I'm not all that clear on how Guitar Hero is going to promote literacy. When you think about it, the very concept of Guitar Hero is about dumbing-down an activity so every one can do it, which would make it the literary equivalent of a McDonald's picture menu, but it sure does give News-4's reporter an excellent chance to stand on camera with a guitar controller. Hit the jump for the video report, condemned there due to its auto-starting nature.

I think overall the answer to the question, at least in regards to the games they are playing, is not really, but I think we should all lie and make it seem like the children are smarter just so we can stop by our local libraries and play Guitar Hero in the future.

Do video games make kids smarter? [KVOA News 4 via Game Politics]

Rob Zacny has a thought provoking piece up at the Escapist: on the whole, we're the worst genre when it comes to preserving our history, even the great classics acknowledged as 'great.' In a society — never mind technical area — where progress and marching forward is the name of the game, it's not exactly surprising, but a problem nonetheless. And not just for the history buffs among us:

Gamers are used to this problem by now, but that doesn't make it any more tolerable. Imagine if nobody could listen to a Duke Ellington record, or watch a Hitchcock movie, or read a Yeats poem. Not only would that rob us of our cultural inheritance, it would eliminate the influence that these artists have on contemporary culture. The same principles should apply to games. As gamers, we need to recognize that some games are more than disposable diversions, and that their relevance endures even as the technology that created and supported them falls into obsolescence.

Preserving and promoting classic games is vital to the health of the entire industry. In gaming, as much as any art form, "merit" is not always self-evident. Anyone with a passionate interest in game development should have a sense of what has already been achieved, and that cannot be developed if gamers are only playing "the latest and greatest" titles.

Zacny suggests a concerted effort at rereleases, a 'classics revival' of sorts. I'm personally quite excited by the fact that several institutions are making a concerted effort at planning for and undertaking archiving of games and consoles — I hope, much like my beloved books that were out of print by the middle of the 19th century but were lovingly reprinted in the 20th, we see a trickle down effect from that. A more concerted effort on the part of publishers would be fabulous, but that will require an audience hungry to purchase this stuff.

Excellence Never Goes out of Date [The Escapist]

I suppose I should applaud the Spore Creature Creator, because it's such an outlet for energy that would otherwise go into cosplay. You can waste a ton of time surfing Sporepedia for obvious video-game homages. So let's get a pool going on the next video-game character to be added to the Sporepedia. I'll lay out the odds:

Pac-Man: 1:5 OFF
Mega Man: 1:2 OFF
Asshole Dog from Duck Hunt: 60:1
Fygar from Dig-Dug: 8:1
Roman Bellic: 150:1
Slippy from Starfox 64: 4:1
Michael Vick from Madden 2004: 6000:1

Find others? Post links in the comments.

Master Chief, Mario and More Invade the Sporepedia [MTV Multiplayer]

Danks introduced the concept for PlayStation-edu — "It's mostly about getting schools hardware, to learn how the actual platform works. Not for research and development, for computer science and engineering, and not for art. The goal is to reach the people who care about the metal — engine level coders who like to write in assembly."

"Consoles and multi-core are here to stay," continued Danks. "Beyond that all things change and you need to learn the basics at the low level. So Assembly is here to stay!"

"A lot of schools are treating game education like trade school," argued Danks. "Too many students can’t explain a pointer, can’t explain memory caches, can’t explain bus contention, can’t explain how a complier works, cant explain a software rasterizer, can’t explain a race condition…"

He goes on to talk about the legal agreements that will be required and the three tier structure of the program. Sounds like a promising idea, but academia is very hard to change — and slow to come around in many cases. We'll see how long it takes this idea to take root.

Sony's Danks Details PlayStation-edu Initiative [Gamasutra]

I guess you'd call it a little bit action, a little bit RPG (but mostly action). The rep who showed me the game told me it's based in good old Gods-and-heroes Greek myth, but takes a little liberty with the canonical facts. For example, the hero is Jason, he of Golden Fleece fame, and in the game, his wife has been killed and he's seeking the fabled Fleece in order to resurrect her. If Kratos has learned us anything, it's that dead wives plus mythology equals a recipe for high drama and pathos.

The scene I saw featured Jason in a coliseum-style battle against some armored Ionians, and it was deliciously gory - when Jason clove torsoes with bloody abandon, you could see the severed spine in the middle, just like a rib-eye.

Fahey posted the trailer last year, during which he said he was glad that Jason was finally getting a video game (instead of just being Cerberus food in Kratos' hero tale). Some neat traits make this title look to be a lot more than a God of War knockoff, though:

For one thing, it's not all fighting. Jason gets his powers from four different gods, who afford him strength boosts to different aspects when he earns their favor. One way to do this is in selecting responses in conversation. When you're confronted, or talking to someone, you get a little convo wheel (think Mass Effect), and you choose one of four different responses, each associated with a particular god. If you choose the aggressive response, for example, Jason will deck the offender across the mouth and you'll get a little boost from Ares, the god of war.

Moreover, you can't please them all - brown-nosing one deity will piss off others.

One cool side aspect involves dedicating your deeds to different gods, too - there are achievement-like lists of objectives you can fulfill, such as killing a certain number of enemies or performing certain tasks in the game, and if you accomplish one, you can visit a shrine to choose the god to which you'll dedicate the completed deed. Visiting the statues also shows you a list of the possible objectives you can fulfill, so it looks to add a little bit of optional goal-oriented gameplay to the experience.

One thing I'd actually never seen before in a game like this (not saying it hasn't happened, just that I've never seen it) is that you can actually turn off the on-screen displays, like health indicators and weapons and all of that, and just play the game with only the action in front of you. The rep told me they wanted to provide this option in order to enhance player immersion. How do you know, then, when you're low on life? The screen is ringed with a red haze.

It was interesting to see some ideas for innovating on the genre by adding RPG-influenced elements, and the character models were really detailed, too.

Qualifying institutions (college level and above) will be given a chance to purchase PSP and PlayStation 2 development kits complete with the hardware, dev software, and SDK, along with demo codes and samples so teachers can illustrate how the hardware works to students. The goal here is to generate a fresh crop of college graduates armed with the knowledge they need to create on SCEA hardware.

Interested parties can hit the link below for contact information, and if you are currently in a game programming or computer architecture class, start bugging the hell out of your professor so you too can get your hands on a PlayStation 2 with the word TOOL on the side in big letters.

PlayStation-edu [The Official PlayStation Blog]

“Six Flags is synonymous with great family fun, and Brash Entertainment is committed to bringing fantastic family entertainment to the gaming world,” said David McKillips, Vice President of Corporate Alliances for Six Flags. “Six Flags Fun Park is the next best thing to actually being inside the park. Now families can keep their favorite theme park gaming skills fresh year round.”

I am sorry if I am taking the piss here, but I cannot see a collection of mini-games coming anywhere near recreating the Six Flags experience. Now if they fill each case with biting gnats that break your air conditioning, then we'll be in business.

Brash Entertainment and Six Flags Partner to Admit Gamers of All Ages to Six Flags Fun Park Videogame

LOS ANGELES—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Brash Entertainment, in partnership with Six Flags Inc., (NYSE:SIX), announced today the development of Six Flags® Fun Park, a videogame releasing in North America that brings the thrills and chills of a Six Flags theme park to the family living room. Featuring uniquely themed areas and mini-games representative of a visit to Six Flags park, this new videogame ensures that summer fun continues all year round.

Calling gamers of all ages - Six Flags Fun Park, welcomes the whole family into a virtual theme park filled with everyone’s favorite games, all re-imagined within a colossal park environment that is sure to keep gamers challenged. Upon entrance to the game, players are tasked with quests that encourage them to explore the park’s zany universe. After creating a unique custom character, Six Flags Fun Park patrons can test their skills, win prizes, and play against friends and family with 40 mini-games.

“Everyone has memories of visiting theme parks with their families, and having a great time with games like the Ring Toss and Bumper Cars,” said Mitch Davis, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Brash Entertainment. “With Six Flags Fun Park, we are re-imagining these time-honored tests of luck and skill, and launching the first virtual park in the Six Flags family, while taking advantage of today’s most popular gaming systems.”

“Six Flags is synonymous with great family fun, and Brash Entertainment is committed to bringing fantastic family entertainment to the gaming world,” said David McKillips, Vice President of Corporate Alliances for Six Flags. “Six Flags Fun Park is the next best thing to actually being inside the park. Now families can keep their favorite theme park gaming skills fresh year round.”

The creation of Six Flags Fun Park demonstrates the way that Brash Entertainment continues to redefine licensed games for the gaming and entertainment industry. Explained Davis, “Brash has already announced partnerships with leading film companies such as Lionsgate Films, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Studios, Vanguard Animation, and Warner Bros. Six Flags is the world's largest regional theme park company; by teaming up with them, we continue to prove our strength in collaborating with the top brands in entertainment and bring the gaming experience to new fans.”

Six Flags Fun Park will be available for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, and the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ videogame systems from Nintendo. This game has not yet been rated, and will be available at North American retailers this fall 2008.

Still, to the designers, hat-tip for rendering it like an old 4-bit PC game. I dunno, the tone just seems to deserve that kind of treatment. And also note how your dino farts after you chow down on less fortunate sauropods. Hat-tip for that, too.

Dino Run [Pixeljam, thanks Rob]

Games like X-Com and Zelda: Ocarina of Time clearly stretch the definition of "RPG." Many respondents argued these titles illustrate how great games have effectively incorporated RPG elements into other genres like strategy or adventure games. This makes sense to me. Given the short time I have available to me (one semester), I will try to illustrate these influences as best I can without veering too far off the RPG track.

... While it's very interesting for me to consider how many people recommend game X over game Y, ultimately this project isn't an RPG popularity contest, and I must choose a collection of games that best serve my pedagogical goals.

It is interesting to look at both the spread of games and how many votes certain games garnered (Chrono Trigger tops the list); it'll be interesting to see what makes the final cut.

RPG Syllabus - the data [The Brainy Gamer]

We mentioned Michael Abbot (of the Brainy Gamer) and his efforts to put together a great syllabus for his history of RPGs class; as promised, he's now posted the reading list (required readings will be culled from this list, but it's a pretty nice little bibliography for background reading). At this point, it just includes traditional books and articles, but he's planning on expanding it to online and popular media sources, as well as other good ideas sent in by people who are keeping tabs on this project:

You'll find some esoteric stuff here, but every title is germane to the subject in one way or another. I've also included books like Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, portions of which I plan to assign as foundational texts.

So far the bibliography only includes traditional materials (books and academic journals). I'm working on supplementing the list with online and popular media resources devoted to RPGs ...

Here's the list. If I've omitted a title you think should be included, please let me know. If you have a favorite website or online essay devoted to RPGs (history, analysis, special focus on a single game or developer, etc.), please feel free to drop me a comment. I'll be sure to add it to the list I'm working on, which will be posted here in a few days.

It's quite an impressive list, and if you've got room on your list of things to read, wander over and check it out — or add your own suggestions for good go-to sources for a class of this nature.

RPG syllabus - books and journals [The Brainy Gamer]

You play with four streams of colored sand using 18 different effects, some of them working in awesome combinations with each other.

C-4 and Torch, for example, wasn't too hard to figure out. I've also been making little cups of gunpowder and blasting them to hell with torch. But can someone tell me what "plant" does? Does it grow in the water? I can't figure it out.

The Hell of Sand [AndysLife.org]

But we're left wondering, why the hell is that neck attached in the first place if you aren't using the frets? The LCD streams notes ala Guitar Hero, but the frets tower above the system, unused and waiting to scratch someone's elbow bad. Do we really need the whole guitar if we aren't using it?

Songs include Smoke on the Water, Rock this Town, Cherry Pie, Killer Queen, You've Got Another Thing Comin', Miserlou, Heart Shaped Box, Message in a Bottle, Jessica, and Surrender. And at $14.99, we can only assume that those songs absolutely rock through the system's tiny speaker.

Pocket Sized Guitar Hero Arcade Game [ChipChick via Technabob]

BioShock Being Squeezed Into Cell Phones [Gamelife]

Here's where it gets weird. Murph contacted Sony's PR to request a set for review, and was told...no. It would appear that the console wars extend further than any of us realized, but that's the reason given — we're a Microsoft-focused (but not -owned, I should point out) publication, and they are a PlayStation-creating company (but not the same business division, I should point out), so...just no. "I have to support our friends over at our sister company," said the representative.

Wait, what? Support them? How is selling their own product going to hinder the PlayStation 3? If anything, getting Bravias into the hands of consumers would make the PlayStation 3 that much more attractive of a purchase, wouldn't it? Maybe one quality Sony product would convince consumers to give another quality Sony product a try? When pressed, Sony PR stood firm.

"Sony is going to pass on this opportunity."

Sony Doesn't Want Your Money [OXM Online]

The other new finding was that while Folding@Home averages about 215W, ditching the visuals for the screensaver only averages 185. In other words, by ditching Folding's visuals and turning off Remote Play, you could save some quantifiable energy. Just something to keep in mind...

Profiles In Power: The PS3, 360, and Wii. [via ggmania][image]

We are strongly reject and resent the accusation that we are "PR-ing" stock shortages and no press releases are being distributed. We are doing all we can to ensure that the unprecedented demand for Wii can be met as far as possible in the run up to Christmas. This is being done through regular and multiple deliveries of Wii stock to the UK, globally we are working at maximum capacity, producing 1.8 million units of Wii hardware a month to try and meet this demand as far as possible."

Nintendo: We strongly reject accusations of 'PR-ing' [maxconsole]

A Courageous Soldier's Return

In a post town pub, Kaim sat in the corner, alone, sipping on his drink. A man entered the pub. A big and strong man - his clothes give away that he is a soldier, coming from a long journey. His clothes were covered in dust, and he had a look of exhaustion on his face, yet the gleam in his eyes remained sharp. He had the serious look of a "soldier on active duty".

For a moment, the pub became quiet. All the drunken people who happened to be there stopped and stared at the soldier with eyes of both fear and gratitude. The war with the neighboring country had at last come just to an end and all the soldiers that had been at the front were each on the road to their homes. This man, he was one of those soldiers.

The soldier sat at the table next to Kaim and starting gulping down drink after drink - his manner of drinking being that of a man full of immense suffering. He drank a second drink, then a third, and a fourth...

Another person glared at him and smiled, then walked over to his table with a bottle in his hand. He looked like a dirty, local thug.

"Brave soldier, who defended our ancestors' country, let me buy you a drink!"

Without expression, the soldier raised his cup and was poured a drink.

"How was the front line? How many great deeds have you performed?"

The soldier, saying nothing, finished the drink.

The thug poured him another glass, and glared at him once more.

"Seeing as I'm here, why don't you tell me some of your heroic tales? How many men have you killed with that big arm of yours..."

Without a word, the soldier smashed his cup against the thug's face.

The thug suddenly pulled out a knife - at that moment Kaim swiftly knocked down the thug's knife with his clenched fist.

The thug, overpowered by both Kaim and the soldier, said something over his shoulder and ran away. After chasing the thug off, Kaim and the soldier looked at each other and chuckled. Without even talking to him, Kaim knew from this soldier's shadow that he was wallowing in sorrow. Conversely, the soldier could tell that Kaim knew this from the expression on Kaim's face.

After a moment of silence, the pub returned to normal. Kaim and the soldier decide to share a drink together.

"You know, I have a wife and daughter... I haven't seen them in the 3 years I've been on duty." The soldier said, showing the hint of a smile on his face for the first time.

He opened his locket, took out pictures of them, and then showed them to Kaim.

The picture showed a neatly dressed wife and a young daughter.

"I only survived these 3 years because I have them. The only thing that kept me going was to return home to them".

"Is your home far from here?" asked Kaim.

"Nah... My village is just beyond the mountain pass. Both of them should have heard the news that the war is over and must be waiting for me."

The distance was close enough that he could go there overnight if he wanted to.

However, the soldier groaned and continued to speak.

"I'm scared... to go home."

"Why?" asked Kaim.

"I want to see my wife and daughter's face. But I'm afraid... to show them mine. I have killed countless enemies over these 3 years. I had to in order to survive. I had to keep killing if I were to return home to my family."

That was the code and duty of a soldier. "Kill or be killed" - this is what it meant to survive a battle.

"I didn't have time to think about it on the front line. I was so desperate to stay alive. But now that the war is over I realize what I have done. My face is engraved with three years of "sin". My face... is the face of a killer. I can't... show this face to my wife and daughter..."

The soldier reached into his leather pouch and pulled out a small stone and showed it to Kaim, telling him it was a gem he found on the first battlefield he was on.

"That's a gem?" asked Kaim with a puzzled expression on his face.

The stone sat on the table - a pitch-black stone that didn't sparkle in the slightest.

"It sparkled at first. When I found it, I decided to take it home to show my daughter. I was sure she would love it."

However, over time, it lost its color and sparkle.

"Each time I killed an enemy soldier, the stain of blood changed the stone. Over the three years, it has turned pitch-black as you can see. My sin is chiseled in this stone... This has become my "Stone of Sin"..."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself" said Kaim without thinking.

"You killed because you had to in order to survive."

"I know. I know, but... the soldiers I killed also had homes to go back to and families waiting for them..."

"Surely you have a family yourself, right?" the soldier asked Kaim.

"I have no family" said Kaim, slightly shaking his head.

"How about a home?"

"I have no home to return to" answered Kaim.

"...so you're stuck on an endless journey?"

"Yes, something like that."

The soldier, the extent to which he took stock in Kaim's words being unclear, took the "Black Stone" and put it back into his leather pouch.

"I've been thinking... if this "Black Stone" turns black each time I take a life, maybe I can restore its color and sparkle by saving a life..."

Kaim, keeping quiet, finished his drink and stood up. He looked at the soldier, who was still seated, and tried to reason with him one last time.

"If you have a home to go back to, you should go. No matter what's on your conscience, you should go home. I'm sure your wife and daughter will understand. You committed no sin. You did what you had to do to survive - you are courageous."

"It makes me feel better... to meet someone who will tell me that."

The soldier reached out his right hand and gave Kaim a handshake.

"Have a good journey" said the soldier.

"Your journey is almost over." Kaim said and chuckled as he started walking towards the exit of the pub. Suddenly, the thug from before appeared behind Kaim with a pistol in his hand.

"Watch out!" yelled the soldier as he ran towards Kaim.

As Kaim turned around, the thug said, "How dare you make a fool of me earlier!" and got ready to pull the trigger.

The soldier ran in between the two, blocking the shot from Kaim with his own body. The soldier is shot in the stomach as the thug pulls the trigger.

Just as the soldier had wanted, he had saved a life. The life of Kaim, whose body would never rot, and life would never end. This was the "life" for which he sacrificed his own.

The soldier lay on the floor, and with a dim consciousness reached for his leather pouch.

"Look... at the "Stone of Sin"... Is it sparkling again?"

With a weak laugh, blood started to pour from the soldier's mouth.

Kaim peered into the leather bag and said to the soldier, "It's beautiful. It's sparkling again."

"Really... I'm so glad... I'm sure my daughter will love it..."

With a smile of satisfaction, the soldier opened his hand and took the pouch. However, at that moment the soldier stopped breathing and the pouch fell from his hand to the floor.

The soldier's face was peaceful as he died.

However - the "Stone of Sin" that fell from the bag when it hit the floor, was still pitch-black.

Excerpt [Xbox.com, Thanks Adam!] [Image]

"What they really appreciate over there is the true comforts of home," Blackman Brady said. "The stress relief and the escapism involved in these games, we really think could be beneficial."

While currently just a small-town operation, Fun For Our Troops has the potential to get pretty huge, especially considering how generous the gaming community is as a whole. They are currently accepting donations of money, gift cards, and games released in 2005 or later.

No matter how you feel about the war itself, the troops in the Middle East are there doing a job for their country that not many other people would do. Check out the organization's web site to see how you can contribute to the overseas, under fire gaming community. Hang onto your copies of COD 4 though. Think they've got that covered.

Wii bit of fun for troops [Bucks County Courier Times via Game Politics]

IBM announces new video games to teach business skills [gamingnexus]

The other demo, which I simply cannot be bothered to type out again, comes in at a more trim 584.87 MB, but thumbs its figurative nose at anyone not in Canada and the U.S. Sorry, rest of the world. You're going to have to settle for PGR4.

High fives all around!
Listen Here [Multiplayer Blog]

How To Pronounce... "Ubisoft" (The Official Explanation) [MTV Multiplayer]

Your best guesses are welcome in the comments. Thanks for the heads up, Matthew.

Brutally Fun [Xbox.com]

Computer Games Help Adults Bond With Their Children and Grandchildren

Largest-ever casual games survey reveals 70% of family gamers see educational benefits for children / grandchildren

Dublin, Ireland - 28th August 2007 — 92% of casual gaming parents and grandparents say casual games provide an opportunity for them to bond with their children/grandchildren.

PopCap Games (www.popcap.com) unveils the results of the largest-ever worldwide (including UK) survey of casual computer game players, which also reveals that 70% of 'family gamers' believe casual games provide educational benefits to their children/grandchildren - with greatest benefits of gameplay identified as learning, stress relief and hand-eye coordination.

In stark contrast to traditional perceptions of computer gaming, parents/grandparents said casual games helped them bond with their children/grandchildren (92%) and mentioned the following casual game benefits for children/grandchildren:

· 68% cited Hand-eye coordination/Manual dexterity

· 60% cited Learning (pattern recognition, resource allocation, spelling, etc.)

· 51% cited Mental workouts/Cognitive exercise

· 48% cited Memory strengthening

· 44% cited Stress relief/Relaxation

· 37% cited Positive affirmation/Confidence building

Among the nearly 7,500 adult respondents who took part in the survey, nearly a third (31%) indicated they had children or grandchildren under 18 who play casual games in their home. And of these 2,298 'family gamers', 80% play casual games with their children or grandchildren - while 66% said they would welcome the use of such games in their children's or grandchildren's schools.

Professor Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies at Nottingham Trent University, UK says: "Empirical research has consistently shown that in the right context, computer- and videogames can have a positive educational, psychological and therapeutic benefit to a large range of different ages and sub-groups."

"Casual games span generations and genders in ways that traditional 'hardcore' video games never have," notes Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a New York-based psychologist and author of Essentials of Smart Parenting. "This universal appeal, and the 'G-rated' content of the games, makes them a great activity in which the whole family can participate, with each generation enjoying the games in different ways while also enjoying the interaction with other family members."

Almost half of respondents indicated they had multiple children or grandchildren who played the games in their home. Of these, 88% described the game-play interaction between the children as at least partly cooperative, with only 12% characterizing it as strictly competitive. "Casual games seem to promote more of a cooperative 'let's work on this together' type of atmosphere, as opposed to an aggressive, interpersonal competitive environment," observed Dr. Arinoldo. On a related note, only 28% of adult family gamers indicated they allowed their children or grandchildren to play so-called "hardcore" video games.

But that sales number is stil disheartening for the company. Why the low number? I'm guessing that Microsoft's proprietary wireless technology alongside Nintendo's patented Wiimote isn't helping one bit. Where Mad Catz has undersold the slightly more polished but equivalent competition for years, they are now left unable to compete. So in many ways, the fate of Mad Catz will be tied to the PS3's success and their ability to adapt outside the controller market.

Mad Catz Q1 2008 Sees Loss Narrowed [gamedaily]

Given that they also said the attachment rate is reaching an average of 6-7 XBLA titles per user, we're a bit confused by all the numbers at the moment. Either those 25 45 million downloads are arcade title exclusive, or that 6-7 title figure is inflated and based upon only the most current users. We have an email out to Microsoft and will let you know if the numbers start making more sense.

UPDATE: We've talked to Microsoft PR. The real number is actually 45 million Xbox Live downloads.

Gamefest 2007: 25M Downloads on XBL [1up]

Is it possible Amazon is clearing out old stock of non-HDMI 360's? I believe so, especially because this listing isn't labeled as an Xbox 360 Premium but "Xbox 360 Console Includes 20GB Hard Drive." So just know, while you will be getting a 20GB hard drive, silver DVD drive and wireless controller, THIS IS NOT A PREMIUM YOU CHEAP SCUM. It is, however, a money saver.

Xbox 360 Console Includes 20GB Hard Drive [amazon]
Thanks Matt!

I was holy spec for a long time (really long time) even leveling up to 60. I did go shadow to level to 70 and then went back to holy after getting over +1600 to healing. Now I'm hovering just under +1k to shadow damage to get more gold, as we all need from time to time.

Hey everyone. Paleray here. I read your comments here's some replies to some of them. I was holy spec for a long time (really long time) even leveling up to 60. I did go shadow to level to 70 and then went back to holy after getting over +1600 to healing. Now I'm hovering just under +1k to shadow damage to get more gold, as we all need from time to time. CEILINGFANBOY is appropriately named as I don't know where he gets off. :P No, I'm not society's elite the date was wrong, it was 2005 November, but I would have been happy with it in 1995 but I was in college. PHIEDNY, I had more fun leveling my priest, even in holy spec, and whoever buys their characters on eBay are missing the whole picture, so no, this is bonafide time that I invested, a lot better than golf, cheaper and more fun. Have fun all and thanks for your comments. TRUEPATRIOT: I'll meet you in bg's, a little face melting never hurt anyone. 80 Best Wow campaign platform: "lower my taxes and ill help you get lvl 80!" Love that one! Shadow priests that don't pop out to heal when it calls for it aren't shodow priests, they're wannabe Locks. And this comment says it all, huh? "Uh, cant you see i have some important business here, i cant get epic items if you're in my face with 'Universal Healthcare Benifits', now get lost..." OMG ROFL There are also the "THESTONE's" of the world, but you can't please all the people all the time. On Arena team, I'm not really a pvper so I guess I deserve that so, eh, can't win 'em all. Have fun all. It was fun reading the comments and I'll check back. Ray Tenorio

Be sure to hit up Game Politics, where Paleray responds to even more commentors, leaving only one question unanswered. Who the hell is watching Guam?

PS. If I stole this link from someone, send me an email. I can't find where I got the link.

Companies are apparently slowing with their traditional media ad budgets and investing more heavily in newer media forms, and the report says that "connected game devices 'are becoming the foundation on which providers build dynamic in-game insertion.'" Of course, they also warn that ads should not be used in a way that distracts from game play. Irritating product placement is bad enough in television and movies, but I'd be royally pissed if it became a common feature of the games I play.

In-Game Ads Grow To $971 Million By 2011 [Gamasutra]

It's a history, an homage, a bit of a love letter, and a fun read overall.

What Zork seemed to contribute more than anything was the idea that the computer could simulate a rich virtual environment much, much larger and nuanced than the playing fields seen in games like Spacewar! or Pac-Man. Furthermore, the game demonstrated the literary potential of the computer. Thousands upon thousands of gamers have been charmed by the wit and elegance of Zork's many descriptions.

GameSetWatch also pointed out that Matt Barton, the author, made the full interviews available on his own website, so you can find them here.
The History Of Zork [Gamasutra]

Thanks for the heads up, Elliot! And nice work. Michael McWhertor

Street Fighter II [The Etch A Sketchist]

Get Hooked on expensive Wiimote decoration [Wii Fanboy]

We don't want to preempt the decision of the Office of Film and Literature Classification Review Board but it is looking very doubtful" [a source] said.

The original Manhunt was released for Playstation 2 in Australia in 2003, receiving a MA15+ classification for "Medium-level animated violence".

Sigh. That's all I really have to say on this issue. Kim Phu

Manhunt 2 Will Not Be Released Downunder [Smarthouse via Game Politics]

I'm not sure what some of the anti-video game faction would have to say about this, but researchers at the US National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland have said that using video games, or modifications of games, can not only help in diagnosing depression, but also help in determining the severity of such problems.

The volunteers were allowed to familiarize themselves with a virtual reality town such as that used in Duke Nukem, before being given 20 minutes to navigate their way around that town locating various landmarks ....

Within the [depressed] group there emerged a clear correlation between severity of depression and navigational ability, with those suffering from the most acute depression displaying the least ability to find their way around the virtual town.

Using technology to aid in medical diagnoses is nothing new, but the researchers seem excited about the potential for this sort of diagnostic tool, especially when given the difficulties of diagnosing depression in the first place. Maggie Greene

Feelings of depression? Nuke 'em! [CNN International]

Wired has an article up talking with Niall Ferguson, the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard, and his thoughts on the value and potential of 'god games' and other open-ended sandbox games that let people think "counterfactually." While Ferguson is an economic historian, he's also a big fan of 'counterfactual history,' where historians attempt to reimagine the past. Theorizing what would've happened if the Normandy landing had failed or if X event had played out just a little differently is counterfactual thinking.

Ferguson thinks becoming skilled at counterfactual thinking is helpfujl to any sort of job that requires thinking along 'what if' lines. And what does this have to do with video games?

The power of counterfactual thinking is that forces us to step outside of our comfort zones. When we think about historical events, we have 20/20 hindsight — so we forget how confusing and uncertain they were at the time ...

When we play with sims, they knock us off our pedestals — because crazy things usually happen we don't predict. Yet the chaos is useful, because we can run the same situation again and again, changing one little thing each time, until we've war-gamed it deeply and understand it better than ever.

Ferguson teamed up with company Muzzy Lane to design a game - due out in 2008 - that will "model modern, real-world conflicts such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the nuclear confrontation with Iran."

Why a Famous Counterfactual Historian Loves Making History With Games [Wired]