Gameology 2.0
We study videogames.
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Congratulation on your new job! I'm look forward to your new posts! Don't forget to make some "game students analysis" bases on your classes... ahahah
Whoa. An MMO pong. It's pretty addicting though. >.<
feel like I got caught in a discussion with Neo and Morpheus
Just wanted to leave you a note that I just came across your blog for the first time. This piece was very thoughtful and intelligent. Will definitely continue reading. Keep up the good work.
You are correct. What's probably not clear from the list above is that what was "canonized" here was the entire Zelda series, much like the original list canonizes Warcraft as a series.
That's not a picture of the Legend of Zelda, which came out on the NES in 1986: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_zelda . That is a picture of the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the N64.
I must have played this game a thousand times by now, but I could never put myself to actually attack the Indians. I'm a big fan of playing games without the use of violence if there are alternative ways. And that doesn't mean I don't get high scores, I reach the 'A Continent' rating without attacking Indians, and I've even got to fight other Europeans because they're burning settlements.
There are a number of strategies in cooperation with the Indians: buying silver from the Incas is an easy one, but there are more subtle ways. One of my favorites is gift horses and muskets to the Indians. Those items multiply tenfold in their hands, and then you can buy them cheaper from them. Besides, you give them a way to defend themselves better against aggressors.
That doesn't mean "no Indian was hurt in the making of this republic". There is the occasional brave attacking your colony because it has a lot of troops in it. But I don't mind killing them in self defense. Shit happens.
When you play a game like Colonization that many times, new ways of playing it arise. The game factors are few, but the strategies are exponentially bigger.
It's hilarious how any time the r-word is brought up, you get a bunch of (no doubt white) commenters who act as if you have just murdered a kitten. As if making an (IMO usually justified) accusation of racism is worse than actual racism. I'm so sorry that the Big Scary Internet Man called you a name, but I hope you understand it's a trivial fucking concern compared to people getting lynched or being denied their political and economic rights.
Even if Tof is "wrong" in calling Troojg a racist (something he never actually did, which just shows how thinskinned these commenters are...), so what? Do you get just as worked up about actual racism? I doubt it. No, instead you turn around and call Tof and zach the racist ones, as if being "racist" against white people is at all threatening or even possible. Hint--"racism" that does not come from a position of power and privilege does not matter at all and can not be said to be racism in the same vein as the Ku Klux Klan's terrorist activities of the late 19th/early 20th centuries.
It's irresponsible and stupid to assume that a given person is not racist until proven otherwise. This is not a court of law, we are not required to prove guilt. Our culture, our history, and our institutions are infused with latent prejudice of all kind, and this prejudice rubs off on even the most diehard antiracist. It makes far more sense, both ethically and pragmatically, to assume that someone (or some game) is racist until proven otherwise.
It is very good and informative ! Thanks for sharing nice information. and design is very beautiful, i like it
speaking of rushing, it seems like you did, also i resent that statement because i am a modern gamer however i love hard games, a good example of a hard but relatively new (its a few years old) game would be Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind, which has no quest marker, and no objective marker (also no spinning objective, before you go making accusations about other people (even general accusations), do some research
I agree with SQ4LIFE!!! Modern games are for average modern people, that look only the cover of the game. There is no story in the modern games. Space Quest has a rich story time line. And modern players want the games to be easy, otherwise the game hurts them. The modern players don't like dead ends, because the modern players don't like challenges. They wants to win all the time. The modern players wants the objects to be highlighted (and rotating if possible). They don't want to spend time in examining the scene, because they are in hurry to finish and win in other thousand (easy) games, and to prove how strong they are.
I miss good old adventures!
I think what complicates this, however, is the fact that a lot of labor in virtual worlds do create things of value, but given the end user license agreements that disavow ownership of the products and the nature of the labor, it is a rather alienated form of work.
Bonus sul primo deposito
I'm not sure this game did much for Starbucks' branding. It never got popular among their target demographics. Although the concept was good, the game was very boring and didn't work to keep people's attention. With that, no one told their peers so the game was pretty much a bust. If Starbucks tries to do this in the future, let's hope they give it their "A" game and release a game that will keep people coming back for more.
Recently Twitter is one of my favorit applications because you can stay connected with friends and brands like Gamelogy. I will now follow you to always recognize when there are new articles and when there are new information. Good luck with your Twitter account ;)
If you are still looking, i would suggest playcrafter. It is very easy to deploy. Game quality is also high. By the way, it would not be a best option if you want to practice and learn any programming skills. just my two cents.
I think it's just a matter of time. South Korea has the fasted broadband and highest Internet uses rates in the world (interestingly it also has the highest rates of internet and gaming addiction). Even so I think competitive gaming will spread, I mean the StarCraft board game is doing pretty well, and the video game is wayy more popular still.
Varun Nair is coming this February to India's first and independent annual summit for the game development ecosystem - India Game Developer Summit (gamedevelopersummit dot com) and will talk about designed sound and their uses, foley and real world sounds and its importance in enhancing and adding depth to game play. He will teach dialogues, learning and adapting from other media and forms of entertainment such as films, theatre & music. He will also cover common queries on making a brief and time and asset management. The talk will also cover technicalities and their creative applications including choosing the 'right' sound, and space, perspective, timbre and pitch, quality, delivery and working formats.
India Game Developer Summit 2010 – First, Independent Event on Game Programming, Business and Careers
Bangalore, February 08, 2010: It is common among writers, story tellers and even the audience/game players to believe that visuals alone can tell a story well. While visuals can bring life to the story and connect to the audience actively, sound can connect to the audience passively and most unobtrusively, says Varun Nair who is coming this February to India's first and independent annual summit for the game development ecosystem - India Game Developer Summit. Sound - a combination of music, dialogues and sound effects - is very important in story telling & enhancing realism in game play. Visual without complimenting sound is like a story told with no emotions.
At Indian GDS Varun will talk about designed sound and their uses, foley and real world sounds and its importance in enhancing and adding depth to game play. He will teach dialogues, learning and adapting from other media and forms of entertainment such as films, theatre & music. He will also cover common queries on making a brief and time and asset management. The talk will also cover technicalities and their creative applications including choosing the 'right' sound, and space, perspective, timbre and pitch, quality, delivery and working formats. Varun will cover the common equipment and tools used to create sounds before wrapping the talk by demonstrating the use of contrast and the power of silence.
Varun Nair has dabbled in most areas of sound - from the music industry, post production for commercials & feature films to game sound. He has created assets for Indian developers & some international projects like the ICC Cricket title for EA.
Attend IGDS to get inspired, learn from the gurus who have gamed their way to success, and join a club that seeks competence to grab a share in the $43 billion global gaming development pie.
About India Game Developer Summit
The highly individualistic nature of the Indian Software Developer, coupled with their tolerance for divergent personalities make them a natural fit into the Game Development culture. With the mission to build a robust community, advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers, IGDS 2010 (Lite Ed) is being organized with the mission to pump the blood of Indian Game Developers and re-invigorate the ecosystem at large. The summit will cover industry leading methodologies in game development, design, production, programming, visual arts and writing.
India GDS (IGDS) is the quintessential Indian game industry event focused on inspiring, connecting and educating the Indian game developer ecosystem. Featuring top-notch keynotes from luminaries, visionaries and gaming gurus on various subjects from mobile and indie games to MMOs and AAA games, IGDS will also provide a hub for business and networking opportunities in the Indian industry.
With support from the International Game Developer Association (IGDA), the gaming industry at large and academia, the summit's intent is to build a robust community, advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers. IGDS will see participation from Adobe, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Playdom among several others. For complete details visit: gamedevelopersummit dot com
A Saltmarch Media Press Release
E: info AT saltmarch dot com
Ph: +91 80 4005 1000
I definitely noticed in playing this game that the demonic nature of every element seems believable in a way that it isn't in most games. When I run around with a sword and slice demons, they simply become high-level goblins, but the demons in Solium Infernum don't have to compromise any part of their demonic nature for the sake of the game.
I've been looking all over for this book, and since you don't like it all that much, could you please send me your copy? :) Send me a personal message on my website and I can get back to you with shipping details. Please! None of the stores seem to have them anymore!
I am intrigued by this article, this opens up the possibility of using twitter in open courseware for distance learning pathways.
I believe that you make a a valid claim, Doom is a more culturally resonant work than, let's say, Catacomb 3-D (Romero & Carmack's early venture into FPSs). However, consideration must be made for mechanics and aesthetics within a given genre. Doom made the FPS a huge success; but Wolfenstein had all the basic genre conventions in place. I would argue (and I have) that Wolfenstein is a valid compromise because even though it was not the first FPS, it set the groundwork for the innovation that would come later. WoW may be more relevant and may be dramatically better than Everquest, EQ does deserve a place in digital game canon. EQ was not the first graphic MUD, but it made huge strides in realizing an immersive, real-time MUD experience. Everquest, in the same way that Wolfenstein is important for the FPS genre, really paved the way for WoW, Guild Wars and countless others.
I will concede that this may be a case of comparing apples and oranges as FPSs and MMORPGs are fairly different. I still hypothesize that digital games should be analyzed within the context of their given genres. I also write this coming from a position of viewing digital games as text, excluding paratext. With this view, I agree with your last point on your comparison to literary canon. Finding out how to do this, however, is why we are all here having these discussions.
Besides convincing me to buy wedding dresses and jewelry, this string has got me thinking about how we would want to approach a video game canon. I am currently working on a couple of scholarly projects involving sports games, so I was deeply disappointed to see a total lack of sports games on most of the lists (though Sensible Soccer seems like a uniquely bizarre choice to represent sports games in such a list). I think the reason these lists seem frustrating, though, is that the lists tend to be structured on mechanical development, rather than cultural importance. I guess what I'm saying is, just because a game was the first of a particular subgenre (i.e. Prince of Persia, Dune II, etc.), does not necessarily make it canonical. Thus, I would argue that World of Warcraft deserves a place in the canon due to its immense cultural effect, rather than Everquest, a game that is generally unknown outside of fan communities. Similarly, the entire Madden series deserves a place in the canon for its role in the mainstreaming of video game culture and multiplayer gaming. Now, I am not saying that merely the most popular games are the most important, and therefore the most canonical. Yet, when we study video games, we study not only the formal development of game mechanics, but also the development of a larger video game culture.
Perhaps the most apt way of putting this is to revert to the literary canon. Books enter the literary canon due to a combination of innovation, popularity, and skill. Similarly, we should consider each game for what it provides to the critical discourse, be it a massively popular game or a deeply innovative simulation.
The fact that the list is N64-heavy may have to do with the fact that most undergraduates and new graduate students first really engaged with games in a meaningful way on the N64. In 1996, when it was released, I was 9 years old; most undergraduates were between the ages of 4 and 9. This is the first console that they remember. Even I, who can remember the SNES and Sega Genesis very clearly, only got to play one or two games on those consoles (Sonic!) because I was so young and didn't have nearly the interest level or ability to really enjoy more. I've had to really go outside my element to play earlier games, seek out emulators (and, where possible, seek out the old consoles themselves - but that isn't always possible).
I've noticed that this is something that not everybody keeps in mind: the young people who are working on video games today may be interested in and excited about video games before the N64, but they didn't encounter them as early, and almost certainly aren't as familiar with them.
The fact that the list is N64-heavy may have to do with the fact that most undergraduates and new graduate students first really engaged with games in a meaningful way on the N64. In 1996, when it was released, I was 9 years old; most undergraduates were between the ages of 4 and 9. This is the first console that they remember. Even I, who can remember the SNES and Sega Genesis very clearly, only got to play one or two games on those consoles (Sonic!) because I was so young and didn't have nearly the interest level or ability to really enjoy more. I've had to really go outside my element to play earlier games, seek out emulators (and, where possible, seek out the old consoles themselves - but that isn't always possible).
I've noticed that this is something that not everybody keeps in mind: the young people who are working on video games today may be interested in and excited about video games before the N64, but they didn't encounter them as early, and almost certainly aren't as familiar with them.