Author Archives: Jason Ko
Criticizing Game Criticism
http://www.lostgarden.com/2011/05/blunt-critique-of-game-criticism.html Don’t know how many people will actually see this, but I hope at least Professor Sample does. A game designer by the name of Dan Cook maintains this blog called lostgarden where he talks about the sorts of games … Continue reading
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Video Games versus Film
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/3075-Videogames-Are-Not-Movies-Get-Over-It Now, I know it’s not my turn to post something, but with all the discussion we’ve been having in this class about how videogames can be compared to film, I thought it would be interesting to see what the … Continue reading
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Expert vs Novice Game Players
Expert players are those who are comfortable with the conventions of the genre, and can perform at a high level. Novice players lack both the knowledge and skill to perform at this level. This experience can come from playing other … Continue reading
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Games Worth Saving
In this article in the New York Times, Heather Chaplin focuses on the ludological aspects of which games should be preserved for future generations. There was no mention on games which should be preserved because they told a captivating story, … Continue reading
Posted in First Readers
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Playing “Like a Girl”
http://kotaku.com/#!5598679/what-i-discovered-from-gaming-like-a-girl We discussed in class how different types of people think in different ways, and thus are attracted to different sorts of video games. Two of the most obvious groups of people who think differently are men and women. In … Continue reading
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Things about IF
Limited Mobility Use of a narrator Limited word choice Focus on wordplay and riddles Death. Death everywhere. James, Mufasa, Cameron, Jason
Posted in Interactive Fiction
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Wandering through IF
Montfort’s notion that works of IF are not games because they can not be beaten is especially true for Aisle. Certainly the end of the frame in which you view the story of the man’s life is not the end … Continue reading
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RE: Controversy in Video Games, Featuring Bulletstorm and Fox News
There is little to no evidence to suggest that violent video games contribute to violent behavior. In fact, many studies are showing that playing violent video games allows for the player to vent their emotions in a safe environment. We … Continue reading
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Video Game Music Awards
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/710690/Why-Video-Game-Music-Deserves-A-Dedicated-Grammy-Award.html We discussed in class how the limitation of hardware dictated what sounds could be created, thus shaping the music. In the case of the Atari 2600, some pitches were not even in tune. In the modern era, technology has … Continue reading
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The Core of Video Games
It is strange that Espen Aarseth seems to disregard these trappings of the game in favor of analyzing the abstract models of games, stating that it means nothing to change the skin of a game. He uses the example of chess, where the … Continue reading
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Types of Game Players
Players Who Suit MUDs by Richard Bartle In class Tuesday we discussed the four different types of play as defined by Caillois. That reminded me of this article I read about the different types of people who play in MUDs. … Continue reading