e415 — Pushing Our Buttons | Games At Work dot Biz

modern automotive interior with physical buttons — Photo by Nischal Kanishk on Unsplash

Published 8 May 2023

Michael and Michael get things started for this episode with several metaverse musings, beginning with the concept of undercover metaverse moderators. While this is a new(ish) role, it is also one that seems like it would lend itself well to AI augmentation. An article describing how one can post content from Horizon Worlds directly to the ‘gram with a virtual cellphone spurs a discussion on skewomorphism.

Continuing on the thread of design going back to the future, a Slate article describes how physical buttons are making a comeback, much to each Michael’s approval. Another Slate article considers how Americans are misusing temporary paper license plates to circumvent tolls and parking charges. One would think that this is a simple challenge to resolve with QR code registration for each temporary plate. Michael R remembers a story we looked at back in episode 200 with California’s digital plates. Then Michael R gives a summary of a Doom-esque game he played on Steam called “Hell of a Racket”.

Wrapping up the episode for this week, the team concludes with articles about Dune 2, the Dungeons & Dragons movie, The Guild, and the upcoming animated version of Babylon 5.

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Selected Article Links

metaverse

MIT Technology Review article: Undercover in the metaverse

Tech Radar article: VR is more popular than you think, but no thanks to Meta’s virtual wasteland

The Verge article: Now you can post Horizon Worlds photos to your Instagram Story

Interaction Design Foundation article: Skeuomorphism