Top products from r/ludology

I'm not totally sure what you mean by "fluency in reading deeper into game," but my standard advice for becoming proficient in analysis is to not limit yourself to reading about games. To be truly good at it, you need a broader base; you should become fluent in film and literature and their analysis as well. Obviously this also requires experiencing a decent selection of the important games, films, and writings, as well.

Some other reddit discussions that might be helpful in this regard (I replied to all of them with links and ideas):

• Are there any resources with which to learn how to review games as properly as possible?
  
• What are the essential readings in the games-as-art debate? - Note that the top-rated comment here is a quote from the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, underscoring my suggestion to go broader than games. Also, the entirety of the preface from which that quote is taken is essential reading.
  
• Essential Games - What games should be required playing for studying the medium? What's the 'game canon'?
  
  Generally useful game websites:
  
  
• Critical Distance - A great aggregator of game writing. Lot's of essential reading here.
  
• Raph Koster's Website
  
• /r/ludology and /r/truegaming
  
• Gameology
  
• Critical Missive
  
• Brainy Gamer
  
• Ben Medler - Tread Digital
  
• Popular Culture Gaming
  
• FILMCRITHULK - Mostly film, but also TV and games. The film stuff is essential reading, too, though. This article is particularly relevant to games-as-art.
  
• Click Nothing - See also the article on here in which the term 'ludonarrative dissonance' was coined. This is a concept you should know.
  
• J Burger Analysis
  
• The Game Critique
  
• Gamasutra
  
• Vintage Game Club
  
• The Slowdown
  
• Medium Difficulty
  
  For becoming literate in film, you can find out what some of the more important ones are at They Shoot Pictures. I won't add a list of film writings and websites because there are just too many. It might be worth picking up an intro to film studies text book like Film Art: An Introduction and a compilation of critical film writing like Film Theory and Criticism. If you want more detailed suggestions on readings in film, let me know; I'm a huge film nerd. Similarly, picking up a book on analyzing literature might be helpful, too.
  
  Another trick to finding out what you should be reading for any area like this, whether it be game design or film studies, is to search for syllabi for university courses on the subject. Typically, such documents have lists of suggested reading. Of course, if you're a student still, you might even be able to take such a course.
  
  Finally, in a bit of shameless self promotion, I sometimes write about games here, but I'm far from a pro.
  
  Hope this helps a bit!

Fine, we can do away with "immersion." A very close useful synonym is "engagement."

> Engagement is a description of an individual’s internal state and how they respond to the world and others around them. (Gambetti and Graffigna 2010) Schaufeli, et al. (2002, 74-75) characterize psychological engagement as an on-going cognitive and emotional state typified by a combination of “vigor, dedication, and absorption,” where
>> …vigor is characterized by high levels of energy and mental resilience while working, the willingness to invest effort in one’s work, and persistence even in the face of difficulties. Dedication is characterized by a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge [and] absorption is characterized by being fully concentrated and deeply engrossed in one’s work, whereby time passes quickly and one has difficulties with detaching oneself from work.

When someone is immersed in a game, we can say they are "engaged" by it. The only aspect of "immersion" that this doesn't cover that is sometimes used in game design circles is that of fantasy; an immersive or highly engaging book, movie, or game sweeps you away from your current situation (absorption as described above), providing the seamless fantasy of being someone else in another situation.

That's more difficult to discuss with any analytical rigor, I guess; OTOH I wouldn't let rigor get in the way of a good game design.

BTW, it's an easy leap from "engagement" to "fun." Any engaging activity that also creates a positive emotional experience is fun for the individual. By that definition, all successful games are engaging, but not all have to be fun. But any fun activity is also engaging (evidenced by vigor, dedication, and absorption).

This is getting lots of love- what do folks think is the best section of this to include?

It feels important to include a reading that's particularly relevant to game design - do y'all think that this is the one to include? I'm also considering a section from Game Feel if anyone has thoughts on that. Might be too specific...

Alternatively, is there a short reading, or section from a book, that has an interesting way of contextualizing what it means to design a game, or perhaps how designers think about games differently than theorists?

This video examines the history of creativity in game design, the evolution of genres, and how game designers can be creative in the future. It combines Raph Koster's GDC talk about practical creativity, with insights from books as varied as Tynan Sylvesters designing games, to Micheal Sellers Advanced game design, to suggest that the key to the future of creativity in video games is understanding our past.

​

Raph Kosters GDC talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyVTxGpEO30

Tynan Sylvester's Designing games https://www.amazon.ca/Designing-Games-Guide-Engineering-Experiences/dp/1449337937

Erin Hofmman's Gdc Talk Precision of Emotion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP-LNRtwpb8

Gdc talk Design in Detail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJhpMmVLMZQ

​

There are About 25 other links in the description of the video as well, all pertaining to the history and future of game design

That was a funny solution a Cracked writer proposed to the whole debate, to free multiplayer games from singleplayer games so they can quit hassling each other. It solves some problems, creates others.

Technically my reading list moved away from game academia a while ago. I'm just a hobby writer, I don't worry about the same issues they do. I was a game critic for 3 years at Popmatters while I was in law school and I steadily got more interested in rule theory. That's most of what I do now in my writing.

I don't really know where someone could start with that...probably by studying systems. This is an outstanding intro book for it. Something bit more sophisticated on rule systems would be this one on how they are presented

I can start rattling off the legal philosophers but they are such boring old farts...Greg Lastowka wrote what is probably the best book on game design and law.

Sure, but because there's so much out there I'll throw some names at you instead, and let you pick through their writing.

Ian Bogost, Raph Koster, Jesper Juul, Tom Bissell,
Jesse Schell,
Noah Wardrip-Fruin &
Marie-Laure Ryan.

Some of these are more accessible that others, but all are well worth reading.

Gamer Theory by McKenzie Wark is good.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0674025199

Gets you thinking about games and our relation to them, the outside world versus the inside, etc.

Interestingly a book was just published on this topic - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Love-Essays-Play-Affection/dp/0786496932

Maybe you should start to question if

> non-linear, multi-modal digital narratives

are a thing. Don't assume, instead argue that they exist. Start with an series of small essays about this topic and see if you can 'build upon'.

If you want to read a 'counter view': http://www.amazon.com/Wrong-With-Video-Games-multi-billion-dollar-ebook/dp/B015IFZN76

(similar topic as Jesper Juuls master thesis)

Ian Bogost's How to Do Things with Videogames has a chapter on that.

The Game Design Reader has a lot of articles and excerpts from books, all collected together in one volume.

Prisoners Dilemma? though it seems more of a biography than a text book

It's already published. It's on Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Video-Games-as-Culture-Considering-the-Role-and-Importance-of-Video-Games/Muriel-Crawford/p/book/9781138655119; Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Video-Games-Culture-Considering-Contemporary/dp/1138655112; Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Video-Games-Culture-Considering-Contemporary/dp/1138655112/; Blackwell's: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Video-Games-as-Culture-by-Daniel-Muriel-Garry-Crawford/9781138655119; and many more bookstores!