Games

Sep

22

2011

Gamers Solve Puzzle That Could Help In Fight Against AIDS | The Utopianist - Think Bigger

An online game where players work to figure out the best molecular orientation for different molecules has provided an answer to a long-sought enzyme (hey, to each his own — the game has had 236,000 players sign up since 2008). This enzyme is responsible for helping viruses like AIDS spread, so figuring out its structure was a full-time job recently, although no scientists came up with an answer. Instead, as a “last-ditch effort”, the molecule was put into the database of the game Foldit, just to see if regular players could do anything with it.
The puzzle was solved in less than 10 days.

utopianist.com/...uld-help-in-fight-against-aids

- Preview

Games HIV_AIDS

Sep

19

2011

Skepticblog » Gamers Succeed Where Scientists Fail

www.skepticblog.org/...-succeed-where-scientists-fail

- Preview

Games Science Mechanical Turk Crowd-Sourcing

Gamers succeed where scientists fail: Molecular structure of retrovirus enzyme solved

Gamers have solved the structure of a retrovirus enzyme whose configuration had stumped scientists for more than a decade. The gamers achieved their discovery by playing Foldit, an online game that allows players to collaborate and compete in predicting the structure of protein molecules.

www.physorg.com/...lecular-retrovirus-enzyme.html

- Preview

Games Science Mechanical Turk Crowd-Sourcing

"We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed," said Dr. Firas Khatib of the University of Washington Department of Biochemistry. Khatib is a researcher in the protein structure lab of Dr. David Baker, professor of biochemistry.

Remarkably, the gamers generated models good enough for the researchers to refine and, within a few days, determine the enzyme's structure. Equally amazing, surfaces on the molecule stood out as likely targets for drugs to de-active the enzyme.
much attention has been given to the possibilities of crowd-sourcing and game playing in scientific discovery. Their results indicate the potential for integrating online video games into real-world science.
2 more annotation(s)...
- "People have spatial reasoning skills, something computers are not yet good at," Cooper said. "Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans. The results in this week's paper show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before."
- "Foldit shows that a game can turn novices into domain experts capable of producing first-class scientific discoveries. We are currently applying the same approach to change the way math and science are taught in school."

Sep

4

2011

Smithsonian's Crowdsourced "The Art Of Video Games" Exhibition Comes Under Fire | The Creators Project

www.thecreatorsproject.com/...es-exhibition-comes-under-fire

- Preview

Crowd-Sourcing Video Games Crowd Curation Art

My initial concerns about the current show were its sort of lack of perspective. The strength of a curated show comes from the choice and arrangement of the works, and I worried that with a crowdsourced show like this, it would be hard to form a central thesis. What makes each of these games influential and how will those qualities come together to paint a moving picture of games as an art medium? I wasn’t sure this list particularly answered those questions.
They’ve avoided directly addressing the question of why are video games art, and instead danced around it, showing a number of wonderful games and explaining why each great. Despite this success though, I feel that the show was still damaged by the crowdsourced curation approach. While I agree that the player is a major component of games (as Abe Stein recently posted to his blog, “A game not played is no game at all”), the argument that because games are played by the public they should be publicly curated doesn’t necessarily follow for me, especially when the resultant list is so muddled.
2 more annotation(s)...
- Despite Chris’ apparent love for the games, the show doesn’t feel as strongly curated as it could have been, overly heavy in some places, and completely missing in others, and I think that is a result of the crowdsourcing. Although I’m sure Chris has a fantastic perspective that will tie this all together beautifully and the resulting show will be enjoyable and successful, I wish that he had just selected a strong list of games on his own and been confident with his picks.
- perhaps it would have been nice to not side-step the question of why are these games, as a whole, important as art. Considering this is the first major American art institution to put on a video game show, I would have liked to see a more powerful statement about the medium.

Jul

25

2011

Neuroskeptic: Violent Brains In The Supreme Court

Back in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Californian law banning the sale of violent videogames to children was unconstitutional because it violated the right to free speech.

However, the ruling wasn't unanimous. Justice Stephen Breyer filed a dissenting opinion. Unfortunately, it contains a whopping misuse of neuroscience.

neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/...t-brains-in-supreme-court.html

- Preview

Neuroscience Violence Games Law

Breyer says (on page 13 of his bit)
Cutting-edge neuroscience has shown that “virtual violence in video game playing results in those neural patterns that are considered characteristic for aggressive cognition and behavior.”
He then cites this fMRI study from 2006. It's from the same group as this one I wrote about recently.
does this study show that playing violent games causes aggressive brain activity? Not exactly. By which I mean "no".

They scanned 13 young men playing a shooter game. The main finding was that during "violent" moments of the game, activity in the rostral ACC and the amygdala activity falls
1 more annotation(s)...
- but even if this neural response is "characteristic for aggressive cognition and behavior", it only lasted a few seconds. There's no evidence at all that this causes any lasting effects on brain function, or behaviour.
  
  The real problem though is that the whole thing is based on the theory that violence is associated with reduced amygdala (and rACC) activity.
  
  The authors cite various studies to this effect, but they don't distinguish between reduced activity as an immediate neural response to violence, as in this study, and reduced activity in people with high exposure to violent media, in response to non-violent stimuli.
  
  This is rather like saying that because having a haircut reduces your total hair, and because bald people have no hair, haircuts cause baldness. Short-term doesn't automatically become long-term.

Jun

28

2011

California ban on sale of 'violent' video games to children rejected - CNN.com

The Supreme Court has struck down a California law that would have banned selling "violent" video games to children, a case balancing free speech rights with consumer protection.
The 7-2 ruling Monday is a victory for video game makers and sellers, who said the ban -- which had yet to go into effect -- would extend too far. They say the existing nationwide, industry-imposed, voluntary rating system is an adequate screen for parents to judge the appropriateness of computer game content.
The state says it has a legal obligation to protect children from graphic interactive images when the industry has failed to do so.

edition.cnn.com/...index.html

- Preview

Violence Children Video Games

"The First Amendment does not disable government from helping parents make such a choice here -- a choice not to have their children buy extremely violent, interactive games," he wrote.

At issue is how far constitutional protections of free speech and expression, as well as due process, can be applied to youngsters.
Justice Clarence Thomas also dissented, saying the law's requirement of having parents purchase the games for their underage children was reasonable. "The freedom of speech as originally understood, does not include a right to speak to minors, without going through the minors' parents or guardians," he said.
2 more annotation(s)...
- The motion picture industry has its own self-monitoring ratings system, imposed decades ago after complaints that some films were too explicit for the general audience in what was seen and heard. The gaming industry says its ratings system roughly follows the same self-imposed guidelines, and ratings are clearly labeled on the packaging.
- Efforts in at least eight other states to restrict gaming content have been rejected by various courts. Video game makers have the support of various free-speech, entertainment, and media organizations. Nine states also agree, noting California's law has good intentions but would compel law enforcement to become "culture critics" and "distract from the task of policing actual violence."
  
  But 11 other states back California, saying they have enjoyed a traditional regulatory power over commerce aimed at protecting children, including such goods as alcohol and cigarettes.

May

26

2011

China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work | World news | guardian.co.uk

As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-east China. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells.

Liu says he was one of scores of prisoners forced to play online games to build up credits that prison guards would then trade for real money. The 54-year-old, a former prison guard who was jailed for three years in 2004 for "illegally petitioning" the central government about corruption in his hometown, reckons the operation was even more lucrative than the physical labour that prisoners were also forced to do.

www.guardian.co.uk/...prisoners-internet-gaming-scam

- Preview

Games Cultural Industries Prison Labour

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour," Liu told the Guardian. "There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off."
"If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things," he said.
3 more annotation(s)...
- "gold farming", the practice of building up credits and online value through the monotonous repetition of basic tasks in online games such as World of Warcraft. The trade in virtual assets is very real, and outside the control of the games' makers. Millions of gamers around the world are prepared to pay real money for such online credits, which they can use to progress in the online games.
  The trading of virtual currencies in multiplayer games has become so rampant in China that it is increasingly difficult to regulate. In April, the Sichuan provincial government in central China launched a court case against a gamer who stole credits online worth about 3000rmb.
- lack of regulations has meant that even prisoners can be exploited in this virtual world for profit.
- The emergence of gold farming as a business in China – whether in prisons or sweatshops could raise new questions over the exporting of goods real or virtual from the country.
  "Prison labour is still very widespread – it's just that goods travel a much more complex route to come to the US these days. And it is not illegal to export prison goods to Europe, said Nicole Kempton from the Laogai foundation, a Washington-based group which opposes the forced labour camp system in China.

Sep

3

2010

To be ahead of the game, consider game-based marketing - Knowledge@SMU

To be ahead of the game, consider game-based marketing
Published: September 01, 2010 in Knowledge@SMU

knowledge.smu.edu.sg/article.cfm

- Preview

Games Marketing Addiction

in the era of Farmville, Warcraft, Angry Birds and Bejeweled – 'sticky' interactive applications that have, in almost stealth-like ways, caused many of us to betray the best of our sensibilities. People have been known to trade errands, dates, anniversaries and even ruin relationships, in exchange for just a chance to advance to that ever-elusive next 'level'.
The ability of games to beguile and transform humans into obsessed nuts should catch the attention of every marketing opportunist, brought up on a diet of jargons, such as 'engagement', 'retention' and 'entrenchment'. Zichermann and Linder wrote: "While the majority of people would never use the word 'hardcore' to describe their own play habits, a quick look at the world around us confirms something we all know, refer to, and engage in without even the slightest conscious awareness: Almost everything seems to offer an opportunity to play. Put another way, all the world's a game, and savvy marketers can – and do – leverage this fact to create lasting engagement and positive brand connections with consumers."
9 more annotation(s)...
- More fun, less logic, more profits
- An appreciation of game-like rules and behaviours can reap benefits for both businesses and consumers. Businesses desire longer-term relationships with customers – loyalty – to protect revenue streams, raise barriers of entry and fuel long-term growth. Customers, on the other hand, have no real need to pledge their loyalty unless they derive unique benefits from the relationship. This is where an appreciation of game-based marketing might come in handy.
- "Games can cut through the clutter of a crowded brand marketplace and socially networked environment to attract, retain, and monetise consumers like no other," the authors argued. To prove their point, they cited the example of familiar loyalty and rebate programmes, where customers collect points or tokens in exchange for freebies or privileges.
- these programmes have become so engaging that people would go out of their way, defying rationality, to chalk up 'miles'. The authors wrote: "They routinely cause players engaged in the game to make decisions that are counterintuitive to their well-being – and chequebook – in order to 'level up'. For example, flyers will choose inconvenient or more expensive flights simply to earn points or levels with a particular carrier, even when the direct option was cheaper or more convenient. Some players even opt to take flights entirely for the purpose of earning points or miles." More amusing is the fact that most people would leave their miles untouched and unredeemed. Zichermann and Linder found, for example, that in 2007, close to 10 trillion miles were left sitting on people's frequent flyer accounts.
- In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun
- Much of the book is centred on the idea of "Funware", a term coined by Zichermann which captures the belief that people like to win, have fun at it – and through that, marketers can drive consumer behaviours in "predictable, overt and focused" ways. It is the "application of game mechanics to everyday situations", regardless of whether or not we recognise those situations as 'games' – in the traditional sense of the word.
  
  Funware can be found, for instance, even in the ordering of a cup of coffee, the authors said. Take Starbucks; there are rules and structures by which customers follow to get their drinks: Enter, queue, order, pay, wait, and receive. When customers follow the order, step by step, they may advance and move forward. If they perform well (e.g. warm smiles, generous tips), they may leave the store with a 'reward' – like extra whipped cream, free flavour shots, or a greeting from the barista. If someone shows herself to be able to break out of the sequence, however, by receiving her drink immediately and then proceeding to pay, she (in game terminology) 'levels up' because she has "figured something out that may not be obvious to everyone else" – and in so doing, she outplays the rest.
- Virtually rewarding
- Just as Frequent Flyer Programmes entice consumers with the grand hope – that if they accumulate enough points, they will eventually enjoy real-world rewards – some marketers have also cleverly devised low-cost virtual-world rewards that hold real meaning for customers. Examples include an exclusive sneak peek at a new product, virtual tokens to 'unlock' a webpage, queue-jumps at the store, unique desktop wallpapers, and so on. More ingenious are those virtual rewards that consumers desire so badly that they are willing to trade in their real-world money. World of Warcraft and Second Life, for instance, have people buying virtual goods with actual cash.
- Much of Game-based Marketing also hinges on the reader's appreciation of Zichermann's 'Funware' – a term used quite regularly throughout the book. Consumer behaviour and psychology are discussed, albeit simplistically. While most of the concepts presented are relevant and thought-provoking, it might have been more interesting, perhaps, if the authors could have included some ideas and deductions that relate directly to the virtual economies that run across mobile devices. With an estimated 4.6 billion mobile devices in use around the world today, this is an area that marketers should be interested in. Mobile devices of late, have, after all, been referred to as 'game-changing' revolutionaries.

Jun

19

2010

Mars and Venus at the Video Arcade | Psychology Today

June 10, 2010, Cognition
Mars and Venus at the Video Arcade
Of course men and women are different. But is it *all* about biology?
Published on June 10, 2010

www.psychologytoday.com/...ars-and-venus-the-video-arcade

- Preview

Games Gender Stereotype Psychology

One of our favorite ways to do this is by attributing others' behavior to some sort of internal, stable predisposition.
So we're particularly fond of turning to biology to explain human nature. Take apparent gender differences in how we think and act.
6 more annotation(s)...
- There are compelling explanations for behavior out there that we overlook in our rush to explain each other in internal terms. Sometimes the easy answers for what we observe have nothing to do with biology at all. Sometimes they're as straightforward as video games.
- Three years ago, Canadian psychologists assessed research participants' spatial abilities using tasks such as mental rotation, in which respondents had to match a geometrical shape to a rotated version of that same shape. Of course, this is a cognitive ability vitally important in fields like math, engineering, and the sciences. And researchers found that, consistent with previous data, men typically outperformed women in the study.
- The thinking was that the more time respondents spent playing video games, the more practice they'd likely have navigating unfamiliar spaces, manipulating visual objects, and evaluating novel images. Male or female, gaming experience should translate into better spatial performance, and this is exactly what researchers found: students who averaged more than four hours of video games per week outperformed the non-gamers.
- he same Canadian research team ran a second study in which they subjected non-gaming participants to four weeks of intensive "video game training." Afterwards, spatial test scores improved across the board, but especially among women. This improvement was long-lasting as well: months later, the positive effects were still evident in students' spatial performance. Just imagine the cumulative effects of an entire childhood devoted to gaming.
- another line of research published in the same scientific journal suggested that video game ownership may very well help explain impaired reading and writing skills among elementary-school-aged boys.
- researchers followed the academic and behavioral functioning of two groups of 1st-3rd grade boys: one given a PlayStation II console with several games, and one that was not. Four months later, boys who had been given a new game system exhibited lower reading and writing test scores, had more teacher-reported academic problems, and engaged in fewer after-school activities.

Weiye Loh's Library tagged Games → View Popular, Search in Google

Gamers Solve Puzzle That Could Help In Fight Against AIDS | The Utopianist - Think Bigger

Skepticblog » Gamers Succeed Where Scientists Fail

Gamers succeed where scientists fail: Molecular structure of retrovirus enzyme solved

Smithsonian's Crowdsourced "The Art Of Video Games" Exhibition Comes Under Fire | The Creators Project

Neuroskeptic: Violent Brains In The Supreme Court

California ban on sale of 'violent' video games to children rejected - CNN.com

China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work | World news | guardian.co.uk

To be ahead of the game, consider game-based marketing - Knowledge@SMU

Mars and Venus at the Video Arcade | Psychology Today

Selected Tags

Related Tags

Top Contributors

Groups interested in Games

Casual Games

Becker Video Game Design