not to do with gaming but...

I found this article about Myspace on The Guardian website which is interesting and SO true. Here's a few quotes from it:


"The social networking phenomenon is getting way out of hand. A friend has listed one of her hobbies as simply "MySpacing". Which, when I'd first seen it, made me laugh a lot, but I swiftly realised it was a Friday night and I was sat reading profiles in the early hours."

"Ironically, the invention of social networking has discouraged everyone from being, erm, sociable. I send messages to my housemates rather than just, you know, talking to them."

"Just as I try to tear myself away, someone will post something that'll keep me there for another 10 minutes and before I know it, it's 3am."

"Back in the days of the glorious Sega Mega Drive, my mother allowed me to play computer games only on certain days of the week. As you could expect, this was a unanimously unpopular decision. The Sega Days meant that I wasn't wasting my entire youth trying to thwart that pesky Dr Robitnik. Instead, I'd be out with my football boots on - and having a much better time than I've ever had playing Sonic the Hedgehog, of course.

MySpace has no such motherly protection. Boy, how I wish it did. Every day is now a MySpace day. What bliss it would be if after an hour of pointless surfing an error message appeared, telling you bluntly: "Dear User, session expired, get a life."

Your only choice would be to click OK, pop outside, have a kickaround and maybe even try talking to your friends in the old-fashioned manner that involves use of your vocal chords."

Second Life.

As well as console games, I have also been doing some research into MMO games. I found this article, "This year's hottest destination: cyberspace", in which Gemma Bowes "goes on holiday" online in the online game "Second Life".

Below are the main points from the article:

• The most famous virtual world, Second Life, has attracted 4.6 million members since it was developed in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Lab, and now big corporations are using it to contact customers and market their goods.
• In Second Life, these movements are coming together as travel companies start to recognise the possible benefits to their industry. The Starwood hotel group has created the first virtual hotel as a way of gathering feedback on the designs for its Aloft chain, due to launch in the US, Europe and the Middle East over the next few years. Avatars can wander round the different rooms, swim in the pool and go to events (singer Ben Folds performed recently), and are encouraged to comment on its design.
• ‘What we will see is a very sophisticated form of travel brochure, where people can experience their holiday before they book it.' – people actually basing their lives and real experiences on what they see in Second Life.
• 'Virtual travel could involve wearing a helmet like an astronaut's and being wired up, so if you take a cruise down some rapids in a virtual world, it will feel like you're really doing it,' says Frank Shaw, of the Centre For Future Studies.
• ‘My attempts to start the Second Life programme prove stressful. As someone who has been thwarted by their iPod, even downloading the software (for free) over the net proves a stumbling block. I resort to ringing the IT department at work for help, and luckily a Second Life user answers the phone. It's like I've found a member of a secret society as he whispers conspiratorially: 'Once you start, there's no going back.'
• (On Second Life) – ‘It's all relatively simple and self-explanatory, and I'm struck by the quality of the graphics and complexity of the 3D world. But after a few hours I feel confused and frustrated. I'm not sure how a lot of functions work, can't find nice places to go or friendly people and the only way I feel like I'm on holiday is that I feel jetlagged from screen exhaustion.’
• ‘Are there countries with different cultures? 'Absolutely,' says Aimee. 'They aren't official, with borders, but there are simulations of real countries, and regions with their own cultures and populations.' There's a Little Italy, Dublin has Irish pubs and Ihla Brasil, which attracts Portuguese speakers. Then there are the 'furries' of Luskwood, who have animalistic avatars, and a place called Gor, where the resident Goreans live according to a novel by John Norman, The Cycle of Gor, with courtesy, slavery and female subservience as key beliefs.’ – OH DEAR. Surely this is taking it too far. When did our own lives become so boring that we needed to derive cults and other religions based on our real world and NOVELS?
• ‘Exploring the complex landscapes is certainly fun for a while, occasionally stimulating, sometimes relaxing. It offers some sort of escapism, but I think I agree with Frank Shaw, who says that, fundamentally, the point of a holiday is to move yourself somewhere different physically - and virtual reality can't really come close.’

comparison.

In this article there is a comparison of three new games consoles which could come in handy for statistics and stuff:


Microsoft Xbox 360
Launched: December 2005
It does: Plays high-definition 360 and standard Xbox titles, as well as DVDs and CDs, and can connect to the internet for global tournaments.
Has sold: 10.4 million
How much: £279


Nintendo Wii
Launched: December 2006
It does: Less powerful than its rivals, but a 'motion-sensitive controller' has been worked into every game, so playing tennis or conducting an orchestra by waving the wand is a little like the real thing. Plays discs made for the Wii's predecessor, the GameCube.
Has sold: 4.62 million
How much: £180


Sony PlayStation 3
Launches: This month in Europe, earlier in US and Japan.
It does: State-of-the-art games consoles with the potential for photo-realistic graphics. Plays high-definition Blu-ray discs, some original PlayStation and PS2 games, DVDs and super audio CDs. Owners get free online gaming and web surfing access.
Has sold: 1.65 million
How much: £425

some articles worth looking at.

Below are some links to articles from The Guardian website which might be worth looking at for reference.

gaming search for articles from the guardian


"Why will Sony start off selling only the pricier PS3 here?"

"Writers who work for nothing: It's a licence to print money" - from the NMT handout.

"How to... be a recluse" - "Online gaming is now more interesting than offline living, and when you can get everything from your food to your benefits delivered to your door, there really is very little excuse for going out."

"Playstation 3 launched in UK" - "The new machine includes an advanced Cell processor, which Sony claimed would make it superior to anything else available in the console world, as well as a Blu-ray high definition disc drive which the company hopes will become the successor to the popular DVD format."

"Game on for Sony's giant PS3 gamble" - "Its strength as a digital Swiss army knife could, in fact, also be its weakness, according to critics."

"PS3 launch: crash barriers and a queue of dozens" - "teenagers about to scramble for the "Rolls-Royce" of games consoles" - teenagers and children now judging each other on the type of games console that they have.

blogging: the future?

Click here to see the short video "Googlezon".

The video at the link above showed a fictional representation of what could possibly happen to the future of the press due to blogging and the internet.

The video suggests that Google and Amazon might combine into "Googlezon", which would take content and mix it up to construct new individual content for each reader. The New York Times could then sue Googlezon for violation of Copyright laws, which would be taken to the High Court. Googlezon would win the case.

The video predicts that a personalized package to which anyone could contribute known as "Epic" would create individual news for each reader.

The issues raised from this video are as follows:

1. Copyright Laws - will these be completely abolished? When everyone is able and permitted to post comments and blogs about news, do any of us really have any rights concerning the Copyright Laws?
2. News by Computers - is there not a moral ethical issue about having our news controlled by a computer? Do we really want all of our news to be selected and delivered by an automated system?
3. Custom Content Package - if news is selected for the individual reader based on their past viewings and interests, an already engaged reader will receive news that is basically an in-depth summary of the world. However, if someone logs on all the time just to watch TV sitcoms and gossip about their friends, the only news that they receive will just be a 'sensational collection of trivia'.

five areas of study.

1. Technology
What does the technology allow the audience and institution to do that they couldn’t do before? What is your chosen technology and how is it marketed? Who to? Which companies provide it and how much does it cost? Is it new media or old media undergoing radical transformation?

Convergence – the process of multiple technologies being brought together to form a new product.

Linear/Non-linear – linear experiences move in a straight line from start to finish, whereas non-linear experiences give the individual a unique experience of the programme by pressing the red button e.g. alternative voice over, extra video footage or explanatory text.

Digitisation – the material can be reproduced perfectly by a computerised system (like a Sky Box) or a computer and transported more effectively in any order.

2. Institutions
How are media institutions converging media interests to increase profit? How are they reaching audiences in new ways?

3. Audience
What are experiences doing with their new media technologies? How are traditional experiences of the media changing? What are audiences not doing so that they can spend more time interacting with new media technologies? What advantages are there for the consumer? You will carry out audience research, asking opinions and investigating consumption patterns.

Personalisation – the ability to offer users a personalised experience e.g. Sky+ allows users to pause live television and record their favourite programmes.

Interactivity – encourages the audience to be less passive and to engage with the media rather than just consuming e.g. red button on Sky.

Democratisation – the ability to communicate your opinions and ideas, or share your creative output e.g. blogging.

4. Issues
Will shops close or people lose jobs as a result of the new media technology? Does it encourage illegal activity? Is it generating any “moral panics”?

5. The Future
If the technology is extended, what could happen? How could media practices be different in future, based on the potential of current technologies?