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

Sep

2011

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

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

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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.

Jun

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

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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.

Jun

2011

Bloggingheads.tv - Free Will: Children and the Scientific Worldview

Free Will: Children and the Scientific Worldview

How kids know the monster under the bed isn’t real (06:22)
Experiments probe causal thinking in children (09:05)
Do scientists have more in common with kids than other adults? (06:30)
Are morality and causality intertwined for ordinary people? (14:23)
4-year-olds’ value-laden perspective on others’ intentions (07:40)
Are Pinker and Chomsky dead-wrong about child development? (03:41)

bloggingheads.tv/16889

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Video Free Will Children Imagination Probability Uncertainty Patternicity Science Possibility Chance