Ctrl-Alt-Play: Essays on Control in Video Gaming

The word "control" has many implications for video games. On a basic level, without player control, there is no experience. Much of the video game industry focuses on questions of control and ways to improve play to make the gamer feel more connected to the virtual world.

The sixteen essays in this collection offer critical examinations of the issue of control in video games, including different ways to theorize and define control within video gaming and how control impacts game design and game play.

Close readings of specific games--including Grand Theft Auto IV, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Dragon Age: Origins--consider how each locates elements of control in their structures. As video games increasingly become a major force in the media landscape, this important contribution to the field of game studies provides a valuable framework for understanding their growing impact.

Matthew Wysocki is an assistant professor at Flagler College, teaching cinema and media studies. He lives in St. Augustine, Florida.