A playable game of Tabletop Pong

If that’s not good enough for you, try Similar:What happened when I showed vintage Mister Rogers to my 21st-century kidsThey discovered TikTok. And Fortnite. An…CultureI know that look.This was my 9yo today. She doesn’…AmusingHeart of Glory (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 20)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaThe Key To Better Work? E-mail Less, Flow MoreWhat…

What art thou, Pez?

What are thou, Pez, that must needs be dispensed? T’ be merely wrapped would leave thee so incensed? T’were better still to leave the fingers sticky, Than be vomited up by the likes of Mickey. — Mark Janello Curtis Allina, 87, Put Heads on Pez Dispensers Similar:The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (workshop premiere of a…

Deus Ex Memories

I’ve just finished my final training run as a nanotech-augmented super-agent. Nasty terrorists holed up in the ruins of the State of Liberty have captured one of my fellow agents, and it’s my job to get him out. In real life, it’s 2002, and I’m just a guy in Wisconsin. My four-year-old son is asleep…

Video Game Culture and Theory

My online three-week course will start tomorrow morning. It will lean heavily on blogging, so chances are I’ll be a bit more productive than usual in that area. Video Game Culture and TheoryThis course isn’t about learning how to “win” a game, nor is it about programming or design. In fact, according to a recent…

Ms. Pac-Man: Feminist Hero

It’s a spoof, but it’s well-researched and contains plenty of insight. Similar:Editorial: Video Games and The Great Train Robbery Through the development of crosscuttin…AestheticsMy tween found this creative use for an extra iPad stylus Aesthetics'Star Trek': The Story of the Most Daring Cliffhanger in 'Next Generation' HistoryAround 1990, when I was studying for my …HistoryGiving Obsolete…

At 13,000 years, tree is world's oldest organism

The Jurupa Oak tree first sprouted into life when much of the world was still covered in glaciers. It has stood on its windswept hillside in southern California for at least 13,000 years, making it the oldest known living organism, according to a study published today. —Independent Reading this story reminded me of a story…

A sound you do not want to hear from your furnace

I canna give the furnace any more power! I hope the lithium crystals are still under warranty. Furnace.mp3 Similar:Masked up, so I don't infect you, in case you are in a vulnerable group. Feeling healthy. …CultureCarolyn and spider friends performing "Power" from Stage Right's Sleeping B…PersonalI’m not making a serious attempt at recreating specific architecture,…

Every Day the Same Dream

I just played this Every Day the Same Dream. Simple, stark, and in places charming. I smiled and thought a little. Similar:Sesame Street had a big plot twist in November 1986My older siblings say they remember our …CultureYou’re Just Gonna Be Nice by A. LangeIn a study, over 1000 gamers were survey…CultureGreat Twitter thread on…

Game Studies – Novices, Gamers, and Scholars: Exploring the Challenges of Teaching About Games

I’m gearing up to teach Video Game Culture and Theory for the third time. It’s a 200-level elective, with no prerequisites. Students will have taken a basic comp course, but some won’t have done any academic research yet. I’m conscious that some students may have difficulty switching from playing the games they want to play,…

The best walkthrough of Myst I've seen so far

The first part of a walkthrough of the classic (1993), a moody, contemplative point-and-click adventure that defies the stereotype of games as violent and chaotic.  Popular with women and causual gamers, but also appreciated by expert gamers for its puzzles and graphics (photo-realistic CGI, with pre-rendered animations), it was the top-selling game for nearly a…

Clicks vs. Bricks

Is this for real? On Christmas Day, for the first time ever, customers purchased more Kindle books than physical books. —Amazon.com Hold on, though… who goes online to shop for more books on Dec 25, before the spines have been cracked on the new books that were under the tree?  Amazon was heavily promoting its…

Colossal Cave Adventure, an Exhibit

Fascinating student project from Zach Whalen’s “A Videogame Canon” course. Adventure. Rules, Representation, and Meaning in Colossal Cave Adventure Analysis of Colossal Cave Adventure Social Impact Colossal Cave Adventure as an interactive narrative and similarites [sic] to fictional novels Other projects include coverage of PONG, Half-Life, and Super Mario Kart. Similar:This image of Mark Zuckerberg…