Books Relating to Gaming, LARP, RPG, etc.

Prior to this class, and throughout this class, I had gotten together a few books that related to a lot of what we discussed in class. I thought these resources may be something other people in the class may be interested in reading over break or looking into if they continue writing critically about gaming.

Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games by Lizzie Stark
Lizzie Stark researching various aspects of LARP over its history and throughout various countries. I have not finished this one yet, but I saw her speak about it at AWP in Boston a few years ago and she described how serious a few countries took LARP to the extent that in some cases romantic relationships in real life would form and break as part of the process of LARP.

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms by Ethan Gilsdorf
Ethan Gilsdorf was briefly in one of the videos we watched for class but I also found this book through the AWP Boston panel where I saw Lizzie Stark. This ranges between discussing MMORPGs, tabletop RPGs, and pop culture. He relates it back to individuals' experiences, including his own, and travels to the locations where they filmed parts of The Lord of The Rings series.

Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

This one is a YA novel that I read years ago and really sparked my interest in MMORPGs, although at the time I could not subscribe to one, and it approaches issues of identity in gaming and relationships formed through gaming. The main character Maddy creates an elf named Allora in a game called Fields of Fantasy and develops an interest in fellow player Sir Leo while simultaneously trying to form stronger friendships and interests outside of the game. 

You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day

If you have never watched The Guild or and liked FFXIV I strongly recommend watching it. Felicia Day is known for various geeky endeavors and in this memoir she describes how her upbringing led her to her interests and how a support group and The Guild jumpstarted her career and continued involvement in shows such as Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Supernatural, and Eureka. She also spends some time talking about her gaming addiction when she was playing World of Warcraft that was preventing her from sustaining outside work and relationships. 

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang

I have not read this yet but I keep hearing about it and will probably read it over break. It is about an MMORPG and addresses issues of ethics in gold farming and the real income it creates for some people.