Introducing Lauren Collister
Travis L. Ross on Nov 18, 2012I'd like to take a moment to introduce Lauren Collister, who is a new writer joining our staff. Lauren is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Linguistics at University of Pittsburgh. Her focus is in sociolinguistics, which is the study of...
A technical note for game analysts
Isaac Knowles on Nov 12, 2012Twice now I have reviewed and subsequently rejected papers that attempt to analyze the price of games in terms of real currency and the price of virtual items in terms of virtual currency. I've had to do so on the basis of a fairly serious oversight...
Refining the flow diagram
Jared Lorince on Oct 19, 2012Last month, I posted on the origins of Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow, but the diagram I focused on there (and that tends to pervade discussion of flow among game designers) is actually a bit dated. Preparing for a reading group on engagement...
ICA CFP - Motivational Uses and Applications of Di...
Jim Cummings on Oct 16, 2012This year's 63rd annual conference of the International Communication Association will be including a special pre-conference event focusing on the power of play and the motivational aspects of digital games. The event will take place in London on...
Featured on Scientific American
MPAdministrator on Sep 19, 2012I'm excited to announce that one of our founding members - Jared Lorince - has published an article with Scientific American called, Chasing LaPlace's Demon. The article covers how simple decision making heuristics can outperform much more...
From Bungeling Bay to The Sims
Jared Lorince on Sep 16, 2012The Sims is the immensely popular "life simulation" game that has set itself apart not only by its unique gameplay and commercial success, but by its ability to cross demographic boundaries in way few other videogames have. As such, it's fascinating...