Video and Slides below. Sound is not always ideal but a remixed version should be coming our way soon.
Jon
By Jon Festinger on November 23, 2017
Video and Slides below. Sound is not always ideal but a remixed version should be coming our way soon.
Jon
By Idan Yaron on November 22, 2017
If you don’t, let me remind you something that was said during my presentation:
Prices of Graphic Processing Units (the devices which allow gamers to process video games on their PCs and consoles) jumped sharply last year due to their great processing power for mining bitcoins (=the process by which transactions are verified and added to the public ledger, known as the block chain, and also the means through which new bitcoin are released).
So now, have a look on this one:
I’m not sure if that is a good progress..
Idan
By Piers on November 20, 2017
https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/PascalLuban/20171117/309833/Will_current_games_turn_eSport_into_a_massmarket_affair.php
This article caught my eye because of the discussions we’ve had in recent weeks about developers making concerted efforts to break into the esports scene with their games. It has some interesting points on what a game developer should aim for if it is making a game with the primary purpose of creating a popular new esport.
Some of the points made in the article resonate with me as to why League of Legends, Dota 2, or other MOBAs may not be the “optimal” esports games, despite having by far the largest followings at this point. There are so many intricacies to the games that it becomes hard for people who are not intimately familiar with them to cue into what’s happening. I mentioned in my presentation a few weeks ago that CS:GO was aired on the cable tv station TBS. Part of the rationale behind that was because, as an FPS game, it’s much easier for an audience to know what’s going on – at it’s core, it’s just a point-and-shoot game. Much like basketball, football, or soccer, more casual fans can just enjoy the simple mechanics of the game, while more dedicated ones can appreciate the intricate strategies that go into building the most successful teams.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that esports as a genre is just inherently accessible and interesting to people who are avid gamers, and that it won’t grow beyond that fanbase. But if the industry is going to continue to expand, then developers will need to pay attention to what kinds of games will be easier for the general public to digest.
By C, Laura on November 18, 2017
Exploration of identity of human has been a recurrent question.
I found that Ghost in the Shell (manga 1989; 1995 animated movie) illustrates well the though about human identity and AI when AI become aware of their existence. The main character has a human brain in a cybernetic body who works for a special anti-criminal unit. She has to stop the Puppet Master who has been able to take the control of a human brain and wants to create a new form of life. The movie explores the question: What makes human? What makes a machine?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113568/?ref_=nv_sr_2
“Do Androids Dream about Electronic Sheep?” (1968) novel by Philip Dick after adapted in Blade Runner (films 1982, 2017) are great too. Any other recommandation?
By yu heng wang on November 18, 2017
During my presentation, I spoke about some incidents and events that happened in the recent years. Although details of these incidents were not necessary for the overall message of my presentation, I thought some of you may still be interested nonetheless. Therefore, I have included some links to further reading on some of the more interesting milestones and incidents I spoke of in my presentation today.
Korean Starcraft Matchfixing – This is one of the biggest incidents in recent memory Esports related, and deserves a read: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/2015_Match-Fixing_Scandal
North American Counterstrike: Global Offensive Match Fixing: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/counterstrike/North_American_match_fixing_scandal
League of Legends Season 2 World Championships Screen Looking: https://kotaku.com/5950746/accused-league-of-legends-cheat-fined-30000
French Counterstrike: Global Offensive Pro Cheating: http://www.pcgamer.com/csgo-competitive-scene-embroiled-in-hacking-scandal-as-three-players-are-banned/
Substance Abuse: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gvy7b3/counter-strike-esports-pro-we-were-all-on-adderall
European 17 Year-old Player Abuse By Manager: https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/mym-kori-threatened-unpaid-wages-1434#list-3
The Ongoing Struggles of Korean Player Abuse: https://www.pcgamesn.com/overwatch/mighty-storm-overwatch-esports-team-dispute
Furthermore, I believe the franchising trend in Esports is yet another major (possibly the largest ever) turning point. It’s definitely worthwhile to read up on it, considering we are at the starting stages of what I expect to be a pivotal moment for Esports. In the near future, this development will directly have an impact on an immense portion of the business world including law.
NA League of Legends Franchising – Take note of the date of the articles, as this is an ongoing story:
Overwatch League Franchising:
It’s an exciting time to be into Esports – even more so if you can understand and get in on the business.
-Aylmer
By Jon Festinger on November 15, 2017
By Piers on November 14, 2017
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/11/for-console-games-downloads-are-approaching-a-tipping-point/
This piece on the News of the Week got me thinking about the presentation that Anoop Desai from EA gave back at the beginning of the term. While we aren’t quite yet at the point where games are offered as a streaming service via a cloud system (similar to what Netflix did for television), there’s no doubt that we’re on the road to ever greater digitalization.
Discs have already basically been entirely removed from the PC gaming market. My computer doesn’t even have a disc drive – I just download all of my games through online markets like Steam and Origin. Now it looks like that is becoming the case for traditional consoles as well. I wonder if they’ll stop including disc drives in consoles at some point. If Apple was willing to remove something as physically small as a headphone jack from the iPhone because they reckoned it was worth it for optimizing other features, then maybe Sony and Microsoft will think the same of the disc drive. After all, removing the disc drive would free up a lot more space for raw computing power.
On the other hand, there was something so satisfying about running to the game store when something new and exciting was released, and having the actual physical copy in your hands…
By Jon Festinger on November 14, 2017
GAMES
DIGITAL
CREATIVITY
MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY
SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY
Jon
By Colomban on November 13, 2017
Good afternoon everyone,
I hope you have been enjoying your holiday weekend.
On Friday we talked about about gamers-as-consumers backlash, specifically mentioning the original iteration of Steam, and we noted that social media has intensified this process.
I wanted to give you a heads up on what is happening today: EA has just received the most downvoted comment in the history of Reddit (!!!) for its response to the fact that it has introduced pay-to-win Star Wars Heroes, who are technically also free but would take 40-in-game hours to unlock.
News Story here: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/11/13/ea-39-s-battlefront-ii-response-sets-record-for-most-downvoted-comment-on-reddit.aspx
The original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b/seriously_i_paid_80_to_have_vader_locked/ (EA response is top comment).
Watch this space, this story is only just beginning…
Columban
By Idan Yaron on November 12, 2017
In case anyone wants to further read about the incident, here’s the link:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/08/cryptocurrency-300m-dollars-stolen-bug-ether
A really expensive accident I must admit..
Idan