& a blog

as if zachary mccune needs another one.

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A Playable Idea: The Critical Gamer Initiative

February 1st, 2010 · 3 Comments

It has become completely impossible to ignore the massive social, economic, and cultural implications of video games. It is an industry that has outsold cinema and publishing for years. Its myths and characters have escaped consoles and computers for popular culture at large. And more and more people are becoming “gamers” everyday. Revolutions in casual [...]

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Tags: Culture · Internet · culture studies · free culture · games · ideas · lifestyle

Is Myst a Mythology of the Hyperlink?

January 11th, 2010 · 2 Comments

In 1993, Cyan published a game called Myst marooning the nascent gaming world onto a mysterious island whose parts interacted like some sinister engine waiting to re-stoked after countless years un-used. The cover featured a perspectival overview of the island, with a shadowy man falling down towards it. The island was the game, the player [...]

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Tags: Culture · Uncategorized · culture studies · games · media · semiotics

when games play you: professor layton & the curious village

August 18th, 2009 · 1 Comment

when i decided to buy a nintendo dsi (see previous post for a re-cap of my logic) i knew i needed a killer app, to make me feel that the purchase was justified. thoroughly, conscientiously, i researched the available games, seeking a game that would help me to immediately dig into the potential of the [...]

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Tags: Culture · culture studies · games · providence

the gamer-scholar: mckenzie wark @ brown

November 24th, 2008 · No Comments

mckenzie wark was at brown this morning, talking about his recent gamer theory project. for those who haven’t read it, gamer theory is a rather indirect assessment of what we might call the gamic experience. i mean this in the sense that whatever pauline kael was to cinema, mckenzie wark might be to game studies. [...]

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Tags: Culture · brown university · culture studies · games · new york · providence · rhode island · semiotics · technology