August 2007 Archives

One of the interesting things about working in IT is that you are constantly exposed to the wonders of the ever evolving internet. It means there is always a new trend to learn about, or a new RSS reader to try, or a new social networking site to test out. The cycle is endless, but it serves the exciting purpose of keeping things fresh and interesting.

Part of that constant exploration of the interweb and its tubes means that you subject yourself to popular things that may not have anything to do with the next killer app or popular networking site. It means you become a part of the viral spread of totally inexplicable content. What kind of content? It could be anything really. But the one thing you can know for certain is that you'll never see it coming, and it will become more popular than you could ever possible imagine. Just ask The Star Wars Kid, or the Chocolate Rain singer (he was on Jimmy Kimmel?! HOW! HOW!!!)

One of the more well known phenomenons of today are the LOLcats of icanhascheezburger.com. Unimaginably stupid and verging on nonsensical, icanhascheezburger is basically a collection of pictures (usually of cats) in strange poses with accompanying phrases written in abysmal internet shorthand/ slang. For some reason... these cats are also very commonly seeking cheeseburgers. My personal favorite LOLcat image is neither a cat, nor in search of the cheeseburger, but rather the bucket walrus, who I can't look at without laughing.

I warned you it was stupid ;-) But you know you want to "lol" yourself right out of your chair.

Two questions come from all this. The first, is what in the world keeps you coming back to my blog? The second is how in the world do we explain the inexplicable popularity of things like the icanhascheezburger, which according to creator Eric Nakagawa is getting 1/2 a million page views a day.

The Wall Street Journal takes a stab at unveiling the mystery in an article by Aaron Rutkoff. Their conclusion? "What makes lolcats appealing is that it's simultaneously obscure and accessible. It's an inside joke told in an online lingua franca, but with a bit of effort anyone can become an insider."

Outside of my own personal amusement that a paper of the Wall Street Journal's caliber is devoting time to the LOLcats, the notion of such a phenomenon as a big inside joke is an interesting one. Do sites like icanhascheezburger catch on because we all want to be part of the "in" crowd that gets the "gimme mah bucket!" joke? Is it all about sharing some kind of bond with 100 million of your closest friends? Given the nature of social computing in our world today, it would make sense. We put our personal photos (Flick'r), our favorite websites (Del.iciou.us), our personal thoughts (blogs) and even our social networks (facebook/ myspace) out in front of the world for all to see, and comment upon. Why should it come as any surprise that we treat our humor, or "internet pop culture" any differently?

But then again... maybe a lot of people just enjoy laughing at cats with bad grammar and walruses with buckets.

Why do you LOL?

I read a lot of literature regarding studies that are conducted in the area of video game violence. As a gamer, I feel a responsibility to know if I am actually training myself to be a hate filled, murdering war machine [rolls eyes]. I've experienced more than his share of violent games, yet I always raise an eyebrow when I hear researchers mention terms like "increased levels of aggression" when it comes to responses to gaming violence. Because while such terms are medically true, they mean something very different than what the majority of people might think. I can say that with confidence, having felt this "effect" many many times. And I assure you, Im no mass murderer =)

So I was wonderfully surprised to come across the findings of researchers at Villanova, who have come to the stunningly obvious conclusion that no one ever talks about.

The long and short of it is simple. Violent video games do cause "aggression". But aggression does not mean violence, and the effect on a normal person's behavior is minuscule. And, are you ready for this one? Inherently angry people show more angry responses than non angry people to violent stimuli. Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!

"Its not the video game's fault... it is the person's fault".

Read that line no fewer than 100 times. Now join me as I do the Stub happy dance around my office. Personal accountability for one's actions. Amazing.

One of the things that frustrates me most about the controversy surrounding violent video games is that it seems almost taboo to talk openly and honestly about it. If you admit the truth, then its used by haters and those who enjoy sitting on the moral highground as fodder to power their own agendas. Well Im about to lay a dose of honesty on you, so brace yourselves =)

I've spent more time than I care to think about playing video games in my life - quite a few of them violent. In Hitman, I've played the role of an assassin - stalking targets using any number of tactics that would result in their ultimate demise. In Grand Theft Auto I've killed so many cops at one time that they've called in tanks to stop me. I've decapitated players in Mortal Kombat. I've blown off limbs in Soldier of Fortune. I've used cars to run over everyone in my path in Carmageddon. I've beaten characters to death with just about every mele object you can imagine from crow bars to fire extinguishers, and I am exceptionally familiar with the terms "head shot", "knee-cap", and "frag". And you might not believe it, but I had fun doing it all.

Now Im sure statements like this make some people uncomfortable. Im sure it might downright sicken some. After all what sort of monster must I be that I could ever take enjoyment out of activities such as these? How could I say such things with a straight face?

But the thing is, no matter how grotesque an action might be considered in real life, in a game... its not real. None of it. In a game, I might drive a stolen Ferrari that required killing 3 people to get. In real life, I drive a Nissan Altima that I keep within 10 miles of the speed limit. Did I steal it? Ha! Yea... I bought it at Carmax. In a game, I might be the most ruthless, efficient, cold blooded assassin you've ever seen. In real life, I get upset when I see roadkill and I've never seen a puppy I didnt smile at. In a game, I might be the best, most violent, battle tested street fighter your nightmares could imagine. In real life, the last incident of physical violence I've been a part of was in 6th grade. And no Dr. Phil, games didnt inspire that violence. The jerk squirted a mustard packet in my face and stole my fruit rollup. And you dont mess with Stub's dessert.

Generally the most controversial violent games take flak because they are more closely based on reality than other games. Super Mario Brothers is a violent game. But in real life, they are no Goombas, or Bowsers, or floating brick blocks you can smash with your head. So no one worries about an epidemic of people wearing overalls jumping down sewer pipes. But there are real guns that are used to shoot real people, so when a fake gun is used to shoot a fake person, people tense up. What people allow themselves to forget that whether you are playing Mario or Manhunt... the pixels are just as fake. When I see a real police officer after playing Grand Theft Auto do you know what goes through my mind? "Better see how fast Im going - I dont want to get a ticket. Is my seatbelt on?". Not murder. Not drugs. Not high speed chases.

I'm a rock superstar that can't play guitar. Im a Heisman Trophy winning running back who never played college football. I'm a serial killer who has never fired a gun at anything but a paper target. There is real. And there is fake.

What I am is a human being grounded in reality. Games are not real. And while I think they can be used for a lot of valuable things, there is a distinct difference between a game world and the real one. And there is no denying, I do I feel a jolt of adrenaline when I steal a virtual car and race down the virtual San Andreas freeway. But I feel the same thing if I see it in a movie, read it in a book, or hear about it in a great song. Its not some sign of my moral fiber corrupting, or inner rage being released. Its a response to a creative outlet. Does it mean I'm more inclined to steal a car? You must be crazy. I know better than that. Everyone should.

Of course there are all be those who don't know better. Those who weren't raised to understood right and wrong, real and fantasy. But why should that be blamed on video games?

Personal accountability. What a crazy idea...

Video taken from gamepolitics.com

If there is one thing I love as much as video games its football. And if George Constanza has taught me nothing, its that the best thing you can do in life is carry around a bloated wallet... er... I mean try and combine as many of your passions together as you possible can.

Football video games like EA's Madden franchise are enormously popular among gamers - Madden '07 sold more than 2 million copies and made over $100 million dollars... in its first week on the shelves*. But these games arent just popular with gamers - they are also popular with the athletes who they depict. Not really a huge surprise, after all the games are fantastic ;-)

But as these games become more realistic, their value for non entertainment purposes also increases. Dont believe me? Ask Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli.

Aparently PSU Coach Joe Paterno attributes Morelli's late '07 season success to playing EA's NCAA '07 video game, which helped him to learn plays and reckognize defenses. It sounds crazy to think that a game could somehow prepare you for something as intense and demanding as division 1 football, but don't knock it until you try it. Coverage schemes, blitz packages, audibles and check offs, defensive rotations, ball fakes and trick plays - with every iteration of the game these small details become more and more realistic. From an entertainment perspective, this adds an incredible depth to the gaming experience. But from a training perspecive, it makes games like this a useful learning tool. Games like NCAA are becoming so real now, that its not a farcry to look at them as the "interactive film room" of the future.

Real games. Real fun. Real value. This ladies and gentlemen, is where its at. Its like I died and went to gamer heaven. Its just icing on the cake that it was my Nittany Lions that were bringing gaming and football together, and not those evil Buckeyes ;-)

* Figure from MSNBC.com

Image from msnbc.com

Some things cannot possibly be explained. It is because of these things we have online video. And even I am not insane enough to make this up.

So... yea.

If nothing else, the German developers of the piss screen deserve credit for a creative way to bring attention to one's inebriation. The seemingly graphic crash sequences for a "loss" in the game might also provide a startling wake up call to those who might be looking to do something as reckless as driving while intoxicated. Did I mention it was creative?

I suppose in the end, if the piss screeen makes even a handful of people think better about drinking and driving, then it is well worth whatever investment Frankfurt is making to employ these devices. I want to write something deep and meaningful about the design, or the permeation of gaming in non traditional venues, or about whether or not such a game provides any sort of valid measure of sobriety... but... well... yea.

As a side, I've created a new tag for posts, known as "WTF". And ... we'll just leave it at that =)

Check it out yourself at http://www.piss-screen.de/

Movie from http://www.piss-screen.de/

As I've mentioned before, World of Warcraft is one of the video games I frequent in my spare time. With now over 9 million players world-wide, one of the most signifigant aspects of Warcraft is the community that surrounds it. There are literally thousands of WoW (World of Warcraft shorthand) in game addons, "how to" guides, strategy sites, forums, comics, personally created movies and resource sites that pepper the internet. And nearly all of this media has been created, not by Blizzard Entertainment (Warcraft's developer), but by average gamers - seeking to improve their own enjoyment of the Warcraft phenominon.

Arguably the most highly traffic-ed of these resources is Wowwiki.com - essentially Wikipedia for the Warcraft Universe. It contains information on just about everything a Wow player could want to know. But Wowwiki is a web page. And Warcraft doesnt contain a web browser. That can make for a whole lot of alt-tabbing between your game and your browser of choice.

That is until a few days ago, when Wikia and Playxpert got together and decided that alt tabbing between games like Warcraft and sites like Wowwiki was sooooooo 2001. Enter the in game wiki-widget.

In essence, this little ditty lets you bring external resources right into your game. And somewhere, millions of gamers with too little RAM cheer...

Ok, so at first glance maybe this doesnt sound so exciting. "Great Stub. You found a mod that lets obsessive gamers become even more obsessive while simultainiously becoming more lazy. How wonderful". Well maybe... but think educationally on this one. When I play Warcraft, I am using Wowwiki to help fill some gap in my knowledge. Maybe its the location of something I can't find. Maybe its a complex encounter strategy I can't remember. The what really isnt all that important. Whats important is the why: to educate myself on something. To answer a question. To add more to the experience.

Whether you are making a game, or writing a lesson plan, creating good content is a huge part of the process. In a previous post, I talked a little about the balancing act between educational value and fun in the EduGaming space. But does an add-on like this change the entire paradigm? The ability to feed real world information directly into your game experience, on command. Hmmm....

We're starting to see a change in the gaming landscape, as the wonders of the internet allow more and more interconnectivity between a fictional, gaming experiences and real world data. The Discovery Channel game SharkRunners feeds tracking data from real world Great White sharks into the a shark tracking game. Madden '08 is working to partner with the Weather Channel so that live weather data can be transfered to your virtual NFL stadium as you play. This stuff exists. Its happening now.

So lets take the same idea and extend it a bit. Last night, while playing NCAA Football '08, one of the virtual players on the Michigan State team I was oblitteraring suffered a broken collarbone. Well what if I didnt know what a broken collarbone was? NCAA doesnt have that answer, but WebMD certainly does. So you pop open your little in game widget and away you go to the land of information, not formatted for web, or mobile phone consumption, but rather a steamlined version for video games. Or maybe while playing Call of Duty, I run across a Panzerschreck weapon. What the heck is a Panzerschreck? Roll your cursor over the name of the weapon, and with a quick click you are connected to a World War 2 weapons database, the pauses your game, and provides you with an overview of the old school tank buster.

Now lets get crazy and spin it total Edu style. You're taking a Roman History class, and as part of your instruction your professor has asked that you play a bit of the game Rome Total War. You just spent a day studying the Battle of Cynoscephalae, and as a suppliment to your lecture, your instructor wants you to see and experience the battle through the Total War engine. So you load up the prebuilt Battle of Cynoscephalae level and kill the in game music. Why kill the music? So you can listen to the podcast of the lecture you just had while you play through the battle. Then pop open your in game widget. Maybe you pull up a class slide or online textbook, for clarification on the historical strategy. Or maybe you deviate from history, and want to blog about your successes or failures as they are happening from in game. Or maybe your instructor has provided a ruberic or a quiz as part of your Battle of Cynoscephalae assignment, and you open it up within the game to work through it.

Or ... you know... you could just read about it in a text book. Either way.

Maybe its not a question of balancing education and fun. Maybe its about giving you everything at once. Real games. Real content. Each supporting the other and providing the user with a best of both worlds scenario. Im feeling something happening here...

Image taken from Mashable.com

Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with gaming, technology, or education. But its awesome, so read it anyway.

So last night I had the pleasure ( ? ) of catching a good chunk of the Democratic Presidential AFL-CIO town hall debate which was being broadcast from Soldier Field in Chicago. As a side, I'm democratic by nature, but this post really has nothing to do with democrats or republicans, so fear not some form of Stubstyle political brainwashing =)

As a rule, I try and catch as many of these political events as I can, if for no other reason than my own education. But, inevitably, the spinning, sidestepping, and the misdirecting associated with politics infuriates me. After my third obscenity laced tirade reached triple digit decibals, it was aparent to me that last night would be no less frustrating. One would think I might have learned my lesson enough to just read the recap the next morning. But the rage-a-holic in me refuses to let go of the remote ;-) I suppose there is also some sort of stunted part of my brain that believes that just once, a debate like this might be different.

Somewhere around the lightning round, when Keith Olbermann struggled yet again to stop one of the canadites from spewing over their alloted time, the intelligent part of my brain woke enough to remind me how stupid this entire process was. And I started seething, not at, but for, the nurse, the disabled steel worker, the iraqi veteran who were prodded up to ask their question, pat on the head by the political process, and then given side answers to concerns that make or break their lives. Its nothing new, and I don't hold it against any of the candidates (I actually very much like some of them) - its just politics.

For those that know me, hearing the phrase "you know what you should do" come out of my mouth is generally a que that an idea of epic ridiculousness is about to follow. To give you an idea, I believe my last such quote was "you know what we should do? We should make EMT's wear clown suits".

Well last night, I had an epiphany. I turned to my girlfriend and said "you know what we should do - we should make political debates more like 'Around the Horn' ".

For those who don't know it, Around the Horn is one of ESPN's talking head shows. The idea is very simple. The host plays the role of a moderator, while four panelists respond to sports related questions, earning points for their arguments. Over time, the lowest point earners are elimited, until only 1 panelist remains, and that person is rewarded for winning with 30 seconds of open air time, to talk about anything they would like. But the big kicker about Around the Horn, is the mute button. If panelists talk for too long... if they get off topic... if they dont answer the question or if they are just making no sense, the host preses a button and the panelist is muted. Bam.

A mute button? Could, for the first time since the ridable flame thrower, a "you know what you should do" idea result in something brilliant?

Think about it. Candidates get their allotted time. If they go over by a substantial amount, no more "Senator.... Senator you.... Senator we are out.... Senator please". Just a mute button. Candidates start spinning a question about workplace safety into the war on terror? Mute button. Shirk the answer to a question and you get the mute button. Give straight, honest answers to questions without politcal double talk and you get points. Get the most points and you get 5 minutes at the end of the debate to say absolutely any thing your little heart desires in front of the American public while your competition just stands there and smiles.

While we're at it - lets get some more toughness in there too. Keith Olbermann will be getting fanmail from me for his "So was that a yes or a no, Senator Obama?" comment, made when a sidestep answer was given to a question. Lets get more of that snappy pizaz in there. Much more!

Now since none of this has anything to do with technology, lets throw in a Web 2.0 bone - let Americans cast votes on the web, or though their cell phones to give or take points from candidates. Let America help the moderator determine who gets face time and who doesnt.

Im sure it sounds crazy, but most of my ideas do. Although, its no worse than what we've got now. Unless of course you don't like real answers to real questions. This one is going in the "you know what you should do" hall of fame!

P.S. Does anyone else think Christopher Dodd sounds like a long lost Baldwin brother?

Images taken from http://www.msnbc.com and http://www.ontaponline.com

For those who read this blog, it tends to come as a bit of a surprise that I am not actually paid to sit around and pontificate the mysteries of video games, education, and life. After the surprise wears off, there tends to be a mix of confusion and nervous laughter that acompanies the realization that I think about such things with such frequency, all of my own accord.

Regardless, I do partake in "real work" outside of the gaming realm... at least occationally, and such is the purpose of today's post =)

Recently, my collegue Brad Kozlek and I began meeting with two members of the University Library system to discuss the possibility of developing an application that would make the library more accessable to students. How? By bringing the library to the students where they live - facebook.

For the moment, this project is being done as part of a Hot Team, with the end goal being a proof of concept facebook app as well as a white paper which could potentially springboard into a more advanced development project.

There are a few notes worth mentioning in all this. The first is how easy it was to start to develop a facebook app. Obviously the app I've been working is still a raw draft, but in only a few hours of playing around I was able to get a basic shell in place with some limited functionality. For any aspiring facebook app developers out there, you'll need to learn some custom facebook tags, a bit of php, and have a place to store your code. But assuming you have all 3 pre-reqs down, getting in and making a little magic happen is easy like sunday morning.

Secondly however, is how exciting it is to see the University Library (as well as Penn State units in general) really starting to look opportunities to "meet students half way". A few years ago, something like facebook would probably have been dismissed as a silly, childish site. Today, people are looking for ways to harness the power of facebook to bring valuable resources to the students who use it.

I was an undergrad at Penn State once, and the library was an intimidating place that I would only visit when absolutely necessary. But bring the library to facebook, in an user friendly way, and all of a sudden you've opened doors that might never have been opened before - just because you were willing to meet students in their world instead of forcing them into yours.

There is still a ways to go until this little facebook app I've been working on will be ready for anything nearing public consumption, but this is an exciting project to be a part of. And I hope Penn State as a whole continues to make strides to meet students in their environment.

I'll be sure to post again once my little app is ready for the view of the real world or when the white paper is ready to rock.

(As a disclaimer, I believe the actual german word referenced in the title of this post is "wunderbar" (wonderful). But if you are yelling out in excitement, "vundabah" seems to capture the essence much more effectivly. I advise that you try it near unsuspecting friends or co-workers.)

image taken from money.cnn.com