Leeds academic hosts hands-on book launch at National Videogame Museum
A Leeds academic brought his new book to life with video games, guest speakers and even an appearance by Sonic the Hedgehog.
Dr Tom Tyler, Lecturer in Digital Culture in the School of Media and Communication, held an event at the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield to launch his new book Game: Animals, Video Games and Humanity.
Dr Tyler, Dr Peter Sands from the University of York and Dr Eva Giraud from the University of Sheffield delivered talks and guests also had the chance to play some of the games discussed in the book.
The book, published by University of Minnesota Press, explores animals that feature in video games old and new and how they challenge players to consider winning and losing, difficulty settings, accessibility, virtuality, vitality and vulnerability, and much more.
In a review, Mark Sample of Davidson College said: “With delightful zigzags through etymology, folklore, literature, and history, Tyler shows how thinking about video games by considering the animals within defamiliarizes video games, recenters the nonhuman, and revitalizes our sense of our own humanness.”
The Ancillary Review of Books said: “Tyler’s Game is a thoughtful reflection on what it means to be human in a hypermediated world on the verge of breakdown, with an eye toward a more ethical multispecies future to come.”
Game: Animals, Video Games and Humanity is available now.
