View the Table of Contents.
Read the Introduction.
"This is a spectacular collection of essays on the present and
future of virtual worlds. It's a perfect introduction for those who
have yet to experience them, and more important, a thoughtful
companion for those who do."
--Jonathan Zittrain, Oxford University
"The State of Play is an extremely comprehensive look into
digital worlds and how those worlds are evolving cultures, changing
lives, reshaping the way we think and communicate. If you want to
understand where modern culture is headed and learn more about
incredibly fascinating experiences taking place in virtual worlds,
pick up and read this book now."
--Richard Garriott, a.k.a. Lord British, Creator of Ultima Online
and Executive Producer, NCsoft
"These essays, by the best thinkers in their fields, will be
read, debated, taught, and cited in court cases as we struggle to
figure out how to live in a world which is part digital and part
social, part real and part imaginary."
--Henry Jenkins, author of "Convergence Culture: Where Old and New
Media Collide"
aIs useful and interesting for students of
surveillance.a--"Surveillance & Society"
aWith diverse essays from game designers, social scientists and
legal scholars, The State of Play is a provocative consideration of
virtual jurisprudence.a
--"Paste Magazine"
aFor those who want to skip over the hype and dive into the
issue, it is hard to imagine a better resource.a
--Cecily Deane Mak, Senior Counsel, Music at RealNetworks.
aReading The State of Play is an adventure. It is the first real
step of a journey into the outer limits of the physical world and
the inner realms of the virtualwithin the boundaries of societyas
comfort zone. It is an exploratory glimpse into how digital worlds
may change the future, reshape our own reflection, and challenge
real-world laws.a
--"New York Law Journal"
a...traces the fate of playtime over the centuries.a
--"Slate.com"
The State of Play presents an essential first step in
understanding how new digital worlds will change the future of our
universe. Millions of people around the world inhabit virtual
words: multiplayer online games where characters live, love, buy,
trade, cheat, steal, and have every possible kind of adventure. Far
more complicated and sophisticated than early video games, people
now spend countless hours in virtual universes like Second Life and
Star Wars Galaxies not to shoot space invaders but to create new
identities, fall in love, build cities, make rules, and break
them.
As digital worlds become increasingly powerful and lifelike,
people will employ them for countless real-world purposes,
including commerce, education, medicine, law enforcement, and
military training. Inevitably, real-world law will regulate them.
But should virtual worlds be fully integrated into our real-world
legal system or should they be treated as separate jurisdictions
with their own forms of dispute resolution? What rules should
govern virtual communities? Should the law step in to protect
property rights when virtual items are destroyed or stolen?
These questions, and many more, are considered in The State of
Play, where legal experts, game designers, and policymakers explore
the boundaries of free speech, intellectual property, and
creativity in virtual worlds. The essays explore both the emergence
of law inmultiplayer online games and how we can use virtual worlds
to study real-world social interactions and test real-world
laws.
Contributors include: Jack M. Balkin, Richard A. Bartle, Yochai
Benkler, Caroline Bradley, Edward Castronova, Susan P. Crawford,
Julian Dibbell, A. Michael Froomkin, James Grimmelmann, David R.
Johnson, Dan Hunter, Raph Koster, F. Gregory Lastowka, Beth Simone
Noveck, Cory Ondrejka, Tracy Spaight, and Tal Zarsky.
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