Getting Gamers, Jamie Madigan
Getting Gamers, Jamie Madigan
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Getting Gamers
The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People who Play Them

Author: Jamie Madigan

Narrator: Stephen Bel Davies

Unabridged: 11 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/30/2019


Synopsis

Getting Gamers will show that rather than being a waste of time, video games can help us develop skills, make friends, succeed at work, form good habits, and be happy. Taking the time to learn what's happening in our heads as we play and shop allows us to approach games and gaming communities on our own terms and get more out of them.

With sales in the tens of billions of dollars each year, just about everybody is playing some kind of video game whether it's on a console, a computer, a web browser, or a phone. Much of the medium's success is built on careful (though sometimes unwitting) adherence to basic principles of psychology. This is something that's becoming even more important as games become more social, interactive, and sophisticated. This book offers something unique to the millions of people who play or design games: how to use an understanding of psychology to be a better part of their gaming communities, to avoid being manipulated when they shop and play, and to get the most enjoyment out of playing games. With examples from the games themselves, Jamie Madigan offers a fuller understanding of the impact of games on our psychology and the influence of psychology on our games.

About Jamie Madigan

Jamie Madigan has appeared as an expert on the psychology of video games in dozens of print, radio, and web outlets, including the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, BBC Radio 5, the BBC, and the Guardian. He is a lifelong gamer and lives in St. Louis, Missouri.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bon Tom

At first, I didn't like the narrator. It didn't sound like a gamer. More like goodie but oldie professor with pompous pronunciation, compensatory reflex for unsatisfying pay. And then I realized, this is exactly how he should sound. Because this book is so much about psychology and the way we're all......more

Goodreads review by Nelson

In the past I used to follow Jamie Madigan's blog religiously, and thanks to him I discovered many important studies on the psychology of video games. But little by little I stopped following it, without really understanding why. The focus of his texts stopped speaking to me more and more. When I st......more

Goodreads review by Nathan

Getting Gamers:  The Psychology Of Video Games And Their Impact On The People Who Play Them, by Jamie Madigan It is very obvious that this book is written by someone who is very fond of video games, but also someone who has a critical view of the way that game design manipulates the behavior of peopl......more

Goodreads review by Rachel

If I didn't know anything about psychology I think I would have loved this book. As it is, I felt like I was reading a lot of information I had read before--on Madigan's blog, in psychology textbooks, and other psychology books I've read. It felt a little like Madigan simply padded out some of his r......more