New Kickstarter: The Science and Psychology of Video Games

 have decided to start setting up my Kickstarter project, and have published a page specific for it on this site as well. All of the details can be found on the current draft page for the project on Kickstarter itself.

Despite being a prolific writer and reader, I have never written a book before. I’ve considered it, like many people have, but never took any earlier attempts seriously. Now that I have established myself somewhat across various websites, and have found both a hobby and an outlet I’m passionate about, it seems like as good a time as any to get things rolling.

I will be providing updates on the project on both the actual Kickstarter page and on this website as well. Hopefully this works out well.

How Art, Creativity, and Innovation Detract From Productivity

The Escapist : Jimquisition : Neutered

[Author’s Note]

Here is a link to the video that sparked the idea for this article. The embedding does not seem to be working with the site very well.

sually one of the biggest challenges in learning a language (particularly a second one) is getting past all of nuances, the “little things” such as inflection, tone, formal/informal, etc. One aspect that makes English such as difficult language to learn is precisely just how vague and indirect it can be. This can be seen with the sheer amount of synonyms and word choices available. All that a writer needs is a thesaurus by their side and they can literally say the same thing over and over again in a near limitless number of different ways.

Faith or No Faith: Nintendo Wii-U, Struggling Sales, and Improving Morale

The Wii-U; yet another underdog console from Nintendo.

very now and then it helps to deliberately ask people for their thoughts or views. In terms of Nintendo’s Wii-U, the overall consensus seems somewhat scattered. There is no shortage of articles lamenting the consoles poor sales, and recently it was announced that the Wii-U is still going to be sold at a loss:

“Earlier this week, Nintendo’s annual report cited Wii U hardware sales as a major factor in the company’s 36.4 billion yen ($387 million) operating loss. In the same document, Nintendo [President] Satoru Iwata promised investors the company will ‘strive to regain ‘Nintendo-like’ profits’ in the current fiscal year.

Selling hardware at a loss is a decidedly un-Nintendo-like practice. Iwata made headlines last October when he first revealed the company would be losing money on each Wii U sold. However, the following month Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime downplayed the significance of the profit shortfall, saying ‘as soon as we get the consumer to buy one piece of software, then that entire transaction becomes profit positive.’”

Xbox One: Charging for “Key Features”

Tons and tons of features for sale!

his does not seem all that surprising, considering the company involved and their previous actions so far. Considering the blatant grab for pervasion on display with initial Xbox One reveal, this comes across as a logical next step. Naturally, Microsoft is understandably seeking other revenues for market control and profit:

“Key features of Microsoft’s Xbox One console, which is expected to go on sale in November, will only be available with an annual subscription […]”

“An Xbox Live Gold account that currently costs $60 (£40) will be needed for all these features […]”

“Microsoft revealed the requirement in an update to webpages detailing the Xbox One’s features.

The webpage shows that, as with the current Xbox 360, a Live Gold account is needed if owners want to use their new console for online multiplayer gaming, watch Netflix or similar streaming services and to browse the web via their TV. 

In addition, on the Xbox One the annual subscription will let players share videos with friends. The console records a rolling sample of a player’s previous five minutes gameplay to make it easier to share key moments.

The payment will also let owners chat to friends via video on Skype and use the OneGuide and SmartMatch services [….]”

Nostalgia and the Video Game Industry – Part 1: The Consumer

The amount of love I have for this game is eclipsed only by my disdain for the creator. Sort of…

[Authors Note]: I am not saying that nostalgia or games made in this style are inherently terrible or do not have a place. I myself loved Fez, and even play games like Westerado quite frequently. Every now and then I’ll also download Winkawaks and play some hardcore Marvel Superheroes VS. Street Fighter or any of the Metal Slug games. I am also of the opinion that, relative to its time, the Nintendo 64 was in many ways the best system for the awesome ratio of awesomely-good-to-bad games it had, and I was a “Genesis kid.” Criticism does not imply hatred, so please, stay calm and read on.

irst, as per usual in these kinds of articles, it seems beneficial to clear up the distinction between the definitions of the most commonly used and often abused terms when discussing an emotionally-charged subject matter:

The Navy and Kinect: “Stopping Sexual Assault”

The Kinect will make sure you’re not a sexual abuser.

he Kinect never ceases to be a great source of unintentionally hilarious entertainment, and that’s not even considering actually playing the thing, necessarily.

Though in this case it has less to do with the Kinect itself, and more to do with a management and higher brass that seems hopelessly out of touch. Kotaku sheds some light on the idea of the U.S. Navy using Kinect software as a proxy for sexual harassment/assault training and deterrence:

“Sailors are going to learn how to read another person’s verbal cues and body language with a Kinect training game meant to curb a sexual [harassment]/assault issue that has become increasingly embarrassing to the armed services.

Like all great things in the military, this game has a very literal and no-fun title: ‘Avatar Based Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Training.'”

3rd Party Exclusives: The Declining Relevancy of Gaming Consoles

hile perusing the internet, fiddling around on YouTube earlier this morning, this video showed up in my feed and it got me thinking. It mostly focuses on the decline on 3^rd party exclusives and increasing dependency on 1^st party exclusives:

Why Women Wear High Heels: A Theory

High heels or stilettos?

 while ago, a prominent writer, Frost (whom I can’t find much information on despite a bit of intense Googling), wrote an article asking why women wear high heels. It seems like a somewhat weird question, one could almost ask that about any accessory. I did not particularly like his reasoning, as it was very complex, even convoluted, I’d say. Anyways, high heels in particular are interesting.

Some say that it accentuates the female form, stretching their lower halves and reinforcing what curves are there. Others say it is just an accessory like any other, one that women wear to fit in with all of the other women, similar to the typical “Ugg boots, iPhone, handbag” combo that so many have poked fun at in recent years. Many say that it is just a sign of class and status, a way of expressing femininity, in the same way a well-tailored suit expresses class and status for a man.

Pacific Rim and Other Terrible Movies

Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots on steroids.

hat did I say? Did I not call this out before?:

“R.I.P.D. wasn’t the only comic book movie to have a disappointing debut this weekend. The Bruce Willis-led ensemble action comedy Red 2 had a soft fifth place opening of $18.5 million, a lower gross than the original film had.

Meanwhile, Pacific Rim continues its domestic box office slide, falling to sixth place in its second weekend with just shy of $16 million. The movie, which cost almost $200 million to make and millions more to market, has a current domestic cume of $68.2 million. It has, though, made nearly twice that overseas.”

Hideo Kojima and the Movies: Ironically Missing the Point

Hideo Kojima is watching you.

ideo Kojima, the director of the Metal Gear Solid video game franchise, gives his two cents on the new film Pacific Rim:

“It’s no surprise that Hideo Kojima, maker of games about people, giant robots and war would like a new summer blockbuster about people, giant robots and monsters. (Hey, two out of three…) It is nevertheless refreshing to see how gleeful the Metal Gear mastermind is about next week’s Guillermo Del Toro action flick, Pacific Rim.”

In the original article, several of Hideo Kojima’s tweets giving the film praise are shown, where he describes the movie as something he “never imagined he would be fortunate enough to see […] in [his] life,” and even compares it to cult classic 2001: A Space Odyssey and an actual classic, Jurassic Park. One tweet of his was particularly enlightening: