Run and Jump

How abstract design decisions in 2D platform games create rich worlds of meaning for players.Since the 1980s, 2D platform games have captivated their audiences. Whether the player scrambles up the ladders in Donkey Kong or leaps atop an impossibly tall pipe in Super Mario Bros., this deceptively sim...

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主要作者: McDonald, Peter D
格式: Online
語言:英语
出版: The MIT Press 2024
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author McDonald, Peter D
author_browse McDonald, Peter D
author_facet McDonald, Peter D
author_sort McDonald, Peter D
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description How abstract design decisions in 2D platform games create rich worlds of meaning for players.Since the 1980s, 2D platform games have captivated their audiences. Whether the player scrambles up the ladders in Donkey Kong or leaps atop an impossibly tall pipe in Super Mario Bros., this deceptively simple visual language has persisted in our cultural imagination of video games. In Run and Jump, Peter McDonald surveys the legacy of 2D platform games and examines how abstract and formal design choices have kept players playing. McDonald argues that there is a rich layer of meaning underneath, say, the quality of an avatar's movement, the pacing and rhythm of level design, the personalities expressed by different enemies, and the emotion elicited by collecting a coin. To understand these games, McDonald draws on technical discussions by game designers as well as theoretical work about the nature of signs from structuralist semiotics. Interspersed throughout are design exercises that show how critical interpretation can become a tool for game designers to communicate with their players. With examples drawn from over forty years of game history, and from games made by artists, hobbyists, iconic designers, and industry studios, Run and Jump presents a comprehensive—and engaging—vision of this slice of game history.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1467342024-10-25T13:18:56Z Run and Jump McDonald, Peter D platformer genre studies semiotics structuralism game feel level design close reading Mario thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UD Digital Lifestyle and online world: consumer and user guides::UDX Computer games / online games: strategy guides thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UM Computer programming / software engineering::UMK Games development and programming::UMKL Level design: games programming How abstract design decisions in 2D platform games create rich worlds of meaning for players.Since the 1980s, 2D platform games have captivated their audiences. Whether the player scrambles up the ladders in Donkey Kong or leaps atop an impossibly tall pipe in Super Mario Bros., this deceptively simple visual language has persisted in our cultural imagination of video games. In Run and Jump, Peter McDonald surveys the legacy of 2D platform games and examines how abstract and formal design choices have kept players playing. McDonald argues that there is a rich layer of meaning underneath, say, the quality of an avatar's movement, the pacing and rhythm of level design, the personalities expressed by different enemies, and the emotion elicited by collecting a coin. To understand these games, McDonald draws on technical discussions by game designers as well as theoretical work about the nature of signs from structuralist semiotics. Interspersed throughout are design exercises that show how critical interpretation can become a tool for game designers to communicate with their players. With examples drawn from over forty years of game history, and from games made by artists, hobbyists, iconic designers, and industry studios, Run and Jump presents a comprehensive—and engaging—vision of this slice of game history. 2024-10-25T13:18:54Z 2024-10-25T13:18:54Z 2023 book ONIX_20241025_9780262377447_112 9780262377447 9780262547390 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/146734 eng Playful Thinking image/jpeg n/a https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/14478.001.0001 The MIT Press The MIT Press 10.7551/mitpress/14478.001.0001 10.7551/mitpress/14478.001.0001 ae0cf962-f685-4933-93d1-916defa5123d 9780262377447 9780262547390 The MIT Press 184 Cambridge open access
spellingShingle platformer
genre studies
semiotics
structuralism
game feel
level design
close reading
Mario
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UD Digital Lifestyle and online world: consumer and user guides::UDX Computer games / online games: strategy guides
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UM Computer programming / software engineering::UMK Games development and programming::UMKL Level design: games programming
McDonald, Peter D
Run and Jump
title Run and Jump
title_full Run and Jump
title_fullStr Run and Jump
title_full_unstemmed Run and Jump
title_short Run and Jump
title_sort run and jump
topic platformer
genre studies
semiotics
structuralism
game feel
level design
close reading
Mario
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UD Digital Lifestyle and online world: consumer and user guides::UDX Computer games / online games: strategy guides
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UM Computer programming / software engineering::UMK Games development and programming::UMKL Level design: games programming
topic_facet platformer
genre studies
semiotics
structuralism
game feel
level design
close reading
Mario
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UD Digital Lifestyle and online world: consumer and user guides::UDX Computer games / online games: strategy guides
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UM Computer programming / software engineering::UMK Games development and programming::UMKL Level design: games programming
url ONIX_20241025_9780262377447_112
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