Space Time Play: “over 140 game experts” talk game spaces

Space Time Play: “over 140 game experts” talk game spaces

SPACE TIME PLAY. COMPUTER GAMES, ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM: THE NEXT LEVEL
Edited by Friedrich von Borries, Steffen P. Walz and Matthias Böttger In cooperation with Drew Davidson, Heather Kelley, Julian Kücklich“Space Time Play” is a journey through the past, present and potential spaces of computer and video games.

Have you ever wondered what’s behind a perfect Tetris-wall?
Have you ever freed a 3D world from terrorists?
Have you ever made polygon friends in networked fantasy realms?
And do you know what happens when these games never end?

The richly illustrated texts in “Space Time Play” cover a wide range of gamespaces: from milestone video and computer games to virtual metropolises to digitally-overlaid physical spaces. As a comprehensive and interdisciplinary compendium, “Space Time Play” explores the architectural history of computer games and the future of ludic space. More than 140 experts from game studies and the game industry, from architecture and urban planning, have contributed essays, game reviews and interviews. The games examined range from commercial products to artistic projects and from scientific experiments to spatial design and planning tools.

“Space Time Play” is not just meant for architects, designers and gamers, but for all those who take an interest in the culture of digital games and the spaces within and modeled after them. Let’s play!

With contributions by Espen Aarseth, Ernest Adams, Richard A. Bartle, Ian Bogost, Iain Borden, Gerhard M. Buurman, Edward Castranova, Kees Christiaanse, James Der Derian, Stephen Graham, Ludger Hovestadt, Henry Jenkins, Jesper Juul, Frank Lantz, Bart Lootsma, Winy Maas, Lev Manovich, Jane McGonigal, Kas Oosterhuis, William J. Mitchell, Howard Rheingold, Katie Salen, Hans-Peter Schwarz, McKenzie Wark, Mark Wigley and many more.

And me!! I feel quite chuffed to be amongst such luminaries! I was asked to give a brief overview of Alternate Reality Games inline with the book’s theme, for the general reader. I wrote it a while ago, when Perplex City was…well…perpetual. On top of the names listed, the book also includes ARG designers Sean Stewart, Steve Peters and Dave Szulborski and tons more people you and I know. The book is out 17th Sept in Europe and in November in the USA. You can preorder at Amazon and check out the table of contents on the site: www.spacetimeplay.org