Mazes in Videogames: Meaning, Metaphor and Design - Softcover

Gazzard, Alison

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786467940 ISBN 13: 9780786467945

Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2013

Synopsis

From the text adventures of Zork, to the arcade game of Pac-Man, to the corridors of Doom, and on to the city streets of Grand Theft Auto IV, the maze has often been used as a space to trap and confuse players in their navigation of gameworlds. However, the maze as a construction on the landscape has a long history before the invention of the videogame. By examining the change in the maze from the landscapes of open spaces and closed gardens through to the screen of the videogame, both mazes and labyrinths are discussed in terms of historical reference, alongside the author's personal experiences of walking and playing these structures. This book shows how our cultural experiences of real world maze landscapes may have changed, and how we negotiate videogame worlds along the various paths and meanings they so often create for us.

About this title

About the Author

Alison Gazzard is a senior lecturer in digital cultures and media in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

Edition details

• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786467940
• ISBN 13: 9780786467945
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192