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If Today’s Nintendo 3DS Doesn’t Need Glasses, Neither Will Tomorrow’s 3D TV

07.2.10 @ 1:07PM Tags : 3D, 3ds, avatar, games, nintendo, videogames

Nintendo’s announcement of the Nintendo 3DS brings with it the usual slew of technology refreshes — faster processor, higher resolution display, etc — as well as a capability new to handheld gaming: 3D. However, this 3D technology is a bit different from the one moviegoers are used to, in that it doesn’t require glasses. What could this mean for the future of 3D video games and movies? More »

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Seen: Modern Warfare 3

04.2.10 @ 12:00PM Tags : games, theonion

With all this talk about realism and immersion in video games, I think Modern Warfare 3 just might take the cake.

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Presentation: Design Outside the Box

03.8.10 @ 12:00PM Tags : games, gaming, presentation

I have played one video game in four years; I’m not a gamer per se. But the ongoing revolution in social and casual games has been hard to miss, from watching my little cousins playing Club Penguin to the irrepressible Facebook invites I’m always getting for Mafia Wars. To date social games have been used as part of a feature film’s marketing campaign (most recent example: The Crazies), but they will become increasingly integrated into the core story. I’m already working on a social game as an integral component of my next project.

For the future of (social) gaming in one entertaining 30-minute presentation, here’s Jessie Schell’s invaluable primer from DICE 2010.

Watch it all the way to the end, as his final point is worth the half hour on its own. And if you think it’s just a thrown-in feel-good ending, the success of Nike Plus (sidebar) and more recent entrant Fitbit is living proof of socialization’s effectiveness when it comes to modifying real-world behavior.

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Seen: Heavy Rain

03.2.10 @ 12:00PM Tags : games, gaming, heavyrain, seen

According to the New York Times review, the new Playstation 3 game Heavy Rain offers “a glimpse of the future of interactive entertainment, a future when characterization, writing and emotional connection are more important than combat mechanics.”

Another tidbit from the Times review: the script for Heavy Rain was over 2,000 pages long.

As a storyteller I’m less interested in the skill and coordination aspect of videogames, and more interested in the choices one has to make as a player/participant in interactive movies. The rest of the reviews of the game/movie are also overwhelmingly positive, and I look forward to playing/watching (I guess I should I just say “experiencing”) it.