Peter Zackariasson

Mikolaj Dymek

At the turn of the century the term "gamification" was introduced as a concept to understand the process of using game mechanics in "non-game" contexts. The impact of gamification was soon evident to business practices where it had impact both on marketing and, more broadly, on the organizations themselves. As the number of individuals playing video games grows, there seem to be an acceptance of game mechanics elsewhere. Its effectiveness is highly dependent on both technical possibilities and cultural acceptance, two factors present today. The aim of The Business of Gamification is to critically analyze the practical and theoretical consequences of gamification. Practically, how has gamification been applied in businesses to this point, and what are the future scenarios? Theoretically, what are the contributions of gamification to existing academic knowledge? How does this change our understanding of how business are performing and its consequences, for organizations, consumers, and society in general? This edited volume contains new, and stringent, perspectives on how gamification is contextualized in business settings, both in theory as well as in practice. This book will provide a wealth of research for individuals seriously interested in the industry at the academic level. As a result, this book will serve as a reference in curricula associated with video game development for years to come.

A Critical Analysis

The Business of Gamification

The video game industry has been one of the fastest-growing cultural phenomena of our times with market conditions that demand a specific skill set from its marketers. To a new generation of "indie gamers", being a game developer isn’t just about design and production, a successful video game demands entrepreneurial skills and astute business acumen. The creators need to know what their customers want, how to reach those customers and how to sell to them. Video Game Marketing: A student textbook is for development students or aspiring developers who want to know how to promote and sell the results of their efforts. This book is a much-needed guide to: • the essentials of marketing strategy; • video games as products or services; • marketing research for game development; • branding video games; • marketing through game: gamification, advergames. Replete with pedagogy to aid learning such as objectives and discussion questions for each chapter, this book is all that aspiring video game developers will need to unleash the potential of their games.

A student textbook

Video Game Marketing

Timothy Wilson

The Video Game Industry provides a platform for the research on the video game industry to draw a coherent and informative picture of this industry. Previously this has been done sparsely through conference papers, research articles, and popular science books. Although the study of this industry is still stigmatized as frivolous and ‘only’ game oriented, those who grew up with video games are changing things, especially research agendas, the acceptance of studies, and their interpretation. This book describes and defines video games as their own special medium. They are not pinball from which they grew, nor movies which they sometimes resemble. They are a unique form of entertainment based on meaningful interactions between individuals and machine across a growing sector of the population. The Video Game Industry provides a reference foundation for individuals seriously interested in the industry at the academic level. As a result, this book will serve as a reference in curricula associated with video game development for years to come.

Formation, Present State, and Future

The Video Game Industry

Stephen J. Webley

This book explores the central role of the zombie in contemporary popular culture as they appear in video games. Moving beyond traditional explanations of their enduring appeal – that they embody an aesthetic that combines horror with a mindless target; that lower age ratings for zombie games widen the market; or that Artificial Intelligence routines for zombies are easier to develop – the book provides a multidisciplinary and comprehensive look at this cultural phenomenon. Drawing on detailed case studies from across the genre, contributors from a variety of backgrounds offer insights into how the study of zombies in the context of video games informs an analysis of their impact on contemporary popular culture. Issues such as gender, politics, intellectual property law, queer theory, narrative storytelling and worldbuilding, videogame techniques and technology, and man’s relation to monsters are closely examined in their relation to zombie video games. Breaking new ground in the study of video games and popular culture, this volume will be of interest to researchers in a broad range of areas including media, popular culture, video games, and media psychology.

Peter Zackariasson

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