Acknowledgments
Spiece
omething strange happened when it came time to write this little
of the book. I realized that despite having spent multiple years
in higher education (as a student and as a teacher), when I looked back
at the people who ultimately helped this book project take shape, I real-
ized there was no one. Typically, acknowledgment sections for academic
types read a bit like an award acceptance speech, making note of every
graduate or undergraduate student who had been exploited, research
assistants who were woefully underpaid (if paid at all), and colleagues
who begrudgingly read your drafts (but gave you their full support as
you casually ate away their free time). Unfortunately for me (and for
you as the reader, possibly), I had no such help. Any failures in this book
are mine to own, which I suppose can be a bit liberating in its own way.
So, here’s to tackling a project I may have been completely unprepared
for by myself! However, I do want to sincerely thank Marina Gutierrez-
Harsh (though her code name is Necronomiconopoly) for the wonderful
illustrations that accompany the chapters, as well as the cover art. The
book is far more aesthetically appealing due to both, and her art saves it
from the “wall of text” feel of similar works.
I do, however, have a couple more distantly related appreciative ges-
tures and comments to make, and I might as well seize this opportunity
to do just that. First, I would like to extend my appreciation to the gam-
ers who participated in this project, and those who inhabited the many
virtual game worlds I spent years studying. Their insights and passions
continued to embolden me throughout the difficulties of this project.
Many of them, despite their differences, were kind enough to tell me
why they do the things they do and why they enjoy doing them. In a way,
we collectively experienced many changes in our lives; some of them left
