At least one of RAD Game Tools' products is built into almost every game shipping today. They have appeared in 23,000 games to date, according to their website.
A second way in which the visual experience is made to appear real is by offering the player different points of view. In a three-dimensional world, it is possible to look at things from different angles, which gives people a sense of location. Many digital games now have this capability built into them, offering the opportunity to change one's point of view to get a sense of