"Games without frontiers: theories and methods for game studies and design"
Aki Järvinen, Tampere, University of Tampere, 2008, 419 p., ISBN (electronic) 978-951-44-7252-
7, (Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis; 701), Doctoral dissertation

The author has studied an empirical sample of over 100 games, which include computer and video games, board games, card games, and television game shows. The study introduces a set of concepts, categorizations, and analysis methods deduced from the above sample. The concepts can be used in trying to understand games from the perspectives of design and consumption as a particular form of entertainment. This study is multidisciplinary, as it draws and applies theories from psychology, aesthetics, communication and cognitive science. Besides a wealth of observations regarding games and play, the main results of the work are analysis methods aimed for practical applications in game studies and development.

Available also on the Internet: http://acta.uta.fi/pdf/978-951-44-7252-7.pdf