Water Cooler Games - Unit Operations: My new book on videogame criticism

Unit Operations: My new book on videogame criticism
March 27, 2006 - by Ian Bogost

MIT Press has just published my new book Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism!

I try to do two things in the book. First, I describe a kind of criticism that accounts for both computation and critical theory, which I hope will bridge computer science and humanism. "Unit Operations" is my shorthand for a general theory of procedurality that includes computational, literary, artistic, filmic, and plastic expression. Second, I use this approach to perform a series of comparative critiques of a variety of games in relation to other forms of expression like poetry, novels, and film. I also talk about fun and videogames with an agenda, although I'm finishing a new manuscript now that takes on the latter topic more directly.

There has been much work contextualizing videogames in relation to games, or collapsing videogames into digital art or film or narrative, but very little work that tries to understand rule-based systems as a general expressive domain of which videogames are a one. This is part of what I try to do in the book, hopefully opening a space for more comparative videogame criticism.

Click through for the official description from the press.

In Unit Operations, Ian Bogost argues that similar principles underlie both literary theory and computation, proposing a literary-technical theory that can be used to analyze particular videogames. Moreover, this approach can be applied beyond videogames: Bogost suggests that any medium--from videogames to poetry, literature, cinema, or art--can be read as a configurative system of discrete, interlocking units of meaning, and he illustrates this method of analysis with examples from all these fields. The marriage of literary theory and information technology, he argues, will help humanists take technology more seriously and hep technologists better understand software and videogames as cultural artifacts. This approach is especially useful for the comparative analysis of digital and nondigital artifacts and allows scholars from other fields who are interested in studying videogames to avoid the esoteric isolation of "game studies."

The richness of Bogost's comparative approach can be seen in his discussions of works by such philosophers and theorists as Plato, Badiou, Zizek, and McLuhan, and in his analysis of numerous videogames including Pong, Half-Life, and Star Wars Galaxies. Bogost draws on object technology and complex adaptive systems theory for his method of unit analysis, underscoring the configurative aspects of a wide variety of human processes. His extended analysis of freedom in large virtual spaces examines Grand Theft Auto 3, The Legend of Zelda, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and Joyce's Ulysses. In Unit Operations, Bogost not only offers a new methodology for videogame criticism but argues for the possibility of real collaboration between the humanities and information technology.

Did I mention you can buy it now from Amazon.com or your favorite bookseller?

Comments (12) | Post a Comment | TrackBack (0)

Comment from zach whalen on March 27, 2006

Congratulations! I just ordered my copy and very much look forward to reading it. Sounds like an extremely valuable (and ambitious) project.

Comment from Ian Bogost on March 28, 2006

Thanks Zach!

Comment from miguel on March 28, 2006

Congrats!
should be shipping soon, and I am already waiting for your new work - closer to being a groupie, I guess :)

Comment from Patrick on March 28, 2006

Very cool! I've added it to my wantlist for the next round of book orders from Amazon. I look forward to it.

Comment from chico on March 29, 2006

Congratulations! I hope I can get it soon.

Trackback:
http://www.nongames.com/article.php?story=20060328144809987

Comment from andrew stern on March 29, 2006

Intense cover -- I like it. A bit funereal, perhaps, but strong. I'd pick it up when browsing a book store. What do you think of it?

Comment from Ian Bogost on March 29, 2006

To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the cover. It's professional and actually quite handsome in person (looks better than the image), but it's a bit anonymous. Funereal is a bit extreme, but perhaps not inappropriate, alas. Still, if you'd pick it up that's a good sign.

Comment from tim welsh on March 30, 2006

Looks great, Ian. I was hoping someone would write a book like this. Excited to see how you fit video gaming along with the other arts, as that is probably the direction my disseration will go.

Comment from Mia on March 31, 2006

Sweet! Congrats Ian.... it's currently waiting to ship w/Amazon (damn them and their super saver shipping scams).

Comment from nick on March 31, 2006

Congrats, Ian!

Comment from andrew stern on April 1, 2006

just ordered mine, also victim to the super saver shipping scam.

Comment from jack stenner on April 7, 2006

got mine last week (pre-order)...it's like an early christmas, thanks!

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