As pop culture, games are as important as film or television—but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of Play Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman present a much-needed primer for this emerging field. They offer a unified model for looking at all kinds of games, from board games and sports to computer and video games. As active participants in game culture, the authors have written Rules of Play as a catalyst for innovation, filled with new concepts, strategies, and methodologies for creating and understanding games. Building an aesthetics of interactive systems, Salen and Zimmerman define core concepts like "play," "design," and "interactivity." They look at games through a series of eighteen "game design schemas," or conceptual frameworks, including games as systems of emergence and information, as contexts for social play, as a storytelling medium, and as sites of cultural resistance.

Written for game scholars, game developers, and interactive designers, Rules of Play is a textbook, reference book, and theoretical guide. It is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a solid theoretical framework for the emerging discipline of game design.

"The term “Metaverse” is thirty years old, yet only recently entered mainstream conversation, attracting both fascinating and skepticism. While some have promised its imminent arrival, in fact it will take a series of technological and societal leaps to realise its full potential. In The Metaverse, pioneering theorist, former tech executive and acclaimed entrepreneur Matthew Ball offers an expansive tour of the “next internet”: he presents a comprehensive definition of the Metaverse (going far beyond mere virtual reality headsets), explains the technologies that will power it, addresses governance challenges, and predicts Metaverse winners and losers. Bringing clarity and authority to a frequently misunderstood concept, this revised and updated edition of Ball’s authoritative work demonstrates how the Metaverse will radically reshape society.

“A comprehensive guide to every aspect of the metaverse.”—John Thornhill, Financial Times

“Offers a better understanding of the metaverse than the novel that coined the term—1992’s Snow Crash.”—Cecilia D’Anastasio, Bloomberg