Parental Controls for Games

photo courtesy of wujimon via google image search

World of Warcraft has taken parental micro-management to a new level. And I think I like it! Their parental controls allow you to set how many hours per day and on which days your kids can play the game.

Atmosphir: the LEGO of video games?

check out this video from TechCrunch

Atmosphir is a free game and game design tool for Mac and PC. You create 3D interactive adventures using "blocks" such as a sand castle tower, fireball-breathing bird, or trap door, to create your own levels and then share them with an online community.

Their goal is to become "The LEGO of video games".

You can sign up for their Beta now. It still needs a lot of work but has a lot of potential!

more about the product >

Scrabu-less on Facebook

Oh, sad day! No more Scrabulous on Facebook...Scrabulous.com is next...

read the article on MSNBC >

image courtesy of msnbc.com

More Screenshots from the Spore Creature Creator

Spore Released their Creature Creator Today!

WOW!! For Mac and PC too!

Try it out: http://www.spore.com/trial

Little Hands, Foul Moods, and Runny Noses

The Game Developer's Conference was last week in San Francisco and I was lucky enough to attend a few sessions about game design. My favorite one was about "Researching Games with Kids". The speaker was Carla Engelbrecht (Teachers College, Columbia University) and she was really lively and wonderful. She showed this hilarious video to start with...

She said that, as game designers, we think we know what kids will like but we don't always get it right. Our "inner child" may still be there but there's NO WAY for us to still be in touch with everything that kids like, hence the need for research.

So how do you do research? Besides getting kids in the room and actually testing with them, there are a lot of other resources to help you figure out what kids will like at what age:

academia, conferences, online Googling

Google Scholar ("cited by" links very useful)

the NY Public Library or other library you have access to

IDC-- Interaction Design for Children conference

CHI-Kids discussion list

Center for Children and Technology

Go to YouTube and search "kids using Wii" for example

Child Development 101 for the Developers of Interactive Media (Wolock, Orr & Buckleitner)

PBS Parents Child Development tracker

Here are a few interface design issues she pointed out:
-point and click is easier for kids than drag and drop -- especially kids under 6
-a trackball is easier for kids because it doesn't move as much as a mouse

Developmental issues:
-kids under 5 often recall isolated events rather than full plot
-kids understand big picture of plot only by age 9-10
-kids can't tell that the amount of water in a short glass is the same as one in a tall glass
-be careful of cognitive leaps you take for granted but kids haven't learned yet

Testing issues:
-setup needs to accommodate kids' small size: chair should be high enough and screen low enough that they don't have to strain to look up or they will focus on the bottom of the screen!
-don't have any fire alarms in the room (!)
-kids get bored, start to give wrong answers-- make sure you account for short attention spans

I hope this will be useful for anyone working on interactive media for kids, I certainly enjoyed her talk and will be keeping an eye out for her work.

Amazing 3D Game by Media Molecule

You HAVE to see this! Stunning visuals, innovative interaction, multiplayer creativity and collaboration. The game is called Little Big Planet. Take a look at this video from the Game Developers Conference to get a sneak peek inside...

"easily the best PlayStation 3 game that Sony has ever shown off"
Wired

"this is the reason to buy PlayStation 3"
Slashdot




visit the Media Molecule site for more info.

Secret Codes on Websites...Immersive Games

Trent Reznor is doing some cool promotional games...check out this Wired article:
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_args

Photo: Robert Maxwell

Cute Message Board Format

Message boards tend to be so boring...this one is not! One of the features is the "pulse" where new posts appear dynamically. Also, big avatars and speech bubbles make it really playful. It's a forum for Gaia Online, a super-popular MMOG. It looks like they're using heavily modified PHPBB

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/extended-discussion/the-cause-of-popularity/t.32362425/

don't read the conversation, just look at the format!

here's the main forum, http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/index.php

Video of people playing "MobZombies"

Check it out: another example of gaming overlaying a virtual world on the real one.

The World is Your Playing Field

This is an ad, but its concept is very interesting-- overlaying a fantasy world onto the real world and using that as a playing field for games. Where there might be a plain white wall in real life, there is a crazy alien wall in the game -- check out the video:

Scrabulous Facebook app!!

I have dug my way out from under the crushing garbage pile of Facebook apps, to see the light at last.

Taking advantage of your existing social network, you can play simultaneous or asynchronous games with friends and family, from 2 to 4 players -- it's a really smart marriage of online multiplayer gaming and social networking.

It's just SCRABULOUS!

here's the facebook app

here's their main website

Totally warping 3D space!!!

Portal is a game where you can place holes (er, portals!) in walls to create entrances and exits and jump from one space to another. It really plays with your sense of space, check out the demo on YouTube for a better description-- it looks really challenging and interesting.

Too bad the actual game video makes it look like a shoot-em-up. I like the instructions style better!

check it out >

Metaplace-- build a virtual apartment!!!

"Build a virtual apartment and put it on your website. Work with friends to make a huge MMORPG. Share your puzzle game with friends". Such is Metaplace's overall vision, "to let you build anything, and play everything, from anywhere".

Sounds, um, huge! and...rather...vague. Too bad the alpha signup is closed. I can't wait to see what they have in store.

For now you can learn more on their site, metaplace.com. You can sign up for the newsletter there and stay informed as to when you can get a peek at the game.

I'll be posting a lot about games and MMOGs because I'm working on one right now...I find this kind of social interaction in a virtual space totally fascinating. Please send me links to any good MMOGs you know of!

Interactive 3D Flash site for Halo 3

Amazing promotional site for Halo 3 / Believe. Navigate using your mouse or arrow keys, and explore a 3D word where you can click hotspots to learn more, download wallpapers, and rotate characters 360 degrees.

check it out >

You can also take screenshots of where you are at any time and save them.