Asynchronous Multiplay: Futures for Casual Multiplayer Experience

An academic paper about multiplayer games played in sequence. Presented at the Other Players Conference on Multiplayer Phenomena, Copenhagen Denmark, December 2004.

Big budget, high commitment 3D MMORPGâ??s have generated significant revenues and theoretical bounty. But these games still alienate most casual players. This article offers a promising future for multiplayer experience, especially casual experience, in the form of asynchronous multiplayer games, or games in which small or large numbers of players play a game in sequence rather than simultaneously.

A Response to Critical Simulation

A riposte to the Critical Simulation section of Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan's edited collection First Person

You can buy First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game in print. You an also read this article with cross-references to other pieces in the volume at the electronic book review. Simon Penny discusses a specific kind of physical embodiment, having to do with corporeal coupling to simulation devices and videogame characters. Reading his call to consider the… read more

The Muse of the Videogame

On videogames as art. From the IGDA Ivory Tower Column.

When it comes to industry and academic collaboration, I can say with certainty that both sides are dealing in good faith; all of us are confident that some real benefit will come from cooperation. But so far, most talk about collaboration has focused on foreseeable ends. Games are big business, so both publishers and developers need to keep their eyes… read more

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