Video games: news, theory & analysis.
Video games: news, theory & analysis.
So here's a question. Suppose, in an entirely fictional reality, M$ was looking to increase their share of "women" and "lapsed" gamers. What would you recommend they do? There are, obviously, no financial boundaries.
First, women gamers love casual games. You know, Diner Dash or Bejeweled type of stuff. What a company like M$ could do is a) make the downloadable ones more user-friendly (no bs with buying credits or spyware), and b) make their MSN games available on browser other than IE. This type of game is generally played at work (where people have computers that are up to par), so approaching it from that angle would be one venue. — read on
I'm posting this while proctoring the mid-term at Hunter. Blood, sweat and tears. No not really, but ... — read on
After I found out that Mary Flanagan, the big kahuna at Tiltfactor Lab, also roams the hallways at Hunter college, I decided to dive into her writing before making contact. So today I read "Locating Play and Politics: Real World Games & Activism." — read on
Where I previously discussed my (dis)agreements with Georgia Tech's approach to games as communication, today I ran across Ted Friedman's "The Semiotics of SimCity." What follows is a brief review and how it fits into my larger project. — read on
As I'm plotting my dissertation proposal, I'm reviewing current approaches towards videogames. One of the more interesting ones is the one gaining momentum over at Georgia Tech (GT), which emphasizes the "expressive potential of games." But while they are doing the field a big favor, I have my reservations. — read on
In the ongoing investigation of how games communicate, I ran across Rex Martin's dissertation. Wowsers. That guy is brilliant. — read on
Today I learned a new word. Apparently it originates from the magical kingdom called Microsoft, because that's what Jeff Bell says. But man, who would've thunk it that coopetition would actually mean something. What's next? Guestimation? Strategery? — read on
Well, it seems the cat is out of the bag. Officially it'll be announced at GDC'08, but I suppose Dean Takahashi couldn't wait. — read on
The cure for the common GTA clone. Heck, the Hulk puts GTA to shame. One enjoys roaming one's h...
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My brother, who is currently dodging mudslides in Vietnam with his family in law, recently sent me t...
Of course, why would you invent anything new when you can just upgrade what you already have? My chi...
Too hot to play games. Watch hilarious video instead. Friggin' awesome....
Half of the work in getting a Ph.D is purely logistical. This is my attempt to create a degree of coherence in the influx of game-related news, data, tidbits, announcements, CFPs, book reviews, commentary and nonsense that finds its way onto my screen every day.