Issues/Your Take

Vancouver Island-made game challenges players in brutal post-apocalyptic North

Vancouver Island-made game challenges players in brutal post-apocalyptic North

Vancouver Island-made game challenges players in brutal post-apocalyptic North http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/the-long-dark-video-game-can-you-survive-canada-post-disaster-1.2776501 Inspired by the previous post and by last week’s guest speaker. In addition to helping us become disciplined investors and lose weight (DDR) , video games can also help us obtain the necessary skills to survive the (perhaps) inevitable zombie apocalypse. “You’re tracking your calories […]

Video-Blog News of the Week; September 24, 2014

Video-Blog News of the Week; September 24, 2014

What do the Noriega lawsuit and the 38 Studios debacle have in common? It’s not as bad as you think. jon  

Day Trader Learned Lessons From Games

Day Trader Learned Lessons From Games

“CIS, pronounced sis, means death in classical Japanese. The nickname is a holdover from his gaming days, when he used to crush foes in virtual wrestling rings and online fantasy worlds. ‘Games taught me to think fast and stay calm,’ he said over tea at Tokyo’s Hotel Grand Palace a few days after the SoftBank […]

Titan Cancellation Costs Blizzard Millions

Titan Cancellation Costs Blizzard Millions

As a follow-up to today’s talk about video game production cycles, here’s some insight into just how much the cancellation of a game can cost: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-09-23-titan-cancellation-cost-blizzard-usd50m-or-more-say-analysts

Video-Blog News of the Week; September 17, 2014

Video-Blog News of the Week; September 17, 2014

Actually talking law, not social issues. Try not to be too shocked… jon

Videogames and the Spirit of Capitalism

Videogames and the Spirit of Capitalism

This is a terrific talk Paolo Pedercini of Carnegie Mellon University gave remotely to Indicade East 2014. It is hugely thought provoking in its interpretation of games as rationalizations of capitalism. I don’t agree, hewing to Jung’s view of games (see Talk 1) as a way of being in touch with our instinctive self. Of […]

Gaming’s Indie Explosion: Chris Charla

Gaming’s Indie Explosion: Chris Charla

This is a wonderful short video that serves a couple of related purposes in the context of the course: 1. It is a cool and inspirational history of games, especially indie games; and 2. In the context of all our discussion about the creative role of the gamer, it represents a powerful reminder of how […]

Video-Blog; News of the Week September 10, 2014

Video-Blog; News of the Week September 10, 2014

This week’s take: EA v. NFL. EA wins by a knock-out (how’s that for mixing metaphors). jon

Video-Blog; News of the Week September 3, 2014

Video-Blog; News of the Week September 3, 2014

This week a few reflections on misogyny, gamers and the Anita Sarkeesian debacle. As well as a quick take on Microsoft’s resistance to a domestic warrant for overseas materials. jon

Video-Blog; News of the Week August 27, 2014

Video-Blog; News of the Week August 27, 2014

Will work out the bugs in sound and colour, but here is a first attempt at a short weekly video blog where focussing on the weeks news. This episode is a take on misogyny in and out of games, and its changing future. Thanks for watching. Please feed back. jon