Episode 29 – Simon Says

By | |
Comments Off on Episode 29 – Simon Says

Games don’t stop just because it is a holiday week in the U.S. and neither do podcasts about games at work. After a bit of looking at things differently – can you say might-tight? Our friend Ian Bogost has a new game out, that Michael M. discovered while being all peckish, and we discuss the history and speak a little Latin. When then ask – are persuasive games really that persuasive after all?

We also discuss how we can make our mundane, boring, and overloaded todo list much more fun to work on. Or do we? Can you make it fun to deal with all the crap you have to do? How do you make all the things that pile up – doable? We discuss the impact of intrinsic verse extrinsic rewards on doing your tasks. Is “clippy” enough to make you happy?

Now that the Thanksgiving Holiday is over in the U.S. it’s time for everyone to get Back to Work and hopefully our little gaming your todo list will be helpful.

If you want to play games with us on Apple’s Game Center – you can find us at MichaelRowe01 and Michael_in_nc.

This week’s links:
Simony
Simon Says
Cow Clicker Episode
Geek Rock – Barcelona
They Might Be Giants
Are persuasive games really that persuasive?
Security Now – ROCKS
Back to work!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Michael get’s some science wrong
Melatonin – has nothing to do with skin color!
The Mythbusters get it right!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:49 — 35.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Podcast Index | Youtube Music | RSS | More

Episode 28 – Dating Flashmob

By | |
1 Comment

Michael and Phaedra express their love of martial arts, and how they don’t mind deceiving themselves in the least, by gaining cardio exercise benefits while doing something inherently fun.  “Dirt runs faster than I do” says Phaedra, thinking that zombies chasing her would be a great motivator to run even faster!  Talk about living in the undead moment!

 

Phaedra and Michael talk about a wide variety of alternate reality games (ARGs), from the recently started Google Niantic Project, to the stolen Audi (from 2006 if you can believe that!) to the MIT Game Lab’s Smithsonian game.

 

Then, the concept of applying games to dating is raised, and while you may think that Phaedra and Michael would start thinking about The Dating Game — no, they take it fully in the more modern way, with phones acting as agents and helping to arrange Dating Flashmobs!

 

Concluding this show with saving throws featuring videos from Rhett & Link, Michael and Phaedra agree that if you have a tough problem, call the bacon bot ARG and have a good laugh.  And a hot tip…  if you watch the video in full screen view, there are some hidden videos interviews to find.

 

Selected show notes links

 

TechCrunch article:  Are Games Really That Persuasive?  — http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/10/are-games-really-that-persuasive/

 

Quest Center — http://chquestcenter.com

American Ninja — http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/American_Ninja.mp3/view?searchterm=american%20ninja

 

Zombies, Run — https://www.zombiesrungame.com

 

Niantic Project — Day of Weirdness — http://www.nianticproject.com

 

That’s Niantic — not to be confused with Nyan Cat — http://www.nyan.cat

 

Requesting an invite via Ingress — http://www.ingress.com

 

Audi game — find the stolen Audi — http://kotaku.com/038191/stolen-audi-could-be-viral-marketing-game

 

MIT Game Lab Smithsonian ARG — http://www.fastcompany.com/1748531/mit-creates-one-video-game-youll-be-thrilled-see-your-kid-get-hooked

 

 

saving throws 

Michael M — rub some bacon on it video — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSReSGe200A

Phaedra — the breakup song — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyfNZs2dPto&feature=relmfu

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:59 — 29.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Podcast Index | Youtube Music | RSS | More

Episode 27 – Creative Spaces

By | |
Comments Off on Episode 27 – Creative Spaces

The Michael’s are at it once again, and once again we are stuck with only two of our show hosts. We miss you Phaedra!

We decide to have a bit of fun talking about podcasting, social media, and creative 2D spaces from Linden Lab. Michael R. decides to tease Michael M. with his Letterpress strategery. We also discuss how games can become quickly popular and the implications to IT infrastructures, like Apple’s GameCenter platform. Are you using random-social matching for your head to head gaming? Could you do this at work?

Michael R. also tries to figure out what Linden Lab is doing with their first ever iPad app – Creative Spaces.

Show Links:
Linden Lab – Creatorverse
Letter Press game
Fischer Technik
Little Big Planet

Savings Throws:
Michael M – Election Night Coverage:
Wailing saxophonist from the Air Force band http://t.co/lcrs13Do #electionnightbudapest
Sweet Home Chicago in the main ballroom with the Légierö Zenekar Hungarian Air Force Band http://t.co/0YXRS4Gd #electionnightbudapest
Michael R – Windows 8 Experience:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:59 — 27.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Podcast Index | Youtube Music | RSS | More

Episode 26 – Business Process Management and Immortality

By | |
Comments Off on Episode 26 – Business Process Management and Immortality

Phaedra and Michael M, missing Michael R, have a very rare in person walk through memory lane conversation on how the Innov8 game was used to help explain Business Process Modeling, and how rapidly it was adopted buy universities all over the world.  Such repurposing first person shooter and then later real time strategy game engines in support of marketing and understanding BPM was highly successful in many ways.

Phaedra expanded on the subject by commenting that now, such process optimization games are being used to help expose the optimized new processes as a byproduct of gameplay, by how the game players actually play the game.  One of the best things about games is that they reduce the focus to the most important parts of the subject, removing all else.  This is a continuing thread, reminding us of the conversations had with Ian Bogost and Chris Hazard on earlier episodes.  Gameplay helps to optimize the process because of the focus on the most salient part of the game, and when there are real world elements incorporated, the game can make sense of the deluge of data because of the players who are playing.

For her saving throw, Phaedra shares that process optimization games are a hot topic — per Garnter & Forrester, 50% of organizations that are focusing on process optimization will be using games.  And for Michael’s saving throw, he muses on immortality and how the digital breadcrumbs that we leave everywhere could form the input to artificial intelligence agents which could consume all this information, and then provide insight as to how an individual may approach a problem or answer a question, long after that person is no more.

And with this, we’re taken right back to the start of the show with business process modeling as a strong method of capturing corporate memory.

additional links

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:59 — 26.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Podcast Index | Youtube Music | RSS | More