Why read Cheating?

Book cover of Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames

Book description

A cultural history of digital gameplay that investigates a wide range of player behavior, including cheating, and its relationship to the game industry.

The widely varying experiences of players of digital games challenge the notions that there is only one correct way to play a game. Some players routinely use…

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Video games

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Design

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Why read it?

1 author picked Cheating as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Christopher A. Paul

Author

This is one of the foundational books in game studies and will shake up how you think about why and how people play games.

Consalvo introduces a concept called ‘avatar capital,’ which is about the reputation and relative fame players can chase within a game and its community. To acquire that capital, players often remake rules and expectations to excel.

This book helped shape how I see games.

From Christopher's list on understanding games.