Tag Archives: gaming

Internet Archive offers 900 classic arcade games for browser-based play | Ars Technica

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As part of its continuing mission to catalog and preserve our shared digital history, the Internet Archive has published a collection of more than 900 classic arcade games, playable directly in a Web browser via a Javascript emulator.

The Internet Arcade collects a wide selection of titles, both well-known and obscure, ranging from “bronze age” black-and-white classics like 1976s Sprint 2 up through the dawn of the early 90s fighting game boom in Street Fighter II. In the middle are a few historical oddities, such as foreign Donkey Kong bootleg Crazy Kong and the hacked “Pauline Edition” of Donkey Kong that was created by a doting father just last year.

READ MORE: Internet Archive offers 900 classic arcade games for browser-based play | Ars Technica.

Your Next Psychologist May Prescribe The Legend of Zelda | Mashable

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When Carly McCullar, 32, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as an adult, she wanted to improve her social and communication skills before heading into the next stage of her life.

Never having received such help before, she volunteered to participate in a unique treatment program: virtual reality. Sitting at a computer that tracked her facial expressions, the game tested her social cognition and provided feedback, McCullar played through various realistic scenarios, including a job interview, a confrontation with a loud neighbor and even dating.

The program, a collaborative effort from gaming technology experts and health researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas, simulates everyday experiences and social situations that are typically difficult for those with autism or anxiety disorders. And its just one example in a growing trend in which video games are forms of therapy. READ MORE: Your Next Psychologist May Prescribe The Legend of Zelda | Mashable

Computer Game Myst To Become A TV Series | io9

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Deadline just dropped the nostalgic news that Legendary TV and Cyan Worlds are working together to develop a Myst-inspired television show. The computer game followed “the Stranger,” who uses a magical book to travel through the mist, across the island also titled Myst. Once on the island, the player must solve a collection of puzzles and riddles that help unlock different portions of the Myst world, thus revealing the secret backstory to new characters and the island itself.

via Computer Game Myst To Become A TV Series | io9

The Story Behind The Web’s Weirdest, Hardest Riddle | Co.Labs

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The Story Behind The Webs Weirdest, Hardest Riddle ⚙ Co.Labs ⚙ code + community

In 2004 a small website appeared that contained a browser-based game called Notpron, which has since been hailed as “the hardest riddle on the Internet.” It consists of a series of 140 puzzles and riddles that get progressively more complex. Completing the game requires knowledge in a diverse range of fields including HTML programming, sound and graphics editing, music apprehension, research skills, and even remote viewing.

Out of the 17 million players that have attempted the game in the last decade only 31 have completed it. That’s just one in every 550,000 players–or, to put it another way, the chances you’ll be hit by lightning once in your lifetime are 41 times greater than they are for you solving Notpron.

To celebrate the games 10th anniversary I asked David Münnich, Notpron’s creator, to go down the rabbit hole of how and why it was created–and what it all means.

READ MORE: The Story Behind The Webs Weirdest, Hardest Riddle ⚙ Co.Labs ⚙ code + community.

Cybersecurity Lab | NOVA Labs | PBS

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Cybersecurity | NOVA Labs | PBS

The Cybersecurity Lab is a game designed to teach people how to keep their digital lives safe, spot cyber scams, learn the basics of coding, and defend against cyber attacks. Players assume the role of the chief technology officer of a start-up social network company that is the target of increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. In the game, players must complete challenges to strengthen their cyber defenses and thwart their attackers. The Lab also features stories of real-world cyber attacks, a glossary of cyber terms, and short animated videos that explain the need for cybersecurity, privacy versus security, cryptography (cyber codes), and what exactly hackers are. MORE: Cybersecurity | NOVA Labs | PBS.

The Videogame History Museum has found a home in Frisco, Texas | Engadget

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Making a pilgrimage to the Videogame History Museum has been tough so far; most of its collection is in storage, and what little you do see has been going on cross-country tours. Pretty soon, though, it will have a permanent public display. A Frisco, Texas community board has approved a deal to give the Museum a 10,400 square foot location inside the citys Discovery Center by this April.

READ MORE: The Videogame History Museum has found a home in Frisco, Texas | Engadget

Destiny: behind the scenes of the worlds most expensive video game | The Guardian

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When Destiny launches next week, 10 million players will be let loose in an intricate, beautiful, interplanetary gaming playground.

READ MORE: Destiny: behind the scenes of the worlds most expensive video game | Art and design | The Guardian.

How to attack a woman who works in video gaming | theguardian.com

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A culture of hate and suspicion has descended on the games industry, and at the centre of the vortex is a familiar foe: women. Ask Anita Sarkeesian and Zoe Quinn.

READ MORE: How to attack a woman who works in video gaming | Technology | theguardian.com.

Scary. As librarians we have a responsibility to uphold the right to intellectual freedom. For situations such as this, there has to be checks and balances that hold criminal behaviour, such as harassment and death threats, accountable. Brings up all sorts of questions about social media and freedom of speech, anonymity, censorship, privacy and trolling.

Understanding Video Games [Free Course] | University of Alberta

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Understanding Video Games is an 11-lesson course teaching a comprehensive overview of analytical theory pertaining to video game media. Video games are a globally entrenched entertainment medium that entertains, informs and challenges us. These games are defined by, and define our modern culture. In this course, students will learn how to study games and engage in informed discussions about them. Ultimately, this course is about understanding the literacy of video games.  Understanding Video Games was created with the help of world renowned video game developer, BioWare Corp, located in Edmonton, Alberta.

Read More: Understanding Video Games | University of Alberta.

Duke’s Legacy: Video Game Source Disc Preservation at the Library of Congress | The Signal: Digital Preservation

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Duke’s Legacy: Video Game Source Disc Preservation at the Library of Congress | The Signal: Digital Preservation

Several months ago, while performing an inventory of recently acquired video games, I happened upon a DVD-R labeled Duke Nukem: Critical Mass PSP. My first assumption was that the disc, like so many others we have received, was a DVD-R of gameplay. However, a line of text on the Copyright database record for the item intrigued me. It reads: Authorship: Entire video game; computer code; artwork; and music. I placed the disc into my computer’s DVD drive to discover that the DVD-R did not contain video, but instead a file directory, including every asset used to make up the game in a wide variety of proprietary formats. Upon further research, I discovered that the Playstation Portable version of Duke Nukem: Critical Mass was never actually released commercially and was in fact a very different beast than the Nintendo DS version of the game which did see release. I realized then that in my computer was the source disc used to author the UMD for an unreleased PlayStation Portable game. I could feel the lump in my throat. I felt as though I had solved the wizard’s riddle and unlocked the secret door.

READ MORE: Duke’s Legacy: Video Game Source Disc Preservation at the Library of Congress | The Signal: Digital Preservation.