Players unleashed! : modding The Sims and the culture of gaming /

In Players Unleashed!, Sihvonen (information studies and interactive media, Univ. of Tampere, Finland) presents her research observations concerning the modification or "game modding" of The Sims game series. Her findings illuminate the vast ecosystem of player creation, expression, and sharing derived from the alteration of The Sims game code and digital assets. Moreover, she explores the various levels of player participation in The Sims community, which go well beyond those found in other digital games. Unlike past titles such as Quake 4 Mods for Dummies (2006), this book is not about how to technically modify games. Instead it dives deep into what can be learned from player creativity, which may interest those who are developing games that encourage user-generated content and game modification. Casual readers may be intimidated by how dense and detailed this book is, but there may be valuable insights for people who are persistent enough to read through to the end. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students in game design and development programs, researchers/faculty, and professionals/practitioners. A. Chen Cogswell Polytechnical College