LudoScience

Studies & Analysis (videogames)

Author(s) : Timothée Paez
Editor : Mon Petit Editeur
Publication date : 05-05-2011
Language : french

This tiny 100 pages book attempts to tackle a broad question: "Why do people like video games?" The author starts with a quick definition of video games and game genres. He then details the different kind of pleasures video games have to offer: freedom, multiplayer cooperation, immersion, artistic feeling, exploration, and relationship with a virtual pet. While the book is pleasant to read and filled with many relevant examples, the small number of pages prevent the author to fully develop his thoughts, and to provide a thorough answer to his question. It would have certainly been wiser to focus on a few key points and to analyze them in detail by using references to social sciences (philosophy, sociology, etc.), which are missing here. In the end, the book still provides an interesting series of leads on the topic, with many examples of games rarely mentioned in other works, such as indie games.