Virtual school shooings: interviewing two of the most hated game creators alive

You may or may not be familiar with V-Tech Rampage, a flash game created by Ryan Lambourn. True to its title, the game allows the player to take on the role of Cho Seung-Hui and re-enact the fateful school shooting of April 16th. The game drew hatred from the mainstream media and gamers alike; many…

'Venus Redemption'

Venus Redemption is a unique episodic casual game created for 30+ female gamers, with a rich plot written by a noted novelist. Unlike other casual games, it features powerful storylines, deep characters, emotion-based interactive conversations and exciting adventure gameplay. However, like traditional casual games, it’s extremely easy to play, requiring only the ability to move…

You Down with MCP? Twenty-five years later, 'Tron' and other 'geek' classics are more compelling than ever

The film’s extreme stylization — dark backgrounds, glowing neon colors, polygonal landscapes, geometric vehicles, and an absence of external lighting — was an aesthetic decision that embraced the limitations of computer-generated imagery. “The actual process of making something out of polygons, then shading it, became a design influence,” explains Taylor. “Not only was the film…

Poems About Fathers

—Poems About Fathers (Poetry Foundation) Having a father and being a father, I found this page interesting. When my own daughter is a teenager, I might not like “Fifteen” as much as I do now. Similar:'Dream' casting a family affairAmong actors in Cabaret Theatre’s upcomi…CultureIs Google Making Us Stupid?Nicholas Carr, in The Atlantic: As the …BooksPresenting…

Tools for Teaching Basic Programming Concepts

Tools for Teaching Basic Programming Concepts Alice and Scratch. Filing for future reference. Similar:Quotations: Integrating them in MLA-Style PapersI touched up an older handout on citing …AcademiaDownsides of being a convincing liarTest subjects whose test papers “acciden…AcademiaAs Twinkle Twinkle is to Suzuki musicians, so is a wooden shipping crate to CGI modelers. …https://youtu.be/diQF9buONqY I ha…AestheticsBuzzFeed…

Will you, won't you… Blackwell's Quadrille

Will you, won’t you… Blackwell’s Quadrille (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) “Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?” — Lewis Carroll’s “Lobster Quadrille” I just tried to order an examination copy of a book from Blackwell Publishing, and when I got what looked like an error message on the final screen (or…

Shakespeare hates your emo poems

—Shakespeare hates your emo poems (Threadless) Interesting cultural phenomenon… sell a T-shirt, then create a website that lets customers upload photos of themselves wearing the T-shirt. The result turns the rebellious and snarky T-shirt designs into the uniforms of conformist consumer zombies. Similar:No, Running Online Classes Isn't CheaperA good response to the myth that the lab…Academia8…

The civil war in four minutes

—The civil war in four minutes (YouTube) Similar:Pipe Trouble’s government woes highlight gaming illiteracyInteresting discussion of a political ho…Culture30 years later, Sierra's Laura Bow mysteries are still a treasureWhen I was in college and grad school, a…CultureHow Not to Hate Shakespeare The problem isn’t Shakespeare—it’s h…CultureThe Case for Banning Laptops in the ClassroomMaybe the students in…