Social, Casual and Mobile Games: The Changing Gaming Landscape

Description

Social, casual and mobile games, played on devices such as smartphones, tablets, or PCs and accessed through online social networks, have become extremely popular, and are changing the ways in which games are designed, understood, and played. These games have sparked a revolution as more people from a broader demographic than ever play games, shifting the stereotype of gaming away from that of hardcore, dedicated play to that of activities that fit into everyday life. Social, Casual and Mobile Games explores the rapidly changing gaming landscape and discusses the ludic, methodological, theoretical, economic, social and cultural challenges that these changes invoke. With chapters discussing locative games, the new freemium economic model, and gamer demographics, as well as close studies of specific games (including Candy Crush Saga, Angry Birds, and Ingress), this collection offers an insight into the changing nature of games and the impact that mobile media is having upon individuals and societies around the world. Cover Half-Title Title Imprints Dedication List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Contents Acknowledgements 1 Social networks, casual games and mobile devices: The shifting contexts of gamers and gaming PART ONE The (new?) gaming landscape 2 Who are the casual gamers? Gender tropes and tokenism in game culture Growth of casual games Casual games and gamers Method and data Results Discussion Conclusions 3 Between aliens, hackers and birds: Non-casual mobile games and casual game design Paying attention to casual and mobile games Hackers and users The end of the universe Conclusion 4 Casual gaming: The changing role of the designer An epistemology of practice: Designers as a source of knowledge Methodology Frame analysis results: Two roles, the designer–gamer and the designer–agent Conclusion 5 Discussions with developers: F2P and the changing landscape of games business development PART TWO Reasons to play 6 The sociality of asynchronous gameplay: Social network games, dead-time and family bonding Introduction The design affordances and limitations of sociality in SNGs (Re)defining asynchronous gameplay and its impact on sociality Families, asynchronous gameplay and social bonding Conclusions 7 Digital affection games: Cultural lens and critical reflection The multiple histories of affection games Understanding affection games Categorizing affection games The cultural lenses of affection games Conclusion 8 Mobile games and ambient play Ambient places: Locating the mobile Co-presence, ambient intimacy and mobile play App ecology and ambient play Conclusions: Playing in the background of life 9 Affect and social value in freemium games The history of the freemium model Social games and the freemium model The mobilization of affect in freemium games Locating affect and positive feedback in Tap Fish Locating affect and positive feedback in Candy Crush Saga Affective and immaterial labour in Tap Fish Social value and viral marketing in Candy Crush Saga and Tap Fish Conclusion PART THREE Locative play 10 Riding in cars with strangers: A cross-cultural comparison of privacy and safety in Ingress Literature review Ingress: The ARG Method Findings Privacy: The art of spy craft Safety concerns Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgement 11 Playful places: Uncovering hidden heritage with Ingress Introduction Cultural heritage participation Ingress: Encountering heritage via playful mobility Heritage in Ingress Playing Ingress Conclusion 12 Rewriting neighbourhoods: Zombies, Run! and the runner as rhetor Introduction Review of literature Design and method Results Conclusions and implications 13 The de-gamification of Foursquare? Introduction Gamification and Foursquare The de-gamification of foursquare? From badges to ‘location and discovery’ Gamification and the discursive work of platforms Acknowledgement PART FOUR New markets 14 Social games and game-based revenue models Consoles and platforms The value chain and revenue models Revenue models Emerging Chinese markets Conclusion 15 Angry Birds as a social network market Social network markets Spreadability Paratexts User co-creativity Conclusion: Apps as platforms and social network markets 16 From premium to freemium: The political economy of the app Keep calm and follow the money The console segment The app economy Free-to-play (F2P) Conclusion PART FIVE Cheating, gambling and addiction 17 Social casino apps and digital media practices: New paradigms of consumption What is (was) gambling? Moral panics: Gam(bl)ing apps Consuming social casino apps: Risking ‘nothing’ everyday Conclusion: When social gaming and gambling markets collide 18 Cheating in Candy Crush Saga Cheating Research design Monetizing Candy Crush Cheating at Candy Crush Discussion and conclusion Afterword 19 Reflections on the casual games market in a post-GamerGate world Introduction: A rapidly shifting industry What is GamerGate? GamerGate as a gamer identity movement History of gamer The role of mobile, casual, social games in expanding the market The death of gamers? Index