Computer Games and Technical Communication (Routledge Studies in Technical Communication, Rhetoric, and Culture)

Computer Games and Technical Communication (Routledge Studies in Technical Communication, Rhetoric, and Culture)

Taking as its point of departure the fundamental observation that games are both technical and symbolic, this collection investigates the multiple intersections between the study of computer games and the discipline of technical and professional writing. Divided into five parts, Computer Games and Technical Communication engages with questions related to workplace communities and gamic simulations; industry documentation; manuals, gameplay, and ethics; training, testing, and number crunching; and the work of games and gamifying work. In that computer games rely on a complex combination of written, verbal, visual, algorithmic, audio, and kinesthetic means to convey information, technical and professional writing scholars are uniquely poised to investigate the intersection between the technical and symbolic aspects of the computer game complex. The contributors to this volume bring to bear the analytic tools of the field to interpret the roles of communication, production, and consumption in this increasingly ubiquitous technical and symbolic medium. 'This collection will capture the attention of even those scholars who are non-gamers. The chapters show the importance of gaming to technical communication professionals as well as how the pedagogy of gaming might benefit the technical communication classroom.' Barry Maid, Arizona State University, USA 'Computer Games and Technical Communication: Critical Methods and Applications at the Intersection successfully fills the gap in the academic scholarship while also offering practitioners suggestions to tap into this booming market.' Technical Communication Jennifer deWinter is Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and associated faculty in the Interactive Media and Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA, and Ryan M. Moeller is Associate Professor of English at Utah State University, USA.