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The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games (Playful Thinking) Paperback – September 2, 2016

by Jesper Juul (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 63 ratings
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A gaming academic offers a “fascinating” exploration of why we play video games—despite the unhappiness we feel when we fail at them (Boston Globe)

We may think of video games as being “fun,” but in The Art of Failure, Jesper Juul claims that this is almost entirely mistaken. When we play video games, our facial expressions are rarely those of happiness or bliss. Instead, we frown, grimace, and shout in frustration as we lose, or die, or fail to advance to the next level. Humans may have a fundamental desire to succeed and feel competent, but game players choose to engage in an activity in which they are nearly certain to fail and feel incompetent. So why do we play video games even though they make us unhappy? Juul examines this paradox.

In video games, as in tragic works of art, literature, theater, and cinema, it seems that we want to experience unpleasantness even if we also dislike it. Reader or audience reaction to tragedy is often explained as catharsis, as a purging of negative emotions. But, Juul points out, this doesn't seem to be the case for video game players. Games do not purge us of unpleasant emotions; they produce them in the first place. What, then, does failure in video game playing do?

Juul argues that failure in a game is unique in that when you fail in a game, you (not a character) are in some way inadequate. Yet games also motivate us to play more, in order to escape that inadequacy, and the feeling of escaping failure (often by improving skills) is a central enjoyment of games. Games, writes Juul, are the art of failure: the singular art form that sets us up for failure and allows us to experience it and experiment with it.

The Art of Failure is essential reading for anyone interested in video games, whether as entertainment, art, or education.
Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Playful Thinking
  2. Print length
    172 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    The MIT Press
  5. Publication date
    September 2, 2016
  6. Dimensions
    5.38 x 0.4 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0262529955
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0262529952
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Juul's essay is lean, pleasingly bold, and follows through on an intriguing premise.—Slate—

So it's a fascinating time to examine the concept of failure in video games, and luckily the gaming academic Jesper Juul did just that in The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games, which was released in February by MIT Press as part of its Playful Thinking series.... Maybe the interesting question here isn't what failure in games does—as Juul acknowledges, it does different things for different people—but rather what creative new approaches developers can take to one of the oldest, most universal parts of the human experience.

—Jesse Singal, Boston Globe—

About the Author

Jesper Juul is Associate Professor in the School of Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He is the author of Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds; A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players; and The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games, all published by the MIT Press.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The MIT Press; Reprint edition (September 2, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 172 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0262529955
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262529952
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.38 x 0.4 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 63 ratings

About the author

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Jesper Juul

Jesper Juul

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My name is Jesper Juul, and I am a Video Game Theorist. My mission in life is to take video games seriously, while admitting how much I enjoy them.

My latest book (2019) is Handmade Pixels on the meaning and history of independent video games.

I have taught at New York University, MIT, IT University of Copenhagen, and I am now working at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design.

I have a PhD in video game theory (these things exist!), and an MA in Nordic Literature. In addition to writing and teaching about video games, I also develop them on occasion.

For updates or comments, visit my blog The Ludologist on "game research and other important things"!

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
63 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Thomas Tvileren
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting exploration of the link between fun and frustration
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is the best attempt I have read to explore what makes computer games so enjoyable, and how this is intimately connected to their being maddeningly frustrating. Even though this book is admirably short, it can come across as long-winded at times. And the use of figures seemed clumsy (but that might have been because of the Kindle formatting). I wish the author had aimed more for an essay and less for scientific jargon that obscures more than it clarifies.

I still recommend it to anyone interested in this subject, as there is little writing in this field. Another, longer but better written book, is Tom Bissell's  Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter .
7 people found this helpful
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Jonathan
4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and direct
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2014
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The irony with games is the fact that playing games, at least good ones, come with a stream of failure. If you've noticed that before and wondered why, this essay is remarkable in its directness and insight. If you're also interested in game studies, this essay is a wonderful illustration of at least one of the potential venues of game studies that is possible.
4 people found this helpful
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Angela
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2015
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ugh for a class
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SC
3.0 out of 5 stars un argomento interessante
Reviewed in Italy on December 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
una lettura interessante, presenta un argomento di intrattenimento sotto punti di vista alternativi che quindi gli donano un significato diverso da quello che solitamente viene attribuito.
Nonostante l'analisi che viene fatta sia approfondita, il saggio è una mera rassegna della bibliografia legata al fenomeno e non sviluppa conclusioni personali utili.
Utile ma non illuminante.
2 people found this helpful
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Jennifer Emmerson
5.0 out of 5 stars Very satisfied. Arrived quickly
Reviewed in Canada on October 15, 2014
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Purchased for my son's university course. Very satisfied. Arrived quickly.
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Toni
5.0 out of 5 stars Un ensayo muy interesante sobre la dificultad de los videojuegos
Reviewed in Spain on April 19, 2016
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Orientado a creadores de videojuegos, este libro aborda la paradoja que se crea cuando los jugadores aman ciertos juegos pese a que no se divierten con ellos (por ejemplo juegos en los que el usuario se frustra todo el rato y aún así quiere seguir jugando). En inglés, lectura ligera y amena, terminable en unos 2 a 5 días.
2 people found this helpful
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Alice Collector
5.0 out of 5 stars Jesper Juul did it again!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2013
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I just love his books! Thought provocing as ever. Even if you don't agree: always worth reading what his take on the subject is!
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Starfuks
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy recomendable
Reviewed in Spain on December 26, 2018
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Facil de leer y muy interesante
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