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  • Getting Gamers

  • The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People who Play Them
  • By: Jamie Madigan
  • Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
  • Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (35 ratings)

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Getting Gamers

By: Jamie Madigan
Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
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Summary

Getting Gamers will show that rather than being a waste of time, video games can help us develop skills, make friends, succeed at work, form good habits, and be happy. Taking the time to learn what's happening in our heads as we play and shop allows us to approach games and gaming communities on our own terms and get more out of them.

With sales in the tens of billions of dollars each year, just about everybody is playing some kind of video game whether it's on a console, a computer, a web browser, or a phone. Much of the medium's success is built on careful (though sometimes unwitting) adherence to basic principles of psychology. This is something that's becoming even more important as games become more social, interactive, and sophisticated. This book offers something unique to the millions of people who play or design games: how to use an understanding of psychology to be a better part of their gaming communities, to avoid being manipulated when they shop and play, and to get the most enjoyment out of playing games. With examples from the games themselves, Jamie Madigan offers a fuller understanding of the impact of games on our psychology and the influence of psychology on our games.

©2016 Harold James Madigan (P)2019 Tantor
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What listeners say about Getting Gamers

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Well thought out

All his points are well thought out and derived. The reading quality is one of the better ones.

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Interesting Points

This book was more about the phycology that the game makers use to sell games, things I never thought of, it's definitely worth a listen.

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Very useful and interesting book

I found this book really interesting and very different to what I expected. It focuses a lot more on gaming psychology and marketing.

I strongly recommend this book not only for game developers looking how to grab players attention but also anyone in sales or marketing .

Lots of great advise and useful information all backed up with research.

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Good points

Jamie writes wonderfully and I enjoyed his arguments nad theories. I will highly recommend this book to any who is curios about the psychological aspects of playing games, gamers, and game producers.

I will however point out that for a person without a psychological education some of his arguments will seem rushed. Particularly his arguments founded in some of history's more controversial psychological experiments. Those that view humans as quick to selfishness and violence. The faults and critiques of these experiments are important to include, if only briefly.

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got through about 3 hours of this book in total

enjoyed reading this book for the parts I read but just found it to be not quite relevant for where we're at with our game development company so will instead be focus more upon marketing our games so we can grow our audience but good book perhaps will come back to in the future

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A fantastic insight into the psychology of games

Fascinating for anyone interested in video games or psychology. I loved it! if you're a games designer or marketer this book is essential reading. If you're a 'gamer' this book might make it into your top 10 books ever read. If you're not a gamer, you'll understand why video gaming is a more lucrative industry than other media such as movies. Enjoy!

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For gamers, by gamer.

What I like about this book, being an extremely avid gamer myself, was that it is clearly written by a gamer. Not someone judging it, not someone peering into the world of it, but just by a gamer. It speaks to me as though I was having a good conversation about a lot of the stuff I already think about. Well written, well narrated, well done.

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Chapters are broken, hard to reference

Chapters section is broken, making it hard to reference and seems to play funny when skipping to find the right chapter.

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Missing link

Absolutely critical to understanding why gamers play and come back to play. Indie developers a must.

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Overall I didn't enjoy it

The author starts at the bottom of proverbial donkey kong mountain and attempts to make his way to the top and wave a flag of victory of the vast amounts of negative press the gaming industry has garnered since it's creation. However he only makes it to windmill hills base.

Good points made about social accountability and the consequential effects of deindividuation drawing evidence from Zambardo and Milgrams famous psychology experiments in the 60s & 70's.

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