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If there is one thing that distinguishes videogames from other media forms surely it is their interactivity. What it quite means to be a 'player', or what constitutes the distinctive 'play position', has never been more complicated, contested and confusing - so much so that it need not involve touching a controller at all, far less becoming an accomplished performer. We see players learning from one another as they observe technique, and shifting between playing and spectating as they take turns sharing gameplay one level or life at a time. explores the phenomenon of videogame spectatorship and presents a historically-grounded case for a reconsideration of our conceptualization and approaches to videogame play. Renowned games scholar James Newman covers player activities, how platforms enable spectating in interesting ways, and how spectating helps play a role in archiving and preserving game history. Recognizing that the playability of a videogame is a temporary state, Newman argues that spectatorship is not merely a viable alternative to first hand play but that it might offer insights into the nuance and variety of possible playings impossible to attain in any other way. Newman's analysis for understanding how games have been integrated into the landscape of new media will become required reading.
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James Newman is Professor of Digital Media and Subject Leader for Film, Media and Creative Computing at Bath Spa University, UK. He has written widely on videogames and gaming culture. including
Best Before: Videogames, Supersession and Obsolescence (2012),
Playing with Videogames (2008) and
Videogames (2004, second ed. 2013),
100 Videogames (2007);
Teaching Videogames (2006) and
Difficult Questions About Videogames (2004, second ed. 2013). Newman is a co-founder of the UK's National Videogame Archive, which is a partnership with the Science Museum, a researcher/curator at the National Videogame Arcade, and a member of the GameCity international videogames festival team.
