The Interface Envelope

"Theoretically nuanced and empirically rich, this discussion of how big-budget computer games attempt to organise players' perceptions is a must-read for all those interested in how digital technologies are changing our forms of life. " --Gillian Rose, Professor of Cultural Geography, The Open University, UK

"James Ash's critical study shows how interfaces create spatio-temporal traps in which we are enveloped in alternative worlds. Cognitive capitalism works through techniques that stimulate our perceptions and sense of difference. Ash's book is a strong take on the non-human aspects in contemporary media culture without forgetting issues of political economy either. It will definitely speak to readers in game, media and cultural studies. " --Jussi Parikka, Professor of Technological Culture & Aesthetics, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK, and author of Digital Contagions

"More and more aspects of everyday life are being mediated through digital interfaces. And yet, to date, critical thinking about interfaces has been quite limited. The Interface Envelope is a vital contribution to filling this lacuna, providing a compelling new approach to making sense of interfaces that draws on post-phenomenology and new materialist ideas. In so doing, James Ash provides a thoroughly interdisciplinary and provocative analysis of interfaces that takes seriously and weaves together notions of embodiment, affect, memory, materiality, objects, power, space and time, through a detailed analysis of gaming interfaces. If you are interested in understanding how and why interfaces matter read this book. " --Rob Kitchin, Professor and ERC Advanced Investigator in the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland

"Theoretically nuanced and empirically rich, this discussion of how big-budget computer games attempt to organise players' perceptions is a must-read for all those interested in how digital technologies are changing our forms of life." --Gillian Rose, Professor of Cultural Geography, The Open University, UK

"James Ash's critical study shows how interfaces create spatio-temporal traps in which we are enveloped in alternative worlds. Cognitive capitalism works through techniques that stimulate our perceptions and sense of difference. Ash's book is a strong take on the non-human aspects in contemporary media culture without forgetting issues of political economy either. It will definitely speak to readers in game, media and cultural studies." --Jussi Parikka, Professor of Technological Culture & Aesthetics, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK, and author of Digital Contagions

"More and more aspects of everyday life are being mediated through digital interfaces. And yet, to date, critical thinking about interfaces has been quite limited. The Interface Envelope is a vital contribution to filling this lacuna, providing a compelling new approach to making sense of interfaces that draws on post-phenomenology and new materialist ideas. In so doing, James Ash provides a thoroughly interdisciplinary and provocative analysis of interfaces that takes seriously and weaves together notions of embodiment, affect, memory, materiality, objects, power, space and time, through a detailed analysis of gaming interfaces. If you are interested in understanding how and why interfaces matter read this book." --Rob Kitchin, Professor and ERC Advanced Investigator in the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland