January 2005
Monthly Archive
Sat 29 Jan 2005
Broken bones, twisted elbows, bloodied noses and myriad screams and growls are just some of the things I witnessed today. No, not a visit to the arcade to play Mortal Kombat, but rather, my first Judo tournament.
I started practicing Judo last year, mainly as a more exciting form of exercise than a treadmill. Since I just passed my first “exam” and received my yellow belt, I was eligible to compete in the local tournament running this weekend… Aside from having a load of fun (won the silver medal, yeah!) and exhausting myself (fought four matches in about 40-minutes!), it was interesting to see everything in play…
The thing that strikes me most is that there were 150+ kids and adults competing today - literally beating the crap out of each other (not so much in karate-chop style, as Judo involves more throws and grappling). The on-hand medics were quite busy with an injury of some sort occurring nearly every other match. And yet, this is all viewed as healthy good fun, with parents and loved ones cheering on. Not to mention that sports like Judo, Greco-Roman wrestling and boxing are Olympic sports garnering loads of government support and public praise, etc.
However, doing pretty much the same stuff virtually, now that should be banned, regulated, and censored? And the act of pushing buttons and moving a mouse is what “trains” us to be killers? I don’t get it. I guess a lot has been said along these lines in regards to much more popular sports like football and hockey. And, thoughts on sports and their role in society is nicely covered in more general “play” books, like “The Ambiguity of Play” by Brian Sutton-Smith.
But, it is a wonder that parents are sending their kids to do sports that literally train them to be ninjas, while in turn freaking when they see what Ninja Gaiden is all about… As usual, MIT’s Henry Jenkins helps dispel the myths.
As an aside, I played rugby for about half my life. Great sport. But, it came to an end when I broke my leg and double-sprained my ankle while my wife was 8-months pregnant - ya, she wasn’t too pleased about caring for me as well as the impending newborn. Anyway, here is a sport, while elegant in so many ways, it just so freaking brutal. And, the best part is that once the game is over, everyone shakes hands and both teams head to the pub for a drink (with the custom being that you buy a drink for the guy who plays the same position as you from the other team). How gentlemanly.
Here’s a shot of my older brother, Derek, who still plays rugby. It was from a playoff game. He butted heads, creating a four-inch gash on his forehead. He ran to the sideline, wiped the blood off, taped his head and continued playing. And ya, he still bought a drink for the other guy ;-)
Thu 27 Jan 2005
You know there’s a problem when a studio is promoting the fact that, due to its success, it has a new fully equipped office with “crunch mode accommodation“. What does that mean exactly? Soft carpeting? Ample space for sleeping bags? On-site laundry? Sadly, I often hear from studio heads who point to how well they care for their employees because they “treat them so well during crunch”… But, this is the first time I see it promoted on a company web site (thanks to Noel Llopis for pointing it out).
A few other quality of life related links I’ve recently come across:
Will we ever learn? Well, there should be lots of inspiration coming out the Quality of Life Summit that the IGDA is hosting at GDC…
Thu 20 Jan 2005
Or rather, the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” truism, but in the context of intellectual property. More nonsense on the IP rights front with California Senator, Kevin Murray, proposing legislation that would make p2p companies responsible for the illegal actions of their users (ie, copyright violations). Uh, like gun manufacturers are responsible for murders committed with their products? Or, ISP’s are responsible for what’s said in the email/blogs of their customers? Etc, etc.
While I want nothing more than to squash piracy via organized crime and mob outfits (which coincidentally, the gov wants more powers over too), it is amazing to see the reach/influence that the entertainment industries (mainly film and music) wield over politics - and their ability to choke user rights. A summary of a Cory Doctorow lecture on digital rights goes into some of the ass-backwards-ness of it all. But ya, I guess they have to be scared, because times are changing and old models are crumbling.
Two articles from the January issue of Wired magazine give a comprehensive overview of the underground activity of online piracy, and some insight into BitTorrent, which I commented on earlier…
All of this is very fuzzy and there’s a lot of nuance to what’s right/wrong or who is good/bad. Pirates of the Digital Millennium is a great book that delves into the history of IP rights, the current state of affairs and nicely explores all the gray areas. I highly recommend it to those interested in better understanding IP issues from a more holistic perspective. Also, I just picked up Free Culture, the latest book from Lessig. Should be interesting…
Tue 11 Jan 2005
I recently picked up a copy of “Got Game: How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping Business Forever“, but have yet to read it. The premise that gamers are learning skills, tactics and attitudes that will serve them exceedingly well in their careers is an unlikely positive take on the “effects” of playing video games. Anyway, I’ll post more after I’ve had the chance to read it fully.
What’s interesting is that one of the co-authors, John C. Beck, is keynoting at the upcoming G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit down in Orlando. Another break-the-myths style event (in the same vein as the Serious Game summits) that looks to bridge the world of games/entertainment with those of academia, simulation, military, etc. And, they’ve got quite a line-up beyond Beck…
As it were, there seems to be a lot of this more positive stuff floating around the web lately. The BBC for one, has tons of coverage on games for learning. And, the ESA just released some research results on how gamers live normal, balanced lives.
Nice.
Tue 4 Jan 2005
…or rather, game the nominations. The nominations period for the Game Developers Choice Awards started yesterday, and will only run until January 14th. So, get over to the site and submit your nominations!
While I’m certainly biased, I’d say that the Choice Awards are the best damn game industry awards on the planet. Simply put, nothing compares. Admittedly, what stands as competition is not hard to “beat” in terms of credibility, etc. That said, I challenge everyone to scrutinize our rules/process to look for holes and gaps of logic.
The one challenge/problem that I see with our process is that it does rely on the assumption that A LOT of nominations will come (ie, it’s a numbers game to some extent, and the more diverse/greater the nominations, the more meaningful the results will be). So, ahem, what are you waiting? Go nominate!
Sun 2 Jan 2005
While not as voracious as some, I do try to read as much as possible. Obviously, I read bunches on the Internet. I read Wired, Game Developer and Develop pretty much religiously each month. And, I try to get in about two books a month - mostly non-fiction, mostly while sitting on a plane or in airports waiting for a plane.
I thought it was interesting/amusing that the new book “Difficult Questions About Videogames” is pitched as a book that’s great to read while sitting on the toilet. In fact, the authors recommend that you keep it in the bathroom! Of course, the fact that the book is made up of quickly consumed snippets (or rather, answers to difficult questions by several dozen contributors) lends itself nicely to such an approach. Makes you wonder if game publishers should be pitching DS or PSP games as ideal for toilet play ;)
Anyway, for those interested, here was my reading list from 2004 (pretty much in the order I read them):
Some trends: brushing up on my non-profit knowledge; minor fascination with Japanese culture and philosophy; big interest in social networking and decentralization theory. Digital Play was a well thought out look at issues within the game industry. Pirates of the Digital Millennium is superb at covering the nuances of intellectual property/piracy. Understanding Comics was brilliant and a must read for those wanting to understand media/culture. Power-Up was pretty informative regarding the Japanese game industry/history, but it was a bit dry to read. Of course, all the non-profit books were very educational :)
To kick of the new year, I’ve just started reading “The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations“, in large part based on Brian Reynolds‘ recommendation. I’m only 4 chapters in and it is fascinating stuff!
