books

Video Games
Research
Philosophy

Books like The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games

The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games

2013, Jesper Juul

4.6/5

I'm pretty sure I was born a gamer. From when I was 1 and a half years old and I started mastering Prince of Persia to today when I still spend my evenings with my friends gaming and bonding over the Leeeeroy Jenkins meme, gaming has been the one thing that I persisted with. It was entertaining, challenging and fun, and probably the only thing that I could do that engaged me so deeply that I was unaware of the world. Gaming offers experiences to the audience that other art forms simply cannot. A game will refuse to let you proceed any further unless you have a certain level of skill, and to me that is delightful. Imagine being slapped in the face by a book you're reading because you're not smart enough to understand the context. The world would be a better place. Imagine my delight when I discovered a series of books about gaming and the effects it has on gamers. The title was what drew me in, and I expected a lot of things from it, so there was no way this book was going to live up to that. The book analyses the peculiarity of failure being integrated into gaming as a concept, and how a gamer doesn't actually like a game that doesn't make them try hard and fail at least a few times. This book is about performance and reward structures, and about the psychology of gamers, and the design of a game, and the thought process that goes into making one. It's the psychological analysis of a small subculture, which has broader connotations.I would say that the topic has a lot more scope than what the writer covered, but I do applaud the writer's taste in games.I don't know if you should read this book or not. Many gamers can't be bothered. Many non gamers might find it fascinating. I found it decent and refreshingly short. The author didn't drag the small amount of content he had for a long time for no reason, he said what he wanted to say and waved goodbye, and that makes this book good for me.There is another consideration, that I'm adding as an afterthought. This book would have been relevant in a pre-Witcher 3 era, but today, whatever it talks about is outdated. Witcher 3 is the case that defies most of the theories highlighted in the book. It still sits within the general framework of gaming, but a lot of rules have changed since Witcher 3. This book needs to be revised, to stay up to date with a post-Witcher era.
Picture of a book: The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games

Filter by:

Cross-category suggestions

Filter by:

Filter by:

Filter by:

Filter by:

Filter by:

Filter by:

Filter by:

Filter by: