Interested in the massive phenomenon MMOG are in Korea? Then you should read gamestudy.org, a blog maintained both in Korean and English. It is fine that we see some gaps appearing in the language and cultural barriers.
Category: game studies
anything games, games research related
game studies, issue 1, 2005, out
You might have missed this, but the open-access Game Studies journal is back, with the Game studies, Issue 1, 2005, containing also a feature by Laura and me, titled “Player-Centred Game Design” — good to have it finally out, and see the journal making a comeback!
rpg maker?
There has been some experimentation lately in our lab on the Game Maker, for quickly constructing simple gameplay / game concept prototypes which could then be used for research purposes. But I noticed that there is also this PS2 software, titled Rpg Maker 3 — I’d be interested in user experiences if you have been playing around with this one?
addiction, need for closure — WoW
I have recognized this also earlier, but after witnessing it now in WoW, it appears even more obvious: part of the so-called addiction tendency into MMORPGs must be related to its share of people with a certain personality type: one which is has traits of strong sense of responsibility, need for closure in whatever undertaking one becomes engaged with, and related hard-working and thorough behaviour patterns, concluding easily into major investment of time and effort. For some people it just appears very hard to step down from a quest once started: and a game like WoW is built around the principle of endless network of overlapping, always-incomplete quest structure which just goes on. (Signed by: “Running errands around Dun Morogh until six am”)
making your name in WoW
Most of my evenings (and even some nights) have lately been spent in the World of Warcraft
, where I exist as a dwarven paladin, named Dur Ût-Thure (for certain eleborately dwarfish reasons). Or, I would be thus named, except that the WoW registration apparently only allows names that have no spaces nor any kind of “special characters” in them. I’d think that in a fantasy universe, also the names could be appropriately fantastic? But I might be wrong. In any case, if you are on the Earthen Ring realm, send a mail or whisper to ‘Durutthure’. 
cats — dogs
Kookos the Cat has a new hobby, and is rapidly becoming addicted to Nintendogs. But that is a secret, of course…
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gamegame is out
I just noticed that Aki Järvinen has got the 1.0 version of his GameGame (“fast-action ludology” / a game design process learning tool / an analysis game) out — great, congratulations! (link)
revolution in controller?
There are discussions and opinions focusing on the recent release of details about the controller for the Nintendo’s upcoming Revolution console; see e.g. the story in IGN.com. At first sight, having a two-hand, bluetooth controller which can “detect up, down, left and right motion, and also translate forward and backward depth” … while “controller’s sensors also recognize twisting, rotating and tilting movements” sounds really interesting – especially when combined with some force-feedback functionalities. While working with interaction and interface research, it has become accustomed to expect all kinds of “rich” modalities being explored, but the games industry has remained rather conservative on the traditional gamepad. (Not withstanding the various, mostly Japanese dance mat games, or the web camera games for devices like Sony PS2 & EyeToy.) It will be great to see how this feature (with new add-ons) will be exploited by the games developers.
pervasive week
This week, many of European pervasive games researchers are gathering in Stockholm. IPerG project meetings and workshops whole week; exhausting but also interesting.
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games and storytelling lectures 2005-2006
In September 20, the second year of our Games and Storytelling lecture series starts, with the visit by Tom Söderlund from Synergix. Rather than having the broad-ranging, introductory approach of the first year, there is a thematic emphasis on games breaking their traditional PC & console style gaming boundaries. Tom has been involved with Its Alive! in Sweden, and worked with games like Botfighters, the location-based mobile game. Other visitors this season will include Greg Costikyan, Gonzalo Frasca, Jami Laes, Tracy Fullerton, Sampo Karjalainen, Jessica Mulligan and Ed Castronova.
See:
the new Games and Storytelling schedule web page; and the instructions in our department’s curriculum page (in Finnish).
frans goes blog 
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