Play’s Republic

Just one more posting for y’all. Thought this map was pretty interesting. Enjoy!

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Early on in the course, we covered learning within games, primarily as a function of gaining faculty within a semiotic domain. We have never, not once, discussed games as learning devices used to learn about a specific type of content, however, and we especially didn’t talk about “edutainment” games. In the name of […]

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Following up on my betalicious post and with an effort to stick to the title of the course, here’s another Halo 3 article, this time about where the game is in development. There are some nice descriptions of the work involved and it sounds like the developers are weathering crunch mode better than I […]

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World of Warcraft is just about two and a half years old, now. It’s got the largest user base by far (Community). It’s a very viable product model, and has a bustling in-game economy (Commerce). The Burning Crusade came out in January (Content). So, where do we go from here?
This article […]

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More of a prediction for the future than a description of the current, this article describes the potential confluence between Google Earth and Second Life. More generally, we’re being forced time and time again to consider how the virtual and non-virtual worlds are merging. Imagine using Earth to view a 3D block of […]

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Toward the beginning of the semester, we often discussed the differences between the Heraclitean and Platonic perspectives toward power, play and being. According to Heraclitus, from the agon, characterized by conflict, strife and unpredictability, grew the playful chaos of the Universe. “History unfolds at the whim of a child, carelessly playing.” Contrast […]

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A follow-up to Brian’s post just earlier, it seems like WoW is an aberration in its ability to appeal to both Eastern and Western user bases. I found this article that talks about the difference. Seems like the two gaming communities are very disparate, but something about these results seems dubious to me. […]

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I second Garrison’s disappointment with Spore’s delay and am floored by its impact on EA’s stock price. Game releases have become high-stakes, just like the movie industry. In Hollywood, so much of a studio’s financial stature and continuing existence depends on its ability to put out hits or, better yet, blockbusters. The […]

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On this wonderfully most green of days, we all take a moment to think about how to preserve our wonderful non-virtual environment. We go buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. We turn down our thermostat. We even plant trees. Online.
Dell’s presence in Second Life is growing and, as part of a current […]

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