Reality Game

Fake news posts and Twitter trolls were just the beginning. What will happen when misinformation moves from our social media feeds into our everyday lives? Online disinformation stormed our political process in 2016 and has only worsened since. Yet as Samuel Woolley shows in this urgent book, it...

Level up. Build your crew. Save the Galaxy. Byron Jones was just another lonely gamer until saving a mysterious old man earned him a once-in-a-lifetime invite to VENUS ONLINE, the most immersive sci-fi VRMMORPG ever created. Inside the game, Byron becomes commander of a starship with a crew of beautiful alien women, each with their own skills, secrets, and charms. But paradise becomes a nightmare when he realizes he can’t log out and the galaxy is ruled by Lady Necralia, a cruel warlord who thrives on the suffering of trapped players. To survive, Byron must grind levels, upgrade his ship,...

Are you one of those individuals who have taken gain by others for their benefit? Has somebody you loved came to your life quickly and then left without explanation after they took everything from you? If your answer to these questions is yes, then this is the right book for you! The majority of individuals have a difficult time identifying false statements and distinguishing fake from genuine emotions. That’s especially true, even with the individuals around them. Indeed, the small lie about how amazing your mother’s pie tastes won’t hurt. It might even be needed for smooth and ...

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST AND THE GUARDIAN “Absorbing. . . . A revealing look at the hidden role that games have played in human development for centuries.” —Kirkus “By turns philosophical and polemical, this is a provocative and fascinating book.” —The Economist...

Luna Rossi is a veritable crafting genius — she can bedazzle and bead so hard her Etsy site is one of the hottest in the world. So it’s only natural that Luna would convince her brother and his husband-to-be to compete on The Wedding Game, a “do-it-yourself” TV show, for the title of Top DIY Wedding Expert.

There are the laws you’ve been taught — and then there are the ones you were never meant to know. In this chilling and atmospheric account, Lucian Vale reveal the seven forbidden laws hidden beneath the everyday rules of the world: truths that bend walls, stretch time, give thought physical weight, and open doors that should never be opened. Part memoir, part survival guide, part occult field manual, this book takes you from the first subtle cracks in reality to the shadowy custodians who patrol its edges — the Gatekeepers. But knowledge has a cost. Once you’ve read these pages, you...

NEW 2024 UPDATED VERSION Brock has pure gaming skill. Garth has hacks and cheats never seen before. Sparks will fly when these two forces collide. In reality, Brock Blades is practically invisible. But in virtual reality, Brock is a master of Ninja Assassin, the most popular VR Roblox game at Beach City Elementary. So when a Ninja Assassin competition is announced with a 1-million Robux prize, Brock prepares for the game of his life. Garth Raynor is a spoiled rich kid who always gets what he wants. Garth's father is the owner and creator of the Roblox virtual reality system, so it's no ...

He didn’t ask for a sword. He got the Developer Keys. Jake Mercer just wanted a boring life. A failed game designer turned retail tech-support clerk, his only goal was to survive the daily grind of New Harbor without getting noticed. Then the violet pulse hit. The world didn't just end; it rebooted. Skyscrapers turned into dungeons, physics became a suggestion, and the population was assigned Classes. But while everyone else became Warriors or Mages, Jake got something broken. Something dangerous. Class Assigned: [Admin: Provisional] Now, Jake can see the code behind reality. He can edit ...

Former Secret Service agent and star of Bravo’s Spy Games Evy Poumpouras shares lessons learned from protecting presidents, as well insights and skills from the oldest and most elite security force in the world to help you prepare for stressful situations, instantly read people, influence how...

With 174 million gamers in the United States alone, we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation. But why, Jane McGonigal asks, should games be used for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking book, she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world—from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change—and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business, education, and nonprofit worlds.

She logged in for escape. She stayed because the game wouldn’t let her leave. Virelle Knox didn’t expect much from DevineFlame, the bleeding-edge AR fantasy game everyone whispered about behind closed doors. It was just another survival hack—another gig between barista shifts and the kind of sex work no one ever asks twice about. But when the system scans her body, maps her memories, and offers a class called Courtesan, Virelle makes a decision that seems simple. Say yes. Now, she’s not just a player. She must become the object of every scripted desire and unspoken ache in the ...

Ready Player One meets Tron! Kai thought he had the best job in the world. Playing VR games for a living. Not if the games are trying to kill you. The Net is the last great frontier, a wilderness of data filled with mysteries beyond imagination. Bugs, a harmless annoyance in earlier decades, have become a deadly menace in times when gamers connect their brains directly to VR. The Cyber Squad has been created to hunt them down. What used to be game QA in earlier times has become an elite, special force of the future, risking their lives to keep users safe. At first, joining the Cyber Squad...

What the MECH is going on here?In a future where the line between man and machine blurs, the fate of humanity rests in the hands of a daring mech pilot and his ragtag band of rebels. Amidst the unforgiving landscape of the Rocky Mountains, they wage a desperate war for survival and freedom against the relentless march of AI overlords. Enter a world ravaged by technological tyranny, where Hunter, once a noble defender of the people, now navigates the treacherous pathways of rebellion. Joined by Lee, a brilliant tactician with a knack for unraveling AI deceit, and Jester, the wildcard pilot ...

Angus Bjornson only ever wanted to do one thing: to continue crafting exquisite weapons and pieces of armor for his loyal customers. Unfortunately, after one accident too many that leaves the old blacksmith completely disabled, it would seem he has no other choice but to hang up his hammer. However, that would be underestimating the stubbornness of the self-made man.

Jax thought he was done with video games after barely escaping the chaos of Battle Royale. But when a new glitch pulls him into Spartan Arena, he’s thrust into a futuristic combat simulator where survival isn’t guaranteed, and teamwork is the only way out. Thrown into intense matches of Capture the Flag, Oddball, Team Slayer, and Firefight, Jax must quickly adapt to the fast-paced world of the arena. Armed with high-tech gear and joined by a team of elite warriors—including the sharp-shooting Ace, grenade-loving Kai, and his returning ally Skye—Jax must face relentless challenges ...

A deadly underground game might just be altering reality itself in this all-new adventure set in the world of the hit Rabbits podcast. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL “A wild ride . . . impossible to put down.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)...

The world didn’t just get louder. It hit the universe’s hard limit. Two years after breaking the Cage and ushering in the Infinite Era, Marcus Shaw and his Spellbound Dynasty finally have everything they fought for. Magic is limitless, the cities blaze with neon sorcery, and their only battles are diplomatic ones. Tokyo’s Festival of Lights is supposed to be proof that the Upgrade worked—a global party powered by joy itself. Then a single pixel dies. In the middle of a packed shrine, sound cuts out. Color goes flat. A perfect square of the world turns matte gray…and crumbles into ...

Finn Harris should have been the one to die. But he wasn't - his wife took his place. What was worse, he only had himself and his company to blame. They let their passion outpace their prudence, determined to revolutionize the world. While all innovation comes with a price, he never imagined it would cost him Rachael. Nearly a decade later, Finn is content to hole himself up and wait out the rest of his life. That is, until his daughter intervenes, forcing him out of his grief and into a new virtual reality game developed by his old employer. They're calling it Awaken Online.

Would you be prepared to work for free? How would you like to bust your hump for a large corporation 60-plus hours a week without a wage or a single day off for the vague promise of some mysterious perks in the distant future? You'd refuse point blank, wouldn't you? But what if the job in question was playing a state-of-the-art fantasy MMORPG game? And what if this was the only thing you're really good at? Especially considering that your in-game partner is someone really special to you - and this person already lives a virtual life?

In the shadows of an aging apartment building, Mia’s life is unraveling. When Mia meets the enigmatic Sylvie, she’s drawn into a world of inspiration, admiration, and dangerous obsession. As their friendship deepens, Mia begins to lose herself in Sylvie’s influence, her mind twisting under the weight of Sylvie’s manipulations. Hallucinations blur the line between reality and nightmare, leaving Mia questioning her own sanity. But when Mia uncovers Sylvie’s dark secrets—and the chilling fate of those who came before her—she realizes that escaping Sylvie’s grasp might come at ...