“Locally Played: Real-World Games for Stronger Places and Communities” from MIT Press (2020), written by Benjamin Stokes with a foreword by Tracy Fullerton.
- Purchase at your local independent bookstores (via IndieBound), from MIT Press, at Amazon, and at Barnes & Noble
- Read a preview on Google Books
Endorsements
“…provides clear examples of ways cities can use game design to empower local communities. Locally Played is a must-read for anyone interested in making a difference on their block, in their neighborhood, or around their city.”
– Ben Hecht, President and CEO, Living Cities
“…a persuasive case for embedding ethical, social, and meaningful play in the social fabric of place. Taking us beyond augmented or gamified cities, Stokes explores the powerful and often subtle ways that games can strengthen social ties and amplify networks when their design connects critically to community life, not just physical space.”
– Katie Salen Tekinbaş, Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine; Cofounder/Chief Designer, Connected Camps
“Locally Played, with its focus on games for good embedded into people’s local places and daily lives, is a crucial contribution to the games for change and impact movement. It is a must-read for designers, players, activists, citizens, educators, and people who care about the state of our current world.”
– James Paul Gee, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor and Regents’ Professor at Arizona State University
“Through a detailed and well-written account of the power of games to achieve real-world social impact, Stokes shows us how games can help us rediscover the neighborhoods we live in and make real connections with the neighbors who live there with us.”
– Frank Lantz, Director, NYU Game Center
“a necessary title for all games scholars… the application of design principles and systems to existing urban infrastructures…”
– Kyle Moody in a book review that appeared in the Journal of Communication Technology (2021)
Overview
In 2016, city officials were surprised when Pokémon GO brought millions of players out into the public space, blending digital participation with the physical. Yet for local control and empowerment, a new framework is needed to guide the power of mixed reality and pervasive play. In Locally Played, Benjamin Stokes describes the rise of games that can connect strangers across zip codes, support the “buy local” economy, and build cohesion in the fight for equity. With a mix of high- and low-tech games, Stokes shows, cities can tap into the power of play for the good of the group, including healthier neighborhoods and stronger communities.
Stokes shows how impact is greatest when games “fit” to the local community—not just in terms of culture, but at the level of group identity and network structure. By pairing design principles with a range of empirical methods, Stokes investigates the impact of several games, including Macon Money, where an alternative currency encouraged people to cross lines of socioeconomic segregation in Macon, Georgia; Reality Ends Here, where teams in Los Angeles competed to tell multimedia stories around local mythology; and Pokémon GO, appropriated by several cities to serve local needs through local libraries and open street festivals.
Locally Played provides game designers with a model to strengthen existing networks tied to place and gives city leaders tools to look past technology trends in order to make a difference in the real world.
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Contents
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IN CONVERSATION (6/30/2020): An informal video discussion of the book, led by the amazing Katie Salen Tekinbaş and hosted by Games for Change and MIT Press:
