Since people like THINGS, the repository becomes a social tool

I’ve been working lately on the social and cultural consequences of digitalization (for a client, not for my research). One of the side effect in the video game market is that boxed PC games decline as digital downloads rise according to marketing firm GfK:

But the way in which people get their games is getting a makeover as game makers experiment with online distribution as an alternative to boxed CD-ROMs. Some companies are even betting that PC gaming is on the cusp of a download revolution, much like its entertainment counterparts in music and video.

Meanwhile, Electronic Arts Inc.’s Pogo.com, Comcast Corp. and Yahoo Inc. are offering games-on-demand services in which computer users buy subscriptions to access and download PC games, ranging from “Scrabble” to “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell.” As more households get high-speed Internet connections, downloads become more practical. Downloading computer games can take anywhere from just a few seconds to a few hours, depending on the file size.

Why do I blog this? I am wondering about how would the boxed game market will evolve. I tend to think that people like “things”, meaning that with the explosion of digital music we’ve seen a total show off ipods and other mp3 players. It’s as if the objects (which are now a repository for digital content) are even more important compared to past walkman/discman:

• PERSONALIZATION: people tune/hack/mod them (see the Schulze and Webb personalization project)
• SHOW OFF: people show them (the ipod nano, usb keys as necklaces)
• SHARING: people share information locally with them (see Weilenmann, A., & Larsson, C. (2001): Local Use and Sharing of Mobile Phones. ““The sharing of mobile phones observed in this study raises questions about the notion of the mobile phone as a personal device, belonging to and being used by one individual“)

Strata by Jody Elff

Doing a presentation in Lyon (France) today, I encountered this interesting sound installation in a parking garage (the policy here is to put art installation in every underground parking garage, which is nice): Strata by Jody Elff

Commissioned by Lyon Parc Auto, Strata is a reactive sonic sculpture distributed throughout 6 levels of the new subterranean parking garage at the Cité Internationale complex in Lyon. The work is the result of 2 years of combined effort between Jody Elff, Lyon Parc Auto, and Art/Enterprise. Strata explores the relationships of levels, or strata of the structure itself

The work consists of 6 unique sonic “personalities,” one for each level of the facility. A computer controls the occurrence and distribution of the sounds throughout the facility. When an observer is on a particular level of the garage, they hear only the sound of that level. However, there is a global control process in place that guarantees that all six levels are harmonically and rhythmically coherent. In addition to the control of the sounds by the computer, the sounds of vehicles themselves will be transformed and integrated into the final presentation. The result is one of a spontaneously generated composition, comprised of the individual sonic events from each floor. This combined result can be heard in the main pedestrian entrance hall of the facility.

In addition to the sonic sculpture, a visual component of the work was installed in the elevator cars. A series of patters drawn directly from the software used to create the sound sculpture was realized in a light filtering material. As your visual relationship to the elevator cars shifts, the materials change color, from amber to blue to translucent.

Why do I blog this? what I like in the parking company approach here is the idea that space is not a neutral domain. Their interest is to pay attention to the aesthetic considerations of their spaces.

Location-based games overview

Rashid O., Mullins I., Coulton P., and Edwards R. “Extending Cyberspace: Location Based Games Using Cellular Phones,” ACM Computers in Entertainment, Vol 4, Issue 1, January, 2006

This article is a comprehensive overview of location-based games, describing enabling technologies as well as examples of what’s out there (no mention of Catchbob! maybe it’s because designing our game was not the ending goal but a way to study certain phenomenons ). As they describe, it seems that GPS and WiFi are the most used technologies and they describe how bluetooth and RFID might be a good contribution.

Interestingly, the article gives a good critique of existing gameplay:

All the location-based games discussed can be categorized into three genres: action/adventure, treasure hunt, and role-playing games. Finding other players in a shoot-em-up game can initially be exciting, but the gameplay can quickly become repetitive, and the games rely on high numbers of players with the same game in the same area. Treasure hunt games can quickly become boring when played alone, and those that create an event appear to receive greater publicity and recognition. Although some of the games being marketed are massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), their inability to compensate for the short gameplay of cellular users may hamper the ability to immerse players in the games. Geo-fencing provides a new element to games, in that players can specify their own virtual territory based on their actual physical neighborhoods. The incorporation of community features such as mobile chat are effective because they take advantage of the social nature of the cellular phone, and are features likely to prove significant in the success of these games.
(…)
For now, location-based cellular gaming is a niche market, which often depends on players owning specific devices and subscribing to specific carriers. However, there is strong evidence that these games are capturing the imagination of a new audience, and if the games can mature to give a wider variety of gameplay and experience, they might yet achieve their potential as a major location-based service.

Why do I blog this? it’s a good overview, it depicts the actual picture of location-based games and some of the challenges. I would maybe add that lbg should go beyond object collection/hunt (in the same way LBS should move forward buddy finder and place annotation) to be more successful, offering more interesting challenges. But hey that’s not so easy. Maybe a good way to do so is to have more features based on these scenarios or to radically invent new approaches.

Also, see the expression “extending cyberspace”, this concept is still around for some people Alex!

Prototyping in video games

There is a great account of Maxis Senior Development Director Eric Todd’s talk at the GDC on Gamasutra about pre-production through prototyping, which is a very important question in game design: what can game designers learn from prototypes? how early in the development of a game could they use them?

The talk was about pre-production. Some excerpts:

a prototype is used to convince others that your concept is “worth the risk of a full production”.

Todd explained that the benefit of having a working mechanical model at hand is that, as far as communicating about design concepts is concerned, “words are fundementally a terrible way of communicating interactivity.”
(…)
Demonstrating the concept, Todd showed a utility that allowed an amorphous worm creature to be prodded, deformed, and manipulated – he demonstrated how it felt to mess around with the utility, which seemed pretty tactile. As Todd said, having a tool like this “short-circuits” an inane conversation
(…)
prototypes should be as focused as possible upon just the few things you need to demonstrate to someone; (…)
when someone finally threw together a prototype to show off the battle system and its animation style, he hot-wired the utility with PlayStation controllers and unveiled it during a staff meeting so as to delight the team and get them fired up about the project. Of course, there was no practical need for the Dual Shocks; there are no plans to place Spore on any console, and anyway users aren’t really meant to interact with the game that way. That didn’t matter; turning the battle system into a free-for-all brawl created energy. It led to people feeling more ownership over the project and to have more fun with it. The prototype also effectively educated the team what that game component was like, giving them a further impression for the way the game as a whole might come together.

An example of a prototype from the game Spore:
Why do I blog this? these elements are very interesting and have a wider impact than just video game design. It made me think of the discussion we had at the Crystalpunk workshop about tools and architecture.

Ethnography of Petrol Station Stay

TENDING TO MOBILITY: INTENSITIES OF STAYING AT THE PETROL STATION by Daniel Normark (Environment & Planning A. Pion, vol. 38, no 2, pp 241-252.) is an ethnographic study of ongoing social activities at a petrol station.

Petrol stations constitute a nexus for mobility. Through ethnographic observations it is tested how the continuous flow of vehicles, commodities, money and people is sustained and made accountable. The fieldwork demonstrates that despite its transitory character, the petrol station offers a wide spectrum of ‘duration of stay’. The station was used while being on-the-way as well as providing a possibility to disembark from automobility, i.e. being off-the-way. However, the most important finding is that the station tends to mobility, from the production and recognition of fluency, the constant negotiation and articulation work of situations, to continuous maintenance and repair of movement. Accomplishing a flow of people, vehicles, money and commodities is a complex and delicate task requiring subtle negotiation between staff and visitors as well as among visitors themselves. A negotiation supported and hampered by available materialities of the place.

Why do I blog this? I like this idea of studying non-place (à la Augé), and gas stations are of particular interest, their identity (placeness?) is very intriguing.

Structural uncertainty

Yes it’s the Eiffel Tower.

Modalities of space in video games

Axel Stockburger has a very interesting research topic entitled “THE RENDERED ARENA: MODALITIES OF SPACE IN VIDEO AND COMPUTER GAMES“. He’s working on this at the University of the Arts London, Research Scholarship London Institute with Dr. Angus Carlyle (LCC), Alan Sekers (LCC), Prof. Clive Richards (Coventry University).

one of the most evident properties of those games is their shared participation in a variety of spatial illusions. Although most researchers share the view that issues related to mediated space are among the most significant factors characterising the new medium, as of yet, no coherent conceptual exploration of space and spatial representation in video and computer games has been undertaken.

This thesis focuses on the novel spatial paradigms emerging from computer and video games. It aims to develop an original theoretical framework that takes the hybrid nature of the medium into account. The goal of this work is to extend the present range of methodologies directed towards the analysis of digital games. In order to reveal the roots of the spatial apparatus at work an overview of the most significant conceptions of space in western thought is given. Henri Lefebvre’s reading of space as a triad of perceived, conceived and lived space is adopted. This serves to account for the multifaceted nature of the subject, enables the integration of divergent spatial conceptions as part of a coherent framework, and highlights the importance of experiential notions of spatiality. Starting from Michel Foucault’s notion of the heterotopia, game-space is posited as the dynamic interplay between different spatial modalities. As constitutive elements of the dynamic spatial system mobilized by digital games the following modalities are advanced: the physical space of the player, the space emerging from the narrative, the rules, the audiovisual representation and the kinaesthetic link between player and game. These different modalities are examined in detail in the light of a selected range of exemplary games. Based on a discussion of film theory in this context an original model that serves to distinguish between different visual representational strategies is presented. A chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the crucial and often overlooked role of sound for the generation of spatial illusions. It is argued that sound has to be regarded as the privileged element that enables the active use of representational space in three dimensions. Finally the proposed model is mobilised to explore how the work of contemporary artists relates to the spatial paradigms set forth by digital games. The critical dimension of artistic work in this context is outlined. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the impact of the prevalent modes of spatial practice in computer and video games on wider areas of everyday life.

Why do I blog this? since space/place are the cornerstone of what I investigate in my research about pervasive games, I am interested by this approach.

Wow and job training

John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas wrote a very insightful article about World of Warcraft in Wired. Their take is that such kind of multiplayer game is a very relevant training for people’s future job.

what takes place in massively multiplayer online games is what we call accidental learning. It’s learning to be – a natural byproduct of adjusting to a new culture – as opposed to learning about.
(…)
When role-playing gamers team up to undertake a quest, they often need to attempt particularly difficult challenges repeatedly until they find a blend of skills, talents, and actions that allows them to succeed. This process brings about a profound shift in how they perceive and react to the world around them. They become more flexible in their thinking and more sensitive to social cues. The fact that they don’t think of gameplay as training is crucial. Once the experience is explicitly educational, it becomes about developing compartmentalized skills and loses its power to permeate the player’s behavior patterns and worldview.
(…)
The day may not be far off when companies receive résumés that include a line reading “level 60 tauren shaman in World of Warcraft.”

Why do I blog this? what I like here is that the author do not talk about the common misconception about learning with games: you barely learn a content while playing game but rather you learn processes and problem solving tricks (through trials and errors for instance).
This article also makes me think of Nick Yee’ paper about how video-games blur the boundaries of work and play.

Information versus Knowledge

In the april 2006 issue of Harvard Business Review (Vol. 84, Issue 4), there is a column by Lawrence Prusak that struck me: “The World Is Round”. The author is actually taking the counter position of Thomas Friedman who claims that ““Several technological and political forces have converged, and that has produced a global, Web-enabled playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration without regard to geography or distance – or, soon, even language.” along with Bill Gates or Jakob Nielsen (who advocate for a similar idea).

Yes, we are interconnected on a truly astonishing scale. But Gates, Friedman, and many others make a fundamental error (…) Their mistake is that they’re confusing information with knowledge.
(…)
What’s the difference between information and knowledge? Information is a message, one-dimensional and bounded by its form: a document, an image, a speech, a genome, a recipe, a symphony score. You can
package it and instantly distribute it to anyone, anywhere. Google, of course, is currently the ultimate information machine, providing instantaneous access to virtually any piece of information you can imagine
(…)
Knowledge results from the assimilation and connecting of information through experience, most often through apprenticeship or mentoring.
(…)
Most of the people in the world remain out of the knowledge loop and off the information grid. One billion people on the Internet means there are five and a half billion people who aren’t on it. Bringing those people into the global conversation is essential to achieving true democratization of knowledge. But simply giving everyone access to e-mail and Google will never in itself flatten the earth. Until our governments, NGOs, schools, corporations, and other institutions embrace the idea that knowledge – not information – is the key to prosperity, most of the world’s people will remain a world apart.

Why do I blog this? I fully agree with the distinction between information/knowledge; it’s often a misconception, especially in the domain of educational technologies.

Colors in email

In the last issue of Communication of the ACM, there is a paper about the value of color in email by Moshe Zviran , Dov Te’eni and Yuval Gross. The authors conducted an interesting field experiment about it.

DOES COLOR IN EMAIL MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Yes, if used correctly, it can excite and please, prompting recipients to respond as the sender intended— clicking a designated link or even buying something.

Color has two main functions—attract attention and set the right mood—for responding positively to a message or request. And because of our increasinglyshort attention spans and the relatively quick interaction speed we expect in today’s electronic world, it must do both at the same time.
Color can be a prime attention grabber when and where people’s attention is scarce

Why do I blog this? this kind of topic is absolutely not related to what I do but I am sometimes amazed by color usage in email exchange.