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Mar 15

Human Senses & Games

by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Awareness / Understanding, Introduction, Sense: Hearing / Ear, Senses: Seeing / Vision, Senses: Smell / Taste, Senses: Speaking / Communication, Senses: Touch / Nerves
It is documented that animals have play behavior, but it is only Humans that play games. In order for all animals to play they do so through their range of senses. There are the obvious ones such as sight, hearing, and touch but there are some that are more subtle or so powerful we tend not to think of them. Using ancient Buddhist psychology’s insight into the human condition, I thought it would be useful to evaluate how this list of senses interacts with games. What follows is a list of seven senses that most human beings have. I will describe each one and then list how it relates to games.   (I) Seeing through our Eyes     This is the primary sense used when it comes to games. A video or computer game cannot be played unless it can be seen since all games are played on some kind of screen with projected images. I can think of one rare exception, but in this case the exception does not make the rule.     (II) Hearing through our Ears     The secondary sense used when it comes to games. Some of the earliest games (played on main […]

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Mar 08

Domain Name Shame: Top 3 Things to Know

by Chris Billows in Business Beller 0 comments tags: Branding, Business Development, Contrarian
So I have been in the domain and website business since August 2010. I have made a little bit of money but have also lost more. While I can’t brag about success, I can share with you an opinion that is informed by experience. Here are three important things to know about avoiding the shame of the domain name game. 1) Brand First, Concept Second – A domain name is important only if it has a brand or contains words that point to a popularly held concept. This is why so many domains get scooped up because it contains a keyword that can generate traffic, which helps make a website more lucrative. It is like having a really high traffic storefront. This can be valuable, but only if there is traffic. People are now scooping up domains for every niche concept such as wirelessprinterscanner.net (disclosure: I used to own this) all with the intention to capture search engine traffic with the keyword. These keyword heavy domain names (what I call Concept Domains) tend to be very low quality, cheap, and can be profitable, but usually not. It is better to go for a brandable name that is unique and you […]

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Mar 07

Blog-Letters, Values, and More

by Chris Billows in Republic of Bloggers 0 comments tags: Blogging, Virtuous Discourse
Dear Chris, Thank you so much for your blog-letter, ‘The Merit of Letters‘. I do not intend on getting the last word on this discussion, but do hope that by continuing to demonstrate and practice the Blog-Letter, it will continue to attract interest (which it appears to have). I want to touch on your point: ‘Yet at the same time, the practice of virtuous discourse is informed by its values, so perhaps you could turn those into principles if it were strictly necessary. Those values include, but cannot be restricted to, politeness, insightfulness, fellowship, eloquence, and wit.‘ This is interesting. I agree that Values are something different from Principles. Perhaps they are the unspoken or less organized aspect of Principles? Values can be passed on to us by family, society, or invented by our own volition. To value something is both a goal and an action, while Principles tend to be an explicit statement and thus less dynamic. If I may be so bold, I am going to also suggest the additional Values of Openness and Transparency. The former being your stated intention to welcome all, regardless of status or standing, the latter being the practice of writing these letters […]

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Feb 22

Breaking the Fourth Wall: Why Tutorials Ruin Games

by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Lords of Midnight, Player v Avatar, Ultima IV
Note: This is an open letter to Jed Pressgrove at Game Bias. All replies are welcome. Dear Jed, I am responding to your article ‘Tutorialization as an Aesthetic Flaw in Games‘  which was in response to Chris Bateman’s article ‘The Aesthetic Flaw of Games.’ Your post got me thinking fondly and with some nostalgia about the role that non-game items like Manuals and Maps played in my past. I remember getting my first copy of Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar which had a gorgeous cloth map and two manuals.     The first manual was about the game, while a second manual posed as a spell book (Book of Mystic Wisdom), giving you the feeling of learning the game without the need for a tutorial.     Another great memory, is from 1984 when I received The Lords of Midnight in the mail. A ZX Spectrum game, it came with a manual/story plus a map on the back of the game box. Boy, did I spend many a moment gazing on that map thinking about strategies to implement and places to explore.     Enough of my navel gazing, the real reason why I am writing is that I […]

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Feb 17

Winnipeg Jets 2013-14 Player Leaders and GM Analysis

by Chris Billows in Jets Flight Control 0 comments tags: Drafted Jets, GM Review, Jets Draft, Jets Goalie Stats, Jets Top Scorers
The new Winnipeg Jets 2.0 established themselves as a mediocre NHL team in 2011-12, finishing 4th in their division and missing the playoffs. Being built on the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team True North acquired a team that were just one or two steps above an expansion franchise. The 2013-14 team marks the third complete season since the Jets have returned to Winnipeg. As you will see, the team remains not much better than the old Thrashers franchise. What follows is an analysis of the 2013-14 team and how Jets Management has been successful in building the team, with a particular focus on GM Kevin Chevaldayoff and the transactions he implemented. Each player who played in 2013-14 is identified by how they were acquired by the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets which can be via a Trade deal, a Draft pick, a Free Agent signing, or a Waiver pickup. Below this table I analyze the team’s composition and the turnover of players who stay with the organization for the 2014-15 season.   Player Pos GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW OT Shots Route NS CD 1 Blake Wheeler R 82 28 41 69 4 63 8 0 4 2 225 […]

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Feb 16

Aesthetics as Basis for Conflict Between Players

by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments
Note: This is an open letter to Chris Bateman at International Hobo. All replies are welcome. Dear Chris Bateman, Thank you for your post on the “The Aesthetic Flaws of Games“. I am writing to provide an exploratory response to the persistent conflict you refer to, noting that this was not the point of your article. In your first point about Aesthetic Ruptures, you explain how narrative and mechanical aesthetic modes can lead to player alienation because of their unskillful use. I agree with you, and believe that it is this very difference in aesthetic modes that is the reason why the conflict you refer to exists. You speak more to this in one of your earlier posts, ‘The Thin Play of Dear Esther“. I have learned through our past discussions on Twitter of your intention to reduce the sectarianism we see in games, particularly the conflict between the narrative vs mechanical tribes, which can be distracting and destructive. As you wisely told me, be careful of trying to own the term ‘Game’. But I am concerned that in seeking a ‘perennial philosophy’ of games we do a disservice to some of the evolutionary traits that games have developed. While […]
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