Animal Crossing

“A book that gets to the heart of what play, progression, and fun mean. Within the context of a single game in a singular time, Wardrip-Fruin shows us the two-way nature of a game’s world: just as we can enter it, it can enter ours. The book is a pleasure to read as a game designer, a parent, and a gamer.” -- Rod Humble “In Wardrip-Fruin’s hands, Animal Crossing: New Horizons becomes a fascinating lens on how games simulate ecosystems of community and mutual care—including how complicated those things become with economics intersecting. It’s also a unique memoir of the early COVID-19 pandemic, where mass isolation and the loss of communal spaces saw ACNH become a crucial ‘third space’ for millions. This book adeptly captures a crucial time and place for game design in history.” -- Leigh Alexander, writer, narrative designer for video games, and author of ""Breathing Machine: A Memoir of Computers"" Wardrip-Fruin has a great eye for identifying undercurrents in games and digital media. . . . As [he] reminds us, games are rarely just games. They’re usually games about something, they bring the real world into the game.” * Game Developer, on ""How Pac-Man Eats"" * “A significant contribution to game studies and game design.” * Game Studies, on ""How Pac-Man Eats"" *