Power-Up : : Unlocking the Hidden Mathematics in Video Games / / Matthew Lane.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017
• VerfasserIn: Lane, Matthew,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2017]; ©2017
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (264 p.) :; 80 halftones. 50 line illus.

A fun and lively look at the mathematical ideas concealed in video gamesDid you know that every time you pick up the controller to your PlayStation or Xbox, you are entering a game world steeped in mathematics? Power-Up reveals the hidden mathematics in many of today's most popular video games and explains why mathematical learning doesn't just happen in the classroom or from books-you're doing it without even realizing it when you play games on your cell phone.In this lively and entertaining book, Matthew Lane discusses how gamers are engaging with the traveling salesman problem when they play Assassin's Creed, why it is mathematically impossible for Mario to jump through the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Bros., and how The Sims teaches us the mathematical costs of maintaining relationships. He looks at mathematical pursuit problems in classic games like Missile Command and Ms. Pac-Man, and how each time you play Tetris, you're grappling with one of the most famous unsolved problems in all of mathematics and computer science. Along the way, Lane discusses why Family Feud and Pictionary make for ho-hum video games, how realism in video games (or the lack of it) influences learning, what video games can teach us about the mathematics of voting, the mathematics of designing video games, and much more.Power-Up shows how the world of video games is an unexpectedly rich medium for learning about the beautiful mathematical ideas that touch all aspects of our lives-including our virtual ones.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Let's Get Physical -- 2. Repeat Offenders -- 3. Get Out the Voting System -- 4. Knowing the Score -- 5. The Thrill of the Chase -- 6. Gaming Complexity -- 7. The Friendship Realm -- 8. Order in Chaos -- 9. The Value of Games -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index