Mass Effect Legendary Edition

The Digital Role-Playing Game and Technical Communication

With annual gross sales surpassing 100 billion U.S. dollars each of the last two years, the digital games industry may one day challenge theatrical-release movies as the highest-grossing entertainment media in the world. In their examination of the tremendous cultural influence of digital games, Daniel Reardon and David Wright analyze three companies that have shaped the industry: Bethesda, located in Rockville, Maryland, USA; BioWare in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; and CD Projekt Red in Warsaw, Poland. Each company has used social media and technical content in the games to promote players' belief that players control the companies' game narratives. The result has been at times explosive, as empowered players often attempted to co-op the creative processes of games through discussion board forum demands, fund-raising campaigns to persuade companies to change or add game content, and modifications (“modding”) of the games through fan-created downloads. The result has changed the way we understand the interactive nature of digital games and the power of fan culture to shape those games.

A Game In The Life

Video games are a nostalgia-producing machine, and A Game In The Life breaks down over a dozen timeless titles to see what makes them so compelling years after release. Looking back at classic titles like Capcom's Mega Man 2 and Square Enix's Final Fantasy VI, in addition to more recent games like BioWare's Mass Effect 2 and FromSoftware's Dark Souls, Jordan Rudek shares his insights as an avid player, reviewer, and lover of all things video game. Intertwined with discussions and descriptions of these incredible digital works are a series of recollections and memories of the life moments Rudek experienced when he came upon these games. The result is an autobiographical dive into the times and events surrounding a collection of memorable video games, mixed with storytelling and a flair for the dramatic. Ultimately, A Game In The Life seeks to highlight how video games can have a lasting and profound effect on those who enjoy them, and how they can serve as miniature time capsules of the periods in our lives when they brought us so much joy.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition