Promotional Information

This encyclopedia collects and organizes theoretical and historical content on the topic of video games, covering the people, systems, technologies, and theoretical concepts as well as the games themselves.

Table of Contents

Entries—Volume 2 machinima, magic circle, Magnavox Odyssey, mainframe games, maps, Mario series, massively multiplayer on-line role-playing games (MMORPGs), Mattel Intellivision, Maxis Software, Meier, Sid, merchandising, Metal Gear series, Metroid series, MicroProse, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, Middle East, Midway Games, Midwest Gaming Classic (MGC), military use of games, minigames, mobile games, Molyneux, Peter, morality and ethics, Mortal Kombat, motion capture/motion control, Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME), multi-user domains (MUDs), Myst, Namco, narrative, navigation (spatial), navigation (temporal), NEC PC-Engine/Turbografx-16, Neo•Geo, New Zealand, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)/Nintendo Famicom, Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Virtual Boy, Nintendo Wii, non-player characters (NPCs), on-line games, packaging, Pac-Man, Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system, patent #2,455,992, performance, peripherals, persistent games, pervasive games, phenomenology, piracy in China, platforms, play, Play Meter magazine, PONG, Portal, procedural rhetoric, psychodynamics, psychological research on video games, Q*bert, Quraish, race, racing games, reading video game imagery, Reception Theory, replay and repetition, RePlay magazine, representations of video games in Hollywood cinema, resolution, retrogaming, rhythm and dance games, ritual, Riven, role-playing games (RPGs), rules, save function, scrolling, SEGA, Sega CD/Mega-CD, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System/Sega Mark III, Sega Saturn, serious games, shareware games, shooting games, Sierra Entertainment, silent film, Sim series, simulation games, SNK (Shin Nihon Kikaku) Playmore, Sony Corporation, Sony PlayStation, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony vs. Bleem, sound, sound technology, South Korea, space (narrative), space (visual), Space Invaders, Spacewar!, Spain, Spector, Warren, speedruns, spirituality, sports games, StarCraft, stealth games, strategy games, Street Fighter II, subcreation, suicide battery, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)/Super Famicom, survival horror games, television, Tetris, 3-D hardware, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, time, Treasure Co. Ltd., Twin Galaxies, ubiquitous games, Ultima series, unit operations, United States of America (USA), unlockable games, vector games, Vectorbeam, video game studies, Videotopia, Vintage Arcade Preservation Society (VAPS), violence, virtual reality (VR), visual literacy, walkthroughs, war, web-based games, Williams, world (of a video game), World Cyber Games, World of Warcraft (WoW), World War II in video games, Wright, Will, XNA, Yokoi, Gunpei, z-axis depth, Zeebo, Bibliography, About the Contributors, Index,

About the Author

Mark J. P. Wolf is professor in the Department of Communication at Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, WI.

Reviews

This book offers well-written and informative entries on many topics relevant to game studies.
*Choice*

The articles are written by an expert group of close to 100 contributors and discuss each topic in a clear writing style—even the more technology-oriented pieces. . . . Overall, this set is well done and fills a void nicely. It is recommended for all collections.
*ARBA*

. . . this resource goes well beyond a narrow appeal to students of pop culture.
*School Library Journal*

This book offers well-written and informative entries on many topics relevant to game studies. * Choice *
The articles are written by an expert group of close to 100 contributors and discuss each topic in a clear writing style-even the more technology-oriented pieces. . . . Overall, this set is well done and fills a void nicely. It is recommended for all collections. * ARBA *
. . . this resource goes well beyond a narrow appeal to students of pop culture. * School Library Journal *