Thresholds of Digital Gameplay

How the often-overlooked interfaces, interactions, and inequities on the edges of gameplay are more central to gaming than we realize. How the often-overlooked interfaces, interactions, and inequities on the edges of gameplay are more central to gaming than we realize. Contemporary digital gameplay is only accessible by navigating an ecosystem of interfaces that support its computational nature. Account logins, controllers, and an assortment of menus, settings, and other peripheral-to-gameplay elements support a range of practical and necessary functions that result from the transformation of gameplay into digital gameplay, as well as broader shifts toward an increasingly networked and data-driven world. The games industry has adopted usability testing on top of play testing to evaluate how these interfaces may influence the accessibility and success of their game software, but how embedding gameplay within webs of software, hardware, and platform infrastructures impacts the medium, players, and production has not yet been fully explored. In Thresholds of Digital Gameplay, Daniel Gardner demonstrates how a series of interfaces and other elements on the periphery of digital gameplay fundamentally alter the phenomena of gaming. This book examines non-gameplay-centered material or mechanical attachments that surround and enclose gameplay while directing or mediating our experience of it-for example, access controls, character configuration, and microtransactional storefronts.

About the Author :
Daniel L. Gardner is Lecturer of Computing and Game Design at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Review :
ENDORSEMENTS “You are on the threshold of an impressive book that uncovers the profound significance of the interfaces, tools, menus, and technical paraphernalia that surround digital games. Cross this threshold! You’ll never experience a digital game the same.” —Braxton Soderman, author of Intellivision and Against Flow “A powerfully written and deeply original book that offers productive interventions into navigating computational worlds and digital gameplay. Gardner exposes the interstitial nodes that enact upon our systems, infrastructures, and users, which impact our experiences with play.” —Kishonna L. Gray, author of Intersectional Tech “Gardner’s scholarly examination of ‘periludic’ elements surrounding gameplay will resonate with game UX researchers and designers interested in the entire player experience, including the often surprisingly consequential ‘nonmagical administrative rectangle’ of EULAs, ToS, and microtransactions.” —Katherine Isbister, author of How Games Move Us