Indie Games in the Digital Age

M.J. Clarke (Cal State LA, USA), Cynthia Wang (Cal State LA, USA)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic USA
16 April 2020

Media studies; Game theory; Computer games: strategy guides

Series: Approaches to Digital Game Studies

A host of digital affordances, including reduced cost production tools, open distribution platforms, and ubiquitous connectivity, have engendered the growth of indie games among makers and users, forcing critics to reconsider the question of who makes games and why. Taking seriously this new mode of cultural produciton compells analysts to reconsider the blurred boundaries and relations of makers, users and texts as well as their respective relationship to cultural power and hierarchy. The contributions to Indie Games in the Digital Age consider these questions and examine a series of firms, makers, games and scenes, ranging from giants like Nintendo and Microsoft to grassroots games like Cards Against Humanity and Stardew Valley, to chart more precisely the productive and instructive disruption that this new site of cultural production offers.

Edited by: M.J. Clarke (Cal State LA USA), Cynthia Wang (Cal State LA, USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic USA
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
Weight: 476g
ISBN: 9781501356452
ISBN 10: 1501356453
Series: Approaches to Digital Game Studies
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 16 April 2020
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction M.J. Clarke (Cal State LA, USA) & Cynthia Wang (Cal State LA, USA) 2. This is how a garden grows: Cultivating emergent networks in the development of Stardew Valley Kevin Rutherford (SUNY Cortland, USA) 3. The making of Escape Room in a Box Cynthia Wang (Cal State LA, USA) 4. A semi-commercial endeavor: TSR Hobbies and fan publishing Aaron Trammell (UC Irvine, USA) 5. From tool to community to style: The influence of software tools on game development communities and aesthetics Emilie Reed (University of Abertay, UK) 6. Paper code and digital goods: The economic values in type-in market games Patrick Davidson (New York University, USA) 7. Playing out of Steam: Indie games, dependent networks, and The Stanley Parable Caleb Andrew Milligan (University of Florida, USA) 8. Brews, burgers and indie bombast: The antiestablishment neoliberalism of Devolver Digital John Vanderhoef (California State University, Dominguez Hills, USA) 9. In search of queer spaces: Indie games, representation, and the politics of inclusion Cody Mejeur (Michigan State University, USA) 10. The powers and pitfalls of queer indie game-making: An interview with Mo Cohen Bonnie Ruberg (UC Irvine, USA) 11. Postmortems and indie cultural work M.J. Clarke (Cal State LA, USA) 12. Conclusion M.J. Clarke (Cal State LA, USA) & Cynthia Wang (Cal State LA, USA) Index

M.J. Clarke is an assistant professor of TV Film and Media Studies at Cal State LA, USA. His research on popular culture and media industries has appeared in the journals Television and New Media and The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics as well as the anthologies Superhero Synergies and The Comics of Charles Schulz. His examination of network television at the end of the 20th Century, Transmedia Television, is available from Bloomsbury. Cynthia Wang is an assistant professor of Communication Studies at Cal State LA, USA. Her research takes a critical cultural perspective on how digital media and the Internet reconfigures social relations, cultural practices, and power dynamics. She has published in Social Media + Society, Time & Society, and Journalism Studies among others.

Reviews for Indie Games in the Digital Age

A wide-ranging set of research examining the varied socio-cultural and economic enclaves of the indie games world. It provides a useful sense of the intersectional nature of independent games and their value to the broader communities that connect them. * Lindsay D. Grace, Knight Chair of Interactive Media, University of Miami, USA * Too often “indie” is applied to gaming in a haphazard way that pretends uniformity across both production and genre. Indie Games in the Digital Age does an excellent job of forging new ground, showing just how complex and rich the possibilities and challenges of independent games truly are. By considering indie games not as an aesthetic but as a set of practices including the production of workers, the use and engagement by game players and fans, this book is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the full scope of video game production and its broader implications on digital culture and modern life. * Randy Nichols, Assistant Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma, USA *