Central Kansas Library System

"Do video gaming and STEAM have anything in common? To help answer that, let's define the elements of a video game. In the book The Art of Video Game Design, author Jesse Schell defines a game as a "problem-solving activity done with a playful attitude." No matter what video game you play, that game will have four core elements: Aesthetics, Story, Technology, and Mechanics. Aesthetics dictate how a game looks and feels and what you will see and hear...

If playing video games is so much fun, how much fun would it be to make them? Designing video games is a very demanding career, but it is also incredibly exhilarating. From the necessary education to the daily routines, take a detailed look inside what it takes to win as a video game designer.

"Trapped. Jesse Rigsby is trapped in the video game Full Blast. His dumb friend Eric probably has something to do with this, but Jesse doesn't have time to worry about that now, because he's got a blaster stuck to his arm, a man-sized praying mantis thing chasing him and...is that the Statue of LIberty taking off like a rocket ship? Something weird is going on, and Jesse had better figure out what it is fast, because he's about to be trapped for good"--Back...

Four strangers meet in The Realm, a virtual world populated with violence, ogres, and mythical creatures, and fight one another for ultimate power in the virtual realm, but when one of their lives is struck by tragedy, the group uses their online network to offer support.

"Relevant images match informative text in this introduction to coding in video games. Intended for students in kindergarten through third grade"--

Barliona. A virtual world jam-packed with monsters, battles - and predictably, players. Millions of them come to Barliona, looking forward to the things they can't get in real life: elves and magic, dragons and princesses, and unforgettable combat. The game has become so popular that players now choose to spend months online without returning home. In Barliona, anything goes: you can assault fellow players, level up, become a mythical hero, a wizard...

When eighth-grader Cameron Boxer creates the Positive Action Group at school he intends it as a diversion to fool his parents, teachers, and sister into letting him continue to concentrate on his video-gaming--but before he knows it other kids are taking it seriously, and soon he finds himself president of the P.A.G., and involved in community service, so the boy who never cared about anything is now the center of everything, whether he likes it or...

Grey has improved a ton with the help of his friends, and he's closing in on the top tier of players. But then his closest friend announces that he's been asked to join a new squad on the top tier and leaves them in hopes of making the top five with his new squad. Grey is devastated, and their play struggles. He falls back several ranks and begins to wonder if it's even possible to escape the game this season. Some players have been there for many...

"A product of the latest technologies, Barliona is a virtual world brimming with fun and entertainment. The government has become the guarantor for the in-game currency, allowing its free circulation. As a result, the population floods Barliona in pursuit of easy money. It doesn't take long for the game developers to discover a source of free labor: real-world prison convicts. While their bodies are locked in special auto-maintenance virtual capsules,...

Cameron Boxer, king of the slackers, has found something worth his time. By playing video games online in front of an audience he can find both fame AND fortune - especially with Elvis (a beaver who seems to love video games as much as Cam) at his side. The only problem? Things keep getting in Cam's way. Like school. And the club he accidentally started. And the misguided people in his life who don't think beavers should be playing video games. It's...