In April 2008—just about a year ago—I co-founded Playpower with my frequent collaborators Derek and Jeremy. Derek had spent the year in India and during his travels, he was doing what we always do: looking for the next project. It came in the form of a $12 computer that his friends insisted he not purchase. Thankfully, he ignored their pleas and brought one back to California. Soon after, we busted out with a mission to support affordable, effective, fun learning games.
So, here it is, May 2009. We have international collaborators in Brazil, China, India, and everywhere really. There’s an incredibly impressive group of volunteers signing up to help make this all happen. The project has been awarded the HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning award. We’re collaborating with the 8-bit art community, especially the 8bitpeoples, in an effort to prove that learning games can both sound and look great. And there’s our recent performance at ETech 2009 along with the resulting press helping to get the word out about the project. Furthermore, the computer is for sale in the MakerShed and we’ll be at the MakerFaire to demonstrate the computer’s use as a hackable art device.
I am looking forward as we elevate from concept to implementation. Bridging the gap between educators creating culturally-relevant learning games and stellar artists wanting to make a difference. This is going to be great! (Interested in joining the project? We need you—sign up today!)
Posted on May 5 2009 / 8-bit education playpower
I am thrilled to announce that the Re:Game Lab at UC-San Diego is fully functional with nearly thirty consoles, stretching from the Odyssey² to the the PS3. The lab is available for researchers of all disciplines to engage with the games and consoles as they were designed to be experienced. Every system is configured to be recorded for gameplay analysis.
Jeremy playing Yar's Revenge in the Re:Game Lab
As a core mission of Re:Game, we’re holding weekly events for gameplay showcases and critical discussion. We’re kicking these shindigs off with an evening devoted to the topic of Rhythm games (Guitar Hero, Rez, DDR, et al). If you’re in Southern California—or even passing through—please join us! More details are available via the Re:Game discussion group.
If you’re interested in installing a lab at your own institution, we are very enthusiastic about sharing our process with you and spreading this concept to game studies programs everywhere. In the coming months, we’ll be providing tutorials on setting up your own lab and configuring a VGSU (Video Game Sampling Unit).
Posted on May 1 2009 / lab ReGame VGDb
Paperboy is essential and has been ported endlessly. Recently, I recorded gameplay from several of the ports: Atari ST, C64, NES, Sega Master System, Atari Lynx, and Game Boy. I quickly realized that the handheld ports are the most playable and rewarding. Paperboy benefits from constraints in both graphics and gameplay.
Not only that, but the Averages from handheld recordings are stunning. As the paperboy’s position rarely alters, he appears to be breezing through a blurred neighborhood. The similarity to long-exposure photographs, particularly with the Game Boy’s yellow-green display have encouraged further explorations which I will be posting over the next few months.
Paperboy/Lynx (Average)
Paperboy/GB (Average)
Posted on Mar 5 2009 / Atari Lynx average Game Boy handheld Paperboy time-study
Last month, as an early time-study, I analyzed the first three stages of Excitebike. The Maximum representations—those which show everything all at once—produced beautiful results.
At first glance, you can easily understand the track design by way of the equalizer-like formation of overlapped ramps. Additionally, you can see an even distribution of jumps. And although you can press “B” for turbo, you never actually advance beyond the fixed horizontal constraint provided by the game designers. I will create a more comprehensive study in the future including every stage as well as some track designer experiments.
Stage 1-1 (Maximum)
Stage 1-2 (Maximum)
Stage 2-1 (Maximum)
Posted on Mar 4 2009 / 8-bit Excitebike maximum NES time-study
As part of the Re:Game initiative at CRCA (UC San Diego), Jeremy Douglass and I are constructing the Video Gameplay Database (VGDb).
A significant component of the VGDb is representations of gameplay. Jeremy has developed several methods to study time as it relates to gameplay sessions. Together, we along with other interested researchers are beginning to explore the possibility of these representations.
For some, there’s an attraction to the ability to see a montage of gameplay situations, for others it’s the crop a particular section of screen geometry (such as the chords in Guitar Hero) and dissect the game design. And of course, the combination of these will serve to provide an understanding of large-scale patterns in the canon of game design.
For my own sake, I am most compelled to explore two representations: Averages and Maximums. Averages produce a long-exposure type impression from the video while Maximums overlay every frame into one image and provide an all-at-once impression. In the next few months, I will be recording and analyzing a great deal of gameplay using the “Video Game Sampling Unit” that we’ve devised at Re:Game. While all of the results will end up in the VGDb, I also intend to post the highlights of my explorations here—the truly revelatory discoveries and the wowzers.
In the meantime, here are two recent prototypes of the VGDb interface:
VGDb Prototype: Gameplay Sessions
VGDb: Gameplay Representations
Posted on Mar 3 2009 / time-study VGDb
I have realized that, while I always share my input, I have not been as keen at capturing my output. So that’s it, this the “O” in I/O, the perfect complement to my input-focused tumblelog, Noted.
Actually, I’ve experimented a few times, the longest duration was with a daily-sketch blog that lasted a few years. However, in that case, I was generating content specifically for the format rather than documenting everything else that I was creating.
The goal here is to regularly post experiments (failures and successes), the occasional crazed dialogue about my research, and and everything else related to process, practice, and output.
Posted on Mar 1 2009
