Excerpt from “The Bone Clocks” by David Mitchell:
I didn’t know what to say. The car edged past a crowded Internet café, full of slack-jawed boys holding game consoles and gazing at screens where American marines shot Arab-looking guerrillas in ruined streetscapes that could easily be Baghdad or Fallujah. The game menu had no option to be a guerrilla, I guess.
Nasser fed his cigarette butt out of the window. “Iraq. Broken.”
Always an interesting perspective.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=H0ReU2tvLFo
There have been many arguments about the term “video game” and what it actually means in today’s world. Many “games” no longer incorporate elements of games (e.g. Journey), causing critics to coin terms like “interactive experiences.” I think Siracusa’s talk shines light on a better word for modern games (especially first-person design) that has been right under our noses: Simulations.
There are games (e.g. Super Mario Bros., Uncharted), there are simulations (e.g. Journey, Dear Esther, Gran Turismo), and there are those that incorporate both (e.g. Halo, Mario Kart). The problem is that no one wants to hear the term “simulation.” For most, simulations have been boring since Flight Simulator 2000. On the other hand, games have been fun for centuries.
As we move closer to an Oculus future, we move further away from “video games.” If anything, I’d argue that the term “video game” does more harm than good for the industry’s larger appeal, carrying the baggage of a childish activity regardless of what studies show. “Simulation” may not be perfect the perfect term but it’s a word that should be incorporated more often.
In any case, a very enjoyable argument from Jamin Warren and PBS.
I married the woman of my dreams today. She is challenging and fierce; exuberant and loving. She has improved my perspective on life and attitude toward myself more than any other. She has taught me to love food and jazz and design; important things that require planning but leave room for spontaneity to fill the cracks. She has shown me the importance of patience and slowing down; enjoying a good cup of coffee and a solid read before the workday. She has opened my eyes to a side of life I thought only existed in insanely impossible Nora Ephron films. She is my mentor, my biggest supporter, and my lover. And I am Mrs. Kelley Clarke Starr’s biggest fan.
Tim Cook, writing in Businessweek:
Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.
The Game Development category was launched on Oct. 16 and works exactly the same way as a category for a specific game on Twitch. But in this case you’re tuning in to watch people develop games live, rather than watch someone playing a released title.
“We conducted a Twitch Town Hall session at PAX Prime which is when we let our community share ideas they would like to see implemented on the platform,” said Marcus “djWHEAT” Graham, Twitch’s director of community and education. “The idea of having a section for game developers was suggested and it resonated with the audience, so that inspired us to add it as a category.”
Twitch has yet to hook me, but this might do the trick.
