Guys with Beards talk about Heidegger
Check out this awesomely insane forthcoming film by Tao Ruspoli, about philosophy and the reception of Heidegger. It’s called Being in the World, and the filmmaker characterizes it as “an attempt to bring profound philisophical ideas to a non-academic audience.” From the film blurb: Being in the World is a celebration of human beings, and our ability, through the mastery… read more
What the state of women in Hollywood's tells us about women in games
Today I listened to NPR On Point on the ride home. The topic was “A big year for Hollywood women?”, with film critics Manohla Dargis and Nicole LaPorte discussing (and deflating) recent buzz about the “Year of the Woman” in movies. If you listen to the show online, you’ll be struck by how much the conversation about women in film… read more
Will XBLA's Game Room ever support new games for old systems?
Back when the Nintendo Wii first came out, I wrote about a hope for it, specifically for its Virtual Console feature. Here’s what I said: Without exception, the Virtual Console has been touted as a digital distribution channel for new games and “classic” games from vintage consoles. But the Virtual Console suggests an application for serious and independent games that… read more
Electronic Arts Eyes the South
You may have heard that Electronic Arts is considering opening a large studio in Georgia, either in Atlanta or Savannah. Many of us in the area had heard rumblings about this, but the Atlanta Business Chronicle filed the first official story on the matter late last week. Georgia has offered tax incentives for film production for many years, and a… read more
Learning from the jazz pop instrumental
I seem to wind up in the car for at least part of the early afternoon every Saturday. As a result, I’ve developed a habit of listening to the reruns of America’s Top 40 with Casey Kasem that play on satellite radio channel 70s on 7. This week’s chart was from thirty years ago exactly, October 29, 1979. The number… read more
Thoughts on Kickstarter
A relatively new service called Kickstarter, which describes itself as a funding platform for artists. Writers, filmmakers, musicians, and other creators can post projects to the site with attached budgets, which visitors can fund via pledges. If the budget is met within the specified time, the project gets funded. Otherwise, all funds are returned to the patrons, like a challenge… read more
My DiGRA 2009 Keynote, on Videogames and Ontology
What follows is the text of my keynote at the 2009 Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) conference, held in Uxbridge, UK September 1-4, 2009. The text corresponds fairly accurately to the address I gave at the conference. In a few cases, I’ve added some clarifications in square brackets, where additional context or commentary was relevant. Videogames are a mess So… read more
On Netflix, the Simpsons, and Jean-Luc Nancy
We just rejoined Netflix after several years away from it. While recreating preferences and ratings on a fresh account, we noticed something surprising: Netflix doesn’t allow a user to judge things as “just ok.” Take a look at the tool-tip explanations for their five-star ratings: Netflix’s recommendation system is generally considered its most valuable asset, so much so that the… read more
Interview with Paul Ennis
Paul Ennis has been publishing interviews with a number of contemporary thinkers working in and around the area of speculative realism, on his website Another Heidegger Blog. So far, participants have included Lee Braver, Graham Harman, Levi Bryant, Adrian Ivakhiv, with Jeffrey Malpas to come this week. I was honored to be included among the group, and Ennis has just… read more
On games as drills for banal tasks. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra.
When we talk about the unique power of video games, we often cite their ability to engage us in thorny challenges, to envelop our attention and commitment, to overwhelm our senses and intellects as we strive to master physical trials of a battle or work out the optimal strategy for an economy. Usually we’re right when we think this, no… read more