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

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

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Sihvonen, Tanja.
Imprint:	Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press c2011.
Description:	221 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Language:	English
Series:	Mediamatters MediaMatters.
Subject:	Sims. Sims. Computer games -- Programming. Computer games -- Design. Computer games -- Design. Computer games -- Programming.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/8439442

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9789089642011 9089642013
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 190-209) and index.
Summary:	Summary: The author of this informative study explores the question of what happens when players practice and negotiate computer code, various ideologies, and the game itself by modding (modifying a game) in the context of "The Sims", the bestselling computer game of all time. Sihvonen examines the technical and material specificities of "The Sims" mods, as well as their cultural context. Viewed as a manifestation of participatory culture, modding makes PC games ultimately malleable: players reconfigure the game by creating new content, altering the code and changing the behaviors of the game engine. Using a semiotic framework, Sihvonen suggests a signification process that includes representation, interpretation, investigation and experimentation with the game system and rules.

Table of Contents:

Preface
I. Unleashing Players
Game and its modification
Product and process
Understanding gameplay
Reconfiguring textuality
II. Cultural and Commercial Appropriation
Modding and participatory culture
Game development in context
Histories of modding
Modding simulations
Serious game development or intense play?
III. Dynamics of Modding
Categorising modding practices
From interpretation to configuration
Sharing the idea of play
Private and public spaces
IV. Negotiating the Code
Playing with the Sims
Game space as canvas
Playing house, performing gender
V. Extending the Game
Pleasures and politics of simulation
From recycling to remediation
Kinky play: pornographic hacking and The Sims
Conclusion
References
Notes
Index