A wide-ranging anthology of essays exploring one of the most vital art forms on the planet today. From the earliest computers to the smartphones in our pockets, video games have been on our screens and part of our lives for over fifty years. Critical Hits celebrates this sophisticated medium and considers its lasting impact on our culture and ourselves. This collection of stylish, passionate, and searching essays opens with an introduction by Carmen...

"Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video Games is a theoretical and practical deep dive into the craft of worldbuilding for video games, with an explicit focus on how different job disciplines contribute to worldbuilding. In addition to providing clearer lenses for recognizing the various components in creating fictional and digital worlds, the author positions worldbuilding as a reciprocal and dynamic process, which acknowledges that worldbuilding...

"Samara Reynolds has built a large following as a gamer under an anonymous screenname, and uses her skills as a DEIA consultant to advocate for equal representation in video games. When she posted a video critiquing the popular game Legendsfall, she knew she'd get a reaction from her fans, but the video leads to hundreds of female gamers critiquing the game and its company, Artemis Games. The only thing more unexpected than starting an online movement...

Winston is a Minecraft wolf on a mission! The problem is that he's not very good at fighting crime, and the infamous Baby Turtles are forever scheming, creating all manner of chaos across the Overlord. Then Winston has the brilliant idea of taming a Minecraft player to be his secret weapon. Can Winston and his pet player finally reveal the true evil nature of the Baby Turtles, or will they be defeated by these lovable critters over and over again?...

Guided by a great warrior named Maggie, Runt, zombie Blurp and wolf Mobslayer take a magic portal to the ominous Nether where they must face - and defeat - the Ender Dragon.

In the world of video game Minecraft, Jeremy lives in the biggest city in the Overworld, surrounded by tall buildings, redstone wonders, and many people, but still he feels lonely and wants a friend.

"Morgan, Harper and their friends return to a Minecraft Overworld in total chaos as a growing rift threatens to engulf everything in its path and have one chance to save Minecraft and their friend the Evoker King"--

In this latest Minecraft adventure, 12 year old Zombie and Steve have accidentally switched bodies and must pretend to be each other until they figure out how to switch back. Zombie must go to human middle school and try to figure out the crazy life of a middle school kid. And Steve has to live among the Zombies, Creepers, Skeletons and Slimes of Minecraft, while he pretends to be a Zombie himself!"--Back cover.

"Join 12 year-old Zombie, as he faces his biggest fears, and tries to survive the next 3 weeks at Creepaway Camp. Are the counselors really evil humans in disguise waiting to eat the brains of unsuspecting mob campers? Will the camp cafeteria food really come to life and make a meal of the unsuspecting mob kids? Zombie knows its real, and he and Steve are preparing themselves for their biggest battle ever. Will they survive."--Publisher description....

"Travis, Journey, and their new pal, Devonte, embark on a new adventure that takes them off-planet and into distant outer space as a new game, Earth to Aliens, sets up a galactic battle between old friends and new enemies"--Provided by publisher.