This is just sooooo interesting! The fabulous Nick Yee introduces a PhD student, Ge Jin’s work on TerraNova. He’s making a video documentary on Chinese goldfarmers and generously gives us a preview.

Some interesting comments “We’re providing a service to American players” and Lao Liu’s “Foreign players call us Chinese farmer, we are very sensitive to this term. I have a sense of inferiority”.

Ge Jin’s own observation is interesting as well.
“When I entered a gold farm for the first time (tietou’s gaming workshop in the preview), I was shocked by the positive spirit there, the farmers are passionate about what they do, and there is indeed a comraderie between them…I do see suffering and exploitation too, but in that place suffering is mixed with play and exploitation is embodied in a gang-like brotherhood and hierarchy. When I talked with the farmers, they rarely complained about their working condition, they only complained about their life in the game world”.

Extremely interesting!! Jin’s also looking into, how Chinese workers interact with American players and what it all means to the Chinese worker!

Can’t wait to read more of his research!!! ;)

This seems like a very interesting project!

3D Language Spain

“In 3DLanguage we have combined the most powerful aspects of video games, speech recognition technology, and our proprietary language management process (patent pending). The result is a virtual world enabling you to go where you want, say what you want, learn what you want – and all at a pace you choose! No flash cards, no rote memorization, no more being hit over the head with rules wrapped in a veneer of “fun”.”

I have enough time burglars in my life at the moment, but I’d definitely like to try this. Because it sounds just a tiny bit too ambitious, but done right it actually might work!

Ahhh…the remarkable Tony Walsh is liveblogging SXSW! I have to say, though, it makes the wish to be there even stronger!!!

I’m so glad that Mr. Walsh has a curious nature, cause I think we’re in for a few extra treats as well. Like ‘Beyond Folksonomies; Knitting Tag Clouds for Grandma’.

I admire people who can liveblog! And I’m so thankful! Would have loved to hear Wallace and Ludlow!

Carnegie Mellon and Electronic Arts are making Alice, which is a really cool program to learn computer programing, better!! All in the spirit of making computer science education fun! Awww…isn’t that lovely!! Electronic Arts is giving them Sims.

President Jared L. Cohon of Carneigie Mellon I think says it best:

“This unique alliance between academia and industry is further evidence that sharing technology is an essential step towards arming students with the tools needed to excel in computer science education and interactive entertainment”.I have to say…this really looks great! Reminds me that I should have a closer look at Alice and see if I might pick up some computer programing skills!!!

And I also can’t help wondering what’s up with all the Alice in Wonderland stuff? Something about computers, games and the Internet makes us all think of this story, what? I can’t even remember what influenced me!

You just have to love this!!!

“At long last, you’ve returned!” the elf cries. “I had feared that you …”

> Click Complete Quest

The elf snorts and hands you a slimy, rusted, bent dagger with runes on it reading “Discount Shiv Warehouse — Bring us a lower price, we’ll stab it.”

> Look at dagger

It’s a noxious, poorly-balanced piece of crap, but it’s better than the weapon you have right now.

> What do I have now?

It’s not clear from the decay, but you think it may have once been a whisk.

> Wield dagger

You look slightly less feeble. A knight rides by on a gleaming white charger. He is bedecked from head to toe with shining armor. His shoulder armor alone is big enough to house you, your family and any pets you pick up at the auction house, and still have room to hang that pathetic dagger of yours on the wall as a constant reminder of your utter weakness compared to a true man like him.

> Pout

You hear a voice in the distance. “LF2M need healer and tank!”

> Talk to elf

Clickable Culture has a lovely overview of Second Life Statistics. He’s posted them in two different columns to show the discrepencies between Google Talk and ETech…I love that!!! Nothing much that impressed me really. I guess I should be starstruck by the fact that “$6.5 million in transaction took place in the last 30 days since March 7, 2006″(ETech source) or that “75 million instant messages relayed in Second Life in the last 30 days since March 7, 2006” (yup..you guessed it ETech Source, again). But…you know…I’m not! This is the way it was supposed to go and it will just get bigger! What really makes me tick is that “5,000 residents (15% of total population) have written 12,000 original scripts in the last 7 days for a total of 2.5 m lines of code per week” and that “17 different universities are teaching in Second Life” (oh I wish mine was one of them) – all from the ETech Source – my eyes must be wandering to the right today.

And I can’t have a ‘sum up everything in one post’ without mentioning Wonderland’s lovely idea of ‘Building business like a game’ – I think there’s a lot of potential here!

Also, on my reading list is this nifty little thing. International Review of Information Ethics Vol. 4 – The Ethics of E-Games! I’m so intrigued by this!

But it will have to be ‘reading at work’ tomorrow, because I’ve wasted a whole day doing stupid things like, not winning the Xbox360, being outraged by the whole South Dakota issue – disgusting, registering at Infomatica’s site (excellent, excellent, excellent!! They’re even taking the initiative to gathering all the thesis subjects in process and BLOGS!! wOOOhooo!!) and talking to people who are panicking about being 75% further along the way than I am!! So…its 7.30 pm, I’ve wasted a whole day….and panic has struck because I need to go to work tomorrow and then there’s the women in academia thing and I really, REALLY want to have a few beers with fellow students tomorrow night!

A few weeks ago I met a reader of this blog who had a lot of nice things to say. I was truly flattered and inspired! I mean, it’s such a great compliment when people find my words and findings readable! So I’m sure I stroked my hair a bit to the side and started battering my eyelids in a flirtatious manner (yeah…I know…the flirting game is something I still have not mastered, I’m absolutely hopeless). Then the guy wondered if he could offer me some friendly advice. Sure!! The advice? That I should consider downplaying my feminism! I wasn’t aware that I had been preaching feminism, but since I am a woman, I’m sure some feminine qualities are bound to be revealed! I found the conversation quite terrifying, really! I guess what he was trying to tell me, was that if I wanted to be taken seriously, I should start writing like a man!

So, on that note let me introduce you to some fellow female gaming voices!

MMORPG.com’s “Do Girls Game Differently?” – great piece with refreshing discussion

Wired’s “Women Gamers Duke It Out” – not too fond of this article really. I don’t like sentences such as “…a furious divide exists over how to get women to play video games”. But a good little link collector of the whole women in games community.

Guilded Lilies’ “Annie Get You Gun” – picture stolen from this wonderful blog! “I think more women already play shooters than anyone really knows about, and that game designers could greatly expand their markets by making a few adjustments. I for one could do with a little less sexism in game design all around – think: More shooters, less Hooters. Additionally, games like the Tomb Raider series have proven that men are more than willing to play a game with a main character that is female, so why not design a FPS with an intelligent, competent female protagonist, one that is not just a male personality dressed up in fantasized female clothing” – says it all, really!

There’s more! I’ll have to come back and update this post in the course of the week! But now, I need to work!!