guardian and observer

• [Games Theory] Retro classics may save Hollywood

  Wednesday July 08, 2009 @ 11:27 PM (UTC)

  

  Aleks Krotoski

  The Guardian

  8 July 2009

  It’s the news we’ve all been waiting for: Universal Pictures has secured the film rights to the 80s vector-based space shooter Asteroids. Yes, that Asteroids – the white-on-black arcade classic. The news arrived via the pen of fellow Game Theorist Keith Stuart and the phrase “scraping the barrel” comes to mind. But rather than mock, I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a moment and propose that getting into a bidding war for an outdated, nostalgia-laden computer game is a good thing for the film studios to do. No, a great thing. Believe it or not, I have three reasons. Hear me out.

  Read More

  • games-theory
  • guardian and observer
  • media

  0 comments

• [Tech Weekly] Chris Anderson on 'Freemium'

  Tuesday July 07, 2009 @ 12:43 AM (UTC)

  Listen now!

  In this week’s Tech Weekly, Charles Arthur meets Chris Anderson. His day job is the editor of the US version of Wired, but is famous for his internet theory in his book The Long Tail. His latest book Free discusses the notion of content being freely available online, and how that business model works for the content creators.

  Read More

  • guardian and observer
  • media
  • tech-weekly

  0 comments

• [Gamesblog] For the next two months, I am otherwise engaged

  Friday July 03, 2009 @ 01:08 AM (UTC)

  

  Aleks Krotoski Friday 3 July 2009 11.00 BST

  As you may have noticed from the dearth of posts on the gamesblog about odd academic issues, quirky indie games, obscure gaming culture and bizarre interactive ephemera, my contributions have recently been obscured by the impending submission of my PhD thesis. Well, my deadline is finally upon me, and I have until 14 August to finish the behemoth.

  Read More

  • gamesblog
  • guardian and observer
  • media

  0 comments

• [Tech Weekly] Intellectual property advice and AudioBoo

  Wednesday June 24, 2009 @ 07:43 PM (UTC)

  Listen now!

  This week we hear from AudioBoo founder Mark Rock. AudioBoo is the latest new media trend to capture the attentions of the digerati – and celebrities – allowing users to record snippets of audio using your iPhone and send it out to the world via the internet.

  Read More

  • guardian and observer
  • media
  • tech-weekly

  0 comments

• [Games Theory] Sex and games – why haven't they got it on?

  Wednesday June 24, 2009 @ 12:38 AM (UTC)

  

  Aleks Krotoski

  guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 June 2009 19.00 BST

  Sex. Got your attention? OK, good. I’ll try again. Games. Still here? Excellent. Now that I’ve got your number, let’s try the two of them together: sex and games. Hello? Nothing? Where did you go? How strange. You’d think that sex-plus-games would equal a rush of eager gamers waving fists of cash, but according to Brenda Brathwaite, founder of the International Game Developers Association’s Sex in Games special interest group, the adult entertainment industry has never really had a look-in. They may have propelled other digital innovations, but when it comes to console-based hanky-panky, grown-up situations have been a turn-off.

  Read More

  • games-theory
  • guardian and observer
  • media

  0 comments

• [Tech Weekly] RoboGames: An Olympics for androids

  Tuesday June 16, 2009 @ 07:45 PM (UTC)

  Listen now!

  The robots have taken over the asylum here in Guardian Towers, and joining Aleks Krotoski to fight the onslaught of Skynet, Metal Mickey and Wall-E are our fearless podcasters, Jemima Kiss and Bobbie Johnson – who is reporting from the Mecca of Mech, last weekend’s RoboGames android Olympics in San Francisco.

  Read More

  • guardian and observer
  • media
  • tech-weekly

  0 comments

• [Games Theory] E3 - a trip best taken in the safety of your home

  Thursday June 11, 2009 @ 12:37 AM (UTC)

  Aleks Krotoski

  The Guardian, Thursday 11 June 2009

  A throbbing head, weak knees and flashing lights: these are only three of the reasons I did not go to the second coming of E3, the Electronics Entertainment Expo, last week in Los Angeles. There are others. The west’s Tokyo Game Show is, as I have written on the Gamesblog in the past, an orgasm of the senses. Problem is, it’s actually someone else’s orgasm, and you’ve had nothing to do with it.

  Read More

  • games-theory
  • guardian and observer
  • media

  0 comments

• [Games Theory] Put down the controller and get some fresh air

  Thursday May 28, 2009 @ 12:35 AM (UTC)

  Aleks Krotoski

  The Guardian, Thursday 28 May 2009

  The sun is finally out and, confession time, the last place I want to be is inside playing a computer game. Yes, making such a statement under the heading Game Theory may seem treasonous, or at least the end of my tenure on these pages, but I assure you, I’m not letting the side down. I’m still playing – I’ve just taken my playthings outside.

  Read More

  • games-theory
  • guardian and observer
  • media

  0 comments

• [Games Theory] In loving memory of Duke: Hail to the King, baby!

  Thursday May 14, 2009 @ 12:33 AM (UTC)

  

  Aleks Krotoski

  The Guardian, Thursday 14 May 2009

  The games industry lost a great figure last week, a man whose near two decades of service helped to define our modern gaming culture. Duke Nukem, the iconic frontman of the cherished series that bore his name, was laid to rest with the closure of 3D Realms – the development studio that bore him, raised him and pig-headedly refused to let him go.

  Read More

  • games-theory
  • guardian and observer
  • media

  0 comments

• [Games Theory] It's time to turn on, log in, and shape up

  Thursday April 30, 2009 @ 12:31 AM (UTC)

  Aleks Krotoski

  The Guardian, Thursday 30 April 2009

  Last weekend, the Department for Health released its latest TV ad in the Change4Life campaign. It features a clay modelled family coming to the realisation that the scientists are right: a sedentary lifestyle leads to health problems. “Throw down the remote! Chuck away the joystick! Stop eating greasy takeaways!” was the message. “Save our NHS from an epidemic of fatties!” was the subtext. And dutifully, the family did as they were told and started freakin’ on Dance Dance Revolution.

  Read More

  • games-theory
  • guardian and observer
  • media

  0 comments

Displaying posts 11 - 20 of 34