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DEBUGGING GAME HISTORY A Critical Lexicon edited by Henry Lowood and Raiford Guins MIT Press, 2016 464 pp.; cloth, $49.00
Debugging game history: a critical lexicon, from editors Henry Lowood and Raiford Guins, is not a definitive text, and this is one of its great strengths. Lowood and Guins, by compiling an inclusive group of scholars from diverse fields and backgrounds, have presented a text with forty-nine "takes" on important concepts that influence, intersect with, and form the underserved field of video game history. It is precisely that diversity, the critical approach to these concepts, and an instant focus on the "how" instead of the "what" in game history that elevates this text from a detailed glossary to a critical lexicon with potential to expand and improve the nascent field of video game history.
To speak first about the diversity, the contributors to this book come from a variety of scholarly backgrounds, and this is clear in their various chapters. While influential names such as Jesper Juul and Miguel Sicart in the field of game studies appear, the editors have included entries by less expected but equally influential contributors to prevent the lexicon from retreading worn territory. Kate Edwards, whose work has focused on industrial and scholarly settings in geopolitical strategy and localization throughout her career, has written an entry on culturalization and offers insight that few others could provide. Similarly, Jas Purewal's chapter on intellectual property includes the useful insights of a practicing digital-entertainment lawyer to add robustness to the conversation and perspectives that otherwise have been less seen in specific discussions of media studies. Lowood and Guins...