The Persistence of Code in Game Engine Culture

Paperback, x + 199 pages, NOT ex-library. Minor handling wear. Book is clean and bright with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Straight uncreased spine. -- This study offers a critical analysis of the contemporary video game engine, arguing against the trend of viewing it solely through the lens of visual culture or user-facing interfaces. The author posits that despite the rise of user-friendly graphical editors, the underlying textual code remains a persistent and powerful force that shapes game development, aesthetics, and culture. The work examines the tension between visual workflows and code-level production in popular engines like Unity and Unreal. It serves as a key text in software studies, re-centering the importance of programming languages, algorithms, and computational logic in understanding the material and cultural specificity of digital games. -- Contents: 1. Game Engine Culture 2. The Mechanics of Play: Situating Game Development 3. Resident Racist: Embodiment and Game Engine Design 4. New Media Ecosystems: Amazon and the Advancing Game Economy 5. Industries at Play: Materiality, Mixed Reality and Mediated Environments 6. Game Engine Architecture: Visualizing Space and Place 7. The Little Engine That Could: Independent Developers and the Global Games Market 8. Queering the Field: Beyond Binary Engine Choices; Bibliography; Index -- "With its unique focus on video game engines, the data-driven architectures of game development and play, this innovative textbook examines the impact of software on everyday life and explores the rise of engine-driven culture. Through a series of case studies, Eric Freedman lays out a clear methodology for studying the game development pipeline, and uses the video game engine as a pathway for media scholars and practitioners to navigate the complex terrain of software practice. Examining several distinct software ecosystems that include the proprietary efforts of Amazon, Apple, Capcom, Epic Games and Unity Technologies, and the unique ways that game engines are used in non-game industries, Freedman illustrates why engines matter. The studies bind together designers and players, speak to the labors of the game industry, value the work of both global and regional developers, and establish critical connection points between software and society. Freedman has crafted a much-needed entry point for students new to code, and a research resource for scholars and teachers working in media industries, game development and new media.".…