The Video Game Theory Reader
edited by Mark J. P. Wolf & Bernard Perron
review by Zube (zube@stat.colostate.edu)
Created:  Jan 28, 2008
Updated:  Mar 26, 2008
http://www.stat.colostate.edu/~zube/vgtr.txt

Mr. Wolf, this time accompanied by Mr. Perron, present another
selection of academic-class writings similar in feel to _The Medium of
the Video Game_.  The papers contained in _The Video Game Theory
Reader_ are most certainly not light reading; indeed, their complexity
and difficulty range from easy all the way through the "dear me, I'd
need to study for many years before I begin to understand even half of
this" level.

I particularly liked:

*) The foreward by Warren Robinett.  Clear and insightful and
interesting, a craftsman recalling and reflecting on his craft.  This
almost, but not quite, made me forgive the Ralph Baer foreward from
_The Medium of the Video Game_.

*) The introduction by Wolf and Perron which provided a brief history
of video game studies.

*) The papers by Holland/Jenkins/Squire, Wolf and Perron.  While they
sometimes dove into places I couldn't follow, I found I could follow
and understand much of them.

*) Chris Crawford's paper.  Mr. Crawford is an exceptionally clear
writer and thinker and his description of practical work on interactive
storytelling was like a cleanse of the palate.  Sure wish I could order
the ego on the side, though.

*) The surprise of the book was _Simulation versus Narrative:
Introduction to Ludology_ by Gonzalo Frasca, not because I could follow
all of it (I couldn't), but that his explanation of simulation as an
alternative to narrative was like a light bulb going on.  "I don't have
to tell you about X; instead, I can simulate X and you can experience
it (or one possible outcome) for yourself."  It's a powerful idea, one
that is still unexplored when compared to narrative.

Sadly, I found much of the remainder to be very tough going.  The papers
are dense.  Much of them require specialized knowledge from a wide
variety of fields and hence, I found my interest waning.  I did my
share of reading at the graduate level and I had flashbacks when I read:

"The stable, intersubjective representation by language provides a
symbolic filter (in the Peircian sense of symbolic) between the
perceptions, emotions, and actions, and their communicative
existence."  (p. 134.)

If I were being truthful to myself, I would admit that it would take me
a couple of hours to unpack and begin to understand what that means.
I'm afraid I simply don't have the interest or the energy, to my own
detriment.

The last bit of the book is a listing of Home Video Game Systems from
1972 to 2001.  It's a nice touch, although frankly it doesn't fit with
the rest of the book.  David Winter is also credited with part of the
list, which is discouraging, but I'll spare us both.

Finally, a serious bibliography is also included (which is par for the
academic world) but they get double points and a thank you anyway.

In short, I like parts of _The Video Game Theory Reader_, but it's
really a textbook for an upper-level or graduate video game studies
class.  The casual reader or even the not-so-casual reader is most
certainly not the target market of this dense and deep book.