Library Journal RSS Feed Library Jounral en_us Thu, 16 May 2013 17:29:18 http://www.libraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.rss.XMLServer.cls By now, most libraries have embraced gaming. We understand that a fun-based activity like this fulfills our patrons’ social and recreational needs. It’s all very serious stuff, this having fun business. But at the core of what we’re doing is play, and... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/890743-288/games_gamers__gaming_the.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 777508@elibraryjournal.com Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:20:25 In my previous column, “Gateway—or, ‘Bait’—Games” (LJ 11/15/10), I recommended basic games to intrigue apprehensive beginning players. Here, I discuss more complex games, for players up for more of a challenge. Board games rule  Electronic games, with ... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/888390-288/games_gamers__gaming_gateway.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 697158@elibraryjournal.com Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:20:25 The sf genre has always posed the question, “What if?” Its sister genre, high fantasy, has held the throne of popular attention for some time, but now authors are employing hard and soft sciences again, creating novels of the near future. Many are exa... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/892092-288/envisioning_the_future.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 823460@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:19:35 Libraries have clubs where a group gathers to discuss a book the members have all read. Why not have game clubs built on the same principles? This is the question posed by Aramis ­Troche after I opened a discussion on Twitter. Troche is a reference pa... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/891680-288/games_gamers__gaming_gaming.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 809361@elibraryjournal.com Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:19:08 Gaming and fitness hardly seem at first glance to go together. Stereotypical gamers sit motionless for hours in front of their screens, only their fingers and thumbs twitching across the keyboard or controller. Aren’t they all overweight for lack of p... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/890204-288/games_gamers__gaming_health.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 758777@elibraryjournal.com Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:18:52 Forget the stereotype about males being the only gamers. Women and girls play, and we are doing so in steadily increasing numbers. We play online MMOs (massively multiplayer online games), co-op games off Steam, tabletop role-playing games (RPGs), and ... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/891315-288/gender_and_games__games.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 795814@elibraryjournal.com Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:18:52 It's been another big year for video games. The most recent expansion for World of Warcraft was released, the excellent online marketplace Steam came to the Mac OS platform and brought with it some truly great games, developer Bungie gave its swan song to... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/888475-288/lj_best_video_games_2010.html.csp Raya Kuzyk Gaming 699357@elibraryjournal.com Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:15:15 In "Gamers with Heart" (LJ 11/15/09), I cited instances of gamers working toward a common charitable cause. Here, I focus on games specifically designed to incite action and raise social awareness.Ethical, or serious gamesThe free browser game Darfur Is D... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/849982-288/games_with_heart.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 378731@elibraryjournal.com Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:14:05 They peer in, dubious and shy. Mom scans the room to see what sorts of other children there are. Dad and his little girl both look intrigued. You smile encouragingly and invite them in. Clearly, they want to play. What do you suggest? Here, I recommen... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/887349-288/games_gamers__gaming_gateway.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 668497@elibraryjournal.com Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:14:01 At the 2010 TED Conference in Long Beach, CA, game designer Jane McGonigal, whose work I previously discussed in "Games with Heart" (LJ 1/10), said, in short, "Reality is broken. Game designers can fix it." (Watch video footage of her inspiring talk.)  ... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/885819-288/games_gamers__gaming.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 617203@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Gaming has many documented benefits to seniors: it can engage their interest, get their competitive juices flowing, facilitate computer proficiency, and work their muscles both mentally (Brain Age) and physically (Wii Fit). Allan Kleiman, 58, former c... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/886555-288/allan_kleiman_on_gaming_for.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 641415@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Picture a videogame player. What do you see? Ten or 15 years ago, the question might have evoked an image of an adolescent boy, probably in a basement somewhere, parked zombie-like in front of the television. This stereotype simply doesn't hold true anymo... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/862360-288/gaming_basics_not_just_for.html.csp Shawn McCann Gaming 444004@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Head back toBookSmack!for more storiesGamers are constantly engaged indiscussion over the best games out there, and, as any passionate group of enthusiasts, have a range of opinions on the matter. The basis for my own list of top PC and console video game... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/856180-288/story.csp M. Brandon Robbins, Wayne Cty. Gaming 413063@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 In "Games and Literacy" (LJ 6/15/09), I wrote about the potential of games to develop literacy skills; in "Games and Literature" (LJ 8/09), I discussed narrative and storytelling in games. The circle now closes with this column, in which I suggest harness... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/855940-288/story.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 411862@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/855734-288/talking_with_eli_neiburger.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 410847@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 In my previous column (Games and Literacy, LJ 6/15/09), I talked about literacy, reading, and writing associated with the gaming hobby. In libraries, we also pride ourselves on being about literature, not just Dick and Jane or Clifford the Big Red Dog. Su... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/855483-288/story.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 409602@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Twenty-five years ago, librarians met gamers at the castle gates with pitchforks and torches, not sure exactly what to think about these loud, rowdy college kids declaring they were delving into dungeons to kill dragons-and, yes, it was mainly college kid... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/854905-288/why_games.html.csp Liz Danforth Gaming 406707@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Video of library commissioners playing videogamesstokes controversy11-page audit prompts 28-page response from Library CommissionOne online commenter opines: you can't buy publicity like this A ten-minute YouTube video (embedded below) showing five Nebras... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/854275-288/nebraska_state_auditor_goes_after.html.csp Raya Kuzyk Gaming 403561@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Most video games released in North America carry a rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), a nonprofit, self-regulatory, third-party entity formed in 1994 by what is now the Entertainment Software Association. ESRB ratings consist of ... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/854107-288/game_ratings_rundown.html.csp Shawn McCann Gaming 402709@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Silent Hill. Hitman. In the Name of the King. These count among a throng of films adapted from or inspired by videogames, all of them generally panned (sorry!) by players and critics. Though some game-to-film adaptations, or G2Fs, have scored big at the b... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/853835-288/game-to-film_adaptations_for_spring_and.html.csp Raya Kuzyk Gaming 401338@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45 Videogames are typically grouped into genres based on gameplay interaction, but there's no standardized criteria for defining game genres, and the unofficial list is long, contentious, changing, and rife with crossovers. A syllabus for a game development ... http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/gaming/853800-288/gaming_basics_game_genres_demystified.html.csp Shawn McCann Gaming 401161@elibraryjournal.com Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:45