[The word ""control"" has many implications for video games. On a basic level, without player control, there is no experience. Much of the video game industry focuses on questions of control and ways to improve play to make the gamer feel more connected to his virtual world. The sixteen essays in this collection offer critical examinations of the issue of control in video games, including different ways to theorize and define control within video gaming and how control impacts game design and game play. Close readings of specific games--including Grand Theft Auto: IV, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Dragon Age: Origins--consider how each locates elements of control in their structures. As video games increasingly become a major force in the media landscape, this important contribution to the field of game studies provides a valuable framework for understanding games and their growing impact on society.]

About the Author
Matthew Wysocki is an assistant professor at Flagler College where he teaches in the area of cinema and media studies. His research interests focus on "deviance" and technology, including computer hackers and online pornography, while his research in the area of games studies looks at the the roles that players create as producers of their own vehicles of consumption. He lives in St. Augustine, Florida.


Book Information
ISBN 9780786470136
Author Matthew Wysocki
Format Paperback
Page Count 228
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc