{"id":2984,"date":"2024-02-19T15:47:22","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T14:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/?p=2984"},"modified":"2024-02-21T09:20:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T08:20:49","slug":"peter-d-mcdonald-run-and-jump-the-meaning-of-the-2d-platformer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/2024\/02\/19\/peter-d-mcdonald-run-and-jump-the-meaning-of-the-2d-platformer\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter D. McDonald: Run and Jump, The Meaning of the 2D Platformer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2985\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9780262547390.png\" alt=\"Run and Jump cover\" width=\"226\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9780262547390.png 298w, https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9780262547390-98x150.png 98w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 226px) 85vw, 226px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Out now in the <a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/series\/playful-thinking\/\">Playful Thinking<\/a> series: <a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9780262547390\/run-and-jump\/\"><strong>Peter D. McDonald: Run and Jump, The Meaning of the 2D Platformers.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We are proud to present Peter D. McDonald&#8217;s new book.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;How abstract design decisions in 2D platform games create rich <\/strong><strong>worlds of meaning for players.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since the 1980s, 2D platform games have captivated their audiences. Whether the player scrambles up the ladders in\u00a0<em>Donkey Kong<\/em>\u00a0or leaps atop an impossibly tall pipe in\u00a0<em>Super Mario Bros.<\/em>, this deceptively simple visual language has persisted in our cultural imagination of video games. In\u00a0<em>Run and Jump<\/em>, Peter McDonald surveys the legacy of 2D platform games and examines how abstract and formal design choices have kept players playing. McDonald argues that there is a rich layer of meaning underneath, say, the quality of an avatar&#8217;s movement, the pacing and rhythm of level design, the personalities expressed by different enemies, and the emotion elicited by collecting a coin.<\/p>\n<p>To understand these games, McDonald draws on technical discussions by game designers as well as theoretical work about the nature of signs from structuralist semiotics. Interspersed throughout are design exercises that show how critical interpretation can become a tool for game designers to communicate with their players. With examples drawn from over forty years of game history, and from games made by artists, hobbyists, iconic designers, and industry studios,\u00a0<em>Run and Jump<\/em> presents a comprehensive\u2014and engaging\u2014vision of this slice of game history.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Out now in the Playful Thinking series: Peter D. McDonald: Run and Jump, The Meaning of the 2D Platformers. We are proud to present Peter D. McDonald&#8217;s new book. &#8220;How abstract design decisions in 2D platform games create rich worlds of meaning for players. Since the 1980s, 2D platform games have captivated their audiences. Whether &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/2024\/02\/19\/peter-d-mcdonald-run-and-jump-the-meaning-of-the-2d-platformer\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Peter D. McDonald: Run and Jump, The Meaning of the 2D Platformer&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-games","category-readings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2984"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2992,"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984\/revisions\/2992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jesperjuul.net\/ludologist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}