Good evening!

A wonderful return to sunshine for at least my part of the world. Hope you had a nice weekend, and if you made it to Game Camp 5, I do hope you had a great time.

Last week's was a bumper edition, so some of you (Mr Ian Forrester, for example) may only be catching up now with all those great links.

Here's some more. And remember... only 22 days til E3! Would be great to know what games are exciting you or what announcements you're keen on, do tell in the comments.

Augmented Reality Sandbox with Real-Time Water Flow Simulation

From @_frazor_: "This is AMAZING use of Kinect... Now if they could just combine it with Populous..."

Japan poised to limit gambling-style collecting in social games
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/05/japan-poised-to-limit-chance-based-collecting-in-social-games/
"Many in and around the video game industry have long been concerned with the way many social games seem designed to encourage compulsive spending on digital gewgaws rather than strategic gameplay decisions. Now the Japanese government looks poised to crack down on one of the more pernicious and addictive forms of virtual good sales, arguing that it runs afoul of the country's lottery laws."
Interesting twist in the social game world - are those methods so detailed from last week's newsletter set to be regulated?

Carmageddon Returns Through Kickstarter
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/05/08/carmageddon-returns-through-kickstarter.aspx
“Raising the funds through Kickstarter will mean that we keep complete control of the project and can make the game we know everyone wants to play – with no EVIL corporate investor or publisher telling us that we can’t run over old ladies or set fire to cows.”
The classic videogame-nasty returns! Will be interesting to see how the mainstream press repsonds this time.

Top 10 Shameless In-game Ads
http://www.gamestm.co.uk/features/top-10-shameless-in-game-advertisments/

Kinect-controlled web browser coming to Xbox 360
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-10-kinect-controlled-web-browser-coming-to-xbox-360-report
"A Kinect-friendly web browser is currently in the works for the Xbox 360, according to sources close to Microsoft... It's optimised for voice and motion controls but will apparently also work with a standard controller."
Very interesting rumour... Gesture browsing so far limited to touch, so what can Kinect add?

The Game Crafter
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/
From @zoewi: Print on Demand game publishing service for boardgames and card games.

The Xbox Is the Most Popular Video Player in the U.S.
http://allthingsd.com/20120510/microsofts-sneaky-success-the-xbox-is-the-most-popular-video-player-in-the-u-s/
It's cable content, rather than "casual video", i.e. YouTube, but still... wow! (From @DaveVoyles)

Microsoft cancels Inside Xbox for UK
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/5/10/3011403/microsoft-cancels-inside-xbox-for-uk
"An online petition to stop the cancellation was created by fans of Inside Xbox to no avail."
So, I guess with the last link this is to be expected. The 3rd party content strategy (iPlayer, Netflix, Sky, etc) seems to be working, I suppose. Still, I am gutted. I really liked the shows. I felt like they were my friends in gaming. Really sad - I hope they get the chance to do more creative games reporting. If I can find someone at work to try them out that'd be great!

C&VG had this to say: Has Microsoft killed our chances of getting video game programmes on TV?
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/347231/features/has-microsoft-killed-our-chances-of-getting-video-game-programmes-on-tv/
"And why, as far as the TV industry is concerned, do games no longer exist?"
If there are any commissioners reading this, I'd like to know what the feelings are? Is it just a question of how to make games look good on TV?

Team Meat lays into 'abusive, manipulative' free-to-play devs
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-07-team-meat-lays-into-abusive-manipulative-free-to-play-devs
From @DanHett (organiser of Mancherster Game Jam): "Team Meat are bang on the money, as usual. Heed them!"

Super Mario, cub reporter: Jesse Schell on what the game industry could teach the news industry
http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/05/super-mario-cub-reporter-jesse-schell-on-what-the-game-industry-could-teach-the-news-industry/
"Just as the Internet has fundamentally disrupted how we think about journalism, it has deeply rattled the video game industry. We aren’t just seeing a dramatic change to how games are played — on a platform like Facebook rather than on a single-function console like Nintendo, for example — we’re seeing a shift in who is making games in the first place. Sound familiar?"
From @NewsMary, another gem of a link.

Why TV is Better Than Games
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-05-09-tv-is-better-than-games
"Very roughly, videogames are worth maybe $60 billion a year, worldwide. Movies are about $50 billion and music perhaps $40 billion. TV is worth $300 billion a year. $300 billion. So TV is twice as big as videogames, movies and music put together. Well done TV. In your face, videogames."
From @Aden76, referencing the latest from a popular contributor, Mark Sorrell.

Video Standards Council to take over games age ratings
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18017385
"The new system means for the first time that anybody selling a 12-rated game to a child under that age could face jail."

Could Next-Gen Consoles Cost $99?
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1224254p1.html
"Analysts say Microsoft's low-priced subscription offer for Xbox 360 could be a Trojan Horse for its Xbox 720 strategy."
What if consoles were on a similar refresh cycle to phones?

Thauma
http://www.whatgamesare.com/thauma.html
"Thauma is a word derived from Greek, meaning a wonder or marvel, and thaumaturgy, the magic of miracles. Games are the world’s thaumatic art form."
Great website this, found via @swingpants. Thanks Jon! It has some nice definitions of games theory, adn this week I learned a new word. Thauma. Nice!

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to Jon Howard, Mary Hamilton, Aden Davies, Dan Hett and other contributors/tweeters for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Hello!

This Spring Bank Holiday brings a double issue of the Gaming Newsletter (weeks 16 and 17). I've just got back from an internet-free holiday - it was fun to come back and catch up on all the great news and links. So, here, for your pleasure are the best of the past 2 weeks. I hope you find something here to surprise and delight you.

For me, the most exciting thing was the announcement of a live action web series for Halo 4, and the reveal of a new gun. But that's because I'm a little Halo mad. On holiday I read the Ghosts of Onyx sequel and found it really interesting. You see, the Halo fiction relies on the fact that the lead character is a super soldier, but never really dealt with the fact that these super-solider "Spartans" were kidnapped children, stolen from families and replaced with clones. Then they were trained for a decade, then injected with mutation chemicals (many died of the procedures), the ones that survived were deployed to fight. Pretty dark stuff. This book took the time to deal with the Spartan programme's creator as a monster and set up some threads which no-doubt Halo 4 will touch on. Pretty impressive for a game to attempt to tie all its fiction together and shows how much it's grown up. Good stuff. Can't wait to spend more lunchtimes playing games with my colleagues!

On with the links.

Ten Year-Olds Versus the Triple-A Market
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-05-02-ten-year-olds-versus-triple-a
"Basically all those things we oldies love, like Twitter and Gmail and social networks, are based on our experiences, which are very different from a kid's who has been playing with a screen or a mobile since before they could talk."
These guys are brilliant - absolutely love their game idea.

Free Radical vs. the Monsters
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-04-free-radical-vs-the-monsters
"I found it impossible to reconcile that situation in my head and I had a nervous breakdown. I had to stop and take time off for the sake of myself and my family - ultimately I left the company I founded feeling like I had failed it."

The Big GAME Shutdown: An Insider's Account
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-01-when-some-of-game-died-an-inside...
From @hamildad: "They were the UK gaming press punching bags for their staff and enthusiasm for selling you warranties you don’t need, but a chilling account of the demise of the UKs gaming retail giant."

GeekDad's TEDx talk unearths fresh benefits of videogames
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-05/02/warpgate-to-geekdad-land-1-1
From @hamildad: "One for the dads..."
 
Transforming Grimlock: How High Moon saved the Dinobots
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/4/24/2962458/grimlock-high-moon-dinobots-transformers-cybertron-activision
From @hamildad: "Hopefully a good example of The Verge's attempts not to be another preview and review site."

The art of (over?) exposure: Ken Levine discusses Bioshock Infinite promotion
http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-art-of-over-exposure-ken-levine-discusses-promoting-bioshock-infinite
From @hamildad: "I am not reading anything about Bioshock Infinite, except maybe this article about the dangers of reading anything about Bioshock Infinite."

Can We Trust Digital Content?
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-05-04-can-we-trust-digital-content
"A gun on the mantelpiece in act one is always fired by act three. If corporations are given the right to play fast and loose with consumer rights, they will absolutely do that, no matter what they promise today. The only way to stop the gun going off is to take it off the mantelpiece to begin with."

Gabe Zichermann: How games make kids smarter
http://www.ted.com/talks/gabe_zichermann_how_games_make_kids_smarter.html
One from a while ago, but before I started the newsletter. I was reminded of this by Children's UX hero, Mr Ben Smith. Thanks Ben!

Smart TVs And Mobile Gaming A Threat To Consoles
http://seekingalpha.com/article/551881-smart-tvs-and-mobile-gaming-a-threat-t...
"In the future, it would seem that computing power alone won't be enough and either some breakthrough innovation is found, or console's functions will slowly be assumed by tablets and smart TVs."
From the brilliant Mr Richard Badger, of BBC Television Platforms. Worth reading for the graph alone.

Draw 'Doritos': Zynga's Draw Something has players draw ads
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/169808/Draw_Doritos_Zyngas_Draw_Something_...
"As part of the NHL deal, for example, players will be given the option to draw such terms as 'puck', 'Zamboni' and 'slap shot'."
Possibly the most devious and darkly brilliant thing yet achieved by Zynga. Staggering.

The Emotions Free-to-Play Games Prey on to Get Players to Pay
http://kotaku.com/5905786/the-emotions-free+to+play-games-prey-on-to-get-play...
"In a freemium game it's not a rational decision to pay; it's an emotional one."

How To Control Free-to-Play Spending?
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-27-child-customers-how-to-contr...
"The question of children's expenditure on free-to-play games is a PR disaster waiting to happen"

Classrooms as Video Games #1: Paul Andersen at TEDx:Bozeman

From @dingstweets: "Yes, that's how gameful learning is done right."

Classrooms as Video Games #2: The latest on ClassRealm
http://kotaku.com/5907952/a-kotaku-reader-has-big-plans-and-sees-a-big-future-for-the-sixth-grade-mmo-he-built
Hoping this trend will continue - the best schools will find a way to engage their students using these methods. I really want a future child of mine to benefit - sounds like great fun!

Gamification: Good for Business, Bad for Games
http://www.nohighscores.com/2012/05/04/gamification-good-for-business-bad-for...
"And at that point, I realised something truly horrible. I was no longer playing the game in pursuit of anything meaningful or, worse, of anything remotely like fun. There was no story to uncover, no hidden easter eggs. I wasn’t getting better at it and my position on the leaderboard wasn’t changing. I was pouring hours, irrecoverable hours into this thing for no better reason than to keep robotically checking off those meaningless, empty missions. It was addiction to a Pavlovian response-reward cycle, nothing else, and it was a monstrous waste of time."
Great post illustrating a problem of gamification that I have talked about for a while. When people experience bad gamification (or freemium!) it will damage their experience of good games. Modern RPGs will need to change up the way they do things, because rubbish freemium and your local coffee shop will break the spell the mechanics have over you in your fantasy world. Thanks to @newsmary for this one.

Play Spent
http://playspent.org/
From @matlock: "Really interesting game challenging you to spend a month in a low-pay job, and see the choices you have to make"

Dear Mitu, Dear Emily
http://mitu.nu/dear-mitu-dear-emily/
“We are young women involved in games industry and culture and despite many encounters, mutual friends, common interests and shared respect for one another, we have never had the opportunity to get to know one another or talk in any depth about our love for videogame form. We have been meaning to have a meaningful dialogue and so have started a correspondence to talk, as women, about women’s issues, and about ourselves, our perspectives, observations and experiences in play and the wider games community.”
From @manojalpa: "This has sent me into an enormous frenzy of curiosity and self reflection and excitement at discussion. Do read."

Games Aid 2012

That Game About Dating Disabled Girls is Excellent (And You Should Play It)
http://kotaku.com/5905626/that-game-about-dating-disabled-girls-is-excellent-and-you-should-play-it
"So heading in, I was sure this would be at best a satire of visual novels and at worst a horribly insensitive, offensive, racist, sexist pile of irreverent hate. I never expected it to be the best visual novel I have ever played."

How Creative Assembly's Process Breeds Quality
http://gamasutra.com/view/feature/169354/how_creative_assemblys_process_.php
"And then, through production, actually, we do what we call 'Metacritic analysis.' So we will break those features down into subsets, and we both look at it from a player's point of view, and a reviewer's point of view, and we'll weigh certain features as to how we see players and reviewers look at them, and they'll build up to a 100 percent score, and then we'll judge where we feel we are on those individual feature sets, and see the momentum on those and the velocity on those, too."
I'm very interested in game quality at the moment, and this article was a great insight.

Game of Thrones, in Minecraft
http://kotaku.com/5906381/the-game-of-thrones-minecraft-project-is-getting-mo...
Marvel at it!

Action Videogames Change Brains, Improve Visual Attention
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120426114341.htm
"A team led by psychology professor Ian Spence at the University of Toronto reveals that playing an action videogame, even for a relatively short time, causes differences in brain activity and improvements in visual attention."

Classic Video Game Books
http://pulpcrush.com/classic-video-game-books/

Prince of Persia creator Mechner says 'evolution of games' is a misleading idea
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/169492/Prince_of_Persia_creator_Mechner_sa...
"Older game forms don't go away, so when we talk about the 'evolution of games', I think that's misleading, because it implies that the older forms no longer exist."

Games for TV – The Gamification of Content
http://www.thechildrensmediaconference.com/blog/2012/04/25/games-for-tv-%E2%8...
From @c_draper: "Some interesting notes on the Games for TV event if you missed it"

6 Board Games Video Gamers Should Play
http://kotaku.com/5904860/6-board-games-that-video-gamers-should-play
Because with all this raining weather, there needs to be something everyone in the house can get involved in!

A Super Mario Summary
http://johanpeitz.com/asms/
"A Super Mario Summary is [an] entry to the 23rd Ludum Dare 48 hour game development challenge. [It is] every level in the original Super Mario Brothers game, but on a single screen each. The result is a puzzle platformer where you need to combine reflexes, timing, and clever thinking to succeed."
Kept a lot of the people in the office busy before I went away!

Pushing the button more carefully
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/169039/Opinion_Pushing_the_button_more_car...
"One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says to me 'don't reinvent the wheel,' which they often quickly regret saying as I begin to lecture them on how if no-one ever reinvented the wheel we would never have tires, suspension, alignments, treading, etc. -- all things which have made the wheel more efficient, smoother and just generally better."

Console to Closet
http://consoletocloset.com/

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to Ben Smith, Carl Draper, Richard Badger, Chelsea Howe, Mary Hamilton, Matt Locke, Sebastian Deterding and other contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Off on leave so no newsletter this week. I'll be back on your interwebs soon with a double bank holiday episode :)

Yours in gaming, Si

Hello from Manchester Games Jam!

Games Interest Group enters week 15 of the links collection. I'm here at Manchester Game Jam having a great and inspiring weekend. We've managed 2 games in our team, one a strategy evolution of multiplayer snake loosely based on Game of Thrones; the other a vertical avoid-em-up called invisible man. Hopefully we'll be able to share them after the weekend. Others have made board game versions of pac-man, we've had games that involve capturing (real!) streets in Manchester's Northern Quarter and lots more. Really great people and atmosphere - so much fun!

Here are this week's links.

Valve's Company Handbook

Sketch Nation Studio Launch Trailer

"Can you draw? YOU can make a game"
Seems like a great thing to play with - and how engaging for kids!

Against Immersion In Video Games
http://iam.benabraham.net/2012/04/attention-and-immersion/
Enjoyed this video essay - and the follow up articles are great too. I think that games are a great attention grabber, and the argument that immersion doesn't fit as a frame is interesting. I would say though, that outside of the game proper, the right world and universe can provide an immersion into context and add drama. Perhaps it is merely enrichment, but the fun of submitting to one's own thoughts could be an effect of the impact of all the attention you pay certain games and perhaps that is where immersion will remain.

In This Role-Playing Game, You Eat, Shop, And Seduce Men
http://kotaku.com/5902562/in-this-role+playing-game-you-eat-shop-and-seduce-men
http://kotaku.com/5902563/this-japanese-video-game-sets-feminism-back-oh-a-good-hundred-years
"But nothing could have possibly prepared me for what Girl's RPG: Cinderellife really is: a game romanticizing the life of a Japanese hostess."

25 Things You Should Know About Transmedia Storytelling
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/04/17/25-things-you-should-know-about-transmedia-storytelling/
"But gamification often relies on shoddy collection mechanics to beef up an already un-fun idea."
This one from Simon Cobb (@suchlarks). I love number 15 "You can lead a horse to water but can't make him tweet about it". A good primer.

Is Telification the opposite of Gamification?
http://gamificationofwork.com/2012/04/is-telification-the-opposite-of-gamification/
A summary of some talks from the BAFTA Games for TV event. Worth a read if you work with TV and games. Which, if you're reading this in an email, is quite likely.

[morphinapg] edited all 3 Uncharted games into movies
http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/sm2nf/i_edited_all_3_uncharted_games_into_movies/
"With these projects I was trying to make movies that would be viewable whether or not you had played the game, or even care about playing video games, so I wanted to make them as close to a real movie as possible."
How long these will stay on YouTube is hard to say...

I’m Sick of the Disturbingly Neat Lives Video Games Expect Us To Enjoy
http://kotaku.com/5902377/im-sick-of-the-disturbingly-neat-lives-video-games-expect-us-to-enjoy
"Games are good at keeping us engaged despite offering little meaningful or new, just like a secure job is good at keeping its unhappy workers drudging."
The feedback loop of games is probably just better than real life... A bit of a counter argument for Jane McGonigal's book.

Board Games Are Better Than Video Games In So Many Ways
http://kotaku.com/5903243/board-games-are-better-than-video-games-in-so-many-ways
"The point is that this is lossless game design. There is no shark pit. When you buy a board game, what you take home and play is the original concept precisely as it was in the designer's head. That's the mecca for video games. For board games, it's the norm."

And just because they are beautiful - what if your favourite website was a dress?

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to Simon Cobb and other contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Good afternoon!

Hello and welcome to another Games Interest Group links collection (the fourteenth week now!). I hope it finds you in good health. I wanted to relay a question that came up in conversation over the weekend. It was from a member of the BBC Games Grid team, @binhbui. "Why don't more games designers design games for the real world?" I thought it was a great question and we debated for a while. The answer most agreed upon was sadly "there's no money in it", but the conversation touched on board games, drinking games, playground games and more. It got me really excited for next weekend's inaugural Manchester Game Jam, when we will be deliberately designing games for the physical world in minijams, and encouraging people to design board games too. Anyone can make a game we believe, and we think a GameJam should give people a chance to have a go even if they aren't a computer programmer. We'll be joined by the brilliant Larkin' About to help and I can't wait. If you've any thoughts on designing games for the real world, get in touch in the comments. And if you want to play with board games, have a look at The Boardgame Remix kit, which changes the rules of common board games - it might inspire you to give it a go yourself.

Video Game Quiz

How many will you get?

You've been playing Monopoly wrong
http://www.criticalmiss.com/issue10/CampaignRealMonopoly1.html
"It takes ages to play, suffering long action-free periods in which the players endlessly circle the board... In short, it's boring and lacks skill. Except that it isn't crap. Actually. You just have to play it the way it was designed to be played."
Saw this on @swingpants feed - a mine of games links every week! - and thought it relevant to my opening statements. Fascinating how social and family political adjustments have led to a common rule set that breaks the game.

What's wrong with Maxim's Gamer Girl
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-10-tut-tut-whats-wrong-with-maxim-gamer-girl
"So let's get this clear, Maxim Gamer Girl is a beauty pageant for an outmoded notion of a video gaming demographic - geeky young boys."
The first people who played video games are growing older. The market is huge now and so varied that almost everyone is playing, on some level? Surely the stereotypes will fade?

The secret to Mario level design
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/168463/The_secret_to_Mario_level_design_.php
"It's very similar to a narrative structure that you find in four-panel comics."
This article and the full discussion are lovely, discussing play testing. level design and how to make sure that everyone can play. The thing I really likes was the discussion about designing the assistance for the less skilled players in a way that the most hardcore of players could gain extra kudos by being so good the game never shows the assists - and it rewarding them for it with a sparkling rating on their save file.

Games: A job recruiter's new best friend?
http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/10/games-job-recruiting/
"[S]ome companies are finding that using online game techniques to recruit and screen applicants is a more productive, faster route to scouting out stellar hires."

Mozilla Open Badges ships Beta release
http://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2012/04/10/mozilla-open-badges-beta/
Worth keeping an eye on this. I did a session at BarCampMediaCity on CVs and why we haven't found a way to digitally reinvent them. Maybe this is the start?

Computer Legend and Gaming Pioneer Jack Tramiel Dies at Age 83
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/04/09/computer-legend-and-gaming-pioneer-jack-tramiel-dies-at-age-83/
"In 1982, Commodore International launched the Commodore 64, which went on to the best-selling personal computer of all time."
Many many happy hours I spent playing on friends' Commodore Amigas, Ataris and on the 64. What amazing gifts to the history of personal computing and games.

Meet The Fifth-Grader Who Made A Video Game For His Blind Grandmother
http://kotaku.com/5900846/meet-the-fifth+grader-who-made-a-video-game-for-his-blind-grandmother
"[Dylan's grandmother] Sherry has been blind for decades. Without sight, she doesn't get a lot out of Dylan's favourite pastime: playing video games. She can't enjoy the titles he loves like Need for Speed and Plants vs. Zombies. So he decided to make a new game. Just for her."
Such a lovely story.

Why It’s Okay That GoldenEye Totally Sucks
http://kotaku.com/5901345/why-its-okay-that-goldeneye-totally-sucks
Found this article via one of the original designers!
http://www.twitter.com/martinhollis/status/190614741352316929

Two Video Games. Two Age Ratings. What’s the Bloody Difference?
http://kotaku.com/5901423/two-video-games-two-age-ratings-whats-the-bloody-difference
"Societal standards can change dramatically in 10 years. If you watch TV, you know this. HBO's Game of Thrones has sex scenes in it you'd have had to pay a quarter to see in New York's Times Square a few decades ago."
Good discussion on ratings in games - as the medium ages this will only become more important. Especially when the debate around access to some games by children continues and the Digital Economy Act's clause around ratings excuses the British Board of Film Classification from censorship/ratings duties in favour of the Euopre-wide PEGI.

Link Between Violent Computer Games and Aggressiveness Questioned
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402112828.htm
"In a nutshell, we're questioning the whole gaming and violence debate, since it's not based on a real problem but rather on some hypothetical reasoning."
Worth reading this and the related articles - so much back and forth, and so interesting. For my part, I look at Dan Airely's amazing book "Predictably Irrational" which talks about how the mind behaves and how you really can't trust it. When stimulated, you act differently, sometimes irrationally. Games are very very stimulating. Dan says that you can help manage the irrational thinking by simply being aware of occasions when you will think differently. Those who get aggressive after gaming are really no different to those who get aggressive when their team loses at sport or when they break something they didn't want to - it's just how the mind works. It's helping the young and inexperienced understand that that is where we can do the most good - in my opinion.
Kyren Burns, of BBC Learning originally pointed me to this study; the full journal can be found here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/d85648r035x12533.

0x10c
http://0x10c.com/
You know about this right? The next game from Minecraft creator @notch. One to watch. Oh, and SPACE!

The Gamification of Asthma
http://www.cambridgeconsultants.com/news_pr319.html
"Interactive software, linked to a wireless training inhaler, monitors how a patient uses their device and provides real-time feedback via an interactive video ‘game’."
Thanks for this link too, Kyren!

What Matters Most in Games: the Words or the World?
http://kotaku.com/5900248/david-gaider-ken-levine-and-chris-avellone-discuss-what-matters-most-in-games-the-words-or-the-world
"I think the importance of narrative is to give the player a reason to care. Any game can offer you great-looking models and great-looking levels... It's giving the player a reason to care about the goals you're providing them in the game."
Games and stories - another discussion. Regular readers will know I love these discussions. So here's another one link about it...

Prose Before Blows: The Rise of Narrative in Gaming
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/122/1222379p1.html
"Indeed, this is nothing new, being a cornerstone of Western storytelling, but the way in which it has been accomplished of late, in game design, has seen a distinct shift away from a purely active response (e.g. kill everyone in the room), to more complex webs of cause and effect."

Caine's Arcade. The story of a 9 year-old's cardboard arcade.
http://cainesarcade.com/
http://vimeo.com/nirvan/cainesarcade
I hope you were smiling as much as I was through this!

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to Kyren Burns, Jon Howard and other contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Happy Easter!

Hello and welcome to this entertainment spectacular - a very Happy Easter to you. I hope you aren't swimming in too much cheap chocolate? Hear are some short videos and some long reads ro close this lovely extended weekend. Hope you found time to enjoy some games too - even if you just gamified the Easter-Egg hunt ;)

The disappearance of skill in games
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/05/the-disappearance-of-skill-in-games/
"In the latest generation, something curious began to happen: the industry started experimenting with accessibility. Developers and designers are slowly reconsidering the necessity of skill."

The first comment on this article, from Brian3 (at the time of writing), was pretty good. He makes some nice counter arguments to the piece, and finishes with "Some people seem to really want a world full of lazy, passive consumers of brainless media.  Let's not encourage that, please.  I prefer to use my faculties to improve myself, thanks." To me, I think that the trend towards inclusivity and inbuilt help is useful - though I think the internet serves pretty well to help those who are stuck. Perhaps development time can be saved by allowing a community to provide the solutions and then you just find a way to bring their work up in game? The strong argument is that the money spent on the later levels is wasted if not everyone can experience it, which is fair - there are several games I've had to look up the ending to on YouTube just to know what happened! And then there are games that are meant to be hard, and make it fun at the same time. Like Super Meat Boy (Thanks @swingpants!).

What Would Molydeux? - how did it all go?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-05-what-would-molydeux
"One of the swans has a crown," she explains. "I got quite emotional drawing it." She narrows her eyes and leans forward, staring at the screen. "Actually, the crown looks a bit too jaunty."

Great pieces on the web about the Jam, and a lovely summary of people trying to apply game design to pure (mad?) creativity. For those in Manchester wanting to experience a Jam for themselves, the first MCRGameJam is soon. It's sold out, but you could pop down to see it happening, or get on the waiting list. More info here: http://madlab.org.uk/content/manchester-gamejam/

Coding tricks of game developers
http://www.dodgycoder.net/2012/02/coding-tricks-of-game-developers.html?m=1

What a lovely (cheeky) list - reveals a lot about the pressures of design and the limitations of hardware. And if you're a coder - you'll love this.

Generation M2
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf
"Media in the Lives of [North American] 8-18 Year Olds"

Great study - though focussed on North America - lots of infographics and interesting insights. As exepected - TV is the most consumed media type. If you're interested in UK focussed research, then Ofcom does quite a lot: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/

How To Avoid Hating People (Even If They Wear The Wrong Colour)
http://kotaku.com/5897861/how-to-avoid-hating-people-even-if-they-wear-the-wrong-color
"... if we hate someone for disliking what we like, the world grows sick. When we hate someone for liking what we dislike, the world grows sicker still."

There seems to be a lot of articles calling out the things people are writing and saying on the internet. The passion that surrounds gaming seems to attract a lot of the attention. I find it difficult to see how we can continue to accept the way people treat the comment box as a place for hate. Tough reading sometimes. This article is one game developer's experience. I find the debate in the comments about language change to be quite startling, especially given the debate takes place in a written context and completely misses the context of delivery. Delivering written thought without body language and tone and timing to back it up is limiting the communication. This is completely ignored. They talk about things being "just words" - but it is never about the words, is it? Words can't hate, but people can and sadly do.

The 9 Most Insane Board Games of All Time
http://www.cracked.com/article_19749_the-9-most-insane-board-games-all-time.html
"We realize that advertising should be taken with a whole shaker of salt, especially when it comes to toys"

Cracked is a site with a certain humour and approach that sometimes can be very funny. Endless lists of things to amuse, enlighten and enjoy. I liked this list, as I recently find myself fascinated by board games. Anyone can design a game, but it takes a genius to market one. Some kind of genius, anyway. Enjoy.

Gamification is Dead. Long Live Gamification.
http://www.bewareofthesorrell.com/2012/04/gamification-is-dead-long-live.html
"If the fearful, band-wagon jumping, fad-machines that saw gamification as the solution to every single problem ever had correctly defined the thing in the first place, perhaps we’d be parading gamification proponents around on pagodas instead of openly jeering at them in the streets."

The ever biting @Sorrell lays out his feelings on gamification. I liked this article a lot and his approach to settling that uneasy feeling that most gamification has given him is a good read. I think he's close, but not perfectly on the button. The core argument of "adding to games" as the right way to approach it misses the most successful instances of "gamification", in which levels and achievement are attached to personal betterment (money, work, pastimes, learning to drive, etc); unless we consider the betterment of oneself as the game - which makes the purpose of life inherently gameful. Hmmm. Bit deep, I seem to have gone.

Capcom defends on-disc DLC
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-02-capcom-defends-on-disc-dlc
"There is effectively no distinction between the DLC being 'locked' behind the disc and available for unlocking at a later date, or being available through a full download at a later date, other than delivery mechanism."

The hilarity of how ignorant this is is staggering. Completing content before shipping which you intend to charge more to unlock from the disc is really not the same as adding extra content after release. At all. I've said before that freemium will kill games - and on disc DLC is freemium-like. Locking stuff away from participants in order to get more money from them makes me so upset. Doesn't anyone do this for love anymore? The art of the game will be lost if people are designing for profit.

The Zynga Abyss
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/01/the-zynga-abyss/251920/
"And it's also clear, when you look more closely at FarmVille, that it was engineered with one goal in mind: to coerce users into tending their virtual plots of land for as long as possible."

If you'd like to learn more about the power of freemium, read this.

Game Industry Legends: Will Wright
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-03-29-game-industry-legends-will-wright
"Games really used to be something that were targeted to 16-year-old boys. Now we have people of all generations, genders, walks of life, playing games, a lot of them on their cell phones, or on Facebook, or whatever. I think that the explosion in platforms has also driven a very healthy diversification of our audience."

Pac-Man Fan Film

Video game treatment for lazy eye
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17616818
"Tests suggested playing the Tetris-style game resulted in an almost immediate improvement"

Angry Birds, Farmville and Other Hyperaddictive ‘Stupid Games’
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/magazine/angry-birds-farmville-and-other-hyperaddictive-stupid-games.html
"In the nearly 30 years since Tetris’s invention — and especially over the last five, with the rise of smartphones — Tetris and its offspring (Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Fruit Ninja, etc.) have colonized our pockets and our brains and shifted the entire economic model of the video-game industry. Today we are living, for better and worse, in a world of stupid games."

Great way to approach a deep read on games - by putting something playful on the page. Have fun blasting away at the page - but don't forget to read the article!

Kinect Star Wars "The Empire Today"

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen from Star Wars. Seeing grown adults seething about how this has "ruined their childhood" is so brilliant. That childish fairytale set in space was magic when it came out, really great family entertainment with a nod towards adults - and this is the same. Only now the adult really has to see the funny side - look at the lyrics and the dance move descriptions! Hilarious and fun. And if you're someone who is all offended: lighten up, it's just a game!

The Guild: I'm the one that's cool

"To my highschool crush who pushed me in the pool/Now I'm the one that's cool"

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Read all about it! Games Interest Group weekly, number twelve.

Thanks for joining me again for a quick look at the links and games that showed up this past week. Of immediate note is the fact that OpCapita have bought the downsized Game Group out of administration - I await the inevitable restructure, rebrand and new focus. I hope they start to focus on a sustainable retail future - one that has a local focus and is quirky and celebratory of games and game culture, rather than the bland profit hunting of old. They've got to win back the big publishers - perhaps a revenue share for pre-owned might tempt them back? Especially as the debate on next gen consoles and pre-owned continues.

I hope you're ready for this weeks bumper edition... there's a lot of interesting stuff out there!

Tutorials of Zelda: When Do Players Get to "Play"? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/CaryChichester/20120326/167219/Tutorials_of_Zelda_When_Do_Players_Get_to_quotPlayquot.php
Loved this article, so interesting to see how the designs have changed ove the years to lead the player into the experience - but has it gone too far? Are we treating he player with kid gloves too much. Certainly some AAA designers are planning to hark back to the "good old days".

Amazing One-Texture Environment

http://udk.com/showcase-amazing-one-texture
"What can one developer achieve with a single texture and the power of UDK?"
With so much reliance on huge texture packs to give varied and interestign environments, this is a realy nice indication of what can be done with some slick innovation. Given the recent retina packs on iOS devices bulking out the download sizes, maybe something can be learnt about being creative within constraints?

Devs hope for more freedom for next-gen http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167696/Devs_hope_for_more_freedom_openness... "One advantage that games on PCs, social networks such as Facebook, and even mobile phones have over those on traditional video game consoles is the ability for their creators to change and manipulate their worlds on the fly."
It will certainly be interesting to see what the blockbuster console makers bring from the recent market trends into their ecosystems. I think there's something about a software platorm on multiple devices that will pop up from Microsoft. We've already seen what Nintendo plan with the tablet based Wii U and the Sony guys will need something knock-out as they can't justs sell on the back of a new disc format as they did with PS2/3.

BioWare's 402 Cupcakes
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/03/29/this-is-what-400-cupcakes-looks-like.aspx
"The people at Bioware Edmonton got a large, tasty delivery today. The 402 cupcakes that were ordered earlier this week as part of a fan protest have finally been delivered."
They donated them to a homeless shelter - as they felt they didn't deserve to eat them as a reward. Can't wait to see what they do. And no, I've still not finished it. So don't ruin it!

Battlefield 3's Unlockable 'Shortcuts' a Divisive Subject
http://www.1up.com/news/battlefield-3-unlockable-shortcuts-divisive
"The latest update for Battlefield 3 is now here, bringing with it numerous improvements, changes, and features, one of which is not sitting well with some players."
You'll see a tweet from me later in this newsletter on the subject of Freemium. I'm concerned. I don't want games to become all about unlocks and tempting and co-ercing players into spending more money just to accomplish, complete or even enjoy. It's manipulative and unfair. I talked about this a lot with friends - some of whom with very strong business sense - and I understand about the need to balance a market, create new opportunities and increase the engagement and "fun" players of all ages, money/time balances and desires, so that all can have fun and get the most out of al the game has to offer. I'm not against a lot of it, but I think at the heart of it, as long as you aren't designing an experience to take people's money and you're just trying to create good art then the money will always come back to you. The cynical cash grabs will always fall by the wayside. I hope.

Rayman Origins designer Chris McEntee's rational approach to game design http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167322/Rayman_Origins_designer_Chris_McEnt... "Rational design is all about eliminating unnecessary information, making things inherently readable, understandable and apparent"
I love a good article on game design. I own the game too and can attest to it being really good. It certainly seemed to be designed with a lot of care and love.

Entertainment apps now more popular than multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/03/entertainment-apps-now-more-popular-than-multiplayer-gaming-on-xbox-live.ars
"Mark your calendars folks; today is the day that Microsoft officially succeeded in its efforts to transform the Xbox 360 from merely a video game system to a bona-fide general purpose living room set-top box."
Which makes the rumours of a dedicated entertainment version all the more interesting. The innards of the box can't cost them much to make anymore - dumping the disc drive, minimising it and relying on apps alone for a sub £100 price could be a real money spinner.

Games 'would've died as a fad' if it weren't for 80s crash http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167243/Games_wouldve_died_as_a_fad_if_it_w... "EA chief creative director Richard Hilleman reflects on the video game crash of 1983"

An interview with $1.9M Kickstarter man Brian Fargo
http://www.ripten.com/2012/03/27/brian-fargo-talks-wasteland-2-abysmal-publisher-treatment-and-having-fun-again/
"'Social' is a four-letter word with extra letters. I understand."
Really interesting to hear how a man's lost passion was reignited by interest from fans. I'm excited by things being done for the love of the craft - a strong message to those just looking to "monetise" their players however they can.

I Like Dying a Lot

Forget Draw Something: Check out Drawception
http://kotaku.com/5896961/forget-draw-something-check-out-the-madness-of-drawception
Like a cross between Draw Something and Chinese Whispers. Pretty funny!

Use EVE Online Currency To Buy Your Next Graphics Card http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/03/26/use-eve-online-currency-to-buy-your-next-graphics-card.aspx
"CCP Games has announced that you will soon be able to purchase a new NVIDIA graphics card using one of EVE's forms of in-game currency."

Twitter Favourites
Including a couple of non-game ones - things I found interesting - and some from me.

Make No Wonder. I spent four happy hours playing this stranded-on-an-island survival simulator yesterday. html5. matthewhollett.com/wonder/

— Martin Hollis (@martinhollis) March 30, 2012

A good article on digital games, gamification: future-shock.me/post/198441015… by @alwaysdream

— Gabe Zichermann (@gzicherm) March 27, 2012

21 billion games of Halo since 2004 bungie.net/images/News/In…

— Si Lumb (@si_lumb) April 1, 2012

"There is no way you can get more attention pretending to be a gamer than you can pretending to like football" gamingaswomen.com/posts/2012/03/…

— Mary Hamilton (@newsmary) March 30, 2012

https://twitter.com/#!/steve4good/status/184522985640701952

This would be HIDEOUS: "I believe that single-player will be the next to be cracked in terms of freemium monetisation" eurogamer.net/articles/2012-…

— Si Lumb (@si_lumb) March 30, 2012

Article on disconnect between HCI research aimed at supporting design and actual design practiceijdesign.org/ojs/index.php/… via @nicolasnova

— Paul Coulton (@MysticMobile) March 26, 2012

The UK Parliament's POSTnote review of 'The Impact of Video Games', contributed to by @totallygeek and I, is now online parliament.uk/business/publi…

— Graham McAllister (@grmcall) March 26, 2012

Finally, Mr Wayne McManus, whose tweets are private, but worth asking to view!: “If a company's practices make you uncomfortable, pay attention to your instincts and be true to them." http://bit.ly/HczEiQ

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Good evening! Welcome to your games update at the close of a wonderfully sunny weekend.

After last week and the BAFTAs this week brought the budget. And what excitement for the games industry. In a week where it was announced that games sales have beaten video for the first time, the retailer Game filed for administration and the government announced that the interactive arts industry could apply for tax breaks from April 2013. As I spoke about in my piece for the BBC College of Journalism (thanks for the kind feedback!), the disruptions and changes to the industry mean games are reaching a more diverse and larger audience than ever before and finding audiences for all sorts of niche and different content and experiences. With the hope that jobs will be generated and a resurgence in the UK as a development centre in the short term and the promise of superfast broadband and computer science in schools securing the long term, we're looking at an exciting decade.

All this sunshine makes me look forward to the gaming summer with E3, and the excitement of the biggest blockbuster games - my money is on a subscription based Call of Duty persistent online world - until then, let's enjoy this weeks links.

BBC iPlayer launches on Xbox 360
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/20/psa-bbc-iplayer-now-available-on-360-in-the-uk/
"We've got this thrillingly British video above detailing the service and showing it in action."
This is my favourite announcement of the TV Platforms team's release of iPlayer on the 360, and we've teased Chris about the description - especially as he's Australian. He's just jetted off to Oz to get married, so well done team and congratulations to him.

Microsoft Patent for a gaming helmet

Mass Effect 3 protest claims victory
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-23-retake-mass-effect-3-protest-claims-victory-after-bioware-vows-to-address-controversial-ending
"The Retake Mass Effect 3 campaign has brought to a close its protest against the ending of Mass Effect 3, declaring it a resounding success."
With the recent announcement from Bioware founder, Dr. Ray Muzyka, saying they were revisiting the closure of the game given the volume of feedback it looks like the campaign which raised thousands for charity got the right attention. I still haven't finished the game, so can't comment on how it ends (no-one spoil it for me!), but I'm even more intrigued now. Do you think that Bioware are right to give more closure or change things? Personally I'm just thrilled to have the debate. The question of whether interactive narrative has impact or resonance may have been quite loudly answered and maybe it's only right that the creators interact with fans to understand what closure they expect.

Update! Turns out this ended because the charity was not willing to be used as a vehicle for protest.

Molyneux vs Molydeux

@pmolyneux VS @petermolydeux #MolyJam2012 @molyjam twitter.com/SirW0lfgang/st…

— Zane W Pickett (@SirW0lfgang) March 19, 2012

Dragonborn Destinations

SimCity GlassBox Engine

"Insider's Look at the new Glassbox engine powering the next SimCity game."

Minecraft anything
http://www.facebook.com/sonymobileus?sk=app_161940370565927
"Drag the Minecraft button to your browser’s bookmark bar. Go to any website. Click on the Minecraft bookmark link and unleash havoc."
If you've got a decent HTML5 browser, get digging!

Passagebalt
http://www.glorioustrainwrecks.com/sergiocornaga/passagebalt/passagebalt.html
Jason Rohrer's Passage is an emotional art game about life and love. Adam Atomic's Canabalt is the classic endless runner. Passagebalt is the mash-up. 5 minutes of fun for you, and maybe a lifetime of reflection?

Online dating versus Online Gaming
http://www.onlineuniversity.net/gamers-get-girls/
2 infographics in one newsletter! You are spoilt. Not sure about this one, what do you think? Playful, certainly. Trying to damage the stereo type of gamers as lonely single males by showing that online games are better places to meet than online dating sites?

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Hello and welcome to big number 10!

I'm getting in to a rhythm of publishing this on Sundays now. Feels like a good time to reflect on what's happened. I assume you saw the BAFTAs? Portal 2 coming away with most honours. Still not played it myself, though I did enjoy the first one. I might get round to it, but to be honest it's all about ME3 for me. I've got the phone app, the game and all the extras including the controversial day-one DLC. Really enjoying it. The little cameos and emails in the game (and on the phone!) are fun and reference a lot of decisions and story choices from early games. That's had some significant impact on me. Makes you feel part of the world. It has its glitches, which can be annoying when they strike. Some console lock ups, which I can almost deal with as there's the brilliant Kinect "quick save" vocal command. I predict all games will have this in the future. It will come in so handy for seting your own check points, even in games that don't crash all the time. The worst glitches are the minor converstaion character position mistakes. Or when the character gaze locks onto the wrong thing. Means some conversations lose their impact. Nothing to really be down upon. Though one thing I do hate is the EA freemium unlocks in multiplayer - a worrying trend, which some reviewers are noticing in other games published by EA and complaining about too.

Onto the fun links for this week:

Top 5 Gaming Buttons
http://www.fhm.com/gaming/news/fhms-top-5-gaming-buttons-83073
"It's a proper comfort blanket of a button, and we love it."

What would Molydeux?
http://kotaku.com/5894001/peter-molydeux-game-jam-expands-to-cities-around-the-globe
"The cheekily titled game jam dedicated to the weird and occasionally brilliant ideas of the twitter persona Peter Molydeux"
I love the random ideas from the mysterious spoof account. It's also a lesson in creativity. Sometimes it's just great to let you mind spin and put out all the weird and wonderful things you come up with ewhen the restraints are off. The fact that people want to gather across the globe to try and make something of the ideas suggest that maybe we should all take the stabilisers off - never kill an idea, no matter how weird or mad: it might be the next big thing.

When a game becomes a service, what do publishers owe their customers?
http://uk.games.ign.com/articles/121/1219852p1.html
A good discussion on licenses and products and just what it is you pay your money for. What it means now, and what it may mean in the future.

Video game improves cognitive ability
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/27/1886491/science-briefs.html
"We chose 'World of Warcraft' because it has attributes we felt may produce benefits - it is a cognitively challenging game in a socially interactive environment that presents users with novel situations."
Short report from this study: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563212000143.

Avatar Machine

http://www.marcowens.co.uk/?page_id=188
"Avatar Machine is a system which replicates the aesthetics and visuals of third person gaming."
This is brilliant. So inventive!

Forum Warz
http://www.forumwarz.com/
“It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on its worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun.”
Found via my obsession with reading every article on Kotaku (the original article, on how to deal with internet trolls is really worth reading). An RPG based on internet forums. Clever idea, and nice design!

Internet community rallies for a dying boy
http://kotaku.com/5893313/dying-boy-gets-his-own-personal-virtual-wonderland-built-by-a-game-community-in-just-four-days/gallery/1
"Obviously this was a very moving event, a horrible tragedy for the family, and it's very inspiring that the community came together in such a way to do what they could to give the child a very bright day."
In comparison to the previous link, this joyful, heartfelt community effort to build a dream playground for this boy's virtual pet frog in Everquest II is so wonderful and shows that when it matters gamers can do wonderful things.

The State of Play
http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalism/blog/2012/03/the-state-of-play.shtml
"BBC looking at new directions in gaming - as industry changes"
Something I was asked to pen at the last minute - your feedback would be much appreciated. I didn't choose the title used. I've titled this link with what my suggestion was. I used up a lot of my links for this post in that one - I hope you enjoy it.

I get my links from all over the place - and twitter is full of great link-sharers. Follow them if you're not already!
Gianna Cassidy - https://twitter.com/#!/GiannaCassidy - Video game improves cognitive ability
Minkette - https://twitter.com/#!/Minkette - Avatar Machine
Mary Hamilton - https://twitter.com/#!/newsmary - Top 5 Gaming Buttons
Kirsten Campbell Howes - https://twitter.com/#!/campbellhowes - When a game becomes a service, what do publishers owe their customers?

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.

Hello! Welcome to the ninth episode in our weekly sensation - the GIG Newsletter!

I've been so busy saving the galaxy in Mass Effect 3 I almost forgot to publish this... sorry! Hope all my fellow Commander Shepards are enjoying the end of the trilogy. I think it's a pretty amazing game, though the trends of Freemium are creeping into AAA a little too much for my liking. For example, in the game's multiplayer you can level up your weapons and abilities by playing lots of rounds and earning credits and experience. Or you can short circuit that by paying a few pence (around 60p or £1.20) for "packs". You can earn the upgrades over time of course, so there's no obligation to pay, but this way is quicker. For a game that cost £40 anyway... well, lets just say I wouldn't expect the next Call of Duty or Battlefield to miss out on the micro transaction opportunity.

The Art of Homeworld
http://kotaku.com/5887904/the-art-of-homeworld-enjoy/gallery/1
Homeworld was an epic Sci-Fi strategy game, and a beautiful one in it's time. Lovely celebration of concept art - wish more was done so people can appreciate the imagination that goes into games. If only a museum could help...

Smithsonian Museum Art of Games Exhibition
http://kotaku.com/5887887/the-smithsonians-video-games-exhibit-is-nearly-ready-lets-see-how-its-coming-along/gallery/1
Really pleasing to see such a prestigious museum paying homage ot the art of games. Exhibition opens next week, hope it gets lots of visitors. I have vivid memories of the museum, but I've only ever been there in Fallout 3.

Obligatory Skyrim Link

"Lydia - NO!"
From FuzzyFelt - thanks Rich!

The Making of Sierra Adventure Games

If you're excited about the new Double Fine Adventure - and if you're a reguar reader you'll know all about it, then get yourself in the adventuring mood by watching this history from the pioneers.

Ian Bogost's Game-o-Matic for News Games
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/164438/GDC_2012_Bogost_shows_off_newsgame_concepting_with_GameoMatic.php
"Georgia Tech professor, lecturer and developer of newsgames Ian Bogost unveiled what he and his colleagues hope will be a multi-legged solution for concepting newsgames"
Fascinating - and one that maybe we should be putting in front of the BBC Specials team?

New digital short from Heavy Rain creators
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2012/03/07/quantic-dream-unveil-kara-2/
Not a game as such, but an effort in creating a tech demo animated in real time that can have emotional impact. Impressive stuff. The studio head, David Cage talks about the demo in a followup.

ClassRealm - The Classroom MMO
http://kotaku.com/5890278/samurai-yetis-and-ninja-werewolves-how-one-teacher-turned-sixth-grade-into-an-mmo
"To get an achievement, children had to write an unassigned essay. Twenty were turned in during the first week. I could hardly get my students to free write when it was mandatory"
Really interested in seing how this evolves. The idea of restructuring things to make them more playful - even if you hate the concept of gamification - really works for some things. More student interest and investement in education has got to be something to get excited about, yes? I do worry that the enjoyment of games gets broken if the structure/systems are used badly though.

Making Japan Smile
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/03/08/mario-japan.aspx
"We’re all asking ourselves what we can do to help right now," says Hayashida regarding the [Japanese earthquake and tsunami]. "Bringing smiles to the faces of people by the end of this year is something we can do."
Lest we forget.

Finally, a tweet from @slhamlet: a fan remade his MineCraft server in Second Life so he could play Mario Kart in it.

Until next time– game on!
Si Lumb (@si_lumb) & Danny Hamilton (@hamildad), with thanks to contributors for the interesting links this week.

As always, previous entries available on http://silumb.posterous.com, and you can check my favourites on twitter for things that crop up day to day. Most articles are gathered from Kotaku, Gamasutra, Edge, Eurogamer via Google Reader and Game News Now.