May 04, 2008
Gaming helps students hone 21st-century skills (eSchool News)
Studies of the brain have pointed to data suggesting that repeated exposure to video games reinforces the ability to create mental maps, inductive discovery such as formulating hypotheses, and the ability to focus on several things at once and respond faster to unexpected stimuli. -Laura Devaney
[From Elizabeth. The article focuses on possibilities with Second Life in a classroom.]
Posted by kuechebj at 12:35 PM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2008
Freeverse unveils iPhone gaming plans (Macworld)
Freeverse's first idea is for a line of "Flick Sports" products for the iPhone and iPod touch -- 3D games that utilize the device's unique input controls for immersive gameplay. Freeverse said it's working on golf, bowling, soccer and baseball games to start. -Peter Cohen
Posted by kuechebj at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2008
Sony killing 80GB PS3, introducing 120GB or 160GB model with Dual Shock 3? (Engadget)
According to Ars Technica, Sony has some big plans for a PlayStation 3 refresh, starting with a phase-out of the 80GB model. According to an "inside source" -- which Ars claims has been consistently right on video game-related predictions -- the console-maker's new plot is starting to take shape, holding fast to a two-SKU approach on packages, upping the hard drive capacity on systems, and including the Dual Shock 3 controller. The new bundles will take the high / low road, with the source stating that the 40GB model will remain on shelves, while the 80GB, Spider-Man 3-inclusive system will disappear, only to be replaced with a 120GB or 160GB configuration. Of course, right now these are just words on a screen, though in light of Best Buy's recent stock changes, there certainly is an air of movement over at Sony. -Joshua Topolsky
[From Elizabeth. She asks "If the DualShock controller gets any stronger, will anyone be able to still hold on to it? Plus who really needs 160GB of saved games?" and I am not sure the vibration function on the controller is strong at all. I imagine that players who play the MMORPGs like Final Fantasy XI probably need that much hard drive space, but maybe PS3 games are larger files compared with PS2. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 08:20 AM | Comments (2)
November 20, 2007
Man uses Wii calendar to catch cheating wife (Gamepro)
"[In Nov.] I flip through the Wii menu and visit the Mii Channel so I can peruse the many friends that I have created with the guys that I played with in Iraq," writes Tony in an email to GoNintendo. "As I go through the characters, I see there is a Mii that I have not created. It's a guy strikingly similar to my wife's [alleged lover].
"To be sure of this, I went into the Wil Message Board and click on the Calendar option. Through this menu I was able to identify the many nights my wife's Mii and this 'other' Mii Character played Wii Bowling together." -Blake Snow
[According to the article, Tony is an Armed Forces member who returned home after serving a tour in Iraq and passed time playing games on his Nintendo Wii. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2007
GTA IV's setting sparks outrage in NYC for being too close-to-home (Gamepro)
Based on the game's highly-publicized trailer, examples include such spot-on pixelated representations of famous New York landmarks as Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster (renamed as the "Screamer") and the MetLife Building (renamed "GetaLife"). Many of the other examples require no such clever name changes, including the city's iconic Statue of Liberty, the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge, and the distinctive architecture of the Flatiron Building. -Gamepro Staff
[Jeff Gertsman, editorial director at Gamespot.com, is quoted as saying "We've seen games that have been set in real cities, and that has been a weird route to take. By setting it in Liberty City they can get away with that satire" in the report by NY Daily News. Gertsman is right about fictional settings based on real-world equivalents and how commentary may be made using that method, but Erich Auerbach discusses that phenomenon in Mimesis: Representation of Reality in Western Literature and Aristotle also talks about mimesis in his Poetics long before Gertsman. Comics are notorious for using mimetic settings and the best example is probably Marvel since almost all of its heroes reside in New York City (Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Avengers, Daredevil). BK
Posted by kuechebj at 06:00 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2006
Final Fantasy III (Square Enix)
[All right! Here we go again...Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS released today. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 06:22 PM | Comments (0)
October 31, 2006
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)
[Happy Halloween! Here we go! Final Fantasy XII for PS2 today and Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS on November 14. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2006
Look What I Learned! (Newsweek)
An FAS study released this week, titled “Harnessing the power of video games for learning,” reports that best-selling games are built in surprisingly pedagogical ways. Players improve at their own pace. Beating a level requires experimentation, failure and learning from mistakes. -Nick Summers
[From Nick. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 11:48 PM | Comments (2)
October 13, 2006
Read Comic Books on Your Nintendo DS (Joystiq)
Joystiq's sister site DS Fanboy recently posted about a homebrew effort called Comic Book DS that lets you transfer comics from your computer and read them book-style with the DS flipped on end. You don't have to conceal issues of Action Comics underneath an old copy of Newsweek that you swiped off your dentist's waiting table on your commute any longer. Now people will think you're doing some serious work on your stylish PDA while you secretly use the touchscreen to pan and zoom on comic panels -- pure genius. Comic book fanboys can rid themselves of their secret shame. -Kevin Kelly
[I may disagree with concealing comic books, but when Kelly mentions "Final Fantasy XXXIV: Tax Time," I find it hilarious. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2006
MTV acquires Harmonix for USD $175 million (Games Industry)
"The acquisition of Harmonix advances MTV Networks' strategy of connecting with target audiences by creating immersive, multi-platform environments that extend to every device they use," said Judy McGrath, chairman and CEO, MTV Networks.
[Every device except my TV because MTV rarely plays music videos anymore. Harmonix makes the Guitar Hero games for PlayStation. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)
January 31, 2006
Parappa M-I-Xes flour into a bowl, LIVE! (Joystiq)
Andreas Wieslander's bachelor thesis, entitled "IN REAL GAME," is "a project about marketing games through live performances, in order to focus on the games feel, rather than its graphics and sfx."
He has chosen the infectious beats and charms of the PlayStation classic Parappa the Rapper to illustrate this concept. They act out the roles of Cheep Cheep and Parappa in a rendition of "Cheep Cheep Cooking Chicken's Rap," complete with seafood cake, live backing band, and Parappa's jerky delivery. "Crack. Crack. Crack. The egg. Into. The bowl."
[From Nick Stepaniak. The link shows a three and a half minute video of this project. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 08:23 PM | Comments (1)
January 26, 2006
What's Cool (Bluegoose on the Brazos)
One crucial act of nerdism is to obsess over cool stuff. On the technological side, cool stuff is usually gadgets. A new program, a new game, a new tool. If it's cool, it demands your attention and nothing can get in the way.
For educators who think they can appeal to nerdism by making college courses into computer games, several problems arise. First, school is always decidedly uncool. Second, the educators themselves fall into a kind of nerdism and tend to get excited about their tools and then neglect what they wanted to teach in the first place.
[From Bluegoose on the Brazos. My response (also on this blog): [...] although I am able to see how this problem with courses surrounding video games may arise, I would like to offer a counterexample. Dr. Dennis G. Jerz was an undergraduate mentor of mine who enlightened me about technical writing, hypertext, usability, and new media as our interactions continue to this day through blogging. Anyway, he is teaching EL 250: Video Gaming at Seton Hill University, a course that contextualizes video games as Interactive Fiction with new media and he is getting a positive response from students who say they want to be there. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 11:11 PM | Comments (1)
January 10, 2006
Pungent Smell of Mildew (VG Cats)
Leo: This room looks like the other five thousand. The only difference is that over there the monsters will kill me a little faster than here. Oh and this melee class is working just super. I love getting wasted before dealing a single hit in.
[The panel comparing radii is hilarious. Any Final Fantasy player hit with spells like "Aqua Rake," "Quake," "Meteo," or "Ultima" should relate and laugh. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2006
Ask Evil Princess Sara (Nuklear Power)
1. "Madame Guyo": After several days of frantic tea-searching and more than one busted leaf-bone, I have located you your perfect match. He goes by the name of Fighter, and he's closer than you might think.
EPS: MYAAAAAAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HA -- ahem. You'll have to forgive me for that un-princessly outburst there. I don't know what I can have been thinking of. Actually, I'm afraid I do: the soul-chillingly terrifying spectacle of Fighter on the throne of Corneria.
2. "Evil Only in the Sense...": My cute little kitten keeps curling up to sleep on my stuffed animals. What should I do?
EPS: Does this look like "Ask White Mage: the Fluffiest, Sweetest Little Ray of Advice Column Sunshine Ever" to you?
3. "Person who thinks your a proffesional nitwit": If you are such a brilliantly evil being why didn't you wait to be kidnapped by Garland in FF9 since he is much more powerful then.
EPS: Moron. I didn't sign up to be kidnapped, Dr. Wily, and more importantly, I'm 8-bit, not 32- or 128-. Porting myself to the FF9 universe would be like sending Pac-Man into Metal Gear Solid 2.
[These are a few of my favorite responses from this "advice" column. Anyone who reads 8-bit Theatre, plays Final Fantasy games, or knows about video games in general should be able to get some good laughs out of these excerpts. A background in British literature also helps when reading some other responses. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 02:40 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2005
Man Sues Microsoft Over Flawed Xbox 360 (Information Week)
Complaints began circulating on gaming message boards soon after the Nov. 22 launch of the new game system, with buyers trading stories of intermittent crashes. Some diagnosed the problems as caused by overheating, and advised owners to, among other things, dangle the power supply with string so that air could circulate around it.
[I remember reading about Microsoft's reasoning for releasing Xbox 360 much earlier than Sony's PlayStation 3 a while back. The basic idea was for Microsoft to sell early and lose money now, hoping for a turnaround when Nintendo released its Revolution and Sony with its PS3, but I doubt this kind of loss is what Microsoft intended. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)
November 30, 2005
Activision Extends Spider-Man Agreement (Superhero Hype)
Activision, Inc. announced today that the company has signed an agreement with Spider-Man Merchandising L.P., a limited partnership between Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc., to extend its exclusive worldwide publishing rights to the phenomenally successful "Spider-Man" motion pictures through 2017. The license grants Activision the right to publish entertainment software products based on subsequent "Spider-Man" movie sequels or new television series.
[I bought Activision's last offering, Ultimate Spider-Man, but I should have waited for it to go Greatest Hits since it was so short and playing as Venom is only appealing to a certain point. Hopefully future installments will contain longer plots along with larger universes to explore. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
November 23, 2005
CNN drops PS3 price story as Stringer comments are confuted (Games Industry)
Comments published in a CNN article yesterday purporting to be from Sony CEO Howard Stringer regarding the planned pricing for PlayStation 3 have been removed after it emerged that he had not said anything on the question.
[...]
So where did the information come from, then? The culprit appears to be a Hollywood Reporter article on another interview with Stringer, which appeared a few weeks ago and also appeared to attribute pricing and availability information to the Sony CEO.
However, on closer inspection, the article was actually citing an anonymous source within Sony - a fine detail which the CNN article apparently missed, setting the whole rumour mill rolling once again.
Posted by kuechebj at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2005
Violent video games tackled at forum (Charleston Gazette)
Vitaglione said mounting evidence indicates that violent video games do cause young people to be more aggressive. Authorities such as the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Psychiatric Association have issued a joint statement saying that media violence in general has that effect.
[One of my colleagues made a similarly ignorant comment in class last week. My take: (insert object here) do not kill people. People kill people. Proofs like this one make me seriously question where good parenting has gone. Parents need to take responsibility and some of the blame for video games having a bad wrap. Blaming an entire industry is cowardly. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 04:10 PM | Comments (2)
November 07, 2005
The Punisher (VG Cats)
[Nope, this one is a webcomic, meaning you gotta see it. Good composition humor. Pay attention, though. i had 2 read this 1 twice. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2005
Ethical Dilemmas (Gamepro)
"The ESRB presents publishers like me with the worst of two worlds," explains Mastiff CEO Bill Swartz. "On the one hand, they beat me to a pulp with their super-strict ratings. On the other, since opponents don't view their findings as meaningful, I suffer from the prejudice that videogame ratings can't be taken seriously."
[The article revisits the "Hot Coffee" sex scandal aftermath surrounding Rock Star Games's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game. Swartz's comments echo two historical periods of censorship with Joseph R. McCarthy and Fredric Wertham. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 03:20 PM | Comments (3)
November 02, 2005
EA signs 'Simpsons' (Variety)
EA has already begun work on the first game under its deal, which is being developed for next-generation consoles like Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Three writers from the series will serve as consultants to EA in creating its story and bringing humor. Actors from the series are expected to lend their voices to the games.
[Simpsons fans rejoice! If these projects turn out positively for Electronic Arts, then a successful video game adaptation will result, as it has for James Bond and Lord of the Rings. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2005
Everything you wanted to know about Connery's digital Bond (IGN)
October 26, 2005 - Next week the first videogame starring Sean Connery will hit retail stores courtesy of Electronic Arts. From Russia With Love, a third-person perspective mix of shooting, action, and racing, harkens back to the second Bond movie with great care for the original intellectual property, wrapping on new levels and a modern, up-to-date look and feel for gamers who're enjoying the 21st century.
[Released today: One of the best Bond movies + Sean Connery + PS2 = Great game! BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (IGN)
As Hector, you seek revenge against your former ally, Isaac, for having killed your wife. At one point in time, you were both servants of Dracula, but his death three years prior to Curse of Darkness has left the thrown of evil in a state of chaos. Hector gave up the dark ways sometime around this point, and left behind his devil forging abilities.
[Console video games are what I grew up on, functioning as great entertainment, but also as an excellent anger management tool. Anyone who played games from the Mega Man, Super Mario Bros., or this series, knows how frustrating it is to miss a jump and fall into an abyss. Although my favorite series of all-time is Final Fantasy, Castlevania comes in a close second for me. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 10:33 AM | Comments (5)
October 31, 2005
Turn your gaming ownage into slick comic books (IGN)
"Comic Book Creator lets gamers add in text bubbles to their digital screenshots, as well as classic comic book features like powerful action-word graphics that emphasize their gameplay" -Kevin Donovan, Planetwide Games President.
[And Scott McCloud got labeled "dangerous" for his book, _Reinventing Comics_, in which he theorizes that online web comics represent the future of comic book publishing? BK]
Posted by kuechebj at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)