Ludology.org

Tele-soccer

The BBC reports on a new way to play soccer with a little help of a computer.

The New York Times says "Ludology"

After the Associated Press, it is now time for the New York Times to spread the good news about videogame research. It's Circuits sections features today "The Ivy-Covered Console", an article about game researchers and the upcoming Princeton conference.
rThe article features several researchers, as well as blogs (yours truly's ludology.org's, GrandTextAuto, Ludonauts.com, Terra Nova and Buzzcut). The Center for Computer Game Research at the IT University in Copenhagen, which I recently joined, is said to have "emerged as a hub of game studies". The article also mentions Georgia Tech's (my former and cherished University) brand new PhD program.
rMy favorite quote, "The field's snappy new name is ludology". But I am also particularly happy of being quoted on "toilet graffiti" :)

rUpdate: The article has been discussed at Slashdot Games.

What Ever Happened to Mary Ann Buckles?

I had just been asked by a journalist wondering if I knew what is Mary Ann Buckles doing right now (she wrote the now classic 1985 PhD thesis on Advent(ure). If you happen to know or have any leads, please post a comment asap. Thanks!

Extended CFP: Game Design Research Symposium

The Deadline for the Game Design Research Symposium that will be held at the Center for Computer Game Research in Copenhagen has been extended until March 8th.

Atari meets Chomsky

The students at the University of Toronto posted a story about September 12th. Btw, I'll be in Canada the week before GDC (Quebec City and Montreal, to be more precise). More on this later.

Real & Virtual actors

Tom Loftus wrote an excellent article at MSNBC about the increasingly more important role of real actors in videogames.

More European funding

You probably remember that the French goverment recently announced a grant for video game development. Well, now Funcom has received partial funding from the Norwegian goverment in order to develop a sequel to The Longest Journey (thanks Christian McCrea)

New Section: JOBS

No, it is not about Apple's CEO. It's about actual jobs, positions and such. Guess what? The field is getting bigger and bigger everyday, so we start to see more and more people interested in hiring a game researcher/teacher.rnIn order to start the new section, I am copying a position for professor at HGKZ (Zurich). Interviews will be conducted at GDC.

New blog: Memory Card

Game researcher Mia Consalvo has joined the blogging community with Memory Card.

Bush shootout!

Another example of political game and a great example of simulation. When a President did not have the guts to go to the Vietnam war himself but did not hesitate to send others to die in Iraq, he can always become a videogame action-hero!!! Play the Bush Shootout!