Lost in a Good Game

Why We Play Video Games and What They Can Do for Us

By: Pete Etchells

Narrated by: Ryan Burke

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

'Etchells writes eloquently ... A heartfelt defence of a demonised pastime' --The Times

'Once in an age, a piece of culture comes along that feels like it was specifically created for you, the beats and words and ideas are there because it is your life the creator is describing. Lost In A Good Game is exactly that. It will touch your heart and mind. And even if Bowser, Chun-li or Q-Bert weren't crucial parts of your youth, this is a flawless victory for everyone' --Adam Rutherford

When Pete Etchells was 13, his father died from motor neurone disease. In order to cope, he immersed himself in a virtual world - first as an escape, but later to try to understand what had happened. Etchells is now a researcher into the psychological effects of video games, and was co-author on a recent paper explaining why WHO plans to classify "game addiction" as a danger to public health are based on bad science and (he thinks) are a bad idea.

In this, his first book, he journeys through the history and development of video games - from Turing’s chess machine to mass multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft or Fortnite - via scientific study, to investigate the highs and lows of playing and get to the bottom of our relationship with games - why we do it, and what they really mean to us.

At the same time, Lost in a Good Game is a very unusual memoir of a writer coming to terms with his grief via virtual worlds, as he tries to work out what area of popular culture we should classify games (a relatively new technology) under.

©2019 Pete Etchells (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Good information, but too board

I did learn some information from this book but felt it attempted to cover too many angles. While the different subjects transitioned well, it was somewhat clunky. We learn about the history of video games, microtransactions, the amount of screentime, if violent video games affect aggressiveness and other subjects. It is basically a study of the different studies that have been conducted in the area of video games.

Fun read

more than just psychology. this is also a very cool history of video games and how they affect the world. highly recommend this book to any gamers.

Informative, Thought Provoking Listen

Loved it. Author jumped between tragic personal history and in-depth scientific research involving the statistics of studies done regarding video games.

Wanted to like this book but..

Was at times very dry and academic. Would have liked more insight into the games. The author is from the UK who uses English English and this should not have been narrated by an American.

Enlighten yourself to this view of gaming

Could it be that gaming is a preferred method to develop the mind and social connections? Certainly, it’s worth a look, especially when we are at the doorstep of a more virtual culture.

Great overview of gaming psychology

I was looking for a book that could help me understand why people play video games, and how to talk about video games as a growth industry. This book more than delivered. I enjoyed the personal narrative woven in throughout too, as it helped me understand the emotional impact and utility of games. Reader was also animated and engaging.

good

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Practically meaningless title

With a title of "Lost in a Good Game", I was ignorantly assuming this book would be about oh.. I dunno... the feeling and joy of getting lost in a good game. Silly me! While there's a few quips like that near the beginning, soon the book spirals down the same old garbage chute of the question of violence in video games that most people who get this book have heard endlessly and don't care about at all and then it refuses to let go and becomes all this book is about. Ugh.

It's definitely not all bad which is why I give it 3 stars but the misleading title annoys me enough to dock it 2 stars.

Imagine with me

The best description of our shared imaginary worlds I have ever seen, and a great repudiation of the understanding that computer based games are somehow, some way outside of the rest of human culture. A book not to miss.

A very important book and good narration

The moral panic about video games is so engrained in our skulls that gamers are still stigmatized in most places. The research about the hazards of gaming are highlighted in the media (not surprised) but the research about the benefits of gaming is touched briefly in most places.

People don't seem to realize the millions of gamers out there struggling with parent shaming, bullying and other issues due to the stigma. We se one gamer make a living out of gaming and we say "oh see gaming is mainstream" but it's not. We need more people like Dr. Etchells to voice this concerns.

The author touches many important points about history, theory, data and research in gaming while telling his personal story. This makes it a fun read vs a dry read. Mostly the negative reviews are because of this, they want dry data or history. This is a great introduction to many topics you can expand on. One example of this is that nobody outside of therapists, social workers, psychologists etc...talk bout self-determination theory. This theory is very important because is being used as the theory backing up Motivational Interviewing, one of the evidence based treatments of addiction. Dr. Etchells briefly explains this theory and the research being done with it on gaming. Now you can go a read about it if you want but don't expect Dr. Etchells to go deep into everything he touches because it's not the purpose of the book.

Conclusion : awesome audiobook!