This is a timely and relevant volume, considering the many manipulations and enhancements upon our ideas of reality in the 21st century The book explores how and why we deny, manipulate, convert, or enhance reality The book argues that examining the many ways in which we manipulate, deny, convert or enhance our realities can give us an idea of how to deal with reality, which in turn can provide us with a blueprint for how to live responsibly The book brings together an international team of contributors to discuss contemporary issues such as fake news, propaganda, virtual reality, theatre as real life and reality TV This book draws on examples from vast fields such as film studies, sociology, the social sciences and medicine This volume will appeal to scholars and upper-level students in the areas of communication and media studies, comparative literature, film studies, economics, English, international affairs, journalism, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theatre

Fully detailed game projects from scratch. Beginners can do the steps and create games right away. No coding experience is necessary. Numerous examples take a raw beginner towards professional coding proficiency in C# and Unity. Includes a thorough introduction to Unity 2020 All required software is professional quality and completely free to use for any purpose including commercial applications and games.

Fully detailed game projects from scratch. Beginners can do the steps and create games right away. No coding experience is necessary. Numerous examples take a raw beginner towards professional coding proficiency in C# and Unity. Includes a thorough introduction to Unity 2020 All required software is professional quality and completely free to use for any purpose including commercial applications and games.

Sounding Emerging Media details a practice-based approach to sonic art and electroacoustic composition, drawing on methodologies inspired by the production of electronic literature, and game development. Using the structural concepts identified by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, the book is based around ideas related to labels such as Assemblage, Strata, Smooth and Striated Space, Temporal Space and, The Fold. The processes employed to undertake this research involved the creation of original texts, the development of frameworks for improvisation, the use of recordings within the process and implementation of techniques drawn from the practices of electroacoustic composition, and the use of ideas borrowed from electronic literature, publishing and game development. The results have helped to shape a compositional style which draws on these processes individually or collectively, drawing on practice often seen in game development, visual scores and composition using techniques found in electroacoustic music. Providing a journey through the landscape of emerging digital media, Sounding Emerging Media envisages a world where the composer/user/listener all become part of a continuum of collective artistry. This book is the ideal guide to the history and creation of audio for innovative digital media formats and represents crucial reading for both students and practitioners, from aspiring composers to experienced professionals.

Sounding Emerging Media details a practice-based approach to sonic art and electroacoustic composition, drawing on methodologies inspired by the production of electronic literature, and game development. Using the structural concepts identified by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, the book is based around ideas related to labels such as Assemblage, Strata, Smooth and Striated Space, Temporal Space and, The Fold. The processes employed to undertake this research involved the creation of original texts, the development of frameworks for improvisation, the use of recordings within the process and implementation of techniques drawn from the practices of electroacoustic composition, and the use of ideas borrowed from electronic literature, publishing and game development. The results have helped to shape a compositional style which draws on these processes individually or collectively, drawing on practice often seen in game development, visual scores and composition using techniques found in electroacoustic music. Providing a journey through the landscape of emerging digital media, Sounding Emerging Media envisages a world where the composer/user/listener all become part of a continuum of collective artistry. This book is the ideal guide to the history and creation of audio for innovative digital media formats and represents crucial reading for both students and practitioners, from aspiring composers to experienced professionals.

Told over a series of daily journal logs, One-Week Dungeons: Diaries of a Seven-Day Roguelike Challenge chronicles the journeys of eleven 7DRL participants as they race to build their dream games before the clock expires.

This second edition of Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing is updated with new chapters and new authors, but it's still a no-nonsense guide to the professional craft of writing for video games. Not only does the text cover story and narrative elements, but it also addresses dialogue, documentation, and strategy guides. Seasoned video game writers each address a different topic, including the best way to break into the video game industry, how to be an efficient part of a team, and the principles of narrative design. The book also offers script samples, technical writing advice, effective writing tips, and suggestions for how to innovate in game narrative. Key Features Comprehensive enough for veterans and accessible enough for novices Goes into detail about how to write tutorials, script doctoring, and writing for AAA games Delivers invaluable experiences directly from writers in the games industry Full of practical advice from industry pros on how to get a job, and then how to get the job done Author Bio Wendy Despain has more than two decades of experience spearheading digital media projects. She has worked with teams around the world as a writer, narrative designer, producer, and consultant on interactive experiences ranging from video games to augmented reality. She's worked with EA, Disney, Ubisoft, Cartoon Network, PBS, Marvel, and Wargaming. Currently, she's a Production Director at ArenaNet, makers of the Guild Wars franchise. Her books include: Writing For Videogame Genres: From FPS to RPG Talking to Artists/Talking to Programmers 100 Principles of Game Design

Inspired by Roland Barthes's practice of "semioclasm" in Mythologies, this book offers a "technoclasm"; a cultural critique of US narratives, discourses, images, and objects that have transformed the politics of automation into statements of fact about the "rise of the robots". Treating automation as an ensemble of technologies and science fictions, this book foregrounds automation's ideologies, exaggerations, failures, and mystifications of the social value of human labor in order to question accepted and prolific automation mythologies. Jesse Ramirez offers a study of automation that recognizes automation as a technosocial project, that uses the tools of cultural studies and history to investigate the narratives and ideologies that often implicitly frame the automation debate, and that concretely and soberly assesses the technologies that have made the headlines. The case studies featured include some of the most widely cited and celebrated automatic technologies, such as the Baxter industrial robot, the self-driving car, and the Watson AI system. An ideal resource for anyone interested in or studying emerging technology and society, automation, Marxist cultural theory, cultural studies, science fiction studies, and the cultural history of technology.

Do you have creative ideas that you wish you could transform into code? Do you want to boost your problem solving and logic skills? Do you want to enhance your career by adopting an algorithmic mindset? In our increasingly digital world, coding is an essential skill. Communicating an algorithm to a machine to perform a set of tasks is vital. Beginner's Guide to Code Algorithms: Experiments to Enhance Productivity and Solve Problems written by Deepankar Maitra teaches you how to think like a programmer. The author unravels the secret behind writing code - building a good algorithm. Algorithmic thinking leads to asking the right question and enables a shift from issue resolution to value creation. Having this mindset will make you more marketable to employers. This book takes you on a problem-solving journey to expand your mind and increase your willingness to experiment with code. You will: Learn the art of building an algorithm through hands-on exercises Understand how to develop code for inspiring productivity concepts Build a mentality of developing algorithms to solve problems Develop, test, review, and improve code through guided experimentation This book is designed to develop a culture of logical thinking through intellectual stimulation. It will benefit students and teachers of programming, business professionals, as well as experienced users of Microsoft Excel who wish to become proficient with macros.

Achieving believable motion in animation requires an understanding of physics that most of us missed out on in art school. Although animators often break the laws of physics for comedic or dramatic effect, you need to know which laws you're breaking in order to make it work. And while large studios might be able to spend a lot of time and money testing different approaches or hiring a physics consultant, smaller studios and independent animators have no such luxury. This book takes the mystery out of physics tasks like character motion, light and shadow placement, explosions, ocean movement, and outer space scenes, making it easy to apply realistic physics to your work. Physics concepts are explained in animator's terms, relating concepts specifically to animation movement and appearance. Complex mathematical concepts are broken down into clear steps you can follow to solve animation problems quickly and effectively. Bonus companion website at www.physicsforanimators.com offers additional resources, including examples in movies and games, links to resources, and tips on using physics in your work. Uniting theory and practice, author Michele Bousquet teaches animators how to swiftly and efficiently create scientifically accurate scenes and fix problem spots, and how and when to break the laws of physics. Ideal for everything from classical 2D animation to advanced CG special effects, this book provides animators with solutions that are simple, quick, and powerful.

This interdisciplinary volume will be an important resource for scholars, students and activists working in the areas of Cultural Studies, Media and Visual Studies, Indigenous Studies, Refugee Studies and Law An international team of authors take a multidisciplinary approach to questions of race, geographies of state violence and countermaps of resistance across North America, Australia and Europe The book establishes rich lines of dialogic connection between digital and other media by incorporating both traditional scholarly resources and digital archives, databases, social media

This book offers new ways of thinking about and assessing the impact of virtual reality on its users. It argues that we must go beyond traditional psychological concepts of VR "presence" to better understand the many varieties of virtual experiences. The author provides compelling evidence that VR simulations are capable of producing "virtually real" experiences in people. He also provides a framework for understanding when and how simulations induce virtually real experiences. From these insights, the book shows that virtually real experiences are responsible for several unaddressed ethical issues in VR research and design. Experimental philosophers, moral psychologists, and institutional review boards must become sensitive to the ethical issues involved between designing "realistic" virtual dilemmas, for good data collection, and avoiding virtually real trauma. Ethicists and game designers must do more to ensure that their simulations don't inculcate harmful character traits. Virtually real experiences, the author claims, can make virtual relationships meaningful, productive, and conducive to welfare but they can also be used to systematically mislead and manipulate users about the nature of their experiences. The Ethics of Virtual and Augmented Reality will appeal to philosophers working in applied ethics, philosophy of technology, and aesthetics, as well as researchers and students interested in game studies and game design.

This book offers a comprehensive scholarly overview of Reddit, one of the most popular and least studied social platforms of the early 21st century. The book inspires new ways of thinking about Reddit, considering it from multiple perspectives: through a historical lens, as a site where identity is forged, as a democracy, as a community, and as a news aggregator and distributor. By bringing theories from computer-mediated communication, communication studies, and sociology to bear on original, large-scale observational analyses of Reddit's communities, this book provides a uniquely comprehensive overview of the platform's first 15 years. Understanding Reddit will help us make sense of how rapidly growing communities function in an era of mass online anonymity. Serving both as a primer on how social behavior on Reddit plays out, and as a way of locating it within multiple theoretical traditions, the book will offer important insights to scholars and students in the disciplines of communication, media studies, information science, internet and emerging media studies, and sociology.

Swendly Benilia shares with us simple and tangible tips and tricks to understanding and drawing FORCE across hundreds of drawings full of dunamism and energy! This book is an expellant companion to the FORCE brand since it delivers hundreds of FORCE drawings with succinct notations, filtered and approved by Mike Mattesi, about how to improve your FORCE drawing skills Key Features: Hundreds of dynamic FORCE drawing that inspire the reader to see and draw FORCE Succinct tips and tricks keep it light and educational The tips and tricks not only explain how but also why the drawings are successful. This is unique to the FORCE Drawing method Each page shares numerous drawing around a FORCE idea with a short paragraph to further clarify the FORCE tip or trick. Explaining to the reader why the drawings work increases their ability of achieving the same level of excellence Swendly Benilia is a professional character designer and illustrator. During his five years in the field he contributed with artwork for various game and publishing projects. Swendly also instructs FORCE Drawing. Michael Mattesi has authored four FORCE books, published in numerous languages, utilized around the world to inspire and educate artists on the concept of FORCE. He has instructed FORCE Drawing for over twenty years and inspired thousands of artists. Simultaneously, Michael has been contributing his skills as a professional artists on numerous award-winning projects in varied capacities and has collaborated with Pixar, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Consumer Products, Marvel Comics, Hasbro Toys, ABC, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, DreamWorks/PDI, Zynga, The School of Visual Arts, Beijing University, Art Center, Scuola Internazionale di Comics, San Jose State University. The Academy of Art University, Nickelodeoan, LeapFrog and many others. Micael's students occupy all fields of the art industry and have themselves gained prestige for their abilities. Michael lives in northern California with his wife and two daughters. Visit him at: DrawingFORCE.com and connect with Michael on Facebook at: DrawingFORCE.com with Mike Mattesi or email him directly: [email protected] Key Features Hundreds of dynamic FORCE drawings that inspire the reader to see and draw FORCE. Compact tips and tricks keep it light and educational. The tips and tricks explain how and why the drawings are successful. Explaining to the you why the drawings work increases your ability of achieving the same level of excellence.

The Legend of Zelda series is one of the most popular and recognizable examples in videogames of what Tolkien referred to as mythopoeia, or myth-making. In his essay On Fairy Stories and a short poem entitled Mythopoeia, Tolkien makes the case that the fairy tale aesthetic is simply a more intimate version of the same principle underlying the great myths: the human desire to make meaning out of the world. By using mythopoeia as a touchstone concept, the essays in this volume explore how The Legend of Zelda series turns the avatar, through which the player interacts with the in-game world, into a player-character symbiote wherein the individual both enacts and observes the process of integrating worldbuilding with storytelling. Twelve essays explore Zelda's mythmaking from the standpoints of literary criticism, videogame theory, musicology, ecocriticism, pedagogy, and more.

Key Features: This work aims to be the most approachable book about UX. Many books on the topic are highly specialized and are not easy to read for people who just want to understand it better. This book is easy to read and aims to popularize the UX mindset while debunking its main misconceptions. Small format size makes it easy to carry around. Includes content relatable and meaningful to the readers by taking many examples from everyday life with a conversational and light writing style. It tackles the psychology, design, research, process, strategy, and ethics behind offering the best experience with products, systems, or services. Includes a glossary.

Discusses core concepts and principles of deep learning in gaming and animation with applications. Covers application of neural networks for intelligent video game character. Discusses automated video generation and real time animation. Covers technological advancements in virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR).

Provides the reader with clear, concise, instructions that help build on the fundamentals of graphics, 3D modeling, and animation With nearly two hundred, vibrant images to help the reader understand the designing process Review questions at the end of each chapter that will help readers hone their understanding of the content

This book teaches you how to master classic and cutting edge Foley techniques in order to create rich and convincing sound for any medium, be it film, television, radio, podcasts, animation, or games. Award-winning Foley artist Vanessa Theme Ament demonstrates how Foley is designed, crafted, and edited for any project, down to the nuts and bolts of spotting, cueing, and performing sounds. Various renowned sound artists provide a treasure trove of indispensable shortcuts, hot tips, and other valuable tricks of the trade. This updated third edition features the following: New chapters dedicated to Foley in games, television, broadcasting, and animation, as well as what is new in sound for media education A multitude of sound "recipes" that include proven Foley methods you can immediately use on your own projects A diverse range of case studies from well-known films, shows, games, and animation Interviews with current sound artists from around the world By exploring the entire audio post-production process, this book provides you with an excellent understanding of where Foley fits in the business of filmmaking and is a perfect guide for both newcomers and experienced sound designers wanting to learn more about this art. Accompanying the book are online resources featuring video demonstrations of Foley artists at work, video tutorials of specific Foley techniques, lectures from the author and more.

performance theory, art and public policy, art and social justice, global catastrophes and local actions

Provides a new perspective on Environment Art by covering the latest and most creative industry techniques in Substance Designer Follows a step-by-step process for using Substance Designer to help readers create realistic, state-of-the-art environments Explains the fundamentals of being a talented games environment artist, outlining the key considerations that most environment artists tend to forget

Provides a new perspective on Environment Art by covering the latest and most creative industry techniques in Substance Designer Follows a step-by-step process for using Substance Designer to help readers create realistic, state-of-the-art environments Explains the fundamentals of being a talented games environment artist, outlining the key considerations that most environment artists tend to forget

Create Stunning Renders using V-Ray in 3ds Max: Guiding the Next Generation of 3D Renderers is a step-by-step guide on how to create realistic renderings using V-Ray in 3ds Max. The potentials of V-Ray are detailed using a bedroom scene as an example. The book introduces the 3ds Max interface and the basic commands, allowing readers to familiarize themselves with the work environment from the very beginning. This book is intended for architects, interior designers, and anyone else wanting to create photorealistic renderings using V-Ray in 3ds Max. The reader does not need experience to follow this book, but any prior knowledge of working in 3ds Max will help the reader jump right in. Margarita Nikita is the co-founder of High Q Renders LLC, an award-winning creative company based in San Francisco, CA, with offices in Greece. Nikita has published several design books on 2D and 3D graphic design, some of which are used in university courses, actively contributing to the formation of the new generation of 3D modelers in her native country, Greece. She shares her knowledge, advice, and tips and tricks on her YouTube channel, Margarita Nikita. More of her work is available at her Instagram account, @margarita.nikita.

a collection of interviews from renowned author, David L. Craddock