This looks like such a cool job!!

Funcom’s looking for a Senior/Lead QA tester in Oslo!!!

“Funcom is looking for candidates interested in performing Quality Assurance procedures as assigned by Funcom’s Quality Assurance Manager: supporting the test effort of our current products such as Anarchy Online, or upcoming titles like Dreamfall and Conan. The ideal candidate is a talented and motivated individual with extensive knowledge to our current products such as Anarchy Online and Dreamfall. “

Ooooohhh!!! I must be dreaming!!!

So, I was sitting here being a productive student and needed a good resource to prove how goldfarming can be disruptive on a virtual gaming world’s economy. And it’s not like there are few examples to pick from! So I thought I’d have a little look through this blog to see if I had collected any decent links on the way.

What a disappointment!! I thought I had so much data collected in here, which I suppose I do, but not what I’m looking for! And so few posts! It’s bizarre how much I’ve changed! How reliant I am on this blog now and how unreliant I was earlier!

Hmmm…I’m wondering if I could just write footnotes in my thesis relating to some of my blogposts and the discussions there…you think that’s allowed? So I don’t have to copy the whole thing?

Not that I’ve had a whole lot of discussions here…which I suppose is another disappointment! Who would have thought that a one year old could be this depressed on her birthday?!!

I was however filled with fond memories of a time when my dear friend Joachim bothered commenting on my blog. And when I was first introduced to the Infomedia blogs. Also some interesting thoughts on the whole TSO experience that I had completely forgotten. And I suppose it was a novelty finding posts expressing my pure joy of finding Wonderland, Clickable Culture a.s.o. – things that have just become an essential part of my life now!

I really should have started this blog long, long ago!!

But now! I think I need to go home!! I just freaked out because I couldn’t find any reference to gold farming and virtual economy! Which is just too bizarre and stupid! I’ve got Castronova right infront of me, after all!!!

So eagerly trying to avoid the task of explaining bots in The Sims Online and why they have a more positive effect on the economy rather than negative (OMFG! Why does it sound so much more interesting on my blog than in my thesis?), I stopped by Water Cooler Games! Which then linked me on to some feeds from the “Game as Critic as Art” event in Barcelona. Ahhh! How beatiful is this?!!
I instantly clicked on Katharine Neil’s presentation of Escape from Woomera, which was presented here in Bergen in October! It was so interesting to hear the thoughts behind the process. The reality of the actual gameplay and how they’d used an investigative journalist on their team to find facts for the actual gameplay. She has a go at uncategorizing her game as art “We’re game developers not artists” – I’m going to have to write another post on my thoughts here because they’re just tumbling in and I’m trying to see if I can mix the words ‘games’ and ‘interactive news journalism’ – but I’ll get back to that.
“How can you make people care about characters that they can reload?”, and on why was the truth important and not use metaphors; “I didn’t want people to think, ‘Yeah, that’s really awful but I bet that didn’t really happen’.” – it was very interesting. She also offers a public apology to Radman Kasmiya, because she was forced to drop him from a conference she was organising in Australia, for political reasons! He was actually banned! Jeez!!
So…onto Radman Kasmiya’s presentation which just blew my mind and touched me in so many ways, I’m not sure I’ll be able to fit them all in here! Kasmiya’s from Afkar Games. No, you know what – you’re just going to have to watch it! I’ll just say that they’re arabic and they bring up some true conflicts. I mean, in his presentation of Under Ash, wow! Through the game, they tell true stories about Palestine history. It’s amazing how they’ve done this, the different characters are just so intriguing! And the impact this game has had on Palestines and Israelis is teardropping, frightful and touching!
Water Cooler Games also includes a link to an article by Vit Sisler called Digital Intifada:
Abstract:
“This article examines political videogames produced by the Syrian company Afkar Media in Damascus, mainly their recent game Tahta al-Hisar (Under the Siege) and puts them in a broader context of persuasive and serious games. It deals with the representation of the Other and Foreign in videogames, construction of the Arab and Islamic heroes and ongoing digital emancipation of the Near East.”
Definitely on my ‘to read’ list now! This stuff just brought a whole influx of thoughts in my head! On a side note, I’m also thinking that all you people shouting so loudly about violence not having an impact on players – I really think you should have a look at this! That whole discussion seems, to me, to be very basic and naiv on both sides. But look at these games! There’s so much we can learn from this! Content and gameplay certainly does have an impact on ‘real life’! But how needs to be discussed!
I’m just so inspired! But alas…sleep has come to haunt me! I’ll have to save the rest of my thoughts for another post!
“Another world is possible!” – Katharine Neil

So…I’m struggling! I’m really struggling getting stuff on paper! I wish I had started writing earlier! Instead of sitting here with all this information and all these thoughts trying to get them into the formal academic language on paper (or word – any type of visual text, really). I wish I could just hypertext words like goldfarming – telling the reader that if you already know, I’m not going to waste your time explaining it – because I’m sick and tired of reading explanitory things over and over again in otherwise extremely interesting papers! So if you don’t what the word means – click on the link! Wouldn’t it be really cool if we could hand in thesis’ wiki style? How long’s it gonna take for that to be accepted, will it ever? I would love to give it a shot – I hate my arguments and discussions being slowed down by tediousness – I love having a rythm in my writing! Specially when I’m passionately involved in analysation! And I am passionate about this! I really am! I sometimes wonder if I may be stalling the actual writing process of this thesis because I don’t want it to be over! I really don’t! I want to continue researching MMORPGs or games! I really freakin do! But chances are just so minimum for funding to do a doctorate! And if I’m even going that far, I SERIOUSLY need to finish this thing! What if I’ve wasted 2 years of my life researching for nothing! Can’t let that happen either now, can we! But I’m stuck….I’m still really stuck! Every inch of my body is fighting me getting stuff written!

I suppose it doesn’t help that I think The Sims Online is a really boring game! And writing down what the game mechanics are, the social hierarchy a.s.o. ain’t piffing it up for me! Huh? Am I being too honest here? Should I maybe consider the fact that some future employer is reading this and thinking “My, what a messed up idiot! I can’t believe I even considered her!”. Oh poop! I don’t care! This is my blog, my opinions, my thoughts, my piece of mind!!

So ok! I’ll go back to work in just a minute….but I just need to write another post first!

This looks great!! Day to Day Data. I love some of these titles!

• Bio mapping
• The Bio Mapping device allows you to measure your levels of stress and excitement as you walk through the city.
• Trolley Spotting at Tesco Superstore
• As part of Adele Prince‘s web-based project Trolley Spotting, the entire fleet of trolleys at the local Tesco Superstore will be tagged.
• Lucy Kimbell’s Physical Bar Charts

It’s just so bizarre that I’m getting into contemporary art! I never ever had any interest before! What’s going on? Is contemporary art becoming something that I understand? Should I be able to understand and relate to it? Is it my gaming research? Or maybe it’s just my adoration for Wonderland!

But seriously! How can you not be charmed by Richard Dedomenici’s Nail Salon Belt:
“Richard is creating an installation documenting his research into the theory of the Nail Salon Belt. The theory states that at a certain distance from central London, running the length of the border between the 0207 and the 0208 telephone codes, a much higher than average number of nail salons exist. “

So what is a day ticket to London these days?

Oh how I love this!!!!!!

The Longest Journey Wiki

“This is, or will be, your one-stop resource for information related to the computer games The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, from Norwegian developer Funcom“.

I’m going to have a great time going through this stuff. But makes you wonder why they’ve started this though! Because it’s not for spoilers. It’s more documenting the story of the game. Isn’t that interesting?! Like taking pictures on a journey and sharing it with others….this wiki is sharing the story, the characters and the amazing world Thornquist has created. Because I honestly don’t think of this as a wiki fanbase, I see it more as a documentation of a story told or a story played, if you will! Am I completely off base here? Maybe I’m just blinded by the interesting electronic litterature lecture I just attended, by Scott Rettberg.

Anyways, it will be interesting to see this grow!!

I couldn’t let these two videos just past by in silence! Check out The Sims’ take on Depeche Mode’s “Suffer Well” as an advertising tool. I love the language thing. Apparently Will Wright’s ‘created the in-game language by combining Ukrainian and the Filipino language of Tagalog’!

And then there’s this hillarious Super Mario Bros. influenced add campaign for some dutch politician!! Adorable! Make sure you have the sound on!!!

But now! It’s time to fold those sleeves and work!!!

ESA (The Electronic Software Association) has just launched The Video Game Voters Network. In the press release they’re even quoting Will Wright:
“Computer and video games represent one of the most important new media developments of this generation. Unlike many other forms of entertainment they offer players the opportunity to explore, be creative, learn through interaction and express themselves to others,” said Will Wright, Chief Designer at Maxis. “It is vitally important that we protect and nurture this new art form so that it can reach its full potential. Like most new forms of artistic expression that have come before (music, novels, movies), the primary critics of video games are the people that do not play them.”
It all kinda seems a bit iffy to me. I’ve never really had a big problem with the ESRB ratings being some sort of legislative power keeping games with violent adult content away from children, unless approved or bought by a parent. Because that’s pretty much the way it’s here, I’ve blogged about this somewhere before.
Although I have strong problems with saying that violence in games causes violent behavior, I respect organisations such as ESRB, although I really don’t envy them having to choose between 17+ and 18+!
So it seems like this video game voters network is all about these new legislations coming into action. But there’s so many other issues they need to be thinking about!!! So…I guess I think it’s a great initiative (although having a 50 year old mom shining brightly on the banner kinda freaked me out) but I wish they would also focus on other things!!