It really shouldn’t be surprising that studies are showing that so-called “casual gamers” are hardcore about their game. Playing casual games isn’t about a choice of timespan; people who have hobbies devote the time they want to their hobbies. Interruptibility may be a factor, but far more important is whether they enjoy what they are doing.
Games for Change writeups are filtering out, which is good, because frankly, I missed most of the conference. I saw five minutes of Bob Kerrey’s Q&A, and I saw Mary Flanagan moderate a panel but only with half of one eye, because I was rearranging the notes for my talk.
I had to sign a podcast release, so I would guess that at some point the audio for the talk will show up; if and when it does, I will see about transcribing it and posting it here. My notes are just notes, and the talk itself was, as usually, largely improvised, so I don’t have anything to post here.
Steven Johnson’s keynote was liveblogged a couple of places, though.
The discussion hosted by Harper’s was fascinating and wideranging and the folks there were brilliant (Steven included). I cannot even attempt to do it justice. You’ll have to wait for the magazine!
Ah, the Long Island Expressway. 🙂
I’m here in NYC, taking a quick break before heading out to dinner with an old friend from high school whose current location here in Manhattan I found serendipitously on Google just day before yesterday. Tomorrow I’ll be doing the lengthy panel discussion-cum-interview with Harper’s, plus giving the closing address at Games for Change. I note that the conference website states that the backchannel for the conference is open and can be found starting here at tag 06-CG4.
No time to write more, have to get changed for dinner…!
BOARD GAME
To bait the intelligence of our youth: if nothing else,
it will make them happy. They have disgraced me, and
hindered me many millions; laughed at my losses,
mocked at my gains, scorned my mechanics, assigned me to
bargain bins, wrecked my reputation with licensed copies
of poor games; and what’s the reason? I am non-electric.
Continue reading »
I’m always looking for ways to become a better game designer. I frequently think I am no good at it, after all. (Just ask in random forums such as Blue’s News or the Fires of Heaven guild forums). So it’s with interest that I read articles like 50 ways to become a better designer.
Much of the list isn’t directly applicable, but some of it is, and it inspires a list of my own, centered around games. Not exhaustive, and probably not even accurate, but stuff I have often helped myself with. Many are cribbed and adapted.
