videoludica. game culture 

Steven Poole has released "a free "ebook" version of his first book, Trigger Happy, with no "digital rights management" whatsoever. It'll work on anything that can read a PDF." Originally published in 1999 by Fourth Estate, Trigger Happy is still one of the best book about digital games ever published.

Steven Poole describes it in these terms: "Trigger Happy is a book about the aesthetics of videogames - what they share with cinema, the history of painting, or literature; and what makes them different, in terms of form, psychology and semiotics. It was first published in 2000; this is the revised edition with the updated Afterword written in 2004. It's offered under a CC license, for a limited time only. I'm not sure how limited that time will be, so grab it while it's hot."

Link: Trigger Happy. Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution (pdf)

Link: Trigger Happy. Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution (printed)

Link: Steven Poole

Link: Poole's Trigger Happy column for EDGE magazine - complete archive