Every once in a while I stop by Game Politics (used to be daily but I’ve been more reluctant ever since American politicians went crazy with legislations) and it is always a pure joy and educational!
Today they introduced me to David Edery, who runs the excellent blog Game Tycoon! Turns out, this is a man after my own heart (is that the expression?)!
He’s made an excellent list of the unresolved legal issues in MMOs. Unbelievably, my untrained legal mind is writing about 8 of 9! Which reminds me what a complete and utter moron I am for choosing this topic with only a Bachelor in Media Studies!
Also, he has an article published in Gamasutra; “Enhancing the Effectiveness of In-Game Advertising”, which is remarkable! I really couldn’t agree with the man more! He mentions that advertising works better if the recipient is in a good mood, therefore placing ads on billboards in a scary game, doesn’t really have much point! But what of placing actual advertising objects in the ‘feel good’ parts? Or MTV doing a DDR vj’ing thing? I’m not going to republish all his brilliant ideas here…just thought I’d mention a few! Either way it’s refreshing to read someone writing about advertising in games without predicting the end of days or just thinking of all the money that can be made! There’s a lot of great creative potential here and ofcourse we need to make sure it doesn’t get overly excessive….oh I’m just repeating myself and boring you now!
Either way…it was a pure joy to find David Edery, and I’m adding Game Tycoon to my blogslist!

Grand Text Auto has a post calling for papers for Henry Lowood and Michael Nitsche’s book, The Machinima Reader.
So far, I’ve only enjoyed machinima and have no desire to pursue anything academically, but it would be lovely if someone from Infomedia (or anyone at our university) was looking into it! Know of anyone?

Anyways! The CfP states:

• “In our organization of The Machinima Reader, we will recognize that the creators of Machinima have been at times just as concerned with demonstrating mastery of technology and gameplay as in artistic expression or narrative performance”

My thoughts go back to The Movies. Can a producer of a movie through The Movies be as respected as other Machinima producers? I mean, it looks like a game that even I can produce something in! There’s no mastery of technology involved but maybe a mastery of gameplay? I’m not too comfortable labeling these films as Machinima…am I the only one? There’s definately artistic expression and narrative performance, just look at The French Democracy! But is it good enough to be Machinima?!

That’s just my rambling thoughts!! I really should play the game before I speak my mind, shouldn’t I?!!!

Excellent! Clickable Culture yet again informs me of an interesting development within the virtual world of Second Life! It seems a player has been bad, but not bad enough to get banned so Linden Lab sent him to an eery corn field as a form of punishment, instead of the usual suspension! I love it! It’s exactly what’s been missing! An imaginative way of dealing with petty criminals! I mean, there’s so many ridiculous suspensions going on in MMORPGs, they might as well have a little fun with them! And what better than a cornfield resembling the ones found in almost every horror film I’ve ever seen. Even better….make it incredibly boring so the player will learn from her mistakes and other players can have a little peace from the ‘criminal’! I love it! Sociolotron has a prison as well (forgot to mention that in my last post). Ridding the ‘good’ players of the ‘criminal’, but also giving some entertainment to amuse the punished! Brilliant!!!! This is exactly the creative force I expect from game designers!

Picture completely stolen from Clickable Culture and taken by Nimrod Yaffle (hope you guys don’t mind)

Thanks to Ren Reynolds at Terra Nova I’ve spent the whole day trying to find out what MMOEG (MMO Erotic Games) and MMOVSG (MMO Virtual Sex Games) are. He has a post about how several of these games are popping up for release in 2006 and I suppose he’s questioning whether they’re needed or not or if the ‘serious’ MMOs should start considering adding more adult content.
I remember reading somewhere, that sex in MMOs most often occurs when players become bored (I still haven’t figured out where I read that, but I’m sure Dibbell has something to do with it, sorry!). And I’ve always kinda agreed with that as I think MMO machinima is created when players ‘linger’ while waiting for new quests a.s.o. So I’m wondering…what are these players gonna do when they need some time-out from gameplay?
Anyways!!!! This all reminded me that I wanted to have a closer look at Sociolotron (I wouldn’t feel comfortable entering the site at work). This place is amazing! If it wasn’t because of the sex thing, I’d love to explore this place! They have disease in their game and get this…you can die and actually go to hell (bringing all your skills and posessions with you, of course)! I love that! And thinking of the popularity of the accidental WoW plague, I’m wondering if this is a part of gameplay that’s missing and wanted in MMOs. Some or one of the diseases (not really sure) can be sexually transmitted (so do they have virtual condoms, I wonder) and get this….women can become PREGNANT!!!! Which can also be prevented in the form of anti baby pill or you can have an abortion! Incredible! This does not entail having to take care of a toddler however (at least that’s not how I understand it), it’s sole purpose is that if you die you can have a heir to all your property so if you or your co-reproducer die, can start playing the…umh…heir.
And they have a remarkable justice system! Ok…I’m very confused about what entails as a crime in this game but a detective gathers evidence and then accuses a suspect, then:

• “The file then goes through the justice chains and is handled by the prosecutor, the judge and the jurors, all of which are player run offices which are occupied by regular players who were elected by the other players.”

I definately need to contact these people and see how all this is working out. I mean do people actually want to be elected? Do they appreciate the position or is it a hastle? And furthermore…they begin by saying that since the game is for players 21 yrs above, they feel they’re ridding themselves of 90% crime!

Extremely interesting! And MMOrgy (which isn’t half as bad as it sounds) informs me that you can reproduce in Second Life, as well!

So that’s it! I’m off to get addicted to Second Life now, let’s face it…it’s inevitable! Also got 14 days of WoW play from my darling sister! I’m never gonna see my friends and family again, am I? LOL!

I found this great little WoW musical machinima film! It’s just positively charming! A little musical number “debating” why the internett is really ‘great’ – of course porn has to be an issue then! No worries, there’s no graphical sex images, the lyrics might not justify high volume at a public place! Anyways, I thought it was amusing, and well…kinda sweet really!

Ever informative, Clickable Culture has a post on a ‘Second Life’ fashion show that’s to be hosted and produced by MTV for ‘Overdrive’. So I stopped by Overdrive to have a little look and I felt bombarded by ‘hype’ and so many hip words, I really couldn’t tell you what they’re going on about. MTV still hasn’t been able to rid itself of the high blood pressure desperation of clinging to hippness of American youth and I’m reminded of why they lost their ‘coolness’ in my time! Or maybe I’m just too old and un-american for MTV? Possibly.

Anyways….I just had to post this wonderful comment:

• “In other words, MTV will be creating a disparity between fake virtual reality (MTV’s Second Life) and real virtual reality (Linden Lab’s Second Life)”.

I love this! It seems from my naiv point of view that Mr. Walsh feels that an MTV hosted fashion show will misrepresent Second Life. That it will make the world seem more flashier and spectacular and future players will be disappointed when they move to Second Life for it won’t be as glorious as MTV showed it to be! Well isn’t this interesting…and I have to say…quite sweet really. Just as MTV has earlier showed fake ‘real life’ they’re now to show fake ‘virtual reality’ – which I find somwhat ironic since most MTV watchers I know, only watch it for the ‘reality’ programs.

My own personal opinion? If anyone’s going to bring avatar life to the tvscreen successfully, it sure as hell ain’t MTV! And I think it’s so interesting that we’re thinking of how tv producers can misrepresent the reality of virtual worlds, but that just may be my nerdy humour taking control of my fingers again!!

I’ve been trying my best to delay Christmas a week, but time, it seems is not on my side!
So what should my first ever Christmas post for this blog be? Shall I share with you my frustrations of Christmas shopping and tell you that Spiderman is the best place to shop for computer games in Bergen? Or shall I maybe introduce you to a few hillarious articles about “How to Shop for a gamer”? Maybe I should give you my take on the best games of the year? Which seems pointless when my current favourite is 2000’s American Mcgee’s Alice. Or shall I introduce you to some great free Christmas games? And not free games?

Or maybe I should tell you about great things to do in Bergen at Christmas? Or the best way to decorate a Christmas tree? Or create a nerdy Christmas quiz about myself?

Or how about this… to all of you who found yourself linked in this post, Merry Christmas!! Thanks for some amazing reading and news this year!! You’re all entertaining and informative writers, don’t know where I’d be without you! (maybe finished with my thesis?)

Merry Christmas all and to anyone else dropping by my blog, its an honour to have you as a reader!

Yup…this seems to be the name for what’s killing online gamers. According to Eoh Gi-jun, the head of the Korea Computer Life Institute (the what institute?!!!), online games have more competition stress, than the games of the 80s, so people can’t stop playing. Dr. Song Hyeong-gon of Samsung Seoul Hospital’s Emergency Department says “Because they are stressed by the obsession with winning the game, they consume a considerable amount of energy. In such a physically exhausted condition, exposure to bright colors or stimulating images on the screen is likely to irritate the cerebral cortex and can cause sudden death”, reported in Chosun Ilbo.
According to Terra Nova blogger, Mike Sellers pulmonary thromboembolism ‘is a blood clot blocking the pulmonary arteries (those leading from the heart to the lungs)’, which pretty much tells me very little of what gaming has to do with anything, as he rightfully points out.
‘Exhaustion’s a word that comes to my medically ignorant mind, which I presume can happen by doing anything several days on end! I’m much more stunned that Korea has a Computer Life Institute – will have to investigate that a bit further (huh…don’t I say that in every blogpost?). But dear readers, do not distress!!! Our savior has come, Playlimit, which GamePolitics amusingly call the gamer chastity belt! I can’t wait to see what game gamers are going to create from this device…for they will you know! He he!

I’ve just added T.L. Taylor’s “Multiple Pleasures. Women and Online Gaming” to my Paper’s list her on the right. I’ve only skimmed through it so far, so no chance of a breakdown.

It occurs to me, however, that this is a part of my TSO experience I really haven’t discussed on this blog. Although there seems to be an influx of women moving in to MMORPGs, TSO is and always has been mainly populated by women. Pretty much 5 females to 1 male player. And I’ve encountered so many amusing stories when it comes to gender. I suppose one that stands out, has to be when I met a group of male homosexual players. First of all they were just great fun to talk to and so extremely refreshing. I suppose refreshing, because sometimes ‘talk’ in TSO was so extremely claustrophobically lovey dovey sweet and to meet people who actually understood irony and had a sense of humour was just heaven! But one of these homosexuals had a sense of bitterness and was very sensitive indeed. He told me that he hated the way he could become friends with a woman, get along with her beautifully and when he told her that he was gay, she would become upset, mad and ‘dump’ him. This had apperantly happened to him often. I was very suprised. I was sure that when he was going to explain to me how discriminating TSO’ers were, he would tell me how the males would react to his homosexuality, not the women. Which I suppose got me thinking about why women play TSO. To find a mate? It just seemed so ridiculous to me. But most people that I met in-game had some story of love and betrayal that had emerged in-game but had overflowed to their ‘real’ life. I mean the place was just overflowing with them. Two people finding each other in-game and then meeting in real-life and the DRAMA!! Soap opera has absolutely nothing on TSO players! But is this what attracts female players? I really don’t want it to be. And I honestly don’t think that it is, either.
TSO is generally a REALLY boring game in itself and I suppose this is why such drama occurs. The same reason that TSO’ers create their own imaginative entertainment and games, is the same reason why drama occurs. But why do women choose to play this game?

Wow…I really should consider making an ‘events’ thing on this blog!

There’s a festival in Greece September 27 – October1 next year, which looks absolutely brilliant. Grand Text Auto has posted a call for papers and games! The topics are pretty vast and it seems like they’re going to cover absolutely everything that’s ‘hot’ with gaming these days, but that’s definately not a bad thing!

I just may have to try handing something in here! Hmmmmm…..what to write about!!