nongames.com

SBGames 09 Art Exhibition

2009-06-28T22:04:00.002-03:00

I've got some interesting games/art pieces offered since my last post, and now is official: The CFP is online now (under Parallel Events > Art Exhibition. Spread the word!

Here's the CFE, by the way:

Art Exhibition

About the Event
The Arts Exhibition is an experimental laboratory for new digital art concepts, interactive immersion, character creation, storytelling, digital music, and innovative interfaces in games, virtual worlds, and digital entertainment environments.

Game development involves high qualified people and big efforts in arts and design. Nowadays, the amount of artists and designers in a game development team represents more than 70%. In this context, SBGames has been organizing, since 2004, the Art Exhibition aiming to motivate new talents in the field of games development and digital entertainment, as well as publicizing artworks of professionals, artists, and designers.

You are invited to submit pieces of digital artwork in any form: printed, video, audio, interactive installations, virtual reality, augmented reality, … .

The exhibition will be held in a charming neoclassic old mansion adapted to the tropical environment: “Solar Grandjean de Montigny” – the residence of the French architect Auguste Henri Victor Grandjean de Montigny who came to Brazil in 1816 as a member of the French artistic mission commissioned by D. João VI.

Call for Participation
The SBGames 09 is now accepting entries for its Art Exhibition, to be held at the Solar Grandjean de Montigny, located at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), from October 8th to November 6th 2009.

This year, the connection between video games and art will be approached from several perspectives at once, celebrating the diversity of uses of art in games and vice-versa. This is an opportunity to witness how videogames mature as an artistic media, and how they increasingly support several creative expression forms.

The entries are divided into four major categories:

Character Design:Promoted and organized by the Story Design Lab (LADEH), a lab within PUC-Rio's Art and Design Department, the Character Design Competitive Exhibition will be held in conjunction with the other SBGames 09 Art Exhibition features. More details on 'Parla! LADEH First Contest and Exhibition of Character Design', including its Call For Entries, rules and procedures will soon be available.

Art Games: A showcase for games addressing game art and design in innovative and poetic ways. This category embraces games from experimental webgames to fully-featured standalone commercial games that look at new directions for video games in content, themes, gameplay and interaction. Please note that we cannot support games requiring network or internet connection.

In-game Art: A display for a diverse range of artistic material made for a game. These forms include, but are not restricted to, 3D models, 2D sprites, music, cinematic cut-scenes and matte painting. Please note that some entries may be adapted or translated into non-electronic illustrative forms to better suit the exhibition.

Games as art tools:A section dedicated to all sorts of expressive, thought-provoking user-created content that go beyond the boundaries of the game universe to explore new relations to our culture and new forms of self-expression. These art forms include, but are not restricted to, films made with games (machinima), sim-fiction, game mods, game-generated music, character and level design. Please note that some entries may be adapted or translated into non-electronic illustrative forms to better suit the exhibition.

Submissions should be sent to sbgames09-art@puc-rio.br and should contain:

Name of the submitted piece of work.

Name of the artist(s) or group of artists.

Brief description of the work (up to 70 words).

Year of realization.

System requirements (hardware and software) for games or other digital media.

Image Attachment (or text) up to 10mb (largee attachments will not be processed).

Link for downloading reproduction or original works (larger than 10mb).

COMMITTEE
Art Exhibition Organizer
Chico Queiroz (PUC-Rio)

IMPORTANT DATES
Submission Deadline: August 23, 2009
Selected Works Announcement: September 15, 2009
Exhibition: October 8 - November 6, 2009

looking for art-game, game-art or whatever we should call this...

2009-05-05T09:47:00.003-03:00

- Have you seen/worked on any interesting independent game/webgame/mod with an artistic approach?

- Have you seen/worked on any interesting piece of art (film, pictures, hypertext, fiction, music etc) made with videogames lately?

If so, could you please drop a line (and a link, if possible) in the comments section?

I'm doing research for an exhibition on these subjects, and it would be great if you could help me find some new material.

Thank you all very much!

4 years of nongames.com / Art Exhibition

2009-04-07T07:24:00.000-03:00

Today, nongames.com is 4 years old.

I know, I've been neglecting the blog for some time, now - not to mention feature content, such as my last paper on game as creative tools, which is over a year old now and hasn't been translated so far.

Partially, I believe this is due to the fact that I've been busier than ever this last months(years), working both as a undergraduate professor, teaching virtual modelling and image treatment for design students, and also as designer at a computer graphics lab at the same university. And although I've been dealing with computer graphics and some interaction-based projects, they are not games (nor nongames).

However, I feel my participation here will increase very soon: I've been appointed curator for a game-related art exhibition, to be held at the university, being launched during a game symposium. I'll give more details as soon as I have a final version of the CFP in my hands, but you can expect a CFP for indie art-games, art made with ganes (machinima, elektroplancton music, Sims fiction, etc.), concept art and more.

So I guess there will be more to talk about around his blog, and maybe my participation here will be renew.

But for now, happy birthday nongames.com!

Game design and authorship

2009-03-18T14:21:00.000-03:00

This post is a response to February's Round Table:

About the Author: This month’s topic turns the literary focus from the medium, to the author. If you submitted a post to either the January or February topics, feel free to write about the process you underwent in converting literary themes into gameplay. Did you struggle with anything in particular? Are you satisfied that your game design(s) communicated what you intended? Have subsequent comments or idea made you wish you could go back and start he process over? And how much does your design say about you and your own interpretation of the themes of the source material?

Alternately feel free to turn your focus to another game designer, or to game designers in general. In literature we frequently “hear” the author’s voice in their work. Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Tom Robbins–these are excellent examples of authors whose voices are quite recognizable. Through reading their works, we feel we come to feel we know them, to understand their philosophies. There are a handful of games where the “author” can clearly be heard through the work. How closely tied is this to the thematic content of the games and how exactly did they communicate these themes to their audience? And should they have, or should video game designer try to remain out of their work, allowing the player to establish their own themes through gameplay?

A lot has been said about game videogame authorship, the role of the player and the interplay between them. I don't suppose to convey something new here, but rather comment briefly on the topic, hopefully making itself clearer to myself and the ones reading this.

Calling a game designer an "author" is usually a way to acknowledge the originality and excellence of his body of work. Will Wrigth, Peter Molyneux, Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima and Sid Meyer are example of designers who have a very distinctive voice and whose style can be identified within any game they have produced.

Now, I believe two branches of game design have become increasingly popular lately: auteur art-games and (for the lack of better term) user-creativity-centred games. These art-games are not necessarily made by high-profile studio game designers (with few exceptions), but rather by newcomers attempting (and succeeding)to approach game design in a more artistic way. For instance, think of The Passage, The Marriage, The Majesty of Colors and Graveyard. Their games discuss subjects that are usually distant from mainstream commercial game industry - and they often involve a very clear storyline (or sorylines). This kind of authorship is, I believe, truly artistic and very welcome.

On the other hand, as it has been discussed many times, we should not imagine that game authorship should only gravitate around its story. That's where, I think, user-creativity-centred games come in to complement the scenario, as they allow the player's artistic expression (as well as the designer's). Both game styles, as I see, are great and complement each other. But maybe it should be said that both styles are authorship-friendly. The point is: in game design, the author's voice has more than one way to be heard.

Will Wright is probably the most popular example. The strongest aspect of his authorship is how he allows players to exercise their own sense of authorship. Players are free to create their visions and that doesn't leave Wright "out of his work". In fact, his presence as an author is even stronger. Molyneux, about whom I have written more extensively, is another good example, with his "The Movies".

Ok, so how does that fit within the game I described in my previous post for BOTRT? Well, when "designing" The World of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I was worried about building the game as a tool that could be used by players to create their own stories, where a player called Robert Pirsig would come up with his book, not by re-writing the game into prose, but using his experiences, notes and impressions of it.

The game would be, genuinely, a setting. The story would be the player's own. In fact, that notion facilitated my design, which I felt to make justice to the book it was based on, expressing much more of it than a direct translation would.

Comments I got about that post included a very good suggestion to something that could be added, rather than changes to the design. So yes. To answer the original question proposed by this Round Table, I was satisfied with the game design and the way the it communicated the books message.

Please visit the Round Table's Main Hall for links to all entries.

Tiny remark on Spore Mobile

2009-03-13T09:40:00.001-03:00

I haven't got the time to post, lately, but here is a quick impression on Spore for mobile phones.

Although I've been struggling with the lack of "Save Game" (I have to play the game from the start every time), I really enjoy one aspect of gameplay:

In order to survive, you must eat smaller creatures and escape bigger ones. As you eat, your character gets bigger and bigger, and there is a point - and that's the part I like - you are not so sure the creature next to yours is prey or predator.

This transition (prey -> predator) is, I believe, rare within the same game level, and most of the cases I remember involves power-ups (as in Pac-man) or some kind of warning, letting the player know that he has changed his role. The "transparent" transition we find in Spore mobile is, I think, much more elegant and interesting all around.

Troubled Avatars

2009-02-09T16:36:00.000-02:00

While reading Ian McEwan's novel Saturday, I was very impressed by a chapter narrating a squash match between the protagonist (a middle-aged neurosurgeon from London) and his friend and colleague. Here's an excerpt:

"Half a dozen times the ball travels up and down the left-hand wall, until Perowne finds the space on his backhand to lift it high into the right-hand corner.They play that wall in hard straight drives, dancing in and out of each other's path, then they're chasing shots all over the court, with the advantage passing between them.
They've had this kind of rally before - desperate, mad, but also hilarious, as if the real contest is to see who will break down laughing first."

From: Saturday, by Ian McEwan.

McEwan does an amazing job describing the psychological state of his character during play: the lack of focus from out-of-court worries, that "flow" feeling after prolonged rallies, the balance between competitiveness and camaraderie, etc..

In my last contribution to the round table, I've suggested ways of designing for the player's, say, lateral thinking (in a desirable way). But why not extend this mental state to the characters - and then to the player?

Let's keep the rackets and think of a videogame of Tennis, for instance. Suppose you're playing with Roger Federer against a CPU-controlled Rafael Nadal. Now, usually the only match-unrelated concerns of between the player and full control of the game are the (real world) player's concerns. Federer's avatar might be more or less capable in game fundaments (serving, backhanding, forehanding, lobbing, etc.), but his psychological state is neutral.

Now let's remember the last Federer Vs. Nadal match, when they were playing for the Australian Open. Judging from Federer's reaction, visibly upset to the point of crying during the prize ceremony, there should be some psychological unbalance going on. Was his mind somewhere else during the match? I don't know, but that's a hypothesis.

So, how could this kind of mental state be reflected in the game (and gameplay)? Overlapping images? Unresponsive control pads? There's a number of options that could be tested.

Sport games might not be the best example of use for that. RPGs, 1st and 3rd persons could benefit from this kind of "troubled avatars" to add depth to the story and gameplay. It could be a way of levelling the character's and player's experiences.

(Note: I remember a football videogame where the controller rumbled, as to indicate mental distress, during penalty shootouts. Was it one of FIFA series?)

The World of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

2009-01-30T18:00:00.005-02:00

Ok, so this is my contribution to the Round Table:

The World of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

WoZAMM (even the acronym sounds appropriate!) is a Road-trip MMOG with a philosophical twist.

Enjoy your ride along miles and miles of open roads and highways.

In this MMOG, you are free to take you motocycles and your thoughts wherever you want. To be played on your own or in massive-multiplayer (cooperative or competitive) mode, WoZAMM allows you to explore the roads, the mountains and their risks.

Features:

Mantain and upgrade your vehicle

Race against or along up to 256 players open to chat

Explore thousands of miles of roads of every kinds and conditions

Relax riding in Zen Mode (keep reading for explanation)

Follow quests or wander freely.

Food for thought: on-screen display quotes and topics for your reflection.

Access and enjoy WoZAMM Philosophical Encyclopaedia (and add / share notes) (read more for explanation on that one too).

This game is designed to give players that free-roaming feeling some miss about games (hey, do you remember Elite?). Although players can accept quests and missions (available at gas stops, restaurants and motels, if so they wish), they can also just enjoy riding and riding and riding...

And that's where Zen Mode, our main USP, comes in.

After a long period of continuous riding (a couple of minutes), Zen Mode will become available for the player to activate. Once it's on, it will progressively make motorcycle control easier (the Motorcycle will run by itself, at its peak), slightly increase speed and add soft-blur visual effects to the surroundings. The smooth-to-automatic controls will give the player a chance to reflect.

USP number 2 - Food for Thought: Every now and then, specially when in Zen Mode, philosophical quotes and topics will be displayed on screen for further reflection. Once the player is off the road, he can also access WoZAMM Philosophical Encyclopaedia and read more on topics previously displayed. Notes can be added by the player and upload to the users forum.

=============

On a side note, I should add that I've always wanted to make an introspective long-distance driving game. This Round Table was a great opportunity to re-work, however briefly, that idea.

Please visit the Round Table's Main Hall for links to all entries.

Learning from the digital Library of Babel

2009-01-30T14:31:00.000-02:00

Note: this started a warming up to my Round Table post. Although my game of choice is not the one discussed below, I think this is still a valid contribution to the panel. Since the panel is open for two contributions per blog, I thought I should publish it on a separate post.

Some literary works beg for a digital translation.

In my last academic paper (yet unpublished in this website - shame on me, since I've finished it more than a year ago), I suggested that some literary work (in that case, specificaly Borges' short story "The Library of Babel") could be as natural to digital media as to the printed form it was first imagined for.

Here's some of its initial paragraph (translated by James Irby, available here):

"The universe (which others call the Library) is composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries, with vast air shafts between, surrounded by very low railings. From any of the hexagons one can see, interminably, the upper and lower floors. The distribution of the galleries is invariable. Twenty shelves, five long shelves per side, cover all the sides except two; their height, which is the distance from floor to ceiling, scarcely exceeds that of a normal bookcase."

This infinite library holds every book that could be possibly written (every character combination). Although this fantastic, imaginary building cannot be physically re-created, a digital representation - including its rooms, books and book's content - it's not only possible, but also done, and released in CD-ROM (back in 1996). It's called Biblioteca Total, made by Nicolás Helft and published by Argentinian group La Nacion.

The universe imagined by Borges was, in essence, a mathematical wonder. One that can be expressed in computational terms and virtual representation.

But what about the game? I am not sure Helft's CD-ROM was not limited to the exploration of the library's infinite space (although I have seen it in action, many years ago, I can't remember if there was more to it than navigating from gallery to gallery). However, the short story goes on describing searches for sacred, meaningful books among the infinite amount of available books. A game among that lines could be designed (maybe an adventure style-game, or even RPG).

So you get the idea: some literary works are more naturally translated into digital works.

Anyway, that's not the book-to-game translation I want to present for this panel. That will be on my next post.

Please visit the Round Table's Main Hall for links to all entries.

The Global Game Jam

2009-01-02T07:44:00.003-02:00

Willing to spend a weekend making a game? Meet the Game Jam:

(from their website):

What is a Game Jam?

In a Game Jam, participants come together to make video games. Each participant works in a small team on a complete game project over the course of a limited time period, usually over a weekend. With such a small time frame, the games tend to be innovative and experimental. The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the first of its kind: a game Jam that takes place in the same 48 hours all over the world! The global Game Jam will start at 5:00PM Friday, January 30, 2009 through 5:00PM Sunday, February 1, 2009, (all times local). All participants in the Global Game Jam will be constrained by the same rules and limitations, with each time zone having one distinct constraint.

Why is it global? Because It will happen simultaneously all over the globe (including Brazil). Here's the list of locations:

* Albany, USA
* Ankara, Turkey
* Athens, USA
* Albuquerque, USA
* Atlanta 1, USA
* Atlanta 2, USA
* Angouleme, France
* Austin, USA
* Baltimore , USA
* Boston , USA
* Cape Town, South Africa
* Caracas, Venezuela
* Charlotte, USA
* Chicago, USA
* Copenhagen, Denmark
* Dallas, USA
* Detroit, USA
* Glasgow, Scotland
* Hamar, Norway
* Hamilton, New Zealand
* LA, USA
* London , UK
* Madison, USA
* Madrid, Spain
* Newport, Wales
* NYC 1, USA
* NYC 2, USA
* Orlando, USA
* Ottawa , Canada
* Paris, France
* Perth, Australia
* Pittsburgh , USA
* Raleigh, USA
* Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
* Rockville, USA
* San Francisco / Silicon Valley, USA
* Santa Cruz, USA
* Sao Carlos, Brasil
* Savannah, USA
* Sault Ste Marie, Canada
* Tel Aviv, Israel
* Thurles, Ireland
* Toronto, Canada
* Vancouver, Canada
* Waco, USA
* Utrecht, The Netherlands

If you want to join Global Game Jam, you can find more info at their website: http://globalgamejam.org/

The last poll of 2008

2008-12-17T09:39:00.004-02:00

It was a very busy year - things have changed a lot in many, many aspects (all for better). The only thing I am sorry for is how this blog was neglected, and how I walked away from game design most of the time. It was not a deliberate choice, but a combination of factors (new job(s), a certain lack of return for game-related things I've done, etc.). I don't know how 2009 will be in terms of Game Design. But I do hope I get to work in interactive projects more often next year.

It's weird how nongaming is mainstream right now. It's really great.

Anyway, here's the last poll of 2008: Should I submit a re-worked version of Flora to Kongregate?

Short news from Brazilian gaming universe

2008-11-04T09:31:00.004-02:00

- Here's a link Link to "Estamos Pensando" (We are thinking), interesting brazilian indie art game by Daniel Martins Novais.

- And here's a link to job opportunities at Ubisoft Brazil.

More Frasca in São Paulo

2008-08-26T06:57:00.002-03:00

Gonzalo Fasca has confirmed a talk (in Spanish) about politcal games and simulation theory in São Paulo, as part of the FILE festival:

Where: Avenida Paulista no 1009, 21 andar
When: Thursday, 28th from 19h30 to 21h30
Admission: Free
Lecture in Spanish language
Título: Videojuegos Políticos y Teoría de la Simulación

If you are interested in videogame studies and happens to be in São Paulo, this should be mandatory for you.

A Leap over Uncanny Valley?

2008-08-20T09:58:00.003-03:00

Whenever the talk is about the development of more human, realistic plotlines for video games, there always might be an objection regarding how characters graphics and animation wouldn't keep up with the required level of realism. Well, as you can read (and watch) in this post by Jonathan Richards of the Times Online, we could be approaching the end of that excuse.

What kind of games should we expect from now (or from a couple of years) on?

Frasca in Brazil

2008-08-15T09:18:00.003-03:00

Here´s something I would really like to be able to attend to: Gonzalo Frasca will be giving two lectures in São Carlos, SP, Brazil. From his website:

"I'm invited by the Federal University of Sao Carlos, and I'll be giving a lecture on Videogames and Communication at the CECH amphitheater at 20h on the 25th. The 26th, I'll give a one-day seminar on Contemporary Game Studies."

More information, in portuguese, here:

http://www.ies.ufscar.br/geminis/eventos.htm

Update: Here´s the info in English (via Jonatas).

I hope they publish powerpoints, notes, or something later.

flora on abragames

2008-06-27T10:07:00.005-03:00

Abragames, Brazilian Game Developers Association have posted a note on JogosBR winners. In case you don´t know, JogosBR was a contest organized by Brazilian Ministry of Culture (Department of Culture? Culture Bureau? you decide) to finance games and demos. Flora was one of the selected projects.

It took some time until someone publicized the demos, which were delivered on January 2007. Well, better late than never.

Reminder: you can play Flora online in English and Portuguese. Standalone editions are available in English and Portuguese.

Spore Creature Creator

2008-06-18T17:51:00.002-03:00

Brilliant. Here´s the video of my first creature made on SCC:

The editor is great. They could have allowed us more body parts to try on, though.

Casual Games Whitepaper / Spore Trial

2008-06-18T17:09:00.003-03:00

On a double post after a loooong time away, here are two interesting things elsewhere on the net:

A casual games whitepaper on IGDA´s website on the subject. (via Artur Mittlebach through a games mailing list).

Spore Creature Creature Trial is now available for download.

I still want to publish, sooner or later, an english version of my last paper.

More and more regular posting would be great too. I do have subjects in mind. Finding time is the tricky part.

Spore Creature Creator as a standalone product

2008-04-29T09:31:00.003-03:00

I still haven´t posted my lecture on Games as Creative Tools. At least I´ll have time to revise it, since this happened:

"SPORE CREATURE CREATOR AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE JUNE 17
(...)
Redwood City, CA - April 25, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Maxis today announced that a free downloadable demo, and complete retail version of the Spore™ Creature Creator will be available starting June 17, 2008. The Spore Creature Creator gives Spore fans, and those who are creatively curious, the first hands-on opportunity to design their own species and share it with their friends.
(...)
A complete retail version of the Spore Creature Creator will also be available in North America for $9.99 and most European territories for €9.99, which gives players access to all the creature-making parts in the game."

Arguably, the creature creator is one of the best parts of the game - if not the best (just look at how many videos there are on the internet about this single feature). However, selling this editor before the game makes me wonder:

1 - Will players have to pay for the tool again, once they buy the full game?
2 - Would the selling of the Creature Creator be a financial necessity for EA? Why not give away the full version for free?
3 - Will it be useful for anyone who has not the full game to place the creatures into?

I really agree that populating the Spore MSOG (Massive Single Player Game, as Will Wright puts it) universe even before the game is released is a good move. Plus, I love to see how games are transforming tools into something fun. But there´s something about charging players for the creation tool - when they could buy the full game with all editors a few months later - that strikes me as odd.

Air traffic upcoming game

2008-04-17T10:00:00.005-03:00

From Gamasutra, via Water Cooler Games:

"New Jersey based Majesco has announced Air Traffic Chaos for summer 2008, a game in which players take on the job of an air traffic controller, managing flights at busy airports around the world."

.

As someone who lives in a country where air traffic chaos is a reality, I wonder if Majesco could pull out something that actually conveys the several forces and conditions behind this situation that makes air traffic controller such a complicated job.

That is, of course, if the game takes a more serious take on the subject.

Anyway, it looks like it could be fun.

EDIT 29/04/08: And who says only serious games can open spaces for discussion, anyway?

long, long break + poll

2008-02-15T09:16:00.002-02:00

Almost two months since my last post. That´s quite a while.
Too many different things going on (all good) keep me from writing, but I´ll try to post a series soon on games as creativity tools.

Which reminds me, here´s a new poll:
Which upcoming product will be a good creativity tool? and which one will reach a broader audience?

You might need to access the page to see the flash poll.

Inkball: Vista's new interface learning game

2007-12-20T23:10:00.000-02:00

I often remember a former boss telling me how games are used to teach Operational Systems interfaces in a fun way. That's the case with Windows Solitaire (click, double-click, drag and drop) and Minesweeper (click, right-click). PDAs have also used games to teach peculiarities of their handwritting recognition software.

Well, it seems that Microsoft, through Vista, is betting on Tablets and Tablet PCs increasing popularity (I personally work better with a tablet than with a mouse). And to support entry-level tablet users, Inkball is the game to be played.

The game is quite simple (maybe too simple, but that's part of the deal, right?): draw lines that bounce and direct balls into their respective holes. With more production value and options, this could have been DS launch title.

A handwriting recognition game would be interesting too.
Hum... and also an educational handwriting game for alphabetization classes, I guess...

PS: More than two weeks without posting! I wonder if that's a record. And I am still quite busy. I guess that's the way it is as we approach the end of the year. Anyway, it's good busy.

PS2: I am just guessing, but I think nongames.com should change significantly in 2008, content-wise.

PS3: My presentation on games as creative tools turned out nice. I'll post more as soon as I translate it.

PS4: In case I don't post again in 2007, I wish a happy new year to everyone.

Busy

2007-12-03T08:24:00.000-02:00

No, I'm not devastated about our less voted poll ever (3 votes??), I'm just terribly busy at work and finishing a presentation.

I Hope I can get back to nongames soon, next week.

Games as art tools

2007-11-22T09:50:00.000-02:00

As I might have said before, the use of games art artistic tools is something I would like to investigate on a deeper level (PhD?). Meanwhile, I´ve found that Flavio Escribano, from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid has produced a very complete, thoughtful and polished publication on the subject. If you can understand Spanish, you should check it out.

(Via Mushroom Coorporation)

Poll - Have you ever started something in real life because of a game?

2007-11-21T20:10:00.000-02:00

Weekly poll (you might need to access the original post in order to access the flash poll).

Feel free to post information about your own experience on the comments section.

Will Wright on Games and Imagination

2007-11-19T09:58:00.000-02:00

While researching for my presentation, I found out that Wired.com has a great article entitled "Dream Machine", by Will Wright, where makes a very similar point to the one I intend to.

I'll probably come back to it later next week. For now, here is a passage from it. There are gome good things that should be referenced later.

"Like the toys of our youth, modern videogames rely on the player's active involvement. We're invited to create and interact with elaborately simulated worlds, characters, and story lines. Games aren't just fantasy worlds to explore; they actually amplify our powers of imagination.

Think of it this way: Most technologies can be seen as an enhancement of some part of our bodies (car/legs, house/skin, TV/senses). From the start, computers have been understood as an extension of the human brain; the first computers were referred to as mechanical brains and analytical engines. We saw their primary value as automated number crunchers that far exceeded our own meager abilities."

Even the McLuhan analogy is there. I need more tricks :)

Anyway, I think my research is coming out fine. Most of it was already done, and it feels more like putting the pieces together with some coherence. Although all I have is a loose structure, I am already moving from "how can I make it last 15 minutes" to "how can I make it fit 15 minutes". I hope I don't get lost.