] You might call me a moderate fan of videogames. I%u2019m
] really not being facetious either. I%u2019m about half
] player, half collector. I should hope that this comes
] across less in what I write than in what I choose to
] write about. It%u2019s just that there are things
] I%u2019m more a fan of.
]
] Here%u2019s an example: I enjoy having opinions about
] things. This is probably the greatest impetus behind
] unpaid writings of any sort %u2013 the desire to share
] your opinions about things you are interested in.

the Videogame

] The sci-fi classic gets a sequel and an upgrade.

FINALLY!!!

Tron Reloaded

] Blame it on geocaching, an Internet-based hide-and-seek
] game that has, just three years after its invention, been
] played by an estimated 250,000 people around the world.
] Roughly 15,000 play in any given week, and the number has
] doubled about every six months

Geocaching getting some more notice.

'Geocaching' buccaneers pursue hidden bounty throughout Bay Area as GPS-based game catches on

my new productivity killer for the year. Much more fun than Bejeweled.

LEGO - Junkbot

]Home of the Dub Selector.
interactive dub music. hours of fun.

INFINITE WHEEL

] The book profiles people who evolved gaming from paper to
] pixel, through 1970s Dungeons & Dragons roots, to MMORPGs
] (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) like
] EverQuest

I wonder if they'll profile Chuckles.

best quote in the article:
"This isn't just entertainment, it's an artistic medium and a cultural force," Borland said. "History matters, and we want people to realize that Quake isn't an isolated phenomenon. Games back in the 1870s had similar themes, so did mid-century toy soldiers and H.G. Wells novels. When you realize kids have actually been fragging each other for hundreds of years, that puts contemporary game culture in context."

Secrets of Dungeons and Dreamers

] All those hours spent playing video games may not be
] wasted time after all: A new study suggests action-packed
] video games like "Grand Theft Auto III" and
] "Counter-Strike" may sharpen your mind.
]
] Researchers at the University of Rochester found that
] young adults who regularly played video games full of
] high-speed car chases and blazing gun battles showed
] better visual skills than those who did not. For example,
] they kept better track of objects appearing
] simultaneously and processed fast-changing visual
] information more efficiently.
]
] To rule out the possibility that visually adept people
] are simply drawn to video games, the researchers
] conducted a second experiment. They found that people who
] do not normally play video games but were trained to play
] them developed enhanced visual perception.

See mom? Video games are GOOD for you!

Laughing Boy

Study: Playing video games not so mindless

Hello from E-3!

First, some caveats, for those of my colleagues who may be reading this but are not familiar with the blog phenomenon: This is a blog. A personal web log, an online journal, some meaningless ramblings. I am not official press, I have no formal journalistic training. This is not an article, nor is it even a weak attempt at a comprehensive review of E-3. This is just my stream of thought, and somewhat of a timesaver since every time I *do* log on, I'm getting inundated with IMs from a variety of different people who all have the same question: "How's E-3???" (grin) So, since I *do* want to answer everyone's question, but I just don't have time to talk to everyone individually, here's the Elonka's-eye-view, a quick summary of the sights and sounds and people that have streamed through my universe in the last couple days. If I don't cover a specific game that you're interested in, well, sorry, go read somebody else's blog. :) As it is, I'm worried that I'm going to write something that is going to irritate, marginalize, belittle or offend *somebody*, so I'm probably going to regret writing this anyway, but here goes . . .

First, an explanation of what E-3 is: Electronic Entertainment Expo, one of the "mecca" gatherings of the computer game industry, with tens of thousands of attendees, hundreds of different booths, and literally thousands of different things to see. It takes over multiple buildings of the main convention center in downtown Los Angeles, and can be envisioned as a loud, crowded, colorful, flashing lights and explosions and 20-story high ad banners and costumes and lasers and oh yeah, tons and tons of games, kind of event.

As for why I go to E-3. well, everyone has different reasons, but in my own case, in no particular order, I come to (a) get data about what else is going on in the gaming industry, preferably real numeric data ranging from user numbers to statistical demographics; (b) to see what the "hot new games" are, firsthand; (c) to see and be seen -- to network with my peers, to meet and encourage newcomers in the industry, and to get faces to put to the names that stream across my desktop throughout the year; and (d) to take a long deep sniff on the show floor, and grab a double nostrilful of the hype, so that I can judge for myself what's real, and what's being spun faster than a neutron star.

Next, some namedropping. I know many people in the industry, with of course many more that I don't know, but, so far, this is a partial list of those I've run across this year. The peers that I know well enough to hug, share a friendly handshake with, or wave at across the room while the turbulence of the convention pulls us in opposite directions. Some of these names are famous, some not (but should be), and some are just very cool individuals: Gordon Walton, Jessica Mulligan, Raph Koster, Rich Vogel, Jeff Valadares, John Welch, Greg Mills, Mark Jacobs, Jake Song, Richard Garriott, ... [ Read More (0.7k in body) ]

Elonka's MemeStream from E-3

For anyone wondering why my Memestream seems quieter than usual over the next week: I'm in L.A. E3. Back soon, with ears ringing (E3 is *loud*).

Elonka :)

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2003 -- Show Highlights

] You've seen these cards on the nightly news. They've been
] featured in newspapers worldwide. Now you can own the one
] true collector's item from Operation Iraqi Freedom. This
] is the same 55-card deck given to Coalition soldiers
] featuring the Iraq's 52 "Most-Wanted" leaders.

Yours for only $5.95

GreatUSAflags.com - Iraqi 'Most-Wanted' Deck of Playing Cards