A real Little Game: The Performance of Belief in Pervasive Play Jane McGonigal

I would like to thank Mark Sandberg, whose Spring 2002 Film History seminar at the

University of California, Berkeley, inspired the first version of this paper, and whose

feedback has helped shape the larger research project of which this paper is a part. I

would also like to express my gratitude to Elan Lee and Sean Stewart for our continuing

conversations about the past, present and future of pervasive play, dialogues that have

proven invaluable to my work and a pure delight.

A shorter version of this paper was presented at the 1st Annual Digital Games Research Association

(DiGRA) Conference in Utrecht, November 2003. It is available in the “Level Up” Conference

Proceedings at gamesconference.org.

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