culture

What We Want In Computers Is What We Want In Games

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Some time ago I wrote an essay that what people wanted in their computers was what they wanted in their neighborhoods: simple, accessible, clear. It was a strange essay, but one I think that made a point about how we often want similar things in seemly different and unrelated situations and technologies. It won't surprise you that I have another strange metaphor to yank out of the air and explore: that what we want in games is what we want in our technologies these days.

Let me back up for moment. Lately I've been trying to understand some of the trends in gaming, because frankly they don't make a lot of sense. We have an onslaught of casual games. We have vastly successful and complex MMOs. We have gaming appearing on every conceivable platform. I've wanted to get a grasp of these trends: and I think I have.

My take? That trends in computing and trends in gaming reflecting overall trend in culture and technology.

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Why Originality – and Unoriginality – May Not Matter To Media Success

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(Tamara had a great post last week on the paradox of originality versus people seeking original works.  Spinning off from that, I think I've got a bead on why originality is sometimes rewarded in media – and as well why sometimes stunning unoriginality is not).

Are you getting tired of vampires?

I've been tired of vampire fiction, movies, what have you for quite awhile.  i've seen it all, heard it all, and by now I have nearly no interest whatsoever in the whole vampire genre and its spawn.  I started getting tired of it around Anne Rice's heyday, and most young people reading "Twilight" today probably think Anne Rice is a cajun dish.

I can't be the only one tired of vampires in every media known to man.  Yet they're everywhere.

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Celebrity Presence And The Failed Die-Out

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Awhile ago a variety of celebrities declared themselves dead, not Tweeting and such until enough donations to fight AIDS came in.  Despite this being for a good cause, it was a failure at the time as noted.  The site now appears to have donations up to par, but it sort of looks like  . . . well judge for yourself (http://buylife.org/).

So why didn't this death-on-social-media have an immediate influx of donations?  I think part of it was the odd, kind of self-centered method of raising funds and the tastelessness of it.  The other part was that the celebrities stopped being celebrities.

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