Becker Video Game Design

Profiles an MIT grad Eitan Gilnert, founded company with new game "Slam Bolt Scrappers," using funding from friends and family. Gives his insights on entrepreneurship and why one should invest in his company. The company's web site: http://www.firehosegames.com/ features product information and an online community.

"Center of Excellence for Games," game marketing and game development for Hasbro moved to Rhode Island with unfortunate results for some Massachusetts employees.

Merger between two companies developing "mobile devices into wireless controllers" for game use and other applications

Highlights two games, one designed an American and one designed by Chinese, one taking as its subject the end of American military hegemony, the other portraying American soldiers as "the enemy." Socio-political implications of these developments are discussed, particularly how these represent a break from mainstream video game content.

A father describes how, despite his efforts to the contrary, both his sons are deeply involved in video games, highly accomplished, and travel great distances and time to visit fellow players and participate in gaming events. Whether this is at the expense of social skills, interactions and real life is considered.

Along with new federally mandated education standards, investments by Gates in grants for "digital learning" tools.

A seminal article on how video games are already incorporated into many aspects of everyday technology use.

Getting afflicted kids to do breathing exercises using game technology, with successful outcomes, demonstrated by a researcher from the University of Vermont at the Pediatric Academic Societies Conference in Denver

For additional commentary , see press release on ScienceDaily http://t.co/h38L73R

Excerpt from the 2011 book by Harold Goldberg, All Your Base Are Belong to Us, arguing about the potential for video games, how some scenes in games are executed better than in wel-known films, and showing how movies and pop music were not considered culturally serious until they were, and that the same future exists for games, with the potential coming from such advances in 3D technology or holography.

Jane McGonical of Princeton's Institute for the Future makes the case for video game playing and real world applications of the technology. An example she uses is the knowledge base created by World of Warcraft users, the size of which rivals Wikipedia. She contradicts popular images of gamers as solitary and isolated, showing instead community-building and the self-valuation and validation gamers experience from collaborating with others of like interest. She goes on to describe real-world applications of video games, current and potential

interesting incorporation of literature and art into video game design. "The "Road to Canterbury" takes its influence from Chaucer and also Hieronymous Bosch's Seven Deadly Sins and Four Last Things. Attracted significant interest on Kickstarter investment site.