edited by Teresa de La Hera, Jeroen Jansz, Joost Raessens and Ben Schouten
Amsterdam University Press, 2021 eISBN: 978-90-485-4393-9
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
The rapid developments of new communication technologies have facilitated the popularization of digital games, which has translated into an exponential growth of the game industry in the last decades. The ubiquitous presence of digital games has resulted in an expansion of the applications of these games from mere entertainment purposes to a great variety of serious purposes. In this edited volume, we narrow the scope of attention by focusing on what game theorist Ian Bogost has called "persuasive games", that is, gaming practices that combine the dissemination of information with attempts to engage players in particular attitudes and behaviors.
This volume offers a multifaceted reflection on persuasive gaming, that is, on the process of these particular games being played by players. The purpose is to better understand when and how digital games can be used for persuasion, by further exploring persuasive games and some other kinds of persuasive playful interaction as well. The book critically integrates what has been accomplished in separate research traditions to offer a multidisciplinary approach to understanding persuasive gaming that is closely linked to developments in the industry by including the exploration of relevant case studies.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Teresa de la Hera is Assistant Professor of Persuasive Gaming at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where she is member of the Research Cluster Gaming Matters. Her expertise is focused on understanding how games and play are used to influence players' attitudes and behaviors. She is the author of Digital Gaming and the Advertising Landscape (2019), published by Amsterdam University Press.
Joost Raessens is chair and Full Professor of Media Theory at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and scientific director of the Utrecht Center for Game Research (gameresearch.nl). His research concerns the 'ludification of culture,' focusing on games for change in relation to global climate change and refugee and migration issues. Raessens leads the research project "Persuasive gaming: From theory-based design to validation and back" (persuasivegaming.nl). He is co-editor of the volumes The Playful Citizen (2019) and Playful identities (2015), both published by Amsterdam University Press, and the Handbook of Computer Game Studies (The MIT Press, 2005).
Jeroen Jansz is Full Professor of Communication and Media at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds the Chair of Communication and Media in the Department of Media & Communication. His research aims to understand and explain the changing relations between media consumers and media producers with a specific focus on digital gaming.
Ben Schouten is an artist/designer as well as a Full Professor in playful interaction at the department of industrial design of the Eindhoven University of Technology. His research focuses on play and participatory design for social innovations and citizen empowerment, through bottom-up approaches. He co-edited 5 volumes and conference proceedings and co-authored 100-plus publications.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Persuasive Gaming. From Theory-Based Design to Validation and Back. An Introduction (Teresa de la Hera, Jeroen Jansz, Ruud Jacobs, Ben Schouten, Joost Raessens & Martijn Kors)
PART I. THE STUDY OF PERSUASION THROUGH DIGITAL GAMES
Introduction to Part I
2. Persuasive Games, Ten Years Later (Ian Bogost)
3. Playing an Automated World (Miguel Sicart)
4. Looking Beyond Persuasion Through Rule-based Representations in Digital Games: Designing Games to Shape, Reinforce or Change Attitudes (Teresa de la Hera & Joost Raessens)
5. Creating Stealth Game Interventions for Attitude and Behavior Change: An "Embedded Design" Model (Geoff Kaufman, Mary Flanagan & Max Seidman)
PART II. DESIGNING PERSUASIVE GAMES
Introduction to Part II (Ben Schouten & Martijn Kors)
6. A Breathtaking Journey. Appealing to Empathy in a Persuasive Mixed-Reality Game (Martijn Kors, Gabriele Ferri, Erik D. van der Spek, Cas Ketel & Ben Schouten)
7. Macro, Micro and Meta-persuasive Play to Change Society (Lindsay D. Grace)
8. VilDu?! A Game for Sexually Abused Children: How Openness. Facilitated a Clear Design Direction (Menno Deen & Eline Muijres)
9. Designing for Persuasion through Embodied Experiences in Virtual Reality (Sun Joo Ahn)
PART III. ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PERSUASIVE GAMES
Introduction to Part III (Ruud Jacobs & Jeroen Jansz)
10. The Present of Persuasion: Escalating Research into Persuasive Game Effect (Ruud Jacobs & Jeroen Jansz)
11. Designing for Transfer (Mette Wichmand)
12. Striving "Against All Odds" to Reduce Prejudice toward Immigrants & Refugees (Chad Michael Wertley & Jordan Soliz)
13. Mitigating Bias and Improving Professional Decision-making through Persuasive Training Games (Yu-Hao Lee, Norah E. Dunbar, Claude H. Miller, Elena Bessarabova, Matthew Jensen, Scott Wilson, Javier Elizondo, Judee Burgoon & Joseph Valacich)
Index