http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner en-us Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:58:02 -0700 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:55 -0700 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d20-Videogame-cliche-of-the-week-21-No-hands?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner We have grown to accept this minor oversight whenever we come across it. Pick up an object, open a door, do anything other than operate a weapon, and you just won’t see your character’s hands move. It is quite uncommon to have a game that... Weekly Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:55 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d20-Videogame-cliche-of-the-week-21-No-hands?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d18-Call-of-Duty-Modern-Warfare-2?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Shortly after the release of the first Modern Warfare in 2007, fans were already ravenous for a second serving. In the same month two years later, Infinity Ward has finally released the sequel. Interestingly enough, it is more commonly referred to as... Game Reviews and Discussions Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:39:49 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d18-Call-of-Duty-Modern-Warfare-2?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d13-Videogame-cliche-of-the-week-20-Precombat-conversation?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Think of the person you hate the most. Picture his annoying face—the visage that inspires within you near-uncontrollable rage. If no such person exists, make one up. Imagine he committed wrongs for which there is no forgiveness: he slaughtered ... Weekly Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:51:34 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d13-Videogame-cliche-of-the-week-20-Precombat-conversation?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d11-World-discussion-Morrowind-Vvardenfell?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner After discussing the settings in Oblivion (Cyrodill, The Deadlands, and Shivering Isles), I’ve been thinking about doing a bit on Morrowind, especially since I mentioned how original it was, even if only in a passing manner. It will certainly c... Weekly Features Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:32:19 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d11-World-discussion-Morrowind-Vvardenfell?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d9-Dragon-Age-Origins?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner If you happened to come across the previews for Dragon Age Origins, you probably fell in love on the spot. So the question is, does the game live up to all of the hype? It all depends. Perhaps you will be so pleased, your heart will explode in pure d... Game Reviews and Discussions Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:01:28 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d9-Dragon-Age-Origins?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Videogame-cliche-of-the-week-19-Scavenger-huntsCollection-goals?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner I’d imagine gamers have honed their ability to look for things down to the point it can be considered some kind of art form. You can thank game developers for that. You’ve probably been ordered to go on so many collection runs or told so ... Weekly Features Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:40:41 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Videogame-cliche-of-the-week-19-Scavenger-huntsCollection-goals?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d4-World-discussion--Dark-Messiah-of-Might-and-Magic?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Might and Magic as a franchise is a staggering 23 years old. It includes the nine original games in addition to the five main titles of a related real-time strategy series: Heroes of Might and Magic. On top of all this, a number of development studio... Weekly Features Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:37:54 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m11d4-World-discussion--Dark-Messiah-of-Might-and-Magic?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d30-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-18-Totally-expendable-guards?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Do you ever see those men (sometimes women) in black uniforms walking around town or driving in special cars? Yeah, those tough folks with the guns that get on your case if you do something illegal: the police. Right. Would you kill any of them?No? E... Weekly Features Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:13:49 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d30-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-18-Totally-expendable-guards?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d28-World-discussion-Deus-Ex-1?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner When the first Deus Ex was released about nine years ago, I initially expected a generic shoot-em-up game, typical of the FPS’s of the time period. However, only a few minutes in, I realized that the game was so much more than a simple FPS. Sur... Weekly Features Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:40:19 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d28-World-discussion-Deus-Ex-1?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d23-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-17-Ironman-player-character?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner This is a *huge* oversight in several games, and chances are, few gamers have noticed it, since it’s just something developers distracted us from since the beginning. Though your character in the game might be some pitiful weakling that dies af... Weekly Features Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:51:44 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d23-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-17-Ironman-player-character?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d21-World-discussion-Silent-Hill?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner   The Silent Hill series are the pinnacle of survival-horror gaming. It has enjoyed great commercial success and critical acclaim in Japan where it was developed, and also in North America where it has acquired a small, but die-hard following. H... Weekly Features Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:46:44 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d21-World-discussion-Silent-Hill?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d16-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-16-Gold?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Gold. Aurum. Frozen urine of the gods. No matter what you call it, or how it is referred to in-game, it is still the precious yellow metal coveted by all. You can never have too much of it. It is everywhere, and everyone has at least a little bit. Yo... Weekly Features Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:37:21 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d16-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-16-Gold?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d14-World-discussion-Myst?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Believe it or not, there was once such a thing as a first-person game that didn’t involve blasting the life out of something. Of course, something like that would only have a place in the distant past—like the early 1990’s. In that ... Weekly Features Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:51:52 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d14-World-discussion-Myst?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d9-Risen?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Developed by the German company Piranha Bytes, Risen is medieval fantasy action-RPG. It is already available for the PC, but will be released for the Xbox 360 sometime in 2010. Piranha Bytes is best known (actually, they have only been known) for t... Game Reviews and Discussions Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:43:16 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d9-Risen?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d9-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-15-Useless-NPCs?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Life as an NPC would be full of unfathomable thrills, wouldn’t it? Imagine: what would your average day be like? If you’re in an older game, why, you’ll probably have the exciting opportunity to stand still for twenty-four hours a d... Weekly Features Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:04:11 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d9-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-15-Useless-NPCs?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d6-Wolrd-discussion--Oblivion-The-Deadlands-and-Shivering-Isles?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner  The concept of separate planes of existence is an ancient and extremely widespread idea. Humans seem to have a natural disposition to believe that there exists states of being and consciousness that are out of reach. In fact, even the sub-human... Weekly Features Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:13:32 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d6-Wolrd-discussion--Oblivion-The-Deadlands-and-Shivering-Isles?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d1-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-14-Random-chances-of-success?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Those of you that play Western RPG’s (or pretty much any RPG) should know exactly what I’m talking about. Whether it’s a chance to execute a critical hit, a chance to persuade an NPC, and even whether or not your next sword swing wi... Weekly Features Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:56:30 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m10d1-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-14-Random-chances-of-success?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m9d30-World-discussion--Oblivion-Cyrodiil?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner In the game Oblivion, there are two main worlds (three if you have the Shivering Isles expansion pack): Cyrodiil (typical medieval-fantasy realm), Oblivion (specifically the hellish realm of Mehrunes Dagon), and Shivering Isles (a different realm of ... Weekly Features Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:25:59 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m9d30-World-discussion--Oblivion-Cyrodiil?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m9d29-News-Microsoft-releases-new-Security-Essentials-10-free-of-charge?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner Though this news might seem to be of little use to gamers (especially console gamers), you have to remember that you use your PC frequently. Yes, for gaming mostly, but also for other things…things that could potentially screw over your PC jus... News Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:42:44 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m9d29-News-Microsoft-releases-new-Security-Essentials-10-free-of-charge?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m9d25-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-13-Huge-carrying-capacity?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner    Once again, as a special agent, you are sent into the field to take care of the bad guys all by your lonesome. As you enter their stronghold, you spot a single guard making his rounds. Because you would like to introduce yourself with a... Weekly Features Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:30:53 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-14912-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner~y2009m9d25-Gaming-cliche-of-the-week-13-Huge-carrying-capacity?cid=exrss-LA-Video-Game-Culture-Examiner