New Issue of Game Studies Journal Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research has just published its latest issue (Volume 12, Issue 2, December 2012). All articles are available at http://gamestudies.org/1202/ Contents: The Algorithmic Experience: Portal as Art by Michael Burden, Sean Gouglas http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/the_algorithmic_experience Art requires criticism. Portal transcends videogame tropes: it explores the human struggle against algorithmic processes through complex parallels between the player, Chell, the companion cube, and GLaDOS. Increasingly complex frustrations are experienced directly through the game’s aesthetic of play - a freedom bounded by algorithmic control. In the Double Grip of the Game: Challenge and Fallout 3 by Sara Mosberg Iversen <http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/in_the_double_grip_of_the_game>http://gamestudies.org/1202/<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/in_the_double_grip_of_the_game>articles/in_the_double_grip_<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/in_the_double_grip_of_the_game>of_the_game<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/in_the_double_grip_of_the_game> A broad notion of challenge, conceptualized as both demanding and stimulating situations, is here proposed as a basis for holistic analysis of digital games which takes both the games’ mechanic and semiotic dimensions into equal account. The offered framework is demonstrated through application in an analysis of Fallout 3. Death Loop as a Feature by Olli Tapio Leino <http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/death_loop_as_a_feature>http://gamestudies.org/1202/<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/death_loop_as_a_feature>articles/death_loop_as_a_<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/death_loop_as_a_feature>feature<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/death_loop_as_a_feature> This essay is a critical examination of the paradigmatic approach of interpreting computer games as games accessible for analysis and critique through 'research-play'. The essay justifies a differentiation between game design research and game studies, and explores the avenues of analysis and critique of single-player computer games for the latter. A Study of User Interface Modifications in World of Warcraft by Sean Targett, Victoria Verlysdonk, Howard J. Hamilton, Daryl Hepting <http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/ui_mod_in_wow>http://gamestudies.org/1202/<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/ui_mod_in_wow>articles/ui_mod_in_wow<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/ui_mod_in_wow> This paper studies the effect that user created interfaces have had on WoW and its community of users through an online survey issued to WoW players. The survey results illustrate the varied nature of this community and provide information that may aid in the creation of communities dedicated to modifying the interfaces of other software packages. Best Before: The Red Queen Dilemma of Preserving Video Games? by Staffan Björk http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/bjork_book_review Best Before: videogames, supersession and obsolescence. James Newman, 2012. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, New York. ISBN-13: 9780415577915 Circles tend to return by David Myers <http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/myers_book_review>http://gamestudies.org/1202/<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/myers_book_review>articles/myers_book_review<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/myers_book_review> The magic circle: Principles of gaming & simulation. Jan H. G. Klabbers, 2009. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. ISBN: 978908790 0076 Forever a moral subject by Torill Mortensen <http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/mortensen_book_review>http://gamestudies.org/1202/<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/mortensen_book_review>articles/mortensen_book_review<http://gamestudies.org/1202/articles/mortensen_book_review> The Ethics of Computer Games. Miguel Sicart, 2009. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN-13: 9780262012652 ---------------------------------------- Dr. Jessica Enevold Managing Editor, Game Studies www.gamestudies.org<http://www.gamestudies.org/> enevold@gamestudies.org<mailto:enevold@gamestudies.org> Researcher and Lecturer Lund University, Dept. of Arts and Cultural Sciences jessica.enevold@kultur.lu.se<mailto:jessica.enevold@kultur.lu.se> -------------------------------- Jessica Enevold, PhD, Researcher and Lecturer Dep. of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University Biskopsgatan 7 22362 LUND, Sweden http://www.kultur.lu.se jessica.enevold@kultur.lu.se Managing Editor, Game Studies www.gamestudies.org enevold@gamestudies.org