Formalism is often used as an all-embracing term covering a range of ontological and methodological approaches in game studies, with little connection to the history or tradition of the approach in other fields. This dilutes the usefulness of the approach, and invites (often unfounded) criticism. Videogame Formalism addresses these issues through an exploration of the historical and theoretical roots of formalist approaches to videogame analysis, situating this approach within games studies, and arguing for its importance and applicability as a methodological toolkit and a theoretical framework for understanding the aesthetic experience of videogames. It presents an overview of how formalist approaches can provide insights into the ways games create aesthetic experiences through the use of poetic gameplay devices, and lays out a comprehensive yet flexible methodological framework for undertaking a formalist analysis of games. This approach is then demonstrated through a series of detailed examples and case studies.

Authoring, its tools, processes, and design challenges are key issues for the Interactive Digital Narrative (IDN) research community. The complexity of IDN authoring, often involving stories co-created by procedures and user interaction, creates confusion for tool developers and raises barriers for new authors. This book examines these issues from both the tool designer and the author's perspective, discusses the poetics of IDN and how that can be used to design authoring tools, explores diverse forms of IDN and their demands, and investigates the challenges around conducting research on IDN authoring. To address these challenges, the chapter authors incorporate a range of interdisciplinary perspectives on 'The Authoring Problem' in IDN. While existing texts provide 'how-to' guidance for authors, this book is a primer for research and practice-based investigations into the authoring problem, collecting the latest thoughts about this area from key researchers and practitioners.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Interactive Storytelling, ICIDS 2014, Singapore, Singapore, November 2014. The 20 revised full papers presented together with 8 short papers 7 posters, and 5 demonstration papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 67 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on story generation, authoring, evaluation and analysis, theory, retrospectives, and user experience.

Selected as one of the best gardening reads of 2019 by The Daily Mail Short of outdoor space but want to grow fruit and vegetables? Congratulations. Really, lucky you. Not for you the back-breaking trudge of tending large spaces of land, the weeding, digging and pest vigilance. Gluts? They will mean nothing to you. Instead you can look forward to small but perfectly formed bursts of flavour. Handfuls of fresh leaves, berries and tomatoes, just when you want them, and at arm's reach. As more of us live in cities with restricted outside spaces, growing food becomes all the more important, not just for the delicious results, but as a mindful way to connect us to the seasons and to nature. Full of tried-and-tested, fool-proof crop ideas exclusively tailored for containers, raised beds and small gardens, Crops in Tight Spots guarantees vegetable growing success for even the most newbie of gardeners and limited of spaces.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2021, held in Tallinn, Estonia, in December 2021. The 18 full papers and 17 short papers, presented together with 17 posters and demos, were carefully reviewed and selected from 99 submissions. The papers are categorized into the following topical sub-headings: Narrative Systems; Interactive Narrative Theory; Interactive Narrative Impact and Application; and the Interactive Narrative Research Discipline and Contemporary Practice.

In cities around the world, we are redefining our sense of urban living. No longer satisfied with a grey, sterile metropolis, we want the best of both worlds - the energy and diversity of the city, but a connection with nature too. Filled with practical advice, projects and inspiring stories from bus stop landscapers, guerrilla gardeners, urban homesteaders and rooftop beekeepers from all over the world, The Rurbanite illustrates how our cityscapes are being transformed and shows you how enjoyable and simple it is to: * turn your back garden into an urban homestead * put a green roof on your garden shed * plant to encourage wildlife * guerrilla garden * keep bees, hens, quails, ducks * learn to identity the wild flowers growing out of cracks in the pavement * turn ex-industrial sites into vibrant community gardens

In Come the Revolution, journalist Alex Mitchell gives a rollicking account of life in newspapers and his radical past as a Trotskyist. From the cut-throat era of Sydney tabloids, he graduated to Fleet Street as an investigative reporter, taking part in the exposure of Soviet double agent Kim Philby. Giving up his job to become editor of Britain's Trotskyist daily, he entered a world of class struggle politics and national liberation movements. With fellow revolutionary Vanessa Redgrave he travelled the US and the Middle East, meeting Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat and Muammar Gaddafi. Come the Revolution lays bare Mitchell's life and loves, his past and politics, with the flair of a born storyteller unafraid to ask hard questions about the world, and himself.