From the monthly archives: January 2006

UK gamers dissected

By On 26/01/2006 ·

The grandfather of Public Service broadcasting, the BBC, just published an impressive report surveying the habits, preferences, demographics etc. of UK gamers.

It contains bundles of well-presented facts. Like:
– Young age and chance of being a gamer correlate positively (not surprising)
– 48% of respondents were “heavy” gamers i.e. [...]

Continue Reading →

Know a game like this?

By On 25/01/2006 ·

There is a scene in Babe – The Gallant Pig where the pig protagonist is informed of a password which may be used to entice sheep to give crucial help in terms of dire need.
Okay, this introduction is going the wrong way, so just forget it.

My problem is this. I’m looking for [...]

Continue Reading →

Vivid metaphor

By On 17/01/2006 ·

Sure, everyone’s ranting about the sad state of game journalism. But good researchers like to take one step back and rant about the ranting. Superb ones, it follows, talk about others who rant about ranting. Here’s what Bryan-Mitchell Young wrote:

"Complaining about horrible videogame journalism is like complaining about someone staining the couch cushion when [...]

Continue Reading →

History of soccer rules

By On 09/01/2006 ·

Kasper wisely informed me that soccer tournament rules regarding points awarded (to defeat, draw, and victory) were revised some 20 years ago creating stronger incentives for aggressive play (3 points for victory instead of 2). That’s a wonderful example, which certainly managed to make the thesis section I’m writing on game [...]

Continue Reading →

More fun

By On 09/01/2006 ·

Check out Wired’s Game Year in Review: 2010 . The game biz does sort of lend itself to satire.

"As for the current generation of video games, the big news was the long-awaited release of Grand Theft Auto: West Bloodbath. Gamers were appalled by the violence, specifically the wussiness of it. "Wait," they [...]

Continue Reading →