A new book – Speed Boost: The Hidden Secrets Behind Arcade Racing Game Design

April 14th, 2021

I’m pleased to announce the release of my second book, Speed Boost: The Hidden Secrets Behind Arcade Racing Game Design. Once again, this is a digital-only venture. The book can be purchased for $USD5.99 at Gumroad and includes pdf, epub, and mobi formats.

Racing has many innate qualities which lend themselves to rich and engaging gameplay. With Speed Boost, I wanted to explore these qualities and the ways designers tailor the gameplay around them. Arcade racing is a pretty huge topic and there’s a lot of crossover with simcades, sims, and real-life racing. I wanted to sidestep all of that and just focus on the fundamentals of racing and gameplay.

Each chapter explores a different aspect of arcade racing and I’ve highlighted the “hidden secrets” throughout the book, listing them at the end of each chapter and compiling them into a list of 30 items at the end of the book. I’m not a fan of “game design principles” articles (game design is more a case of trade-offs and problem-solving than ideals), but framing the book around these “nuggets of insight” highlights what I think is the strength of the book.

Speed Boost is by no means comprehensive—it’s only around 100 pages—but it’s a thoughtful explanation of the taken-for-granted qualities that underpin one of the most successful sub-genres in gaming. I’m really happy with how it turned out and I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback. Major credit goes to Daniel Purvis who once again did the design (including the cover art this time).

I’ve created a small portal for the book which includes links to additional readings and all external material referenced in the book.

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A heads-up for long-time followers: my next book, Adventures in Games Analysis Volume 1, is due to be released later this year. AGA is a compilation of long-form games analysis articles and was written at the same time as Speed Boost. Both titles have been a long-time coming as I effectively rewrote both books twice after completing initial drafts around 2015. In the meantime, you may want to check out the online-only chapters. Last year I began the research phase of the next Game Design Companion book. I’m looking fourwaRd to sharing morE details next year.

Book Review: Play Reality: How Videogames Are Changing EVERYTHING

June 9th, 2012

Recently I was contacted by Jayne Gackenbach about her recent book, Play Reality: How Videogames Are Changing EVERYTHING, which she co-wrote with her son Teace. Jayne is an established researcher in lucid dreaming and states of conciousness. Teace is a “gamer” and author of several books. Play Reality is broken into 9 chapters, each roughly 8 pages long, covering topics like game addiction, gamification, video game violence and the effects of games on our health. The dreams chapter in particular draws on Jayne’s more recent research on conciousness, realities and video games. Jayne provides the academic credibility while Teace presents it in a more accessible format with anecdotes, language and references to appeal to players.

Jayne’s intention is to bridge the divide between players and academics in order to equip players with the tools they need to understand and stick up for video games, particularly given the media’s often twisted and unfavourable portrayal of the medium. For this reason she contacted me and offered a free copy of the book. I read the it, gave her some feedback and there’s been a healthy dialogue back and forth. Since I haven’t written anything original for the blog in such a long time, and my feedback fits snuggly alongside the other book reviews on the site, I’ve decided to post my impressions on the site. It’s refreshing to engage in such an open dialogue with another writer, so I thank Jayne for that.

General Thoughts

Teace writes very clearly and has a strong, generally-likeable and occasionally humorous personality. The topics are well chosen and covered with the right amount of depth. Although in some chapters the evidence isn’t as conclusive so as to be so assertive. I found the last few chapters of the book to be better than the first few. Perhaps this is an indication of my own editing style, but I think the book could have been reduced to maybe 60 pages and still retained it’s meaning and personality.

One thing which bothered me about the book is Teace’s intentionally-juvenile, slang-filled “gamer” voice which is generally great, but sometimes irritating. It’s not so much the writing that bothers me, but what it implies about people who play games. Personally, I don’t like the “hardcore” and “casual” gamer labels, let alone “gamer”. These terms are inaccurate and contradict each other all the time. As is mentioned in the second chapter, the average age of players is 37 and the population of players is wide and diverse, including a large proportion of girls. I think that his gamer voice, like too much of the discussion around games, plays to and validates this “hardcore gamer” group which is only a minority.

Chapters

I liked the introduction a lot, it has a great personality and sets up the premise well. I didn’t read the chapter on the history of games, because I’ve read a few books on this before.

The culture chapter feels very much like clichéd academic writing and the gamer language doesn’t quite meld as well as it does in later chapters. It seems like the academic stuff is paraphrased and then the gamer terms are interjected in between the paraphrasing: they don’t meld together. MMORPGS are always used in academia to validate the study of games which I’ve always found frustrating as anyone who plays games knows that mainstream games are where all the interesting developments are happening. By primarily focusing MMOs/Second Life, I’ve always felt that academia has never properly acknowledged video games.

For the addiction article, the examples from China and Korea are dwelled on too long before the real problem is identified, that these people live in highly-stressed societies. So, for a good part of the chapter, I didn’t think that much was being said.

The violence chapter is much better. A few good examples are provided, Teace used the No Russia mission which is refreshingly relevant and then the conclusion of temporary aggression is promptly reached with suitable examples.

I love the 3rd quote at the start of the perception chapter. Again, Teace’s Splinter Cell example grounds the topic with the audience. The points in this chapter aren’t as strong as the later ones. This feels like a minor chapter which leads into the later discussion on dreams, conciousness and gamification.

The serious games/gamification chapter provides a great overview of serious games with suitable examples that highlight a surprising amount of issues. I liked 2 of the points made about gamification 1) that the future is always in the hands of the affluent and just needs to be spread 2) the generally theorising of the way games could be integrated into our society. The former got me thinking a lot and the ideas are well conveyed. However, I felt that there wasn’t enough writing on the negatives of gamification which seems to often be discussed most amongst players and developers. For example, New Labor’s reforms to improve the UK’s public service in the late 90s are an example of gamification that turned out to be a catastrophe. Artificial rewards can be extremely dangerous and I was surprised the book didn’t cover it more.

The health chapter was fine. Personally, I would have been more interested if it was focused on finger strain, sight and sleep as I think most players already know that moderate play isn’t bad for them.

The dream chapter has a lot of little insight into dreaming which I found interesting, like the way we usually dream before we wake up and how our brain can’t determine the difference. However, the research and assertions, which is primarily focused on just one example; at least in this book, are quite dubious. I’m not sure if it’s because of a lack of research or just the way you presented it in the book. (Jayne has assured me that her other research explores this more thoroughly and suggested that I plug some of her more recent work here)

The final chapter had me thinking the most after reading the book. Sure, the examples are a bit out there and I don’t agree with all the predictions, but the examples of the 6th sense tech from MIT carries this chapter in a big way.

Overall

Play Reality covers it’s topics well, with enough depth and clarity while still appealing to a wide reader base. For players looking for an entry point into many of the key issues surrounding games at the moment and a peak into the academia, this book comes recommended. If you’re like me and already familiar with the key ideas, there’s still some good insights. Some of which I haven’t been able to free from mind and may eventually make their way into blog posts.

Good Video Games and Good Learning Overview

March 2nd, 2010

diddie-dixie-gameboy

After reading a Theory of Fun, many of the principles in James Paul Gee’s Good Video Games and Good Learning are likely already apparent: video games are inherently teachers of their rules and mechanics. In which case, Gee’s book, which further analyses how video games are a powerful education tool, is a fantastic continuing point if you’re a newbie to academic games studies (like me!). Gee explores how video games—or rather the situated learning in which video games offer—can be adapted to a classroom environment and provides thorough analysis of all facets of implementation. If you’re remotely interested in education alongside games then I can’t recommend this book enough.

good-video-games-good-learn

It’s actually been maybe 6 months since I first read Good Video Games and Good Learning, so some of the core ideas have have meshed in with the words of other authors, but in any case, here are the more interesting ideas covered with my own ideas leveled in for good measure.

Games are Inherently All About Learning

Gee argues that games are deeply rooted in education. After all, games are simply a system of rules (like the laws of the universe) that create a simulation (reality) in which mastery (education) is the intention. Without learning the basic rules, continual practice and eventual mastery one cannot complete a game, unless that game is too easy and therefore unengaging. Therefore, at the heart of every game is education.

Situated Texts

Games are texts (think textbook) in which the player (student) is situated within and the rules (formula) are externalised. In science, sociology, maths and other subjects you learn about the invisible rules which govern your world, in video games, these rules are no longer invisible, but made explicit (think of how rules are embedded into the design of the game world visually, aurally and through agency).

Schools are Giving Kids a Manual and Asking them to Learn

For this point, Gee often discusses his experiences with the first-person RPG Deus Ex, in which he initially read the game’s manual and thought it was too hard. It was dense with information, just like a text book. A glossary of specific terms which are interlinked, a complicated keyboard layout, multifaceted functions which changed depending on certain situations, variables obeying a set criterion. Gee says that he did what any kid would have done and just started playing. Hours later Gee returned to the manual and understood most of its content because he’d learnt by experience. In which case he only needed to use it for reference; the same way a text book ought to be used.

Schools, Gee argues, are giving kids the manuals (text book) and asking them to learn for themselves, in an environment that doesn’t effectively cater to their personal needs and issues (see next heading) where the rules are unclear. In video game, the rules are easy to learn because they’re a part of your experience and if the rules aren’t taught properly, the game isn’t very successful.

Games Provide a Variety of Information in Different Forms Right When the Player Needs it

Gee makes many claims about video games being effective educators and fortunately he provides a wonderful evaluation of the RTS game Rise of Nations to evidence his argument (as a player though, you’ll likely start think of examples yourself as you read). In Rise of Nations, like any well designed game, information is delivered to the player in different forms. Information is delivered visually, aurally and/or through on-screen text cues as the player approaches the exercise. Information is also given based on agency, if the game notices the player is playing incorrectly, they will advise the player on how to play correctly. Furthermore, the player can also consult the physical manual, look online for a guide or engage with external fan sites. This is all unlike a classroom where help is limited and teacher support enqueued up with other students. Video games provide the player with information right when they need it. Instant feedback results in faster, more effective education.

Games are clearly doing something right

Contrast for a moment your experience of learning in school and your experiences of learning within a video game. Games are fun and engaging for players, school is often disliked and unengaging for students. Education is central to both. With this notion in mind, Gee argues that video games are clearly doing something right in which most schools are not, therefore it’s worthwhile to investigate how video games are successful educators.

Passion Communities are superseding traditional education

You’d think that what Gee is advocating is to replace the pen with a controller and the textbook with a video game, however this isn’t it. Video games create an environment which works well for education, Gee is interested in recreating this environment within the classroom. As also explored by Henry Jenkins of MIT, popular culture and the internet actually provide an already existing framework for this new form of education, it’s call passion communities and its education is already exceeding the institutions.

Passion communities are groups of people who have a shared interest and together participate in activities which nurture their interest. Think of any fan site community which produce fan-related material such as graphics, music, translations, writing, podcasts and you get the idea. Many of these communities reside on the internet and maintain very high standards of production (see Convergence Culture for many examples). This blog is part of a passion community, and unlike in school:

I’m aware of what the standard is (I read other blogs too, you know) since it’s set by the community – in school work is kept to oneself and the standard is unknown until you’ve handed up several assignments, the students grope around in the dark in the meantime, producing misguided work
And as part of this I can access and learn from the work of other bloggers (students), including referencing their good work for information – in school, only academics, the teacher or the textbook ever have the correct information
There’s great freedom in the content I produce and the way I produce it (and ultimately the direction I wish to learn), I can focus on a broad range of issues or mine deeply into a single topic – in school you are forced to learn pre-designated material at a pace set by the curriculum
I feel a sense of authorship because of community recognition – in school it is difficult to find recognition because work is not shared
I receive immediate, useful feedback from a group of different people, with different backgrounds through the site or different mediums such as Twitter, MSN, Skype and other networking services – in school there is just a teacher with a grade and maybe half-hearted marking
I can co-operate with other people or work together on a project within a community, I also get to choose who I want to work with – in school this is decided upon by the teacher
Resources are shared and readily available – resources come from the library and only one person can borrow a book at a time
I can reference material anytime I want – at school, referencing only begins in the later years

About adopting a role, learning a doctrine

The question of what we learn in a video game is crucially important and Gee answers this surprisingly well. I mean, how can the rules of God of War stack up to the thoughts of Plato? Gee believes that because we co-author video games, that is, we inherit the avatar while maintaining our own identity, we therefore inherit the respective doctrine that comes from the avatar’s occupation/role.

If I remember correctly, Gee references Supreme Commander, where he discusses the way the game’s mechanics force the player to adopt the principles of a soldier by working as a team and obeying a strict set of playing requisites. This doctrine, Gee says, pertains to all parts of the game, from the way your instruction are given and objectives presented, the realistic graphics and even in the wording of the instruction manual. You are constantly forced to act with the responsibilities of a respectful soldier.

Other titles also teach the doctrine of their avatars. By playing Splinter Cell; you see the world in a series of darkness and light, Resident Evil; in conserving ammo and avoiding danger, Guitar Hero; playing a song accurately and titling the guitar head to be a rock star, Tetris; spatial awareness.

Pleasantly Frustrating

I quickly discussed this concept in DP’s Games Crunch 2009 Part #2. Although, if you’ve played games for any amount of time, you’re probably already familiar with the idea: games that are frustrating because they engage our interest and test our abilities in ways just outside of our reach.

The Education Crisis – India and China

This is quite interesting. As China and India out rote-learn western kids in our current industrial revolution-based education system, we’re presented with a crisis. Innovation in education is the antidote which can keep western countries competitive and this is why a new education system is so important and why video games are worth a look.

Parents and Critical Thinking, the teacher takes role as a mentor

With the internet and all this new software which can provide accurate, precise information instantly, the conventional role of teachers as the possessor of all knowledge just doesn’t work. Teachers can’t beat Wikipedia or Google, education wants to become communal but the system doesn’t allow it. In which case, teachers (and parents too) should act as mentors, facilitating the means for kids to critically engage in their learning.

Conclusion

I think that’s most of it covered, albeit pretty quickly. All the points I’ve made here are explored in great depth and with solid justification in Jim Gee’s book, so I strongly urge you to hunt down a copy of Good Video Games and Good Learning and read it yourself. I have quite strong feelings towards education and this book really hits on some important topics which are worth considering.

Additional Readings

Gee whiz – Brainy Gamer

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Tags: book, education, good video games and good learning

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