Simplicity and Complexity in Games of the Intellect

Simplicity and Complexity in Games of the Intellect
Author: Lawrence B. Slobodkin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 1992
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780674808256

"If it were necessary, for some curious legal reason, to draw a clear line between human and nonhuman--for example, if a group of australopithecines were to appear and one had to decide if they were to be protected by Fair Employment Laws or by the ASPCA--I would welcome them as humans if I knew that they were seriously concerned about how to bury their dead." In this witty and wise way, Lawrence Slobodkin takes us on a spirited quest for the multiple meanings of simplicity in all facets of life. Slobodkin begins at the beginning, with a consideration of how simplicity came into play in the development of religious doctrines. He nimbly moves on to the arts--where he ranges freely from dining to painting--and then focuses more sharply on the role of simplicity in science. Here we witness the historical beginnings of modern science as a search for the fewest number of terms, the smallest number of assumptions, or the lowest exponents, while still meeting criteria for descriptive accuracy. The result may be an elegant hypothetical system that generates the apparent world from less apparent assumptions, as with the Newtonian revolution; or it may mean deducing non-obvious processes from everyday facts, as with the Darwinian revolution. Slobodkin proposes that the best intellectual work is done as if it were a game on a simplified playing field. He supplies serious arguments for considering the role of simplification and playfulness in all of our activities. The immediate effect of his unfailingly captivating essay is to throw open a new window on the world and to refresh our perspectives on matters of the heart and mind.

The "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"

The
Author: Tim Summers
Publisher:
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2022-03-25
Genre:
ISBN: 9781789385670

Critical analysis of the music of the iconic 1998 Nintendo 64 video game. More than twenty years after its creation, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is still held in high critical regard as one of the finest examples of the video game medium. The same is true of the game's music, whose superlative reception continues to be evident, whether in the context of the game or in orchestral concerts and recordings of the game's music. Given music's well-established significance for the video game form, it is no coincidence that music is placed at the forefront of this most lauded and loved of games. In Ocarina of Time, music connects and unifies all aspects of the game, from the narrative conceit to the interactive mechanics, from the characters to the virtual worlds, and even into the activity of legions of fans and gamers, who play, replay, and reconfigure the music in an enduring cultural site that has Ocarina of Time at its center. As video game music studies begins to mature into a coherent field, it is now possible to take the theoretical apparatus and critical approaches that have been developed in antecedent scholarship and put these into practice in the context of an extended concrete game example. The most extensive investigation into the music of a single game yet undertaken, this book serves three important primary purposes: first, it provides a historical-critical account of the music of an important video game text; second, it uses this investigation to explore wider issues in music and media studies (including interactivity, fan cultures, and music and technology); and third, it serves as a model for future in-depth studies of video game music.

The Social Development of the Intellect

The Social Development of the Intellect
Author: W. Doise
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 148328610X

The definition of intelligence has become the object of many controversies - particularly about its nature and the causes of its development - with essential social implications at stake. To get out of this deadlock, the authors of this book propose a social conception of intelligence and of its development: they consider intelligence as resulting from the inter-individual coordinations of actions and judgements. They experimentally study how groups of children elaborate new cognitive tools which their members, taken individually, did not possess at the start, and how these cognitive tools are subsequently used by the child alone.

The Music of Nobuo Uematsu in the Final Fantasy Series

The Music of Nobuo Uematsu in the Final Fantasy Series
Author: Richard Anatone
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-09-05
Genre:
ISBN: 9781789388602

On the oeuvre of Nobuo Uematsu, the Beethoven of video game music. Japanese musician and composer Nobuo Uematsu has built his career and reputation on his soundtracks to the enduring Final Fantasy video game series, which are notable for their remarkable cinematic feel. Today Uematsu is one of Japan's most beloved living composers, credited with inspiring a new generation of classical music fans. This volume, the first book-length study of the music of Uematsu, takes a variety of different analytical approaches to his body of work. It offers readers interested in ludomusicology--the study of and research into video game music--a variety of ways with which to understand Uematsu's compositional process and the role that video game music has in the overall gaming experience.

Deep Thinking

Deep Thinking
Author: Garry Kasparov
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2017-05-02
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1610397878

Garry Kasparov's 1997 chess match against the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue was a watershed moment in the history of technology. It was the dawn of a new era in artificial intelligence: a machine capable of beating the reigning human champion at this most cerebral game. That moment was more than a century in the making, and in this breakthrough book, Kasparov reveals his astonishing side of the story for the first time. He describes how it felt to strategize against an implacable, untiring opponent with the whole world watching, and recounts the history of machine intelligence through the microcosm of chess, considered by generations of scientific pioneers to be a key to unlocking the secrets of human and machine cognition. Kasparov uses his unrivaled experience to look into the future of intelligent machines and sees it bright with possibility. As many critics decry artificial intelligence as a menace, particularly to human jobs, Kasparov shows how humanity can rise to new heights with the help of our most extraordinary creations, rather than fear them. Deep Thinking is a tightly argued case for technological progress, from the man who stood at its precipice with his own career at stake.

Videogames and Art

Videogames and Art
Author: Andy Clarke
Publisher: Intellect Books
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2007
Genre: Art
ISBN:

Videogame art is developing as an area of burgeoning interest, departing from embryonic roots into a flourishing division of scholarly study. The collection provides both an overview of the field, positioning it within a social and commercial context with reference to other forms of digital and pictorial art, and to the mainstream videogames industry.

Fan Phenomena: Game of Thrones

Fan Phenomena: Game of Thrones
Author: Kavita Mudan Finn
Publisher: Intellect Books
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2017-05-01
Genre: Art
ISBN: 178320785X

Winter is coming. Every Sunday night, millions of fans gather around their televisions to take in the spectacle that is a new episode of Game of Thrones. Much is made of who will be gruesomely murdered each week on the hit show, though sometimes the question really is who won’t die a fiery death. The show, based on the Song of Ice and Fire series written by George R. R. Martin, is a truly global phenomenon. With the seventh season of the HBO series in production, Game of Thrones has been nominated for multiple awards, its cast has been catapulted to celebrity and references to it proliferate throughout popular culture. Often positioned as the grittier antithesis to J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Martin’s narrative focuses on the darker side of chivalry and heroism, stripping away these higher ideals to reveal the greed, amorality and lust for power underpinning them. Fan Phenomena: Game of Thrones is an exciting new addition to the Intellect series, bringing together academics and fans of Martin’s universe to consider not just the content of the books and HBO series, but fan responses to both. From trivia nights dedicated to minutiae to forums speculating on plot twists to academics trying to make sense of the bizarre climate of Westeros, everyone is talking about Game of Thrones. Edited by Kavita Mudan Finn, the book focuses on the communities created by the books and television series and how these communities envision themselves as consumers, critics, and even creators of fanworks in a wide variety of media, including fiction, art, fancasting and cosplay.

The Intelligence Game

The Intelligence Game
Author: James Rusbridger
Publisher: New Amsterdam Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1992
Genre: Espionage
ISBN: 9781561310081

In this book, James Rushbriger takes a quite candid look at how intelligence works, and he uncovers vast ineptitude and corruption behind some famous intelligence tales.

Developing Game Intelligence in Soccer

Developing Game Intelligence in Soccer
Author:
Publisher: Reedswain Inc.
Total Pages: 330
Release:
Genre: Soccer
ISBN: 9781591641247

There is no greater power on the soccer field than the game intelligence of the players. With a great variety of attractive and effective simplified games, specially designed to simulate the most important game situations that may occur on the pitch, Horst Wein shows how to stimulate most of the aspects which are involved in game intelligence in young soccer players as well as professionals. Remember, Playing soccer without thinking is like shooting without aiming.

Ludomusicology

Ludomusicology
Author: Michiel Kamp
Publisher: Equinox Publishing (UK)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Video game music
ISBN: 9781781791974

This book suggests a variety of new approaches to the study of game music.