Full Day

Thursdays seem to be my longest days of the week. Luckily, the weekends are never too far =)

Today was the first session meeting of gameCODE. After a summer hiatus, this meeting was essentially to introduce new faces and to bring people up to date with what others have been doing over the summer; both paid Research Assistant work and non paid work wise.

A day for meetings, tonight, my professor Bart Simon gave a speech at the IGDA on Goffman and digital games. I am always in awe when i hear him speak; and my head usually hurts when he is done, but as he put it ‘he is that kind of head hurting professor’. Wouldnt want him any other way. The gist of the talk was that the game is essentially all that surrounds the game itself. The conversation, the interaction, the interuption etc., all that surrounds the activity of the game is what creates the gaming ‘encounter’ and not necessairly the game itself. He does the topic much more justice then I am, but that is the bare bones of it.

Clint Hocking also spoke this evening (Splinter Cell) about the implementation of non consequential ethical decisions within video games. I emphasize non-consequential because i think (or rather agree with Clint in) that in order for an ethical decision to be truly about the player as far as self discovery and exploration, there cannot be any positive or negative association with the choice made in these instances. I also liked the idea (although not a new one, an important one nonetheless) that inaction is in of itself a decision.

This was the first meeting (and I’ve been to 4 now i think) that i actually got to talk to a Level Designer working at UbiSoft, with past experience with Lucas (entertainment?) – and edutainment division of LucasArts if i remember correctly. It was interesting to talk to someone a little more techinical…then us … sociologists.

All in all, it has been a really full day, with my mind wandering all over the place with ideas.

Hopefully i can put them all down in some tangible form before i get to bed.

Horizons’ Fate

Just a few months ago, Alen and I had stumbled into the world of Istaria, feeling quite elated that we had found a new MMO that we could enjoy together. Since we were no longer able to sustain our playing hours (or interest in Alen’s case) with EverQuest, the play style and tradeskill system in Horizons was a blessing.

Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone felt as happy as we did, since recently Artifact Entertainment had to file a Chapter 11. In other words – bankruptcy protection. Sadly, they have merged their shards and tried to keep their existing customer base happy, but as a friend said tonight – when a company has to worry about sustaining their world, chances are likely that they do not have the time or resources to be adding content… which in the world of MMO’s, is what it’s all about.

So, it seems it is only a matter of time that Horizons will be added to the list of failed MMO’s.

[i’m a tad late in the news – official press release was dated in July]

Personal Victory



After a long and stressfull battle with university administration, i have been accepted into the Honour’s program. Although i did not fit the academic standards of an honour’s student, i am being rewarded for determination.

Over the years, i had come to terms with the fact that i would rather struggle through a challenging class and come out with a mediocre grade giving something all my effort and learning something. When the idea of an honour’s degree was introduced to me, there was some speculation as to whether i should continue on that difficult path. I had had many conversations debating my academic integrity and decided that i would not change my path.

Encouraged nonetheless by supportive faculty, letters of recommendation and many… many… phone calls later, i am finally admitted into the honour’s program on my terms (so to speak…i do have probationary conditions, but those i can live by!).

I am extremely happy – and this will make the Master’s application a bit easier =)

Guess it’s time to buckle down and show the administration that you can’t judge a person by their gpa.

First Day of School



And my head hurts already! It was relatively uneventful since the professors figure people are still ‘shopping’ for classes, they don’t often jump right into the lecture. This fall semester might be an interesting one all things considered. With a course on occupations & identity – hoping that this will tie some theory into stuff i am currently working on in the game studies field on roles/tasks + work/social responsibilities in MMORPG’s. Also taking a course on mass media – critical theory .. could be interesting – the reading list looks it at least =)

What else, a sociology of digital games course … an independent reading course that i have been working on since the summer – there is lots to read, and a heavy paper to write when its all said and done – but at least there is no class time. Have a research design and analysis course that i have to take – if anything else, it will be useful for a lifetime of research and academia =)

And the tug ‘o war between honours seminar (if they ever make up their minds and accept me … or not.. into the damn program) and sociology of knowledge (which i was dying to take!!) if i dont get into the honours program.

So, all in all, coupled with gameCODE and my independent work in game studies, it looks like a full final year. Will try to keep this space updated with some regularity now that school has forced me to keep a routine.

Chilly Nights & New Books



A definite sign that summer is almost over. As i struggle to meet my end of summer deadlines, i can’t figure out where the time went. June began full of ambition and enthusiasm while August ends exhausted.

My stint as a Research Assistant is nearly over, and starting in September, i go back to being a regular student. It’s with mixed emotions that i tie up the last loose ends on the projects i was paid to fulfill. My professor emailed me the other day asking to meet so that i could pass on the work i have felt so close to to a new research assistant – although i look forward to less deadlines, i am also saddened to see someone else continue my work. Sort of like watching your children grow up i suppose. [My daughter just turned twelve, is almost as tall as i am and can stay alone in the apartment in the afternoons – handing over her indepence should have prepared me to hand over my work]

I am heading into my last undergraduate year, again, a milestone that felt like it would never arrive. I started my degree in 1995 at another university, 2 children later, i will see my graduation 10 years later. I am both excited and nervous to move into my Master’s (granted i get accepted that is). Sometimes, you do something for so long, you can’t imagine it ever ending. Although i took an academic break from start to finish, i never thought i would actually see it end. I am constantly reminded that ‘your bachelor’s is nothing’; to move on and look forward to what is ahead. I guess i am just afraid that there is nothing ahead…

On that note, i should get back to work – deadlines are coming fast – and i wouldnt mind a few days off between sessions.

Summer Hiatus

Been a while since I last posted, but summer vacation prevails. From sunny decks in the country to hot beaches on the Island, summer has been flying by as usual. Been doing alot of work though, and have alot of notes to post here over the next week or two. Slowly getting back into working form. =)

Reflections of Espen Aarseth’s “CyberText: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature”

The book appears to bear two distinct sections, theory and practical. The writing style of each section differs to the point that it almost feels like two completely different articles within one book.

The first portion of the book is quite technical, outlining the history of various perspectives of literary theory. The second portion of the book discusses the reader [he opts for the ambiguous term ‘user’ to represent the interactive aspect of the reader in cybertexts] – author relationship in MUD’s and other online areas.

*unicursal and multicursal maze explaination in the beginning of the book is quite appropriate to the gameCODE logo discussion and their relevance to the structure of video games in general. Might be interesting for others to read.

*discussion towards the end of the book about the reader-author relationship and the blurring of the two with the use of online textual tools and cybertext [p. 173]. He discusses the fact that to be considered author in this context, one has to ‘…have configurative power over not merely content but but also over a work’s genre and form.’ [p. 164] This makes me question any perceived form of authorship in any commercial videogame which – no matter how the user navigates through the game-space, the boundaries of the narrative are pre-determined by the sheer fact that the game was created by the author and not the player per se. Following Aarseth’s arguement that it is possible for player [user] to take on the role of author, I am led to question the difference between a cybertext and a ‘choose your own adventure’ book? Although there are many optional paths the ‘user’ can follow, they are nevertheless predetermined by the structure of the text.

* He takes this one step further and discusses the concept of linking information from one page to another as a form of cybertextual authorship. [p. 172] But again, i question this in the sense that by simply providing a ‘library’ am i writting a story?

Reinventing the Wheel

It seems that with every game that comes out (in context of MMO’s) it appears to be nothing more then a snippet of one game added to another snippet of another game to reinvent the [everquest] wheel. Every online game has had their sights on repeating the success that EQ managed to attain, and that is all good. But what i am tired of is that with every review of every new game in beta or post release – reviewers (both players and paid) go on and on about this new revolutionary feature that this game has.

With the chatter brewing between EQ2 and Worlds of Warcraft (WoW) both in Beta stages – the reviews go on and on with features such as low level task and quest adventuring (reminiscent of Dark Ages of Camelot – DaoC) and death options (insta-release w/death penalty [ seen in many older games] or ghosting to the corpse for retrieval w/o death penalty [a la SWG]) Not losing exp but death points (a la Horizons) or not losing your armor or skills (DaoC) i wonder why when i read the reviews of EQ2 and WoW that these features are made to seem revolutionary/unique. To be fair, these two games might do it better .. with better aesthetics, but seamless worlds (except for dungeons) and umpteen career paths have been done before .. and in games that are still active (daoc, horizons, L2 etc.).

So, when reviewing a game, i ask the reviewers (like they would ever read this!!) PLEASE: dont tell me the same old features that are coming into the game that have been done before – tell me how different [or even better] it is to the older games with the same features!

Intermittent Postings

The last few weeks have been intermittent at best with my content – and for that i am sorry. Been taking summer classes which are condensed and doesnt leave me with much time to actually contemplate the information i was learning. Last exam is this afternoon, and then i get to dive into all the work i’ve been putting off for gameCODE, let alone the paper i am trying to get done for the Other conference.

Other interesting news, for those who know me, and my interests, the next Digra conference is being held in Vancouver in June 2005. Official press release.

By then i SHOULD be heading into my MA – what better chance to kickstart my research =)

Hopefully, now that my classes are done, ill be able to post more – as always – any feedback is more then welcome!

Off Topic

Usually, I use this space to jabber with myself and the few people that read this space, but i want to take a minute to plug a very great company that i have had the pleasure of dealing with. Tribalectic is a great body piercing / jewelry site. I ordered from them recently and paid only $4.50 shipping and i had my jewelry within a week. Also the personel are incredibly responsive. Great customer service is a rare thing these days.

So, if ever you find yourself in the market for some body jewelry, they carry alot of stuff you cant buy here in Montreal.