From Assassins creed 2 to The five greatest warriors : games and reading

Forsyth, Ellen From Assassins creed 2 to The five greatest warriors: games and
reading, 12 to 24s@Your Public Library In Australia And New Zealand, Beenleigh 1
- 11 June 2010

Do the same appeal characteristics work for reading and games? This paper will
explore the use of readers advisory skills to investigate how to suggest titles to people
who play games might like to read, and games readers might like to play.

This paper came from exploring games and reading in a range of library and museum
contexts. I am interested in how games can be used in the provision of library
services, especially as it relates to reference and information services. There is a local
studies game out there, waiting to be designed.

The ideas for this paper started when I was writing my paper last year for the Next
chapters conference1 and thinking about using some online games for delivering
library services for older readers, such as online reading groups. This idea came from
seeing the large number of people who are already active in online games
environments. Libraries do not necessarily need to start their own online spaces, but
rather could hold online reading groups in places people are already using. It may
mean that the reading group is spread across a large geographic area, or it may be
made up of people who live in the one suburb. It does not matter. Online games
provide an environment where people can easily interact, even people who may not be
able to come to the library for a reading group, because of disability, family
commitments or a whole range of other reasons. They may just like meeting in an
online environment as it has its own challenges and opportunities. This is background
for where the ideas for this paper started.

There is often a snob factor towards people who play games, regardless of age. By
some people it is seen as a phase you should grow out of. This is based on prejudice
and often a lack of understanding about the basics of many games. This kind of idea is
increasingly being challenged in academic study and areas of professional writing, for
example in recent works by William Sims Bainbridge23, and by authors such as Tom
Chatfield4, Byron Reeves and J Leighton Read5. Knowing what games people enjoy
playing can help library staff suggest appropriate reading or plan programming of
interest and relevance to their community of people who play games as well as read.
This again is not age dependent. I realise this is a disruptive idea to raise in this
1
Next chapters: public libraries in Australia and New Zealand for older generations Sydney 1-2 May
2009
2
Bainbridge, William Sims The Warcraft civilization : social science in a virtual world,
Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2010
3
Online worlds : convergence of the real and the virtual / edited by William Sims Bainbridge, New
York ; London : Springer, 2009
4
Chatfield, Tom Fun Inc. : why play is the 21st century's most serious business, London, Virgin, 2010
5
Reeves, Byron and , J. Leighton Read Total engagement : using games and virtual worlds to
change the way people work and businesses compete, Boston, MA. : Harvard Business
Press, c2009

1
context when so much of the other information is tightly tied to people of specific age
groups, but the information in this paper is not tied to specific age groups and can be
used very broadly. For example, take one person who plays table top role playing
games, reads science fiction and fantasy, information about tabletop role playing
games, medical research and some romance says
The MMORPGs are pretty ways to feel like I'm accomplishing something
without having to clean the house enough to have friends over, or having to
stick to much of a schedule, most of the time. (Being a full-time childcare type
person tends to mean that I'm at the beck and call of the health and well-being
of a child. "Terribly sorry, have to drop group; the school nurse just called."
Easier online!)6

Have you even thought to ask your local bridge players about why they like bridge
and how that relates to their reading experiences? I would suggest that this could
make a very interesting starting point for some readers advisory work as well as some
library programming. Your local bridge players are hard core game players often
spending between fifteen and thirty hours a week playing, yet most people would not
think of them in this way.

I am not suggesting that you need to discover full-on games advisory, but that you
consider the appeal characteristics which apply. You do not need to play games, just
as you do not need to read, but if you can try a few games and read outside your
comfort zone you are likely to provide a service with a more effective client focus. It
is not simply about focusing on the readers, it is about focusing on the players as well.

Terminology
In the USA, Canada and parts of Europe “gaming” is the term which is used to
describe playing games. My preference is to use “playing games’ and “games”.
These will be the terms used through this paper, unless I am quoting the words of
others, then I will use whichever term they favour.

What kind of games count?

All kind of games count. They can be online, live action, role playing, in print,
console, card, tabletop, board and other portable devices. Small scale, city wide,
multiplayer, or single player. They may involve lots of running around, or sitting
still. They can be played any time of the day or night. All sorts of games count when
you are seeking to provide a better reading suggestion for someone who plays games,
or when you are considering a games suggestion for a reader. Playing a multiplayer
online game may give the same kind of social interaction as being in a reading group,
or the games environment may be where the reading group is being held.

How big is the games industry in Australia?

The most recent Australian data showing the size of the games industry is from 2007.
At end June 2007, there were 45 businesses in Australia involved in the
provision of digital game development services. These businesses employed
over 1,400 people and generated a total income of $136.9m which
represented an average of $3m per business.7
6
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
7
Australian Bureau of Statistics8515.0 - Digital Game Development Services, Australia, 2006-07, 8
April 2008 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/8515.0?OpenDocument#SUMMARY

2
Who plays games?
The short answer is lots of people play games. The following are some overview
statistics to highlight the diversity of people who play games and the size of the
industry that is supported by them.

According to Nielsen's survey [in the USA], 32.7 million people play social
games daily. That is equal to newspaper readership and more than double the
readership of magazines in the sample. Social games are polarizing, however,
as over 50 percent said they never play them8.

The global gaming industry is worth $40,000,000,000/year (That's $40

Billion!) or $1200/second spent on video games.9

38% of console gamers and 43% of PC gamers are women10

Entertainment Software Association [USA] purports the average age of a

video game player is 35, and 49 percent of gamers are 19-49 years old.11

Last year [in 2008] the UK spent £4bn on games: more than DVD and music
sales combined, more than four times cinema box office receipts.12

In 2008, 26 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played video games, an

increase from nine percent in 1999. 25% under 18 yrs, 49% 18-49yrs, 26%
50+ yrs13

Right now we spend three billion hours a week playing online games14

20 million players have spent 17 billion hours playing x-box live 15

%20OF%20FINDINGS [accessed 6 May 2010]

8
Social media use becomes pervasive AdWeek 15 April 2010
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3iceae27f23a68f24bb1b241b4695748c9
[accessed 20 April 2010]
9
MMO Future shock http://current.com/participate/vc2/92368016_mmo-future-shock.htm [accessed
20 April 2010]
10
Casserley, Meghan, Women and gaming, Forbes.com 25 March 2010
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/25/women-gaming-video-forbes-woman-time-online.html [accessed
20 April 2010]
11
Hall, Linda, Video gaming captivates not only the young in years; it's becoming a family affair as
moms and dads relive years of original video consoles, The daily record 28 February 2010
http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/4779117 [accessed 20 April 2010]
12
Stern, Edward, Gamers will inherit the virtual earth, Guardian.co.uk 25 October 2009,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/25/computer-games-stigma-generation-internet
[accessed]
13
Video Game Statistics http://www.grabstats.com/statcategorymain.asp?StatCatID=13 [accessed 23
June 2010]
14
Transcript for Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world
http://dotsub.com/view/87e58675-24ba-408b-abbe-97718a3b17b5/viewTranscript/eng
[accessed 21 May 2010]
15
Online gaming stats http://seriousgamesmarket.blogspot.com/2010/04/serious-metrics-for-online-
games.html [accessed 22 May 2010]

3
These statistics are simply to provide an overview and to highlight the large numbers
of people involved in playing a very wide range of games. Many of the people who
play games could also be readers at your libraries.
Points to watch for
Do not make the mistake of thinking that because someone enjoys playing games that
they will always want to read about them as part of a plot. They may, it is possible,
but in all likelihood they will not as the experience of reading about games will not
even closely mirror the act of playing. You need to delve and discover which games
they like and why. A standard effective readers advisory interview should be able to
deliver the information you require. Most of this information does not depend on the
age of the person playing the games, so if you have a 60 year old person you will use
much the same strategy as for a fifteen year old. They may even be playing the same
games.

Readers who play games will mostly enjoy reading material with the same appeal
characteristics as the games they play. In the survey16 about reading and game
playing which I did to provide information for this paper less than two percent of
people played and read materials with different appeal characteristics. Note this is
appeal characteristics rather than subject matter. It is not a one hundred percent
correlation but is close and you can sort out the fine detail in a one-on-one readers
advisory interview.

The following description, provided in response to this survey captures this idea well.
Fantasy for me provides an excellent canvas for expressing ones imagination
and creativity, more so than other genres in my opinion. As a reader, each
new series, each new book or short story is unique and bold, dripping with
colour and life and although it can be said for all literature, it is especially
true that each work of fantasy fiction is strongly unique in ways uncapturable
in other genres.

I feel this aspect of fantasy is intensified with RPG's [role playing games], as
they not only give a storyteller the tools to create their own worlds but they
make it a much more intense experience for those who choose to join that
world. Where in a series such as Lord of the Rings, we all held our breath as
characters brought an epic storyline to life, in a game of the same nature, we
play those same stylised heroic characters and the fate of the world and it's
inhabitants, no more or less real than in a traditional piece of literature, is in
our hands.17

This description has a reader and a game player drawing out the points they like in
both reading and playing, showing the similarity in the appeal.

Another respondent described as follows

Other people get their escape from TV whatever shows they watch, I find it
more enjoyable to play games, Also I very much like the social aspect of
gaming, you can't really watch TV with friends and have the same sort of
interaction or experience.

16
Survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
17
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010

4
 Also you get to be in control, when it comes to life and TV (never thought I
would lump those two into the same category) you have little to no control
there are no set rules when it comes to games there are a distinct set of rules
that govern the game, even with games like cheat the point of the game and
the rules support this.18

Serious games, readers advisory work and library programming

“Serious games” is a term which is used to describe games which have a serious
intent. These include flight simulation games which are used to train pilots to land in
dozens of different airports, before they even leave the ground. The games may be
used to train UPS drivers in more effective routes. Serious games seem to have taken
over the area previously known as education games, with education games being a
term which mostly refers to games relating to school based content for young
children. There is a high military use of serious games for training for and use in
conflict situations, for example United States military driving simulators to reduce
deaths by vehicle accidents.19

Serious games can also encompass online games about Darfur20, or about climate
change21, or how to be savvy with the media. These may be games you would
consider including as part of programming relating to reading, if there were particular
issues in mind. Games used to teach children maths22, a foreign language23 and so on.

Serious games have a lot of possibilities for inclusion in library programming and for
combining with reading.

Survey results of people who read and play games

Through the use of several e-mail lists I asked people who both read and play games
to contact me to let me know what kind of things they like reading, and why, and
what kind of games they like playing and why. I received responses to this survey
from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and parts of Europe. I asked the
questions of people who both read and play games as I wanted to see what the
correlation in appeal was. Did people play games and read for similar reasons?

Using the Nancy Pearl doorway descriptions24 the dominant doorways for the game
players and readers who provided information to me are Character, Setting and Story,
either separately or in different combinations. Language rates an occasional mention,
but only in a very small number of responses. This highlights the importance of an
effective readers advisory interview, asking about recent reads, viewings and games
which the person enjoyed and why they enjoyed them, This will provide information
about the why of the enjoyment to help suggest titles and authors which have relevant
18
ibid
19
New arm simulators sharpen driving skills, Armed with science, 12 March 2010
http://science.dodlive.mil/2010/03/12/new-army-simulator-sharpens-driving-skills-interview/ [accessed
26 May 2010]
20
Darfur is dying http://www.darfurisdying.com/ [accessed 26 May 2010]
21
Climate challenge http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_challenge/ [accessed 26
May 2010]
22
Coll maths 4 kids http://www.coolmath4kids.com/ [accessed 26 May 2010]
23
Language games http://www.languagegames.org/ [accessed 256 May 2010]
24
Doorways or appeal characteristics, Readers Advisory Services wiki
http://readersadvisory.wetpaint.com/page/Doorways+or+appeal+charactertistics [accessed 26 May
2010]

5
appeal characteristics. You can tell when someone is describing something they have
enjoyed, and this makes the work of library staff much more interesting.

What did people read and play?

Everything. This is broad but there were readers of all styles and genres who replied
and people who play games in all formats. It was exciting to hear from such a broad
spectrum of readers and players. It means that there can be no prejudices, because
players of contract bridge were describing very similar reasons for enjoyment to
players of massively multiple online games and players of other games as well.

In the readers advisory interview it is important to ask about watching and playing
practices, without sounding intrusive, as it
• gives clues to interest – what did they like and why?
• helps for reading suggestions for people who don’t read much
• shows a broader understanding of library services for the client
• makes the library staff person seem more connected
• is likely to give a better outcome for the reader, viewer or player

As one of the respondents to the survey said

Coming back to game-play, reading and RA [readers advisory] I think they
are integral to each other and that it is vital for RA staff to view a patrons
‘complete reading experience’ as influential in providing RA to that patron. I
also think it is absolutely vital that RA staff stop considering game-play as the
sole domain of the Youth and/or of young men. It isn’t, people of all ages play
games and read – someone’s Grandma at the local nursing home may have
access to a Wii to play ten pin bowls or do yoga and loves to read a good
Thriller, she’s not an unusual case. My husband plays the Xbox360 (any/all
game he can though he does prefer Halo, Tony Hawk and racing games) and
also reads Patrick O’Brian’s “Master & Commander” series (all 20+ tiles)
when he’s not reading fishing or motorbike mags that is. He also is not an
unusual case.25

Nancy Pearl doorways

“Appeal characteristics” is the jargon term for what a person enjoyed about a book,
film, art work and so on. Nancy Pearl uses the term “doorways” as what ever is the
area of most interest is the doorway into it. Other elements of interest may keep you
reading or playing but there is one element which gets you reading or playing in the
first place. Nancy Pearl uses character, language, setting and story as the doorways.

To understand how the doorways work, it is helpful to think about them in relation to
your own preferences as a starting point. To work out what are the appeal
characteristics which are the most important for you, think about something you have
read, watched or played recently, it can be fiction or non-fiction. What did you enjoy
most about it and why? It can be helpful to think about a few things you have
recently enjoyed as it will be easier to work out your preferences with slightly more
information. The answer to these questions will provide your dominant appeal
characteristic, or preferred doorway.

25
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010

6
Please keep in mind that both appeal characteristics and doorways are library jargon
and should never be used with readers or people who play games. They are a handy
short hand for library staff to think about things but they are not terms to baffle
readers with. They are there to help you provide a better readers advisory service to
your clients. The following descriptions have been based upon my Next Chapters
paper.

Many people like a combination of the doorways, but one or two will usually be
dominant, and one of them may be really unimportant to the reader as well. Also
there are quite a few books which can be approached through all four doorways for
example books by JRR Tolkien, Neal Stephenson, Jane Austen and much non-fiction.
Quite a few games also cross all the elements as well. The key though is why a
specific reader or player is reading or playing, rather than looking at a broader picture.
Just because a book, game or dvd has all four appeal characteristics does not mean
they will be equally important to each person reading watching playing. Each person
has their unique mix and weighting and this is critical for suggestions for further
reading.

There is also no ranking of doorways, none of them are ‘superior’ to the others, none
of them are better. They are just different. It is not a narrow way to view reading as
each reader, and player, will have their own definition for what fits their doorway/s.
Each of the doorways work for fiction as well as non-fiction and games. They also
work for film and dvds.

The doorways
character
People will describe the experience of reading in terms of the characters they are
reading about – the characters of novels will sound like they are real people. The
reader may not necessarily like the person or the character, but they will want to find
out more about them
• In fiction the works will often have a character’s name in the title, for non-
fiction it will often be biographies or autobiographies. It may also include
celebrity chefs (think of Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay). Many crime and
mystery novels will have strong character doorways as will some science
fiction and fantasy. This is more likely to happen in series novels using the
same detectives, and multipart science fiction and fantasy works. Family
sagas can also have dominant character doorways as you need to know who
has married whom. Romance is a genre which is almost totally character
dominant (as you know that the man and woman will end up together). For
romance you need to explore further into the character – what roles the men
have (vampire, farmer, fireman, doctor…) and if it is a believable match.
Biography and autobiography also usually feature here.

One person describing the appeal of games based on character

With games – I like “trivia” and knowledge based games and games that are
“fun” and that get people to interact with each other (mentally & physically)
without too much intellectual strain. I also like games that finish within an
hour.26

26
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010

7
This description also highlights character as a reading appeal characteristic with some
language elements
Autobiographies of good communicators (comedians, some politicians, some
POW stories, women overcoming obstacles, and those that illustrate cultures
and beliefs and social structures of other groups - I like to experience 'the
other' - to walk in someone else's shoes - and I love it if it is well written even
more!!

I also love Jane Austen, modern crime and thriller (not too graphic) and any
fiction that grabs me - either beautifully written or fast paced so I lose track of
time ( and forget the worldly troubles for a while...) And I love reading
childrens books aloud to children.27

Another reader describes her reading as

chewing gum for the eyes – chick lit – Marion Keyes, Candice Bushnell –
contrast to work as work is very intense and needs less intense reading –
characters as the focus of the reading , likes hanging out with characters
through the process of the novels28

The following description includes setting and character

The stand-out game for me would be World of Warcraft, a MMPORG
[massively multiplayer online roleplaying game], which I've been playing for
nearly 5 years. It's very addictive, despite having to pay to play. I think the
reason I like playing it is because it has a fantasy setting, the game gives you
a sense of achievement when you obtain levels and certain items and
equipment, but also because of the interaction you can have with other
player . I have made a few online friends through it too. A lot of my free time
is spent playing WoW.

It's a bit unusual, but another favourite that I haven't played much of, but I
watch someone play, is a playstation game called Uncharted. I absolutely love
watching the story of the game unfold as my sister plays. The story,
characters, script which has quite a bit of humour and graphics are also
amazing.

I also play things like SingStar and Buzz with friends, mostly because they are
just a lot of fun with other people.29

language
People who read primarily for language will describe the writing, or their enjoyment
of the writing as part of the experience, they may describe the books as being poetic,
powerful or using powerful language. People may also describe their reading as being
emotional, or having moving ideas or language
• most likely to be award winners (as most writing awards target literary fiction
which is more likely to have language as a doorway)
• how steamy (for romance) or how gory (for crime, science fiction, fantasy,
horror) will also be characteristics associated with language.
27
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
28
ibid
29
ibid

8
This description brings together a range of influences and ties them together as a
language doorway
Once all is said and done though, of all the doorways Nancy Pearl mentions, my
favourite of all is Language. Here I read Jasper Fforde, the Brontes, Jane Austen,
Bram Stoker, James Joyce, Shakespeare, Dean Koontz, John Connolly, JRR
Tolkien, Stephen Donaldson, David Eddings, Raymond Feist, and pretty much any
other Fantasy / Sci-Fi author you can think of. I haven’t mentioned Fantasy or
Science Fiction before because as I started to think about it, this is really where
my love of the Language doorway fits best. How else do you create an alien world
if not by words? Again this is probably where Halo and Scrabble fit best. One is
set in a futuristic alien world; the other takes a random selection of letters and
says “here, create a word (world) from these” – it’s all about the language. For
me to have Language as my preferred doorway makes perfect sense. I think the
English language is pretty cool… It’s more than just the use of the correct words
in the correct manner and as best suits the situation, but also the sound of those
words as they are read aloud. Why else would V’s soliloquy in ‘V for Vendetta’ be
so engaging and gorgeous to experience? Why else would the death song in The
13th Warrior be so heartfelt? I can mark the line from when I stopped reading
mysteries (spy, thriller) as a child and started reading Fantasy and then later
Science Fiction. At 15 a friend loaned me Lord of the Rings. 36 hours later after
no sleep at all I finished it (thankfully it was a weekend) after that I simply could
not get enough Fantasy fiction though at that time the only games I played were
school sports as there was nothing available online or pc based that I could
access (aside from the occasional game of Pac-Man at a friend’s house). So in
that sense game play and reading had little in common. Science Fiction came
later when a friend loaned me The Amtrak Wars and The Stainless Steel Rat. Both
genres introduced me to series – I was hooked (though I did give up on Robert
Jordan’s Wheel of Time –patience has never been one of my virtues).30

This description brings together language and character appeal

The games I play most often are Scrabble, Mah Jong, Trivial Pursuit & other quiz
question games, Pictionary and occasionally children's board & card games. I
like the world play in Scrabble, the tactile nature of Mah Jong, answering
questions (I'm a librarian !), having fun and lots of laughs, and enjoying my
immediate family's and my nieces' and nephews' company.31

This is another description combining language and character doorways

World of Warcraft is my main game a.t.m. I like it because there are different
opportunities in the game, such as PvP [player versus player] and PvE [player
versus environment]. Also I like to play it as my teenage sons play with me. In the
past I played more RP [role playing] games, such as free text role playing in
groups on Yahoo and the likes. For me it's like improvised theater in text form,
with participants from all over the World, and it's fascinating to learn to know
them, as well as it's fascinating to learn about myself from the role playing.32

setting
30
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
31
ibid
32
ibid

9
This has readers describing the location as important, often in terms of details about
daily life wherever or whenever. Readers will talk about the place (rather than the
people). This will be a cross genre appeal characteristic, for example some people
will only enjoy historical crime novels (perhaps only ones featuring actual historic
characters in a fictional setting, or only romances set in the middle ages or earlier, or
only biographies by French people).
• some works written about other times and other places, whether historical or
imagined (speculative fiction) will include setting as a important doorway
• with speculative fiction there are also setting preferences. Some people may
only like fantasy set in recognisable locations (such as Seam William’s works
set in South Australia)

The following comments illustrate these points

I like to watch cricket but I’m not that keen a player. Watching cricket is about
sitting in a chair in the shade drinking good coffee and reading the paper or a
book so it’s purely recreational for me, and not so much about the game as about
the excuse to sit back and forget about the housework for a while - definitely a
Setting game.33

This reader combines setting and character in their preferences

I've found that I mostly read for character experiences, although the setting can
also be very important for me. For example, I tend to enjoy fantasy novels and the
ways they create alternate worlds and realities. I also really loved The Historian
by Elizabeth Kostova, which provides rich, detailed descriptions of the foreign
countries the characters travel through. I also read horror fiction like Stephen
King, Richard Matheson and classic horror like Dracula and Frankenstein.
I like reading both fantasy, science fiction and non-fiction books.34

Another reader and player describes his preference for setting as a way entering into
the book or game
Fantasy: Ian Irvine, Anne Bishop, Kylie Chan, J.K Rowling
I enjoy reading fantasy novels as they can offer new experiences, and different
ways of looking at things. I like "escaping" to a new world every time I open a
book.

Science Fiction: Ian Irvine, Dan Brown, and a book called "Brave New World" by
Aldous Huxley.

I enjoy reading science fiction as I like to be, simply, scared. It is important to me

to be exposed to worlds which have been corrupted by science and technology, or
those that are based only upon science, never culture. When presented with these
worlds and the issues within them, I am forced to reflect on how science is
impacting society.

Non-Fiction: Revolves around science

and also likes

33
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
34
ibid

10
 Games with a semi-science basis, such as Bioshock, or a degree of history, such
as Assassin's Creed (which also has science) are genres I enjoy as I have an
interest in those areas.35

story
These can be fiction or non-fiction. This doorway will include action and thrillers as
well as slower moving works. Some of these works will not be strong in the language
doorway. Readers will have preferences about what the story should include (crime
must be solved, how did the couple meet)
• most likely to be ‘the books which could not be put down” as people keep
reading to see what happens in the story
• story points which resonate

The following is how one reader describes this

I particularly like complex works of imaginative fiction. Neal Stephenson (Snow
Crash, Anathem, The Baroque Cycle) is a great example --- large, complicated
plots with a great deal of eye-opening mental gymnastics. To a lesser extent, I see
the same appeal factors in Alistair Reynolds and China Mieville.

A strong secondary appeal factor is what I call the "oh sh#t" factor --- plots
which turn and twist in frightening and unexpected ways. Authors that fall into
this category include George R. R. Martin (Song of Fire and Ice saga), Greg
Rucka (with the Atticus Kodiak books), and Naoki Urasawa's Monster series (18
manga
volumes).36

One reader described her reading as story and character, with a hint of setting
The main thing I like in my books is a sense of other. That means I primarily read
fantasy, but I'll do almost anything with a good story and characters. I read
almost equally for plot and character, with a slight emphasis toward the former,
but will make exceptions if the prose is enticing enough.

My reading is shamelessly escapist, which is why I want something obviously

fiction—rather than narrative non-fiction or realistic fiction—but I demand
realism in all other aspects. I like humorous, dark and disturbing, thought-
provoking, and intense novels, and if you can get them all in the same book, I'm
as happy as can be. I'm partial to elements of absurdism, adore subtle satire, and
am terribly weak to well-done angst, and regard reading as a prime mode of
catharsis.
and her game playing shows more a character orientation
What I like about games is what I like about reading, it's the chance to sink myself
into someone else's life and experience, just in a different manner. With a book,
you can really get inside a character's head and know them from the inside out.
With a game, you can get inside a character's body and direct their actions. Even
if the story is entirely linear with no actual input from the player as to the
outcome, you are still immersed in the role and feel the effects, and well-designed
gameplay can heighten that immeasurably.

35
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
36
ibid

11
 …Shadow of the Colossus: This is a beautiful, heart-breaking game of staggering
genius and ingenuity. The story as you are given: a young man (the character
you play) brings the body of a woman to a temple and agrees to slay sixteen
Colossi in order to bring her back to life. Who these people are, why he's doing
this, how he knew this forgotten god might help, these things are all left to the
player's interpretation. You set out on a seemingly impossible task with a sword
that can guide you to the next target, a bow, and a loyal horse to carry you
through a barren, beautiful landscape…37

Another person describes his playing

Role-playing games are by far my favourite type: Final Fantasy (esp. VII and
VIII); Vagrant story (one of the best RPGs I've played), Ico. A developing
story line mixed with puzzles is what holds my attention. The fighting I
wouldn't miss if it wasn't there; I don't play fighting games without a story.38

A note about character and games

In the information obtained during the survey many of the participants described
character as an appeal characteristic for playing in quite a different way to how they
described it for reading. A very common appeal characteristic for games is who you
play them with. This still fits as an appeal characteristic or doorway because it is
critical. A few people commented that they did not like it when other players, or
themselves, became over competitive during a game.

Do not underestimate the social element of much game playing. It is a direct tie to the
character doorway and it very important.

The following comments from survey participants highlight this

The main object of games for me is the interaction with other people. I’d much
rather play cards with people than on my computer. In fact, I’d rather play
anything at all with someone else – what I play doesn’t really matter. (Only
things I don’t care for are Chess and Monopoly. Even then, if the others were
keen, I would.)

Board games I particularly enjoy are Carcassone, Cranium, Shadows over

Camelot. I like them because there is or can be a cooperative aspect…My
enjoyment of any board games depends on the attitude of the people I am
playing with. I don't like a cut throat attitude.

World of Warcraft, Mystery Case Files, Sims, RPGs such as Command and
Conquer/Warcraft/Starcraft….Mostly I like them because I have almost
complete control over how they will turn out, WoW I like for the social
element as well as the fact that I can elect to play solo or play collaboratively.

My preferred guilty pleasure in gaming is without a doubt World of

Warcraft….. I really like the social aspect of it; I used to play with my cousin
and met a lot of his friends through the game and we started to hang out in
summer, having BBQ's in someones garden or in winter, just bringing all our
laptops to someones place and play together.
37
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
38
ibid

12
 I play strategy boardgames with the University Gaming Group. Among my
favourites are the fantasy adventure-themed games, such as Runebound; the
horror-themed games, such as Last Night on Earth, and a number of Chtulhu-
themed games

I love playing snap with my six year old daughter because she tries to cheat
and sometimes I let her.39

I like interactive DVD games such as the 'Spicks & Specks' game, where you
can play with a group of people and have a laugh.

Contract Bridge… now actively playing again at a club and online five times
per week.

Chinese checkers is the weekly game we play with my grandmother, who

recently had a series of strokes and although she can't communicate very well,
she still plays a mean game of Chinese checkers.

I have played the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game in a number of

different incarnations for about 13 years now. I was introduced to it by a
teacher at high school and have been playing it ever since. I enjoy the
teamwork and critical thinking that it encourages as well as the fun of writing
my own stories and sharing them with my friends. I am what's known as a
Game Master of Dungeons and Dragons, which means that I host the games
and run them for groups of anywhere from 4 to 12 people at any one time.

My son got the 39 Clues board-game for Christmas and I quite enjoy that –
you’re given clues about a place (anywhere in the world) and you have to
work out where it is in order to move on to the next clue and obtain a key…
Playing these games for me is about spending time with my children and
helping them solve the puzzles – so I guess the doorway here for me is
Character and perhaps Setting (family & physical space)40

These are just a small sample of the comments linking playing games with other
people to the character doorway.

What if I have not even heard about the game/s they are talking about?
• say so and, ask for more information – you are listening for appeal
characteristics
• think about - do you know the plot or subject matter of every book or dvd in
your library?
• keep a positive, non-judemental attitude, don’t sound old fashioned unless you
can pull it off in a quirky retro way
• remember you want to encourage people into your library and not make them
feel embarrassed about playing games
• don’t be prejudiced

39
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010
40
ibid

13
 • don’t try to sound trendy – unless you can really pull it off
• remember that the chat with the reader is all about them, not you and your
tastes

But what does this really mean in the library?

To give an example of how this translates into real library readers advisory services I
will work through some examples.

Assassins Creed 241 is a third person action adventure mostly set in the fifteenth
century. Much of the action takes place in Venice. It has very beautiful graphics.

If someone likes playing Assassins Creed 2 the doorways to this game are
• story
• character
• setting

You need to acertain which are the most important for each player and reader to
accurately suggest something that a player of Assassins Creed 2 would like to read.

It is likely they will enjoy fast-paced stories with a strong narrative or stories with
well described and fully realised settings. There is a wide range of reading
possibilities out of this title. People may want to follow up on the history, science, art
or politics of the period, they may be seeking a fast paced story (Matthew Reilly may
be a good suggestion), or looking for engagement with a character. You need to ask
the right questions so that you can help the reader/player to the right material. It may
be a combination of the above.

One of the survey respondents tied Matthew Reilly’s novels and Halo, a science
fiction based game together based on appeal
Moving on from classic Mysteries we come to those action-packed thriller /
mysteries by the likes of Clive Cussler and Matthew Reilly – the rise of the
underdog (eg, ‘Hover Car Racer’), the success of the smarter man (NUMA).
There’s always some mystery to solve but it’s also about characters exploring
their heroic capabilities – whether they believe they have them or not – eg,
Reilly’s ‘Contest’… I guess this is where ‘Halo’ would come in – the pitting of
one genetically engineered warrior against the odds of an invading alien
force. It’s about story and character, a little about setting, though the telling
of the tale in between action sequences and game-play is perhaps what keeps
me drawn to Halo – it satisfies the deep hunger for classic story-telling using
language and imagery. Again the music helps, you know when the bad guys
are coming because the music changes, you know when a sequence is about to
end because the music plays, you want the story sequences to keep going
because the music is expansive and consuming and operatic. [sigh]
An aside to this is the fact that as a result of playing Halo I now actively seek
out the related Halo fiction which is available42

From this description story and character are the appeal characteristics. Yet again
Matthew Reilly is a possible author to suggest reading. Hard, or technology based,
41
Assassins creed 2 http://assassinscreed.uk.ubi.com/brotherhood/ [accessed 26 May 2010]
42
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010

14
science fiction may also be of interest including writers like Alastair Reynolds,
Stephen Baxter and John E Stith. There may also be interest in science writing, and
possibly some adventure writers like Robert Louis Stephenson or John Buchan.

This description of fantasy reading and playing provides its own challenges, and it
may be that you are learning from the reader
I read fantasy books, specifically a pseudo-genre known as high fantasy,
penned by authors such as David Eddings and Sarah Brightman. I have
always had a keen interest in the works of fantasy writers and was lead to
them by friends and co-workers with similar interests.

I enjoy reading fantasy books as it sparks my imagination and gives great

material for the games I play and the stories I write myself… I guess a small
part of me reads and plays fantasy games for escapism. Whether they are
honest with you or not, most readers of the genre are attracted by the vivid
worlds and unique experiences provided in fantasy writing and I think that
this is intensified in Role Playing Games of the fantasy genre, as they allow
one an interactive experience in a whole new world, effectively casting
themselves in new roles they may never get a chance to play in real life…for
me provides an excellent canvas for expressing ones imagination and
creativity, more so than other genres in my opinion. As a reader, each new
series, each new book or short story is unique and bold, dripping with colour
and life and although it can be said for all literature, it is especially true that
each work of fantasy fiction is strongly unique in ways uncapturable in other
genres.

I feel this aspect of fantasy is intensified with RPG's, as they not only give a
storyteller the tools to create their own worlds but they make it a much more
intense experience for those who choose to join that world. Where in a series
such as Lord of the Rings, we all held our breath as characters bought an epic
storyline to life, in a game of the same nature, we play those same stylised
heroic characters and the fate of the world and it's inhabitants, no more or
less real than in a traditional piece of literature, is in our hands. 43

This person is very much describing setting and language as the appeal for both
reading and playing. Key here is being able to provide complete series, so series
entries are critical in the cataloguing of titles, as is the ability to replace missing parts
of series, or obtain them in interlibrary loan.

As a contrast
A general guideline - the more people die, the more I like it. I read for
escapism primarily, and I like strong protagonists, suspense, and a high body
count (of course!). As for the War novels and biographies, the heroism and
helplessness of the situations resonate with me. …I also love games that make
me laugh - Order of the Stick, Munchkin, Apples for Apples and Fluxx are
good examples of this.44

43
ibid
44
Comment received in survey about reading and game playing January to April 2010

15
This reader and player has identified the importance of character and setting. In your
readers advisory interview with this person you would need to check on what mood
they were in so that you could most effectively suggest a match for them. You may
be suggesting titles like the Hunger games or authors like George RR Martin and
Mark Chadburn for their body count. Non-fiction may also be a strong possibility for
an area of interest, reading about modern, or ancient wars, plagues and destruction.

This reader and game player has story as her dominant doorway, but also with a
significant character focus as well
I like games with a deep storyline that don't require a lot of hand-eye
coordination. The latter restriction means that I can't play shooters, which
means I miss out on some spectacular stories (Mass Effect, for instance). I
enjoy tabletop Dungeons and Dragons and console video games, primarily
RPGs.

What I like about games is what I like about reading, it's the chance to sink
myself into someone else's life and experience, just in a different manner.
With a book, you can really get inside a character's head and know them from
the inside out. With a game, you can get inside a character's body and direct
their actions. Even if the story is entirely linear with no actual input from the
player as to the outcome, you are still immersed in the role and feel the
effects, and well-designed gameplay can heighten that immeasurably…
Shadow of the Colossus: This is a beautiful, heart-breaking game of
staggering genius and ingenuity. The story as you are given: a young man
(the character you play) brings the body of a woman to a temple and agrees to
slay sixteen Colossi in order to bring her back to life. Who these people are,
why he's doing this, how he knew this forgotten god might help, these things
are all left to the player's interpretation. You set out on a seemingly
impossible task with a sword that can guide you to the next target, a bow, and
a loyal horse to carry you through a barren, beautiful landscape… This is a
fantastic game. It's immersive, empathetic, starkly gorgeous to behold, and
wrenches at you emotionally to the point of tears. I'm not ashamed to admit
that I bought a PS3 solely for the fact that the next game released by this
company will be a PS3 exclusive.45
This reader wants to really go deep into a game or reading, requires a strong story,
engaging characters to interact with, and a well designed and described setting. She is
happy with ambiguity and does not require resolution. She also is happy to have a
strong emotional investment in the game or reading. From her description long
novels, or games, or multi-part novels and games are acceptable and she is prepared to
wait. With a reader like this you could suggest complex histories and some
biographies as well as well as works of fantasy. It may be possible that some science
fiction in the space opera sub genre may also be of interest.

With the game Darfur is dying46 the appeal characteristics are character, as you select
a person and try and collect water and setting as there is a strong sense of the
constraints. This could be an effective game to use as part of programming in a
library, and tying in with non-fiction about the history of Sudan, particularly
biographies. Depending on the age group you are working with you could tie in either
45
ibid
46
Darfur is dying http://www.darfurisdying.com/ [accessed 26 May 2010]

16
stories or non-fiction accounts of other African wars such as Black hawk down by
Mark Bowden47 or even go further afield by a discussion of Graeme Greene’s The
quiet American48.

To take it from a game perspective, someone who likes Tulipmania 163749 which has
the players taking the roles of investors in a volatile tulip market and has the appeal
characteristics of character, both from the other player and from roleplaying, and story
as you participate in telling it. You could suggest some of the many non-fiction titles
about tulips, their growth and history, but you could also suggest other books about
economic intrigue, stock markets or thrillers.

These are just some examples to highlight the link between games and reading, and
the relevance of using both areas of appeal when seeking to help people with their
reading and playing preferences. They also show that if you have someone coming to
your library to play games, but not reading that you can use the game doorway/s to
connect the player to reading.

Library catalogues
Make your catalogue work for you. It is a very important dataset for each library
service. Having even brief descriptions of all works may help in being able to source
material via your catalogue for doorways. Some of this material is already available
via Trove50, and Librarything51, however you could consider encouraging your readers
to add reviews or tags to the catalogue, if you have that capacity in your library
management system. This would be a way of adding information which would help
you.

Tagging is now available on Trove, so people could focus on the national database.
Perhaps over time it will be possible to download tags from Trove directly to your
library management system so that combined with subject headings there.

You could even be more radical and add lots of subject headings and descriptions to
Trove to help others with this as well. We can’t outsource our expertise in this area.
Our library cataloguers are the champion taggers, even if they don’t describe
themselves this way.

Relevant library programming

You may want to run game-themed events in your library, and that is one possible
way of using this information of appeal characteristics. This will be effective for
some people. You may also want to think about how you already promote events in
your library. Could you do this in ways which highlight relevant doorways without
describing them in that way? Think about how you promote existing library
47
Bowden, Mark, Black hawk down Trove reference http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/7217000?
q=black+hawk+down&c=book [accessed 26 May 2010]
48
Greene, Grahame The quiet American Trove reference http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/6054796?
q=quiet+american&c=book [accessed 26 May 2010]
49
Tulipmania 1637 http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33732/tulipmania-1637 [accessed 27
May 2010]
50
Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/ [accessed 22 May 2010]
51
Librarything http://www.librarything.com/ [accessed 22 May 2010]

17
programming. Are there ways you could appeal to people who play games of all
ages? And yes you may want to tailor this for specific events. You may want to have
games sessions as part of author events, or as part of reading group discussions.
There are many possibilities for use and the development of serious games as part of
library programming, but that would be another paper.

Where to now?
Read and play. Encourage others to read and play. Discuss with others what you are
learning through reading and playing to help with readers advisory work. We could
claim #readandplay and tweet or blog about this. This would be a way of continuing
and expanding this discussion, and a prompt to keep thinking about library services in
these areas.

Encourage others not to be prejudiced about people who read and play games. There
are a lot of us out there and our numbers are growing rather than declining.

There is a small section on the Readers Advisory wiki52 which has childrens and some
young adult games sorted by appeal characteristics. This is a starting point. Join the
wiki, become a writer and help to add content in this area. Try playing a few games,
see what you like, and just as importantly what you don’t.

The key point: talk with your readers and those who play games. Find out what are
their connection points with games and books. It could be an interesting time to raise
questions of format for the reading as well. Find out if you have any staff with
specialist knowledge in this area. Do you know who plays games amongst your staff?
If you don’t, why don’t you know this?

This really is just an extension of readers advisory work, but you have to remember to
ask the questions in a way which show that you want to hear the answers.

52
Readers Advisory wiki http://readersadvisory.wetpaint.com/page/Games+and+reading [accessed 21
May 2010]

18