Firstly…this gruesome, yet somehow hillarious story from a very unfortunate WoW’er on his way to meet an in-game friend in Canada. It all started with an ipod and an airline toilet – to then having to explain WoW and guilds to two very angry detectives! Poor thing!!! Terrifying, but so surreal, you just can’t help but laugh!
And then there’s this very amusing post pondering how a rich person could buy their way into überdom in WoW, how much it would cost a.s.o. – I loved it!!
This time it’s a song about gaming. Pretty much singing that they’re sitting there in ‘venten’ (which I think is an abreviation for ventrilo) and playing a little computer games (interesting to think that the direct translation would be ‘playing data)!
Update: Oops! I was wrong! He’s actually singing about playing DotA – Defense of the Ancients.
It’s, you know, something to blog about without having to write too much;)! Interesting, at least!
Thanks, i1277!
I had the priveledge of meeting a new enthusiastic Media Masters student a few weeks ago looking to write something about gaming. Yay!!!!! From what I understand, she had grown up being a bit of a gamer and didn’t quite understand why other girls weren’t as well. We ended up having a conversation about the phenomenon “female closet gamers”. You know the type…the girls who’ll gladly dismiss games as a waste of time and a nerdy thing – but secretly they have a nintendo at home! Anyways…it seems like this is the topic she wants to pursue – and I just thought I’d throw it out there and see if anyone knows of someone doing something of the same research?
I guess she’s gonna have to divide between casual and ‘serious’ (although I hate that word) gamers. And I know I’ve got some articles hidden away here somewhere in my del.icio.us. (it’s taken me SUCH a long time to find a tagging system that actually works for me – some stuff just gets lost). I’m wondering how best to tackle such a question.
I’ve already mentioned Hilde Corneliussen (also…didn’t a student from good ol’ HI department hand in a thesis about this recently?)and Torill Mortensen. Also Henry Jenkins ofcourse.
The student is a blogger – AND WE LOVE BLOGGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So bless her!!!
She’s written a post where she ponders about tackling the Nintendo Wii and how they’re trying to bring in the casual gamers and women (in Norwegian) and I was thinking it might be interesting to analyse how the Xbox360, PS3 and Wii differ in their advertising.
But I thing she’s more of an audience kind of gal! I’m wondering if the answer lies in finding the hardcore female gamers who are out of the closet, interview them to see if they think it’s a big deal or not? And I think maybe she should stay away from MMORPGs – because they sometimes seem to be an exception. And I think it would be cool to look at 20 year olds and above.
Yay! Finally!!! The Silence Variations is now available for download!!!
I suppose we were all stunned in August, 2004 – when some thieves manage to just casually steal Munch‘s famous ‘Scream‘ and ‘Madonna’ paintings. And when I say casually – I mean just taking the darn things off the wall and running out of there!
So Overdog Games designed this magnificent game for Bergen Kunsthall‘s Game On exhibition last year.
“Silence plays out endless variations on this theme, as a two-player computer game installation: Wave your guns, find the paintings, and get the hell out. If nobody gets hurt, all is well. It’s the classic heist story, but with a twist: There is no flaky partner, no smart-ass heroes, and no wise-cracking cops. Too simple? Well, this time that’s the tune.”
The paintings have finally been retrieved! And the game is finally available for download! Yay!
And they warm my little ol’ heart when they also release the code under a Creative Commons license!! Bless them!!!
I want more, more and MORE!!! Bogost has also picked up on it! Yay!!!
By now we’ve all read about the dreadful Montreal college shooting, which is devestating! And I understand, truely, the desire to find an answer to ‘why?’ – it’s something I ask myself, as well! And ofcourse violent computer games are on top of the medias ‘answers’ list. Bogost discusses this best – I’m not going too dwell on it here.
I just found this machinima film when on a little ‘brain break’ – and thought it was a tad relevant. Just because it’s made using Grand Theft Auto, which usually gets the worst rap when discussions of ‘violent games lead to violence’ occur. I’ll admit it’s kinda sappy – but I enjoyed it. And isn’t it amazing that such a non-violent film can be made in a violent game? I love that!
I’m a terrible sister!! My sister’s birthday is tomorrow and I STILL haven’t found her a gift! She lives in Australia and I’ve been surfing around for a couple of days trying to find something VERY modest for my student budget. There’s a few options out there that seem modest…but the cost is so much more!
So…my sister is an eager WoW’er…and I’m wondering….how unethical would it be for me to buy her a gift certificate for virtual goods?
I absolutely adore Chris Bateman (but then again what games blogger don’t I, adore?)!! Lately he’s sorta been combining game and blog, which I think is really interesting!
Latest is a game to see whether EA is good or bad! We, as readers, are urged to contribute our thoughts on EA with points towards ‘angel’ and ‘devil’! Very interesting!
I’m still trying to gather my thoughts on the subject! But it will definitely be in the back of my mind as I sit here at uni on a Saturday night trying to focus on producing good work and trying to surpass my self doubts!
If you have any thoughts on the subject I hereby urge you to contribute!!
This is new to me…and oh…how beautiful!!! I’m truely touched!
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It’s just…beautiful! Anti war graffiti in such a ‘reality-like’ war game? Amazing! And as they state:
and
“Reality is up for grabs. The real needs to be remade by us.”
I’m such a sucker for movements like this!!! Gives me so much hope! And I’m going to stop now before I get all sappy!!
I spent this morning curled up on my sofa with breakfast and coffee and watched Nick Yee’s presentation at PARC – “The Blurring Boundaries of Play: Labor, Genocide, and Addiction”. Every now and then it’s good to have a ‘step back and see the whole picture’ presentation – I thoroughly enjoyed it! Ofcourse Mr. Yee’s fabulous work on why people play is represented, but he also covers the terrain of addiction, gold farming and ‘the new golf’!
Definitely a good start for anyone wanting to look into MMORPGs and what they’re all about. Any new students wondering what to write about? Watch, watch, watch!!! To me, it was a joyous breakfast, but now…I’m gonna be late for a lecture!
Will Wright (omg I’ve become a groupie haven’t I?) spoke at BAFTA on “The Future of Games” and David Hayward was generous enough to blog his great notes (bless him!). Inspiring, as expected! “They teach systemic thinking. Players learn to analyse and play systems of rules. They can also teach us to navigate the future. They could teach kids to think long term instead of short term.” Wooo haaa!!! But you know…sometimes I’m worried that we’re all just a bit too optimistic.
Remember What The Dormouse Said 
