When people talk about the future, they usually mean virtual reality. The reason is that when you say "the future", most people think of science fiction, and nearly all SF takes place in a virtual space. The word metaverse is actually an old term for cyberspace - the virtual environment that exists on computers. So, you could argue that the metaverse and cyberspace are virtually the same things. Metaverse has the slick ring of the future around it, but in reality, it refers to past or present realities, not just a future vision.

The new era of gamification and human-focused design optimizes for motivation and engagement over traditional function-focused design. Within the industry, studies on game mechanics and behavioral psychology have become proliferate. However, few people understand how to merge the two fields into experience designs that reliably increases business metrics and generates a return on investment.

A riveting account of the birth and remarkable evolution of the most important development in entertainment since television, Replay is the ultimate history of video games. From its origins in the research labs of the 1940s to the groundbreaking success of the Wii, Replay sheds new light on gaming's past.

You love Dungeons and Dragons. As an experienced dungeon master, you've run dozens, if not hundreds of games. You put a lot of work into making your games great. What if there's another way to look at how you prepare your game? What if it turned out you could spend less time and less energy and have a better game as a result? It's time to unleash the Lazy Dungeon Master.

Inspired by the groundbreaking A History of the World in 100 Objects, this book draws on the unique collections of The Strong museum in Rochester, New York, to chronicle the evolution of video games, from Pong to first-person shooters, told through the stories of dozens of objects essential to the field’s creation and development. Drawing on the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s unmatched collection of video game artifacts, this fascinating history offers an expansive look at the development of one of the most popular and influential activities of the modern world: video gaming.

Braving Britannia is an oral history of the groundbreaking PC video game, Ultima Online, which launched in 1997 and still operates today. The audiobook features interviews with players as they share how the game affected their lives. In a fantasy world of limitless potential, the only thing players seem to enjoy more than playing the game is talking about it, and yet, the true stories behind the avatars have largely gone unpublished for the past 20 years. Until now.

There’s a reason it’s called a tabletop roleplaying game. Taking on the personae of different characters in the story brings a richness and depth to the experience and can make your game sessions exciting and memorable. But how can the poor, harried Game Master wrangle a whole slew of unique personalities on top of all the other work that goes into preparing each week? The Kobold Guide to Roleplaying has the answers you seek.

Chess is the ultimate turn-based strategy game. For centuries, it has honed the decision-making skills of kings and the strategic thinking of generals. Modern studies show that chess promotes brain development at any age, prevents Alzheimer's, and trains both sides of the brain to work in synergy. And today, learning chess is easier than you think!

With increasingly sophisticated video games being consumed by an enthusiastic and expanding audience, the pressure is on game developers like never before to deliver exciting stories and engaging characters. With Video Game Storytelling, game writer and producer Evan Skolnick provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guide to storytelling basics and how they can be applied at every stage of the development process - by all members of the team.

A rapid and massively disruptive shift from centralized to distributed organizations has already begun. But current leadership practices were designed for large centralized organizations, making them increasingly obsolete. Bob Johansen, who has been projecting future trends from Silicon Valley since 1968, outlines five literacies leaders need to develop to cope with this brave new world.

Bob Johansen lays out the core concepts of full-spectrum thinking and reveals the role that digital media - including gameful engagement, big-data analytics, visualization, blockchain, and machine learning - will play in facilitating and enhancing it. He offers examples of broader spectrums and new applications in a wide range of areas that will become possible first, then mandatory. This visionary book provides powerful ways to make sense of new opportunities and see the world as it really is.

In kindergartens these days, children spend more time with math worksheets and phonics flashcards than building blocks and finger paint. Kindergarten is becoming more like the rest of school. In Lifelong Kindergarten, learning expert Mitchel Resnick argues for exactly the opposite: the rest of school (even the rest of life) should be more like kindergarten. To thrive in today's fast-changing world, people of all ages must learn to think and act creatively....

Did you know that listening to audiobooks doesn't just make you smarter, it makes you smarter, quicker, and increases your intellect - and recall - as well? If you want to discover why audiobooks are the coming rage, this is the audiobook for you. If you want to learn more, faster than ever before, this audiobook is for you, too. Learn how to use cognitive skills and retention tools to revolutionize the way you and your family learn.

Do you want to become an exceptional nonprofit leader? You have a vision, you have a mission, and you have a burning desire to do good in the world. But that’s it. Starting a nonprofit seemed like the right thing to do but it hasn’t turned out to be that simple. Your skills are in driving social change, not in managing people, finding donors, and all the administrative headaches that come with running a business. But it’s ok. All of these challenges are solvable and shouldn’t hold you back from fulfilling your purpose.

In this groundbreaking audiobook, Amy Jo Kim lays out a step-by-step system for crafting products that people love...and keep loving. The secret? Develop “impossible to put down” products by using techniques that the fast-moving games industry employs when making games that glue millions of players to their screens.