Introduction to a symposium I organized at Georgia Tech
This past Monday the School of Literature Communication and Culture and the Wesley Center for New Media at Georgia Tech hosted a symposium I organized called Dwelling Machines. Here’s the description, too small to read in the event poster above. This symposium asks whether and how technology might alter the way we perceive dwelling. Of particular interest are the aspects… read more
On representations of holiday cheer in videogames. From my "Persuasive Games column" at Gamasutra
It’s the time of year to find Christmas all around you, no matter where you go. Lights on neighborhood shrubbery. Red bows on downtown streetlamps. Christmas music on the FM dial. Pine-scented candles on the mantle. Gingerbread lattes at Starbucks. Red and green-wrapped versions of the consumer goods you buy the rest of the year in brown and puce. In… read more
Reflections on relaxation in games. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra
There is an aphorism you sometimes hear when people compare video games to other media. Video games, they say, are a “lean forward” medium, while others are “lean back” media. Leaning forward is associated with control, activity, and engagement. Leaning forward requires continuous attention, thought, and movement, even if it’s just the movement of fingers on analog sticks and digital… read more
Links to my week of posts as guest editor
Last week I served as guest editor at popular games and game culture blog Kotaku All in all, I wrote 45 articles at Kotaku, which I’ve now linked below. I haven’t even tried to read all the comments on those threads though. I had a great time doing it and I’m really grateful that Brian Crecente extended the invitation.
for the week of November 12
Games uberblog Kotaku‘s managing editor Brian Crecente is on vacation in Australia, and he invited me to serve as a guest editor for this week. I’ll be posting links to my daily stories here every day or so, or you can just sift through the archives on the site. My first posts should start mid-morning Monday, Eastern Time.
Small, cute, insidious
Note: Chumby representative Andrew “Bunnie” Huang has replied to this thread, and I have in turn replied to his response with more questions. I encourage you to read through all the comments for more detail. Finally, I should point out that I am not an attorney and nothing herein should be considered legal advice. Chumby is a WiFi-connected microcomputer that… read more
An alternative aesthetic of casual games. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra
In recent years, casual games have become an increasingly popular and important part of the videogame landscape. Proponents argue that casual games both open up new audiences for games and make new styles of games possible, but the genre has largely floundered in copycat titles. One reason for this is a lack of imagination about what casual might mean. I… read more
Built-in DVD players forbid screen captures with software constraint
Recently, I had the need to capture a still from a DVD a Persuasive Games client had sent over as guidelines for some game assets. I didn’t want to rip the whole DVD, so I went to use the built-in screen capture facility in Apple OS X: the old standby Command-Shift-3. I was surprised to see the following result. The… read more
On the controversial use of the Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man
Earlier this year, the Church of England threatened to sue Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for depicting the Manchester Cathedral in the latter’s sci-fi shooter Resistance: Fall of Man. The church had complained about the game’s inclusion of the cathedral, which was named and modeled after the 700-year-old church in this industrial city in northwest England. After considerable pressure and public… read more
Musings after several months of use, as I prepare to start the semester
This spring, I created an account on Facebook. I’m a web 2.0 cynic (and a cynic in general), so this surprised some of my friends and colleagues. But I was encouraged by so many of them, I wanted to give it a try. For example, Ian McCarthy just wanted an easier way to share pictures with me without having to… read more