“When I first saw a picture of the ↑Boomslang in an advertisement, I immediately fell for its aesthetics,” I wrote in 2004, when I first attempted a case study in cultural appropriation of peripheral computer hardware, called ↵the taming … Continue reading →
Meanwhile I have sung the song of high praise of ↑David Kushner‘s “Masters of Doom: How two guys created an empire and transformed pop culture” (↵Kushner 2004 [2003]) enough, I guess—and really urged everybody interested in the history of … Continue reading →
Computergames can be spectacular, ↑first-person shooters (FPS) in particular. ↑Electronic sports (e-sports) almost always are spectacular. Marketing in turn definitely has to be spectacular. Marketing a computergame for e-sports for sure will be a spectacle. From the beginning on … Continue reading →
In celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Apple-NeXT merger, ↑John Romero has posted an ↑interesting article about the usage of NeXT during ye olde days at ↑id Software. Set in relation to ↵three spaces, the following is especially intriguing: In … Continue reading →
Detail from the original cover of ↑Chris Crawford‘s 1987 game “↑Patton vs. Rommel“ As I said, all in all the public discussion on computergames is led way more differentiated in the aftermath of the amok run at Emsdetten, than … Continue reading →
This indeed is an unusual specimen of fan-made artefact—the first one of its kind I ran across thus far. At myspace music there is the ↑Alan Wake 24-Hour Real-Time Online Radio Serial, seemingly brought to us straight from Silver … Continue reading →
What exactly is gamemodding? Creating playable extensions to already existing game software? Then what about standalone pieces, like the total conversions made possible e.g. by the release of a game’s source code? And—situated at the other end of the continuum—can … Continue reading →
instances of the appropriation of the cell phone Ever ↑heard about monster packs, flashes, flexes, and seems? Well, all of you carry them around within your cell phone. You are aware, that contemporary cell phones are computers, running applications … Continue reading →
computergame violence as a result of economical competition Media coverage on the amok run in Emsdetten on 20 November 2006 already dwindles away, but the discussion on computergames is going on—and I direly hope that it will go on for … Continue reading →
amok runs, killergames, and modding culture In the morning of 20 November 2006 the radio told me the sad news of yet another amok run in a German school. Although depressed by the fact, I couldn’t suppress a little Merlin’s … Continue reading →