We're all mad here.

Is Replay Value in Video Games Overrated?

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:49:06 -0400

Is Replay Value in Video Games Overrated?:

videogaming:

What do you think? Ehow has a surprisingly helpful list of ways to add replay value to games here.

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Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:23:45 -0400

“The second it kicks in - instant anarchy. To an adult,...

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:54:00 -0400

“The second it kicks in - instant anarchy. To an adult, it sounds like a keyboard that’s been distorted a little too much through some kind of wah wah synth. To a child, sounds like a call to arms and causes destruction of the living room. Influential, noisy and the best ever kids TV theme.”

"I would love to see games that teach social skills useful for some subpopulation of children and..."

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:47:36 -0400

“I would love to see games that teach social skills useful for some subpopulation of children and adolescents who don’t know how to treat others and how to interact.”

"ǝɹǝɥ pɐɯ llɐ ǝɹ,ǝʍ"

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:00:03 -0400

“ǝɹǝɥ pɐɯ llɐ ǝɹ,ǝʍ”

- Cheshire Cat - The name of my blog oddly enough…

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Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:59:01 -0400

Wall Street Fighter IV!!!

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:07:26 -0400

Wall Street Fighter IV!!!

sadguysontradingfloors: “I’m going to clean up Wall Street,” he...

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:51:47 -0400

sadguysontradingfloors:

“I’m going to clean up Wall Street,” he thought to himself.

Photo

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:51:36 -0400

"If there is a state where the soul can find a resting-place secure enough to establish itself and..."

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:51:17 -0400

“If there is a state where the soul can find a resting-place secure enough to establish itself and concentrate its entire being there, with no need to remember the past or reach into the future, where time is nothing to it, where the present runs on indefinitely but this duration goes unnoticed, with no sign of the passing of time, and no other feeling of deprivation or enjoyment, pleasure or pain, desire or fear than the simple feeling of existence, a feeling that fills our soul entirely, as long as this state lasts, we can call ourselves happy, not with a poor, incomplete and relative happiness such as we find in the pleasures of life, but with a sufficient, complete and perfect happiness which leaves no emptiness to be filled in the soul.”

- Rousseau - one of my favorite philosophers

"What makes a pound for pound king? A guy who only has sixteen or seventeen fights. Who is only..."

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:43:27 -0400

“What makes a pound for pound king? A guy who only has sixteen or seventeen fights. Who is only professional for one year. And then became champion and stayed champion for ten years. Six time world champion in five different weight classes, without a loss.”

- Money Mayweather

Go Joe!

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:16:52 -0400

Go Joe!

"People can be divided into two classes: winners and whiners. Whiners are people who go around..."

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:47:53 -0400

“People can be divided into two classes: winners and whiners. Whiners are people who go around constantly complaining about the unfairnesses of life. Winners are people who figure out how to deal with the unfairnesses of life and get what they want in spite of it all.”

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Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:58:38 -0400

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Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:57:32 -0400

ghostsdonotscareme: The best Star Trek video game you’ll ever...

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:52:08 -0400

ghostsdonotscareme:

The best Star Trek video game you’ll ever play. Guaranteed.

Just so you know, that’s Mass Effect, not Star Trek. But it’s still an awesome preview to a game that was one of the most entertaining and exciting ones I’ve ever played.

realworldmba: “Eric Hanushek, an economist at Stanford,...

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:19:18 -0400

realworldmba:

“Eric Hanushek, an economist at Stanford, estimates that the students of a very bad teacher will learn, on average, half a year’s worth of material in one school year. The students in the class of a very good teacher will learn a year and a half’s worth of material. That difference amounts to a year’s worth of learning in a single year.

Teacher effects dwarf school effects: your child is actually better off in a “bad” school with an excellent teacher than in an excellent school with a bad teacher. Teacher effects are also much stronger than class-size effects. You’d have to cut the average class almost in half to get the same boost that you’d get if you switched from an average teacher to a teacher in the eighty-fifth percentile. And remember that a good teacher costs as much as an average one, whereas halving class size would require that you build twice as many classrooms and hire twice as many teachers.”

-The New Yorker: Most Likely to Succeed, by Malcolm Gladwell

"So, let me ask you who is passionate about games? Right, of course everyone is. Well, guess what?..."

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:37:17 -0400

“

So, let me ask you who is passionate about games? Right, of course everyone is. Well, guess what? Passion is pretty meaningless. Everyone has that same passion. You cannot count on your love for games alone to get you very far in the game industry. OK, so, how about ideas? Who has a great idea for a game, for innovative new gameplay, or awesome tech? Right, of course, we are all bubbling with ideas. Well, this too is pretty meaningless. There is no shortage of ideas. In fact, there’s always way more ideas than the industry can possibly ever deal with.

What matters? Execution! It is the ability – and talent – to take action on those ideas and passion. So ya, getting an education at Digipen certainly helps in that regard, but ultimately the paper is worthless if you don’t take action. You must never develop a sense of entitlement on account of your education. It is toxic. And, you need to be mindful that the majority of people working in the industry today do not have a formal game education. They are sceptical. They are probably a little scared too. But, luckily, more so that any industry, game development is a meritocracy. If you have the talent and skills to take action on your passion and ideas, there will always be a future for you in games.

And, by talent and skills, I don’t just mean coding or animation chops. A lot of what’s needed to be successful in games comes down to soft skills. It may in fact be the most surprising thing when you hit your first game industry job. Teamwork, communication skills, flexibility, prioritization, giving/taking criticism, continuous learning, focus, etc, etc. Leadership! You need to give these skills – and the people you work with - as much attention as your technical abilities moving forward.

”

I’m going on 22 years old, I don’t know how to tie a tie and...

Fri, 29 May 2009 00:58:06 -0400

I’m going on 22 years old, I don’t know how to tie a tie and have never written a cover letter in my life. I have been giving career advice to close friends, fellow classmates and even complete strangers, but have never participated in any sort of formal recruitment process. I guess it’s time for me to take my own medicine.

Crab Hat = win

Wed, 27 May 2009 19:09:39 -0400

Crab Hat = win