Jessica Enevold is an associate professor of cultural studies at the Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. Esther MacCallum-Stewart is an associate professor of games studies at Staffordshire University, UK. Her work examines the ways in which players understand narratives and the stories they tell and she has written widely on this subject.

“For those interested in further pursuing the relationship between meaning and games, Game Love is recommended reading”—Sport in American History.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction (Jessica Enevold and Esther ­MacCallum-Stewart)Section 1: Experiencing and Creating Love in Games“I’m in love with someone that doesn’t exist!” Bleed in the Context of a Computer Game (Annika Waern)Approaching the Digital Courting Process in Dragon Age 2 (Peter Kelly)Love for Dice: Love, Sex, Romance and Reward in Tabletop ­Role-Playing Games (Ian Sturrock)NPCs Need Love Too: Simulating Love and Romance, from a Game Design Perspective (Mitu ­Khandaker-Kokoris)Section 2: Show It Like You Mean It: Expressions of Love Beyond the Gaming TextExpress Yourself: An Affective Analysis of Game Cosplayers (Nicolle Lamerichs)“He is coming to the wedding”: Exploring Narratives of Love and Friendship Among Erotic ­Role-Players in World of Warcraft (Ashley Brown)Princess Peach Loves Your Enemies, Too (Hanna Wirman)Capitalizing on Emotions: Digital Pets and the Natural User Interface (Tom Apperley and Nicole Heber)Section 3: What’s Love Got to Do with It? Alternative Representations of Love in Games“I know your type, you are a player”: Suspended Fulfillment in Fallout: New Vegas (Olli Tapio Leino)Game Love at Play in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 (Sara Mosberg Iversen)Simulated Metaphors of Love: How The Marriage Applies Metaphors to Simulate a Love Relationship (Sebastian Möring)Playing by Heart: A Taxonomy of the Heart in Videogames (Shira Chess)Section 4: Bad LoveGame Addiction in a Framework of Love: A Ludophilic Investigation (Rune Kristian Lundedal Nielsen)Bad Romance: For the Love of “Bad” Videogames (Emily ­Flynn-Jones)About the ContributorsIndex

Jessica Enevold is an associate professor of cultural studies at the Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. Esther MacCallum-Stewart is an associate professor of games studies at Staffordshire University, UK. Her work examines the ways in which players understand narratives and the stories they tell and she has written widely on this subject.

“For those interested in further pursuing the relationship between meaning and games, Game Love is recommended reading”—Sport in American History.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction (Jessica Enevold and Esther ­MacCallum-Stewart)Section 1: Experiencing and Creating Love in Games“I’m in love with someone that doesn’t exist!” Bleed in the Context of a Computer Game (Annika Waern)Approaching the Digital Courting Process in Dragon Age 2 (Peter Kelly)Love for Dice: Love, Sex, Romance and Reward in Tabletop ­Role-Playing Games (Ian Sturrock)NPCs Need Love Too: Simulating Love and Romance, from a Game Design Perspective (Mitu ­Khandaker-Kokoris)Section 2: Show It Like You Mean It: Expressions of Love Beyond the Gaming TextExpress Yourself: An Affective Analysis of Game Cosplayers (Nicolle Lamerichs)“He is coming to the wedding”: Exploring Narratives of Love and Friendship Among Erotic ­Role-Players in World of Warcraft (Ashley Brown)Princess Peach Loves Your Enemies, Too (Hanna Wirman)Capitalizing on Emotions: Digital Pets and the Natural User Interface (Tom Apperley and Nicole Heber)Section 3: What’s Love Got to Do with It? Alternative Representations of Love in Games“I know your type, you are a player”: Suspended Fulfillment in Fallout: New Vegas (Olli Tapio Leino)Game Love at Play in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 (Sara Mosberg Iversen)Simulated Metaphors of Love: How The Marriage Applies Metaphors to Simulate a Love Relationship (Sebastian Möring)Playing by Heart: A Taxonomy of the Heart in Videogames (Shira Chess)Section 4: Bad LoveGame Addiction in a Framework of Love: A Ludophilic Investigation (Rune Kristian Lundedal Nielsen)Bad Romance: For the Love of “Bad” Videogames (Emily ­Flynn-Jones)About the ContributorsIndex

Jessica Enevold is an associate professor of cultural studies at the Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. Esther MacCallum-Stewart is an associate professor of games studies at Staffordshire University, UK. Her work examines the ways in which players understand narratives and the stories they tell and she has written widely on this subject.

“For those interested in further pursuing the relationship between meaning and games, Game Love is recommended reading”—Sport in American History.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction (Jessica Enevold and Esther ­MacCallum-Stewart)Section 1: Experiencing and Creating Love in Games“I’m in love with someone that doesn’t exist!” Bleed in the Context of a Computer Game (Annika Waern)Approaching the Digital Courting Process in Dragon Age 2 (Peter Kelly)Love for Dice: Love, Sex, Romance and Reward in Tabletop ­Role-Playing Games (Ian Sturrock)NPCs Need Love Too: Simulating Love and Romance, from a Game Design Perspective (Mitu ­Khandaker-Kokoris)Section 2: Show It Like You Mean It: Expressions of Love Beyond the Gaming TextExpress Yourself: An Affective Analysis of Game Cosplayers (Nicolle Lamerichs)“He is coming to the wedding”: Exploring Narratives of Love and Friendship Among Erotic ­Role-Players in World of Warcraft (Ashley Brown)Princess Peach Loves Your Enemies, Too (Hanna Wirman)Capitalizing on Emotions: Digital Pets and the Natural User Interface (Tom Apperley and Nicole Heber)Section 3: What’s Love Got to Do with It? Alternative Representations of Love in Games“I know your type, you are a player”: Suspended Fulfillment in Fallout: New Vegas (Olli Tapio Leino)Game Love at Play in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 (Sara Mosberg Iversen)Simulated Metaphors of Love: How The Marriage Applies Metaphors to Simulate a Love Relationship (Sebastian Möring)Playing by Heart: A Taxonomy of the Heart in Videogames (Shira Chess)Section 4: Bad LoveGame Addiction in a Framework of Love: A Ludophilic Investigation (Rune Kristian Lundedal Nielsen)Bad Romance: For the Love of “Bad” Videogames (Emily ­Flynn-Jones)About the ContributorsIndex