July 18, 2007

Persuasive Games is a Must Read

by Noah Wardrip-Fruin · , 12:02 am
Persuasive Games cover

Nick and I both have the desire to write longer considerations of Ian Bogost’s new book Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames — but, for now, let me just say that it’s an absolute must read. I taught pre-publication versions of the first chapter in both my graduate and undergraduate game studies courses last year. In both cases it set the stage for one of the best discussions of the term. If you’re hungry to think not just about how games work, but what they mean, and how they create meaning through their operations in ways that are different from non-procedural media (and you should be) this is the most important book for you to be reading right now.

6 Responses to “Persuasive Games is a Must Read”


  1. GBGames Says:

    Ok, it’s on my wishlist!

  2. Patrick Says:

    Yeah, I want to get this book badly. Soon…

  3. Ian Bogost Says:

    Persuasive Games

    The Expressive Power of Videogames

  4. Maki Says:

    “Bogost argues that videogames, thanks to their basic representational mode of procedurality (rule-based representations and interactions), open a new domain for persuasion; they realize a new form of rhetoric.”

    Sounds awesome.. I wonder what games he analyzes in the book. :)

    Thanks for the tip!

  5. Persuasive Games « Emily Short’s Interactive Fiction Says:

    […] Persuasive Games July 20th, 2007 Those who follow Grand Text Auto are presumably already aware of this, but Ian Bogost […]

  6. Brian Moriarty Says:

    By the way, Barnes and Noble online (www.bn.com) offers this title for significantly less than MIT Press or Amazon. Free shipping, too.

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