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whyville

The Future of Video Games: The Kids Are Alright

What a long strange trip it’s been. First, video games were seen as nothing more than a waste of time, then they were said to be a scourge that was turning young, impressionable players into zombified serial killers or worse. More recently, thanks to the work of people like Jim Gee, the conversation has shifted [...]

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game-zen

Using Game Mechanics to Power Your Business

There’s an excellent post by Shane Snow and Phin Barnes on Mashable called How to Use Game Mechanics to Power Your Business that’s an excellent primer on a topic many first-time game design clients struggle to understand. Whether you’re looking to leverage game mechanics to drive business or to make a product more compelling, this [...]

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Gamestar Mechanic in the South Bronx

[Scroll down for update.]  When I heard about eLine Media‘s planned beta test of Gamestar Mechanic I thought it would be a perfect match for the outreach programs organized by New York based NGO The LAMP to teach media literacy in under-served communities. It took less than an hour to reach a meeting of the [...]

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Think, Play, Learn

Think, Play, Learn

Intentional Games is an initiative to develop and publish serious games and simulations for the personal growth, educational and professional training markets. We are building a long term product road map using original and re-purposed IP, leveraging strategic partnerships and creative financing to develop and bring our products to market. If you have a business, [...]

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UC Berkeley Study: Gameplay Shown to Raise Kids IQ

UC Berkeley Study: Gameplay Shown to Raise Kids IQ

Dr. Silvia Bunge, director of the Bunge Cognitive Control and Development Laboratory at UC Berkeley, uses behavioral and brain imaging techniques to examine how we control our thoughts and actions to make them consistent with our internal goals. In a recent study reported by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman in their Newsweek blog NurtureShock, kids [...]

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Coming Soon to a Screen Near You

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You

First clue: it’s not a summer movie. As the annual techno-temple of E3 winds down, reports are starting to filter in about what’s going to be hot in the next year. Personally I’m going to wait for our friend Warren Buckleitner to weigh in.  If you’re not so patient and have to be the first [...]

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The Sims Takes iPhone Games to New Level, 12-14 Hrs. of Play

The Sims Takes iPhone Games to New Level, 12-14 Hrs. of Play

Levi Buchanan writes in The Sims 3 Review, “This is not some port, this is the real deal Sims for the iPhone. Sims 3 for the iPhone starts with a Sim creator where you choose the gender and general appearance of your Sim. However, the true customization of your Sims takes place when you craft [...]

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