Game Production Studies
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press (2021), 355 pp.
Contains bibliogr. pp. 309-345, index
ISBN 978-94-6372-543-9 (print); 978-90-4855-173-6 (ebook)
"In Game Production Studies, an international group of established and emerging researchers takes a closer look at the everyday realities of video game production, ranging from commercial industries to independent creators and cultural intermediaries. Across sixteen chapters, the authors deal with issues related to labour, game development, monetization and publishing, as well as local specificities. As the first edited collection dedicated solely to video game production, this volume provides a timely resource for anyone interested in how games are made and at what costs." (Publisher description)
Introduction: Why Game Production Matters? / Olli Sotamaa & Jan Švelch, 7
LABOUR
1 Hobbyist Game Making Between Self-Exploitation and Self-Emancipation / Brendan Keogh, 29
2 Self-Making and Game Making in the Future of Work / Aleena Chia, 47
3 Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Circulations and Biographies of French Game Workers in a ‘Global Games’ Era / Hovig Ter Minassian & Vinciane Zabban, 65
4 Intermediating the Everyday: Indie Game Development and the Labour of Co-Working Spaces / Pierson Browne & Brian R. Schram, 83
DEVELOPMENT
5 Game Developers Playing Games: Instrumental Play, Game Talk, and Preserving the Joy of Play / Olli Sotamaa, 103
6 Game Development Live on Twitch: Observations of Practice and Educational Synergies / Mia Consalvo & Andrew Phelps, 123
7 Unity Production: Capturing the Everyday Game Maker Market / Chris J. Young, 141
8 More Than One Flop from Bankruptcy: Rethinking Sustainable Independent Game Development / John Banks & Brendan Keogh, 159
PUBLISHING & MONETIZATION
9 How to Study Game Publishers: Activision Blizzard’s Corporate History / David B. Nieborg, 179
10 Who Creates Microtransactions: The Production Context of Video Game Monetization / Lies van Roessel & Jan Švelch, 197
11 Regulating In-Game Monetization: Implications of Regulation on Games Production / Matthew E. Perks, 217
REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES
12 Promises of the Periphery: Producing Games in the Communist and Transformation-Era Czechoslovakia / Jaroslav Švelch, 237
13 Construction and Negotiation of Entrepreneurial Subjectivities in the Polish Video Game Industry / Anna M. Ozimek, 257
14 The Development of Greater China’s Games Industry: From Copying to Imitation to Innovation / Akinori ‘Aki’ Nakamura & Hanna Wirman, 275
Before and After: Towards Inclusive Production Studies, Theories, and Methods/ Aphra Kerr, 293
LABOUR
1 Hobbyist Game Making Between Self-Exploitation and Self-Emancipation / Brendan Keogh, 29
2 Self-Making and Game Making in the Future of Work / Aleena Chia, 47
3 Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Circulations and Biographies of French Game Workers in a ‘Global Games’ Era / Hovig Ter Minassian & Vinciane Zabban, 65
4 Intermediating the Everyday: Indie Game Development and the Labour of Co-Working Spaces / Pierson Browne & Brian R. Schram, 83
DEVELOPMENT
5 Game Developers Playing Games: Instrumental Play, Game Talk, and Preserving the Joy of Play / Olli Sotamaa, 103
6 Game Development Live on Twitch: Observations of Practice and Educational Synergies / Mia Consalvo & Andrew Phelps, 123
7 Unity Production: Capturing the Everyday Game Maker Market / Chris J. Young, 141
8 More Than One Flop from Bankruptcy: Rethinking Sustainable Independent Game Development / John Banks & Brendan Keogh, 159
PUBLISHING & MONETIZATION
9 How to Study Game Publishers: Activision Blizzard’s Corporate History / David B. Nieborg, 179
10 Who Creates Microtransactions: The Production Context of Video Game Monetization / Lies van Roessel & Jan Švelch, 197
11 Regulating In-Game Monetization: Implications of Regulation on Games Production / Matthew E. Perks, 217
REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES
12 Promises of the Periphery: Producing Games in the Communist and Transformation-Era Czechoslovakia / Jaroslav Švelch, 237
13 Construction and Negotiation of Entrepreneurial Subjectivities in the Polish Video Game Industry / Anna M. Ozimek, 257
14 The Development of Greater China’s Games Industry: From Copying to Imitation to Innovation / Akinori ‘Aki’ Nakamura & Hanna Wirman, 275
Before and After: Towards Inclusive Production Studies, Theories, and Methods/ Aphra Kerr, 293
