For the purpose of this blog post, I recently read some articles and journal entries dealing with the topic of art in video games. One such article was entitled, “Video Games Can Never Be Art” by Roger Ebert, quite a popular film critic. To be honest, I felt that the read was a waste of my time. And it seems as though the majority of the comments on the article were of a mutual feeling. Read the rest of this entry »
It would appear, now more than ever, that game designers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what we would consider to be ethical and socially acceptable game content. With such realistic in-game graphics, the potential for shock value is far greater than ever before. And so I was quite surprised to learn that games have been the subject of ethical controversy almost since their very commencement. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently I joined the online computer graphics community, CGSociety, and have been participating in the life of the community for the past few weeks. CGSociety is an online community comprised of member who all share a common passion for 3D computer graphical art and animation. Members communicate with eachother through the forums and share advice and constructive criticism on professional projects. A 2500 word article was written on the community. Also included is a short essay. Read the rest of this entry »
Gamification is regarded as the practice of applying game design and game technology to areas that would normally be considered non-gaming sectors. For example, using game-oriented web and mobile sites (sometimes referred to as funware) to cause users to engage in desired behaviours through using the application. Typical uses of the technique include coupling funware with tedious online tasks such as completing surveys and collecting information from users. Read the rest of this entry »
Rules, obviously, are a fundamental part of all games. In fact, they are part of what defines a game. Rules not only attempt to keep order and structure in a game, they also invent challenges for players. Rules can be considered as unnecessary obstacles or challenges (Suits, 2005, The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, p.55) which are applied to a goal or objective to create a game. For instance, we can start out with a simple objective like putting an apple in a bin. Read the rest of this entry »
