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You'Ve Been Played
How Corporations, Governments and Schools Use Games to Control Us All
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You'Ve Been Played
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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Description
How games are being harnessed as instruments of exploitation - and what we can do about it.
Warehouse workers pack boxes while a virtual dragon races across their screen. If they beat their colleagues, they get an award. If not, they can be fired. Uber presents exhausted drivers with challenges to keep them driving. China scores its citizens so they behave well, and games with in-app purchases use achievements to empty your wallet.
Points, badges and leaderboards are creeping into every aspect of modern life. In You've Been Played, game designer Adrian Hon delivers a blistering takedown of how corporations, schools and governments use games and gamification as tools for profit and coercion. These are games that we often have no choice but to play, where losing has heavy penalties.
You've Been Played is a scathing indictment of a tech-driven world that wants to convince us that misery is fun, and a call to arms for anyone who hopes to preserve their dignity and autonomy.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
You've Been Played is praised for being an addictive and thought-provoking exploration of gamification's pervasive influence on modern life. Reviewers commend Adrian Hon's ability to illuminate how games and gamified systems impact our perceptions and daily interactions. The book is described as both fascinating and dismal, with intelligent suggestions for addressing its challenges, offering valuable insights into the competitive nature of contemporary culture.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781800751996
Publisher: Swift Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 21 September 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Swift Press
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 304
Collections
About the Author
Adrian Hon is the CEO and founder of games developer Six to Start. He is the co-creator of Zombies, Run, an immersive running game with 10 million players. Adrian previously studied neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and the University of California at San Diego. He is the author of A History of the Future in 100 Objects, a columnist for EDGE magazine and has written about technology for the Daily Telegraph. He lives in Edinburgh, UK.
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