By Ryan Van Etten on 04/21/2010
Game designer/researcher Jane McGonigal asserts that collaborative videogames are the key to solving our real-world problems. In the video here, she outlines why she considers World of Warcraft to be an “ideal collaborative problem-solving environment.” She discusses four key factors in gaming culture that give gamers an edge at problem-solving—urgent optimism, social fabric, blissful productivity, and epic meaning.
Posted in Activism, Education, Gaming, Infoculture | Tagged collaboration, counterculture, creativity, culture, game design, gaming culture, innovation, Jane McGonigal, mindset, MMO, MMORPG, motivation, problem-solving, psychology, social gaming, social intelligence, TED, trust, urgent evoke, video, videogame, virtual worlds, WoW
By Ryan Van Etten on 03/04/2010
This year’s Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference aims to focus on imagination. Themed Imagination Around the World, this free virtual event takes place in Second Life on March 12–13. Second Life is growing as a venue for education at multiple grade levels.
Posted in Education, Events, Infoculture, News, SL Events | Tagged augmented reality, best practices, collaboration, communication, conference, creativity, HARP, imagination, learning, Second Life, specialization, teaching, video, virtual worlds, VWBPE
By Ryan Van Etten on 10/15/2009
Moral values—are they learned or are they built into our genetic makeup? Are our brains hard-wired to draw a line between right and wrong? Different cultures might vary on specific issues—there are social activities you can do freely in Amsterdam that you would be arrested for doing in New York for example—but generally most current cultures make similar separations between right and wrong. In essence morals transcend culture, right? But why exactly do we feel the need to separate right and wrong—what is it that makes our moral clock tick?
Posted in Discussion, Editorial, Education, Gaming | Tagged behavior, culture, evolution, future, gaming culture, human, influencers, interaction, modern, moral values, psychology, right vs wrong, sociology
By Ryan Van Etten on 07/20/2009
Music and videogames were made for each other. Here’s a videogame concept that’s been virtually bouncing my mind, called either VirtualBouncer, or VirtualVenue. There would be two main player types—bouncers and club-goers—and there would be character options for each.
Posted in Design, Editorial, Education, Gaming, Music | Tagged behavior, concept, crowdsourcing, data, game design, idea, ideas, information, interaction, licensing, mashups, music gaming, revenue, robots, social intelligence, venue, videogame, virtualization
