Identity theory
Today's odd and interesting link: identity theory edited by Matt Borondy, a journal with a very informal and blog-like feel. There are very few limits to who can submit and what can be submitted:
Identity Theory is perpetually seeking submissions. Just about every form of human expression that can be made digital is welcome here. Aside from writing, we welcome flash productions, videos, mp3s, and more.
Thursday, November 28, 2002
High Profile Bloggers
Now there's an interesting concept... How does one become a high profile blogger? And what happens when one is a high profile blogger? I am of course refering to the New York Times article by Lisa Guernsey, where she wonders why the high profile bloggers are all men (see Jill and Elizabeth Lane Lawley for more). Personally I think it has something to do with how you define high profile.
My (quite short) blogroll contains 4 women and 4 men, one of whom constantly talks about his husband. Of those eight, I read the 3 none-housewife men because they work with things that overlap what I do. Which is also why I read the blogs of the four women. The only person I read because of the thrills of daily life, is the man with a husband - I just love his style when he talks of life in the big city, so deliciously exotic seen from this tiny little speck on the map, and the gay marriage and his adjustment to living in Sweden as a good background for getting an alternative view on the everyday life (Norwegian word of the day: hverdagen).
To me, those eight persons are prominent. They influence my daily life and my interests. Yes, I'll even call them "high profile bloggers". That is the delight of the blogworld, I can choose my own role-models or gate-keepers among a wide range of people. So who will a journalist link to and name high profile bloggers? People who write of things the journalist has an interest of, of course, and since journalism is still a man's world, she will find more men than women writing of war, terrorism and foreign politics. I don't read her "high profile bloggers" much, and it doesn't bother me. I don't feel like I am missing out something, and I am quite happy with not reading the blogs of men who spout opinions I don't share. That's what blogging is about, to me, the freedom to choose who I wish to listen to, and not have to use the same 5 news-agencies who control the flow of information in the media.
Now there's an interesting concept... How does one become a high profile blogger? And what happens when one is a high profile blogger? I am of course refering to the New York Times article by Lisa Guernsey, where she wonders why the high profile bloggers are all men (see Jill and Elizabeth Lane Lawley for more). Personally I think it has something to do with how you define high profile.
My (quite short) blogroll contains 4 women and 4 men, one of whom constantly talks about his husband. Of those eight, I read the 3 none-housewife men because they work with things that overlap what I do. Which is also why I read the blogs of the four women. The only person I read because of the thrills of daily life, is the man with a husband - I just love his style when he talks of life in the big city, so deliciously exotic seen from this tiny little speck on the map, and the gay marriage and his adjustment to living in Sweden as a good background for getting an alternative view on the everyday life (Norwegian word of the day: hverdagen).
To me, those eight persons are prominent. They influence my daily life and my interests. Yes, I'll even call them "high profile bloggers". That is the delight of the blogworld, I can choose my own role-models or gate-keepers among a wide range of people. So who will a journalist link to and name high profile bloggers? People who write of things the journalist has an interest of, of course, and since journalism is still a man's world, she will find more men than women writing of war, terrorism and foreign politics. I don't read her "high profile bloggers" much, and it doesn't bother me. I don't feel like I am missing out something, and I am quite happy with not reading the blogs of men who spout opinions I don't share. That's what blogging is about, to me, the freedom to choose who I wish to listen to, and not have to use the same 5 news-agencies who control the flow of information in the media.
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
Scandinavian Modern
If I don't get a television to hang on the wall, a widescreen as flat as a painting, I want one of these.
(link by way of no sense of place)
If I don't get a television to hang on the wall, a widescreen as flat as a painting, I want one of these.
(link by way of no sense of place)
Myths of gaming
Gameresearch has an interesting article which discusses a set of myths about games , where Jonas Heide Smith "kills off" 6 myths.
Some of his strikes are well-aimed, it is for instance possible to check whether games are a bigger business than movies, and the numbers he presents indicate that they are not. Some are not quite as well considered. "5: Games have yet to mature as a medium" is for instance a statement which cannot really be checked. Heide Smith's argument rests on the assumption that radio, television and film is mature:
But to put it bluntly: Games are mature. It is odd to compare computer games with the development cycle of books. If you should compare with something, it should be other visual media in this century, where the technological evolution has speeded up considerably compared to earlier centuries. And neither the television nor the radio took centuries to mature – there seems to be a romantic vision of computer games becoming something more than the established genres of today.
The computer is rapidly changing film, video and radio. Digitalising information opens up for formerly unimagined options, and breaks the very strict linear, chronological publishing line of television and radio, not to mention what computer animation is doing to film. Television, radio and film are obviously able to develop further, to change and to become something more and something new. Now this might be a sign of decomposing in their dithering old age, but I hardly think so. I think it is a sign that electronic media is still a young technology where we don't yet know the limitations of the future.
And if the computer is changing already established genres, which are considered mature, who knows where the games can go? Heide Smith's argument that story is the measuring stick in academia for the maturity of the medium is not valid, he should look a bit further for academic debate before killing off that particular myth. Structure, immersion, social interaction and relations, spatial perception - it's all a part of what is discussed in relation to gaming, and there is still as much if not more to explore and develop there as there is in film, television and radio.
His argument against myth "6: Games are great educational tools", is similarly quickly put together. He points to a study of games by Eva Liestøl, where he finds that the educational games are bad games. Does that prove that children can not learn from games? What that proves is that educators have not learned how to develop good educational games.
I agree with Jonas Heide Smith, there are a lot of myths about computer games, and I would like to see some of them squashed - particularly the "games are dangerous" one. That will disappear in time though, just like the "radio is dangerous", "television causes the brain to shrink", "video will lead to chainsaw massakres in every home" and "colour television is dangerous to the perception of reality". All we need is a new medium and for the current gaming generation to move into positions of power and have children who explore and understand a medium their parents never imagined. Once that happens, computer games will come in from the cold and probably be something pretty close to high art.
Gameresearch has an interesting article which discusses a set of myths about games , where Jonas Heide Smith "kills off" 6 myths.
Some of his strikes are well-aimed, it is for instance possible to check whether games are a bigger business than movies, and the numbers he presents indicate that they are not. Some are not quite as well considered. "5: Games have yet to mature as a medium" is for instance a statement which cannot really be checked. Heide Smith's argument rests on the assumption that radio, television and film is mature:
But to put it bluntly: Games are mature. It is odd to compare computer games with the development cycle of books. If you should compare with something, it should be other visual media in this century, where the technological evolution has speeded up considerably compared to earlier centuries. And neither the television nor the radio took centuries to mature – there seems to be a romantic vision of computer games becoming something more than the established genres of today.
The computer is rapidly changing film, video and radio. Digitalising information opens up for formerly unimagined options, and breaks the very strict linear, chronological publishing line of television and radio, not to mention what computer animation is doing to film. Television, radio and film are obviously able to develop further, to change and to become something more and something new. Now this might be a sign of decomposing in their dithering old age, but I hardly think so. I think it is a sign that electronic media is still a young technology where we don't yet know the limitations of the future.
And if the computer is changing already established genres, which are considered mature, who knows where the games can go? Heide Smith's argument that story is the measuring stick in academia for the maturity of the medium is not valid, he should look a bit further for academic debate before killing off that particular myth. Structure, immersion, social interaction and relations, spatial perception - it's all a part of what is discussed in relation to gaming, and there is still as much if not more to explore and develop there as there is in film, television and radio.
His argument against myth "6: Games are great educational tools", is similarly quickly put together. He points to a study of games by Eva Liestøl, where he finds that the educational games are bad games. Does that prove that children can not learn from games? What that proves is that educators have not learned how to develop good educational games.
I agree with Jonas Heide Smith, there are a lot of myths about computer games, and I would like to see some of them squashed - particularly the "games are dangerous" one. That will disappear in time though, just like the "radio is dangerous", "television causes the brain to shrink", "video will lead to chainsaw massakres in every home" and "colour television is dangerous to the perception of reality". All we need is a new medium and for the current gaming generation to move into positions of power and have children who explore and understand a medium their parents never imagined. Once that happens, computer games will come in from the cold and probably be something pretty close to high art.
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Computer game restrictions
The European countries are cooperating to mark computer games in order to make explicit which age they are for and what kind of content the user will be exposed to. In January they are supposed to agree on the design of the labels to warn about the different types of contents. Some of the suggested labels are quite amusing:
The European countries are cooperating to mark computer games in order to make explicit which age they are for and what kind of content the user will be exposed to. In January they are supposed to agree on the design of the labels to warn about the different types of contents. Some of the suggested labels are quite amusing:
smooth work
Now that I am not resisting the thesis, work feels so easy. I write a couple of pages on the article I need to draft by next week, I go to a meeting and manage to focus, I plan the next semester and plow through potential litterature for the next semester, organise meetings and generally manage to plan ahead. I don't even have back-problems. Can there have been a connection between that huge, over-ambitious thesis and not getting things done?
Now that I am not resisting the thesis, work feels so easy. I write a couple of pages on the article I need to draft by next week, I go to a meeting and manage to focus, I plan the next semester and plow through potential litterature for the next semester, organise meetings and generally manage to plan ahead. I don't even have back-problems. Can there have been a connection between that huge, over-ambitious thesis and not getting things done?
Immersion and methodology
I have been using action research as a way to highlight the reflexivity inherent in the study of online multi-user computer games, but what I am trying to write of now is the fascination - that feeling of giving in to the material and floating in it. It's a sensual experience, a seduction, where the material of study carries me away, enfolds me in the experience and in a state somewhere between analysis and criticism and the pleasure of the experience. This is a state which most methodologies are designed to eliminate, but how can I avoid it when the topic of my research induces exactly this state of flow, of analysis and decision-making while following the rules and the rhythm of the game? I am trying to write of this tension, to analyse this tension, and it's so tittilating just outside of the grasp of my language.
I have been using action research as a way to highlight the reflexivity inherent in the study of online multi-user computer games, but what I am trying to write of now is the fascination - that feeling of giving in to the material and floating in it. It's a sensual experience, a seduction, where the material of study carries me away, enfolds me in the experience and in a state somewhere between analysis and criticism and the pleasure of the experience. This is a state which most methodologies are designed to eliminate, but how can I avoid it when the topic of my research induces exactly this state of flow, of analysis and decision-making while following the rules and the rhythm of the game? I am trying to write of this tension, to analyse this tension, and it's so tittilating just outside of the grasp of my language.
Monday, November 25, 2002
New Look
This design is based on the "currency" standard blogger template by Mena Trott, a clean and flexible template which was a good start for me. Very IKEA-ish, according to my NYC connection. I have no problem with that, I have lived with cheap furniture and quasi-functionalism most of my life, so I guess this look suits me better than the spring-inspired optimism of the old template. And it has room for the links I have always missed room for. The list of links is not too long yet, but as I surf, I expect that this will change. Anyway: This is the first blog-design I feel good enough about to use here. Enjoy!
This design is based on the "currency" standard blogger template by Mena Trott, a clean and flexible template which was a good start for me. Very IKEA-ish, according to my NYC connection. I have no problem with that, I have lived with cheap furniture and quasi-functionalism most of my life, so I guess this look suits me better than the spring-inspired optimism of the old template. And it has room for the links I have always missed room for. The list of links is not too long yet, but as I surf, I expect that this will change. Anyway: This is the first blog-design I feel good enough about to use here. Enjoy!
Friday, November 22, 2002
Deadlines galore
Just got reminded of a deadline I thought was one month from now. So by December 1st I have to write a 20 page article on the research I have been doing. I think I will write - again - of the research process, I keep returning to that problem. But this time I'll describe an other part of it, the sensation of being swept away by the game, to be lost, and struggle to analyze while lost in creating a fantasy. Working title: "Tatt av spillet", which roughly translates to "Gone with the game". Only problem is: I don't want to be either Dibbell or Markham.
Just got reminded of a deadline I thought was one month from now. So by December 1st I have to write a 20 page article on the research I have been doing. I think I will write - again - of the research process, I keep returning to that problem. But this time I'll describe an other part of it, the sensation of being swept away by the game, to be lost, and struggle to analyze while lost in creating a fantasy. Working title: "Tatt av spillet", which roughly translates to "Gone with the game". Only problem is: I don't want to be either Dibbell or Markham.
First attempt
I have for such a long time envied Jill, Hilde, Lisbeth and the others who with such ease edit their blogskins. I have spent hours and hours on trying to figure out how to do it for myself, and I have been able to edit colours and such things... but I have never dared to touch the template for this blog. Today I managed to make/modify a standard blogger template into something I liked, and you can see the result here. It's a little scary, and I couldn't do quite what I wanted - I'd have liked to get rid of the horisontal rule for instance. but I failed at that.
I have for such a long time envied Jill, Hilde, Lisbeth and the others who with such ease edit their blogskins. I have spent hours and hours on trying to figure out how to do it for myself, and I have been able to edit colours and such things... but I have never dared to touch the template for this blog. Today I managed to make/modify a standard blogger template into something I liked, and you can see the result here. It's a little scary, and I couldn't do quite what I wanted - I'd have liked to get rid of the horisontal rule for instance. but I failed at that.
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Almost too good to be true (even with the unjaundiced eye of a mother)
My daughter is in the music specialisation in high school. Her main instrument is the clarinet, second instrument tenor saxophone, she's learning to play the piano and she's singing in the school choir. In her "free" time (when she isn't involved in political activities to save the world or at least the environment) she instructs the woodwinds in the school military band (skolekorpset), plays with two big-bands, sings in a choir and plays in the College Symphony Orchestra. This week-end they are performing The Creation by Joseph Haydn, and that little blonde head over the clarinet between the music-college students and professors, that will be my little daughter. Yes, I am soft and mushy with pride that I have such a wonderful, beautiful and talented child. And she's nice and intelligent too. Almost too much, isn't it?
My daughter is in the music specialisation in high school. Her main instrument is the clarinet, second instrument tenor saxophone, she's learning to play the piano and she's singing in the school choir. In her "free" time (when she isn't involved in political activities to save the world or at least the environment) she instructs the woodwinds in the school military band (skolekorpset), plays with two big-bands, sings in a choir and plays in the College Symphony Orchestra. This week-end they are performing The Creation by Joseph Haydn, and that little blonde head over the clarinet between the music-college students and professors, that will be my little daughter. Yes, I am soft and mushy with pride that I have such a wonderful, beautiful and talented child. And she's nice and intelligent too. Almost too much, isn't it?
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
IF - what?
Interactive Fiction might be a seductive term, but the reader who has been following the discussions among Jill, Lisbeth, Gonzalo, Frank Schaap and some non-bloggers such as Espen Aarseth, Susana Tosca and the others in the Gamestudies team know that narration in computer games is an extremely tender topic. Have a look at Jesper Juul's Games Telling Stories for instance.
Games are not stories (although they somehow are related to the realm of fiction) and the idea that games should tell stories is as logical as saying that the audience get high-scores from how well they watch a film. Yes, it's possible to give audiences high-scores, but that isn't one of the important aspects of a film. Yes, it's possible to use a game for some kind of narration, but that's not what makes a game a game.
(reflections on reading Anne Galloway's post)
Interactive Fiction might be a seductive term, but the reader who has been following the discussions among Jill, Lisbeth, Gonzalo, Frank Schaap and some non-bloggers such as Espen Aarseth, Susana Tosca and the others in the Gamestudies team know that narration in computer games is an extremely tender topic. Have a look at Jesper Juul's Games Telling Stories for instance.
Games are not stories (although they somehow are related to the realm of fiction) and the idea that games should tell stories is as logical as saying that the audience get high-scores from how well they watch a film. Yes, it's possible to give audiences high-scores, but that isn't one of the important aspects of a film. Yes, it's possible to use a game for some kind of narration, but that's not what makes a game a game.
(reflections on reading Anne Galloway's post)
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
In Antarctica
No, not a report on the temperatures outside, which are extreme for November - it's supposed to rain and be windy! Instead of whining over the cold here, I want to point you all to a different kind of research weblog: Gillian in Antartica, reports from a female blogger doing fieldwork. Read, look at pictures, and enjoy!
No, not a report on the temperatures outside, which are extreme for November - it's supposed to rain and be windy! Instead of whining over the cold here, I want to point you all to a different kind of research weblog: Gillian in Antartica, reports from a female blogger doing fieldwork. Read, look at pictures, and enjoy!
Old Games
Old games, files to download, at siteaboutnothing.
New levels to the fun little game Chip's Challenge.
Classic gaming at Gamespy.
More old games - looks like you can download several of Sierra Online's Quest-games here.
At Alex-soft.net they call it abandonware. Warning - that's an obnoxious site!
Games nostalgia - nice title. And they have a game called Jill of the jungle - almost worth looking at just for the title.
Old games, files to download, at siteaboutnothing.
New levels to the fun little game Chip's Challenge.
Classic gaming at Gamespy.
More old games - looks like you can download several of Sierra Online's Quest-games here.
At Alex-soft.net they call it abandonware. Warning - that's an obnoxious site!
Games nostalgia - nice title. And they have a game called Jill of the jungle - almost worth looking at just for the title.
KIM
This is the research program I have been waiting for. (Mentioned at Jill/txt as well.) I know what I want to apply for - I have a plan for how to apply, but what is an experienced researcher? Am I one now? I am not sure, as post-doc stipends should be part of the project plan and not individual, and I would be viable for a post-doc if I didn't already have tenure... The demand for an experienced researcher to lead the larger projects is a clear disadvantage to the smaller research centres in colleges like for instance Volda. The recent reforms in education in Norway has put more emphasis on formal training for the educators, and the colleges have made an effort to reward research and the publishing thereof. But it's a slow process, it takes years and years to create an "experienced researcher", and in the mean time the well-established, large research communities at the Universities have a clear advantage over the smaller University Colleges.
I will continue with plans for my new project though, and keep my eyes open for potential partners in crime.
This is the research program I have been waiting for. (Mentioned at Jill/txt as well.) I know what I want to apply for - I have a plan for how to apply, but what is an experienced researcher? Am I one now? I am not sure, as post-doc stipends should be part of the project plan and not individual, and I would be viable for a post-doc if I didn't already have tenure... The demand for an experienced researcher to lead the larger projects is a clear disadvantage to the smaller research centres in colleges like for instance Volda. The recent reforms in education in Norway has put more emphasis on formal training for the educators, and the colleges have made an effort to reward research and the publishing thereof. But it's a slow process, it takes years and years to create an "experienced researcher", and in the mean time the well-established, large research communities at the Universities have a clear advantage over the smaller University Colleges.
I will continue with plans for my new project though, and keep my eyes open for potential partners in crime.
Space and Culture
By way of Anne Galloway (yes, we hooked up via emails and these blogs) I found her advisor: Rob Shields, who is editor of the intriguing-looking journal Space and Culture, international journal of social spaces.
By way of Anne Galloway (yes, we hooked up via emails and these blogs) I found her advisor: Rob Shields, who is editor of the intriguing-looking journal Space and Culture, international journal of social spaces.
When and Where do I play?
Anne Galloway asks. It's more a matter of when don't I play. Role-play (mimicry), combined with competition (agôn) is a major part of what I do, and it's not just acting - I find that it's playing. I make up my mind to do this or that, to be a personae, and see if I can "win" - if I can make my students, colleagues or others I want to convince accept my plan. This playfullness is both a way to get energy and motivation for things I would otherwise not be to happy about doing, but also a way to keep the competitive and manipulating aspects of my life at a distance from the rather vulnerable core of my personality. As long as I play, I can enjoy a victory, but shrug off a loss, and get on with a new, interesting plan. My life is split into different arenas on which I play: teaching, research, administration, college politics, etc.
I guess the one area where I never play is when it comes to my children. Anything that happens to them touches me, deeply, profoundly, and it cannot be abandoned at the arena of "home" when I enter the arena of "teaching" or of "research". But I also play in more common playful contexts: I love playing card-games, my father was a ruthless and competitive player, infamous for his cheating, and I have passed that on to the children. I play computer-games, preferably role-playing games or adventure games, I am more for puzzle-solving and strategy than direct competition, and ilinx - dizziness and physical involvement - only comes into play in dancing, which I love to do. I am not much for sports, but I like fishing: I guess it's a like an adventure: search and think and guess and work on the puzzle, use the right equipment and go to the right spot, and you get the reward.
(Mimicry, agôn, alea, ilinx: Roger Caillois: Man, Play and Games)
Anne Galloway asks. It's more a matter of when don't I play. Role-play (mimicry), combined with competition (agôn) is a major part of what I do, and it's not just acting - I find that it's playing. I make up my mind to do this or that, to be a personae, and see if I can "win" - if I can make my students, colleagues or others I want to convince accept my plan. This playfullness is both a way to get energy and motivation for things I would otherwise not be to happy about doing, but also a way to keep the competitive and manipulating aspects of my life at a distance from the rather vulnerable core of my personality. As long as I play, I can enjoy a victory, but shrug off a loss, and get on with a new, interesting plan. My life is split into different arenas on which I play: teaching, research, administration, college politics, etc.
I guess the one area where I never play is when it comes to my children. Anything that happens to them touches me, deeply, profoundly, and it cannot be abandoned at the arena of "home" when I enter the arena of "teaching" or of "research". But I also play in more common playful contexts: I love playing card-games, my father was a ruthless and competitive player, infamous for his cheating, and I have passed that on to the children. I play computer-games, preferably role-playing games or adventure games, I am more for puzzle-solving and strategy than direct competition, and ilinx - dizziness and physical involvement - only comes into play in dancing, which I love to do. I am not much for sports, but I like fishing: I guess it's a like an adventure: search and think and guess and work on the puzzle, use the right equipment and go to the right spot, and you get the reward.
(Mimicry, agôn, alea, ilinx: Roger Caillois: Man, Play and Games)
Monday, November 18, 2002
Email failure
Email has become the main communication device of academia. It's quick, potentially quite close to real-time, yet non-intrusive, it can contain a lot of information and carry attachments which would otherwise be a week in the mail, it can be shared and forwarded or deleted and forgotten. The problem is when email fails us. Adrian writes about his struggle to find the perfect email system, but the problem is more serious than that when emails start disappearing and don't get where they were supposed to go. One colleague has had a problem with this all of autumn, for some reason her email gets eaten, and it's absolutely random when this happens: addresses at the college or outside, students or staff - the email-monster thinks her mails are especially tasty. Today Susana sent an email asking if I had received the email she had sent weeks ago - I hadn't replied to it - and it turns out Susana has a similar problem - or perhaps I have a problem and it sorts away Susana's mail as well? (Susana, I got this mail and the reply is yes, by the way.)
It's in cases like this that the fragility of the digital infrastructure becomes obvious - and also the close relationship to magic. Like magic, it appears on your screen - or disappears, spirited away, once sent.
Email has become the main communication device of academia. It's quick, potentially quite close to real-time, yet non-intrusive, it can contain a lot of information and carry attachments which would otherwise be a week in the mail, it can be shared and forwarded or deleted and forgotten. The problem is when email fails us. Adrian writes about his struggle to find the perfect email system, but the problem is more serious than that when emails start disappearing and don't get where they were supposed to go. One colleague has had a problem with this all of autumn, for some reason her email gets eaten, and it's absolutely random when this happens: addresses at the college or outside, students or staff - the email-monster thinks her mails are especially tasty. Today Susana sent an email asking if I had received the email she had sent weeks ago - I hadn't replied to it - and it turns out Susana has a similar problem - or perhaps I have a problem and it sorts away Susana's mail as well? (Susana, I got this mail and the reply is yes, by the way.)
It's in cases like this that the fragility of the digital infrastructure becomes obvious - and also the close relationship to magic. Like magic, it appears on your screen - or disappears, spirited away, once sent.
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