The Place of Play
Toys and Digital Cultures
Distributed for Amsterdam University Press
Technology has come to dominate the world of toys and gaming. Given the immense popularity of computer games, as well as the increasing role played by the digital in childhood activities, it’s not surprising that the world of play has come to exist at the borders of technological production and consumption. The Place of Play takes on digital toys and computer games as a site for strategic research into the nature, characteristics, mechanisms, and problems at hand in our contemporary assessment of what it means to play. Maaike Lauwert centers her discussion on the “geography of play,” which comprises different aspects of play itself, including the design of a toy, the discourse surrounding it, and the ways in which it is actually used by its player.
“Lauwaert puts participatory culture into perspective, mapping the geography of play across building games, design games and procedural games. She explores the generation-shaping capacities of games and offers a rich assessment of the move towards ‘many-to-many’ play forms. With this much needed intervention, Lauwaert also demonstrates the value of one-to-many scholarship.”—William Uricchio, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Introduction
1. Changing Practices, Shifting Sites
2. Core and Periphery of Play
Part I: New Children, Different Toys
3. The Child as Consumer
4. Domesticating Play
5. The Child in the City
6. Toys as Containers, Mediators and Promoters
Part II: From Solitary to Networked Geographies of Play
7. LEGO Toys: from Wooden Blocks to Plastic Bricks
8. Brand Extension & Product Differentiation
9. Bringing the Fans into the Company
10. Many-to-Many Geographies of Play
Part III: Commercial Geographies of Play
11. Toy Towns and Simulated Cities
12. A 21st-century Dollhouse: The Sims
13. Unwanted Play Practices in The Sims Online
14. Commodified Geographies of Play
Part IV: Serious Geographies of Play
15. Participation Tools
16. Participation Processes
17. Purposeful Play
18. Serious Geographies of Play
Conclusion
19. Changing Geographies of Play
20. Making Do
Index
Bibliography
You may purchase this title at these fine bookstores. Outside the USA, see our international sales information.
