Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

Spring 2018

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, here is the review's first paragraph:

Audrey Anable provides a succinct overview of her book early in the introduction: “I make a case for why media theory is not finished with representation and subjectivity” (p. xi). Of course, as you might imagine, making that case is anything but simple. As Anable discovers, much of game studies as a field fetishizes mechanics and computation as the distinguishing feature of gaming (and therefore the most important aspect for analysis). There are also profound and troubling reactions from various members of the gameplaying public when representation is discussed. This, she argues, has left game studies ill equipped to address how feeling and emotion impact and enhance game play, a deficiency she notes is not limited to game studies. In response, Anable presents affect, which she defines as “the aspects of emotions, feelings, and bodily engagement that circulate through people and things but are often registered only at the interface—at the moment of transmission or contact—when affect gets called up into representation” (p. xviii). This definition provides an excellent outline of the main points she explores in her work.

Comments

© and published by The Strong. Posted here with permission.

This review was published in the American Journal of Play Vol. 10 No. 3, Spring 2018, pp. 368-369. It can also be viewed on the publisher's website: https://www.journalofplay.org/issues/10/3

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