In the 2011 issue of Game Studies focused on reward systems, Christopher Moore tackled the subject of achievements within Team Fortress 2 and, in particular, the game’s hats. If you’ve ever been compelled to learn more about the psychology, social theory, and economics of downloadable fedoras, read
A small agricultural group known as the Baining in Papua New Guinea is infamous among anthropologists for having eradicated the desire to play from its culture—the Baining do not engage in festivals, games, or religious ceremonies. Researchers such as Gregory Bateson studied the group as early as th
A startup called Use It Better uses statistics gathered from games to predict the behavior and characteristics of players. While the company began by helping developers detect cheating players and improve user experience, it recently found that it could determine players’ gender, age, personality, a
Artist James Bit is selling these decorative decals on Etsy. We can’t guarantee they’ll go with your rug, but if you’re looking for that mysterious-but-welcoming ambience in your bedroom, this may be your thing. He’s also selling Zelda-esque fireplace art and custom videogame covers.
A group of students from the Interactive Media program at the University of Southern California (where thatgamecompany’s Jenova Chen first developed Flow) are constructing a consumer version of the Holodeck—that is, the ultimate virtual reality system imagined in Star Trek and countless other scienc
