First, we’ve talked about this Free Kindle Book before – However, its now featured on the official amazon kindle blog so mentioning it again – The Widow by Carla Neggers. Its romantic suspense and its #1 in the Kindle Store (despite a 3.5 stars rating).
Books are beginning to show up that are ‘Optimized for the Kindle DX’ – the first optimized for Kindle DX book in the Top 100 is Hugh McLeod’s book.
Next, Well Played is a collection of 22 essays that each look at a game and study whether the game is well done, whether its fun to play, and more -
What makes a game good? or bad? or better?
Video games can be “well played” in two senses. On the one hand, well played is to games as well read is to books. On the other hand, well played as in well done.
This book is full of in-depth close readings of video games that parse out the various meanings to be found in the experience of playing a game. 22 contributors (developers, scholars, reviewers and bloggers) look at video games through both senses of “well played.”
The book is available in print from Lulu.com – However there is a free PDF and its free online.
Well Played - 22 Video Game Essays
Found courtesy the CGP blog. You can also get it in PDF format from Lulu. Here’s a short review -
“Well Played is the single most engaging, thought-provoking, and challenging book about games you will read this year. If you question this statement, pick a page, any page, and start reading. Whether it’s Clint Hocking’s pointed critique of Bioshock, or Jesse Schell’s tales of personal discovery through Mines of Minos, or a detailed analysis of World of Goo, Portal, Zork, or any of the other games lovingly torn-down, lifted up, and put under the microscope–you will read, and wonder, and learn.”
Carl Schnurr
Senior Director of Game Design
Activision
Finally, today’s featured independent author is Sam Landstrom with his book MindGame that’s just $0.80, very well reviewed and #882 in the Kindle Store (and its in the Sci-Fi Top 100).
Filed under: free books Tagged: | free book
I just wanted to say thanks for the shout out for my book MetaGame!