Video Games and Interactive Media: A Glimpse at New Digital Entertainment

This book explores the development of the video game as a new form of interactive media and a template for future modes of entertainment. While television programs and movies are predominantly passive enterprises, video games engage the audience and provide not only audio-visual stimulation but also an enriching interaction that creates a heightened sense of immersion. Through a detailed discussion of gameplay and game design principles, Natkin explores the nature of this interaction and its impact on the entertainment industry. He explains the developmental process behind game design and the new concepts of narration and entertainment it has introduced. He then considers the future of gameplay with its potential for developing new means of artistic expression and its liability to be abused as an outlet for propaganda and coercion.

Stephane Natkin received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers (CNAM), Paris in 1978 and 1980 respectively. He is a founder of the French National School on Games and Interactive Media, which was launched by the French Prime Minister in May 2003. Currently he is a professor in the department of Computer Science at CNAM, where he is Director of the Computer Research Laboratory CEDRIC, and heads a postgraduate game-design program.