Let’s do something different. I am in the gaming mood right now, but trust me, I wasn’t playing video games over the entire weekend. Remember the simulation game made by Electronic Arts called Simcity? Well I noticed that there are some ideas related with nature in this game. Create new profile: Miles. Start city. Before you begin building your city, you are in the stage called “God Mode”. In this stage, you can manipulate nature into almost anything you want. Perhaps a mountain here would be nice. Maybe a lake would enhance my city-under-construction. Let’s add some trees to create a jungle. How about some llamas? I don’t know about you, but I find this game naturally addicting. For some reason, I find pleasure in making nature into anything I wish. I find pleasure in summoning UFOs or tornadoes to attack the city. Why? I do not know. It’s not like I’m a bad person who enjoys the sight of pain. I think it’s just this inherent human characteristic. We all want power over nature. It’s built into our minds and hardwired in. That is how EA can make so much money from its games. They appeal to natural human desires. Now this is what I consider an effective corporate marketing strategy.

You can’t talk about Simcity without talking about its counterpart, the Sims. I have recently spent some time playing Sims 3, in which you get to create and control your Sim’s life and fate. Again, you play the god figure. First you construct the physical features of your Sim. Next you can select from a plethora of personalities and traits to create your ideal (or non-ideal) Sim. You control his or her lifespan, every action, and basically everything. This successful game is quite popular and widely acclaimed. Why do we find so much pleasure in controlling the lives of other “humans”? Does this game serve as a means of venting or living vicariously? Maybe we want the feeling of power, not just over nature, but also over other humans, which makes us consider whether the major battle is always between nature and humanity.

vendo nintendo DS lite Bianco funzionante ottime condizioni con custodia protettiva e 3 giochi originali.

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P.S:  solo rittiro diretto Bergamo.

180 euro 140 euro

Stephen Johnson’s Everything Bad is Good for You first published in 2005 is a non fiction discussion on popular culture.

Steven Johnson has a degree in semiotics and literature and you can kind of tell. This book has the subtitle “How popular culture is making us smarter”. That’s plenty provocative enough, so with that you expect him to plead his case well. And he does.

Johnson takes on the task of discussing mass culture as something other than a trivial past time with no inherent merit. It’s kind of a mouthful to go at, but he does it with verve and humour and a good deal of theoretical structure hiding behind the blithe smile of the text.

It’s actually a relief to find that someone is willing to discuss mass culture as something other than a guilty pleasure we all indulge in, but won’t talk about in the clear light of day. What he goes after is proving that the current expressions of mass culture have definitely become more sophisticated and challenging in later years.

When talking about computer games he point out that the most popular games are not the shoot ‘em up games that get all the attention, but the slow and painstakingly complicated ones like SimCity and Age of Empires. He pleads a good case for the delayed gratification these games offer, the things you so rarely hear discussed, like how many hours you sometimes have to spend on a relatively sedate task in order to achieve some minor goal and the frustration that goes with that.

When discussing television he compares the series Dallas to 24 or the Sopranos, making good arguments for how the complexity of the story line has something to do with the taste of the viewers. There’s also a mention of the extremely fast paced and incredibly complicated series The West Wing, a series that actually doesn’t explain anything to the viewer, and more than that, makes it really necessary for the viewer to be active rather than passive.

He also discusses things like how the show The Apprentice or Survivor requires skills like social intelligence rather than the trivia knowledge you need to keep pace in random game shows.

Why is all this relevant? Well, there’s something to it, alright.

“So this is the landscape of the Sleeper Curve. Games that force us to probe and telescope. Television shows that require the mind to fill in the blanks, or exercise its emotional intelligence. Software that makes us sit forward, not lean back. But if the long-term trend in pop culture is toward increased complexity, is there any evidence our brains are reflecting that change?” (Johnson, p. 136).

I am a child of the postmodern, or what Bauman has chosen to term “liquid modernity” so of course this approach is going to appeal to me. Johnson offer the opinion that you have to ask a different set of questions to the popular culture than has been done in the past. I’m all for it. By all means, look at the statistics and see how the levels of complexity offered in computer games challenge the players ability to vast amounts of information at a glance and what that means in terms of intelligence and information assimilation.

There’s always been a sort of canonical war between high and low culture, but there’s always been considerable crossbreeding between the two as well, and this book argues the point that the sheer complexity of some popular culture is a symptom of something or other. That, in an of itself, is enough to make this a work worth reading.

And besides… it’s fun.

Mule

Depois de sair da EA Games, o criador do Spore, The Sims e SimCity resolveu se dedicar a sua própria empresa; Stupid Fun Club. A maioria imaginava que ele havia encerrado sua carreira de Designer de jogos ali, mas agora, Will Wright voltou e anunciou que está trabalhando em três novos projetos, junto com a sua empresa.

“No momento, estamos perseguindo três games agressivamente. É possível que esse número seja elevado para quatro ou cinco, mas eu quero permanecer bastante concentrado. Nós temos muitas ideias em mente. Mas sim, são apenas três games atualmente.”

O que será que Will Wright está panejando dessa vez? Depois de um simulador de vida social, simulador de cidades, e simulador de evolução das espécies, o que mais poderia surgir de sua mente? Certamente, não será um Spore 2 ou um The Sims 4, mas mesmo assim, poderemos esperar uma nova ideia original de Will Wright.

Will Wright comentou que o primeiro título a ser lançado pelo Stupid Fan Club poderá chegar dentro de seis meses ou um ano. Ou seja: em 2010.

Fonte: Baixaki Jogos

We loves Timaya!

After creating The Sims, SimCity, and Spore – some of the most successful and best-selling PC games of all time, you would think 49-year-old Will Wright would be sitting back and taking it easy.  Not so fast.  The Atlanta native, who has become something of a legacy in the PC game world, has a new project up his sleeves.  According to an interview with the LA Times, he wants to “build things that people would want to play with.”  So what is Wright’s latest project?  Well, he wouldn’t say, but he did drop a few hints that are sure to get wheels spinning in the tech world and maybe even the toy world?  

First of all, the new project is a toy, though Wright says calling it a toy exactly makes it too specific.  “All of our projects have crossover elements,” he tells the LA Times. In February, Wright will deliver a speech entitled “The Evolution of Entertainment: A Toy’s Place” at Engage! in New York City.  He will also be bringing his new concept along.  According to the Times, Engage! is a “conference on the convergence of toys, the Internet, virtual worlds, games and social media.”  

Not surprisingly, the new concept involves games – something Wright knows a little bit about.  His games (The Sims, Sim City, and Spore) have generated over $1 billion for his previous employer, Electronic Arts.  In the spring of 2009, Wright broke away from EA and started his own company, Stupid Fun Club, of which EA is a principal shareholder.  

Wright also says the project will have robotic components, something Wright has been fascinated with since childhood.   It will also have online components.  This is not unusual for today’s world as many popular toys also have virtual worlds where kids (and grown-ups) can play. 

Wright let a few more hints slip – you can read mor here: Will Wright, creator of The Sims, talks toys | Technology | Los Angeles Times - but the hints were elusive and it’s really hard to narrow his new project down.  Even so, with a creative genius like Wright behind the wheel, the new project will most likely be just as popular as his past ones, and probably just as anticipated!

Last Friday, the Wallstreet Journal posted an article indicating the top 5 places to settle for today’s post-recession youth: (1) Washington, D.C. and Seattle; (3) NYC; (4) Portland, OR; and (5) Austin, TX.  They attributed culture and job opportunities as major factors in young peoples’ decisions to move there.

Well, people, below are my top choices:

1. Mushroom Kingdom — imagine surrounding yourself with stars and mushrooms and going down green tunnels to find more hidden treasures… how fantastic!
2. SimCity as the Mayor — here, you can build yourself a fortress of lavishness while serving the people with your benenevolence… or tyranny (depending on what kind of ruler you’d be)…
3. Hong Kong / Paris — this is a difficult one, especially given the fact that both cities are NOT imaginary.  Since HK has the feel of western society and yet deeply entrenched in China and its growing economy, there will be great opportunities and possibilities for young people.  At the same time, Paris continually attracts the youth with its beauty and laid-back culture.  All-in-all, both cities could be the next hottest place to live. 

So, these are my top choices… what are yours?

Série: Noronha – o blogueiro pobre de espírito / Episódio 55 – ‘Nerdices’….

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You must be wondering what i’ve been doing over the past month. Well, i’ve been busy recuperating from one of the worse sinus infections i’ve had in my life and have since become addicted to Farmville on Facebook.

You see, I’m not one of those first person shooter fans but when I run into something like Simcity or Rollercoaster Tycoon, I just get addicted to it.

At least the game itself forced the player to take breaks as the crows grow.

Anyhow, I’m going to try to get here more often. Hopefully.

En serio. Sucedió en los primeros tiempos del PC, cuando todo aquello era nuevo bajo el sol, MS-DOS el no va plus ultra y Bill Gates sentenciaba que nadie llegaría a necesitar más de 640 kilobytes de memoria. La frase es apócrifa, pero de todos modos hizo bien en callarse lo que pudiera haber opinado sobre discos duros o frecuencia de la CPU. En aquellos días el usuario de a pie, desde el momento en que aprendía a teclear ‘dir’ y ‘Control+Alt+Supr’, tenía un privilegio que luego perdió: acceso directo al hardware. Y gracias a esto muchos recibieron sus primeras lecciones de forénsica digital, aun sin darse cuenta. Les sucedió igual que al célebre personaje de Molière, Monsieur Jourdain, que hablaba en prosa sin saberlo.

No me creen, ¿verdad? Y sin embargo, ustedes también utilizaron un minúsculo programa llamado Undelete para recuperar archivos borrados, cambiando el signo de interrogación inicial por un carácter cualquiera y volviendo a la vida algo que parecía definitivamente perdido. Sus amigas abrían la boca de admiración cuando le veían cazar a mano el virus de la pelotita o el temido Viernes Trece rastreando sus delatoras firmas con el Norton Disk Editor. Y no intente negarlo: usted mismo, en la intimidad de su cuarto, se sirvió de este mismo editor hexadecimal para aumentar su cifra inicial de fondos en SimCity y algún que otro simulador con el que se entretenía los fines de semana antes del despegue de Internet.

La edad de los pioneros y del usuario experimentado -que aprendía a fuerza de horas ante la línea de comando- llegó a su fin. Después vino la era Windows, con sus interfaces gráficos y un kernel que se hizo con el control. Las Utilidades Norton quedaron reducidas a una insípida suite de herramientas tontas y conformistas, y jamás volvieron a alcanzar su primitivo ratio de cobertura entre lo que el usuario esperaba de ellas y lo que realmente obtenía.

El círculo se cierra hacia el cambio de milenio con las primeras distribuciones Linux. El usuario volvió a tener acceso al hardware -si bien indirecto y limitado-. bash le ayudó a recuperar la línea de comandos, donde ahora puede ejecutar software procedente del mundo Unix, con una potencia y una versatilidad desconocidas en la informática de consumo. Con un entorno hardware que dicho sea de paso, hoy se encuentra a años luz no ya del existente en los tiempos del primer PC, sino incluso a comienzos de los noventa: microprocesadores varios miles de veces más potentes, discos duros con una capacidad diez mil veces superior, y los míticos 640 K de Bill Gates multiplicados por más de seis mil.

Una dintre cele mai creative chestii online anuntate in ultimul timp este jocul Monopoly City Streets. Aceasta va fi o versiune 3D a celebrului joc Monopoly. Mergand mai departe cu prezentarea prin comparatii, as spune ca este un fel de SimCity pe web, mai exact pe hartile de la Google.

Scopul jucatorilor va fi acela de a detine cat mai multe proprietati pe harta Globului. Deocamdata nu se stie daca alte functie ale jocului clasic vor fi disponibile in acest joc, asa ca asteptam lansarea sa catre public pentru a il testa.

SimCity $2.99

Sim City is on Sale too!  Labor Day could be a game bonanza.  If $4.99 was to much this game is down to $2.99 now.

İleri düzey Google Earth:)

Zaten alışık olduğumuz SimCity serisini bir çıta daha yükselterek Cities XL bize daha gerçekçi, daha fazla seçenek sunan bir oyun olmakla kalmıyor, yeni nesil grafikleri ile şehir yaratırken inanılmaz manzaralar ile de göz zevkimize dokunuyor.İstek tek kişilik ister çoklu oyuncu modu ile oynayabileceğimiz oyun, dünyanın öbür köşesindeki insanlarla şehirlerimizi etkileşimli olarak kurabileceğiz.Oyunun yapımcı ve dağıtımcı firmaları da bu tarih yaklaşırken özel bir versiyon hazırlandığını duyurdu. Yapılan açıklamaya göre, Cities XL’ın Limited Edition’ında 16 özel materyal yer alacak ve bu özel paket sadece İngiltere’de satışa sunulacak.Oyunun yeniliklerine gelecek olursak, dünya baz alınıp yapıldığından dolayı ; oyun motoru bize etkileşimli ilklim, yer şekillerinde detaylar, bitki örtüsünde zenginlik, yayınlanan ekran görüntülerinde ise, gerçekçi modellemeler, güzel ışıklandırma ve efektler (örneğin, denizler ve bulutlar)

Anahtar kelime : Detay!

Oyunda farklı coğrafi koşullara sahip 25 harita yer alacak. Avrupa ve Amerikan mimarisinin ürünü olan 500’ün üzerindeki bina, tarafımızdan bu haritalara kondurulmak için hazır bekleyecek. Kuracağımız şehirlerdeki halk, farklı sosyal tabakalara bölünecek. Oyunun multiplayer modundaysa oyuncular, birbirleriyle ticaret yapabilecek ve ekonomik stratejiler izleyebilecek, birlikte çalışarak devasa yapılar oluşturabilecek. İşi daha da ileri götüren yapımcılar, her oyuncunun beş adet kalıcı şehir kurabileceği bir gezegen sistemi(adı “Planet”) de hazırlıyor. Bu sayede ücretli bir MMO opsiyonu da oluşturulurken, bu özelliğin aylık 7€, üç aylık 15€, altı aylık 18€ karşılığında kullanılabileceği belirtiliyor.”Planet” adı verilen sanal dünyada, insanlar kurdukları şehirlerde yaşayabilecek, üretebilecek ve gelişebilecek.Gün geçtikçe artması beklenen nüfus oyuna gösterilen taleple paralel olacak, ta ki tek metrekare boş yer kalmayana kadar doldurulacağına inandığım “Planet” 9 Ekimde raflarda olacak.

Sim City’e alışık olanlar zorlanmadan oyunun üstesinden geleceklerdir.Arayüz Sim City’i andırmakta.Oyunda yer şekillerine kadar birçok şeyi kontrol etmek mümkün, söylentiler arasında “bina modelleme” dahi var ki internet üstünden oynanan bir şehir simulasyonu için olmazsa olmaz, eğer gelişirse, meşhur yerlerin modellemelerini yapıp, bu şekilde kazanç sağlamak mümkün olabilir gibi duruyor.

Hormonsuz domates yetiştirebileceğim bi kasabaya ışınla beni scotty!..

¿Quién dice que los juegos de video no son capaces de enseñarnos cosas útiles?. Si bien es cierto que existen juegos violentos, también están aquellos que nos muestran las cosas tal y como son en la vida real.

Para este caso particular, hablaremos de SimCity, un juego en el cual debemos comenzar una ciudad con un presupuesto previamente otorgado por el sistema.

A partir de ello nuestra ciudad comenzará a funcionar y crecer si realizamos las gestiones adecuadas. De todo este proceso podemos mencionar las siguientes 15 lecciones:

1.-Si esperas lo suficiente, el valor del terreno subirá sí o sí.

2.-La gente pobre e ignorante es mucho menos exigente que la gente rica. Además puedes exprimirlos y obtener más de ellos en una situación determinada.

3.-El crimen mantiene a los ciudadanos a raya. Reduce la criminalidad y de repente, empezarán a pedir bibliotecas y zoos y fuentes y museos.

4.-Si tienes que contruir una central eléctrica tóxica y contaminante, colocala en las afueras de tu ciudad. De ese modo, la mitad de la contaminación irá a parar a los vecinos. ¿No es maravilloso compartir?

5.-Cuanto más listos son tus Sims, más probable es que te cuestionen. Maneja adecuadamente el presupuesto para la educación.

6.- Lleva basura de un vecindario a otro. De manera absurda, el juego impide que te beneficies de esto, pero tú sabes más que él.

7.-Nadie quiere construir junto a un vertedero, así que pon todos los hospitales y colegios ahí.

8.-Todo el mundo habla de que las industrias ecológicas son la “ola del futuro”, pero no es más que un intento discriminatorio de pribar a las leales industrias contaminantes de un lugar en el negocio. Saca provecho de sus prédicas.

9.- Recuerda: Es una “ganga”, no una “pocilga”

10.-No construyas ninguna estación de bomberos hasta que haya un incendio de verdad. (Entonces, pon la estación justo al lado del edificio en llamas).

11.- Evita a los ecologistas. Si nadie está ahí para llevar a cabo tests objetivos sobre tu agua potable, nadie tendrá derecho a rebatir tu propaganda. (De todos modos, no son más que un puñado de hippies.)

12.- Los desastres son grandes causas de unidad y patriotismo y pueden causar que tus niveles de popularidad se disparen. Este es el motivo de que todas las versiones de SimCity te permitan comenzar el tuyo propio.

13.-Para de jugar y deja que las cosas sigan su curso durante unas pocas décadas. Todo el mundo reconocerá el gran trabajo que has hecho reduciendo gastos y fomentando el crecimiento.

14.-Pon los cementerios junto zonas tóxicas industriales. Son fantásticos absorbentes de contaminación y los muertos no pueden votar.

15.- De vez en cuando, los meteoros son excelentes antídotos contra los disturbios.

Y para que no quepa duda, los juegos también nos enseñan gramática (tengo ganas de hacer un par de flahscards como esas :p ).

Via: Original en Inglés

Great games, at a great price!

SimCity – ($4.99 reduced to $2.99) The classic pc game is now available on the iPod Touch! Create and manage your utopia and watch it prosper or fall…

The Sims 3 – ($9.99 reduced to $6.99) EA’s wildly successful Sims 3 game makes its way to the iPod Touch.  The virtual world of leading the life of a video game character just got bigger and better. Unfortunately, it has load screens when you leave your house to go to town.

Need for Speed Undercover – ($6.99 reduced to $4.99) One of the more popular and better racing games available at the App Store, you can quench your racing thirst with brand new cars and tracks.

MetaSquares – ($0.99 reduced to FREE!) A fun puzzle game where you try to beat the computer by capturing the most squares on the board. Training your brain has never been so fun!

The Price is Right! – ($4.99 reduced to $2.99) The classic show where contestants attempt to guess the price of random products is now here! You can be a contestant and enjoy the thrill of asking,“What was the last bid? Oh. $500? Alright, I’ll bid $501 then.” Note: This game was on sale for a dollar for a short time ago, enough for it to propel itself to the top spot on the Top Paid Apps.

Frogger – ($5.99 reduced to $0.99) Yet another classic game in this list of games, Frogger needs no introduction. Survive being road kill and you win! Sale ends on August 22nd.

February 10, 2088

“A mutated fish was caught 10 miles outside of the Riverview blast site yesterday. A representative for the National Organization for Aquatic Conservation and Depletion (NOFACD), which named Riverview the nation’s premier fishing spot just last month, speculates that the fish may have been one of Riverview’s common clownfish prior to the radiation. The fish is being called the “Tragic Clownfish” by many, as it inspires hysterical sobbing and sympathy in all who view it. So far the effects do not seem to wear off with time, and remedies are being sought for those unfortunate enough to have come into contact with it; however, efforts are hindered by scientists’ inability to look at the subject they are studying without bursting into the dangerously endless tears. In the meantime, citizens are cautioned not to to fish or hunt near the blast zone, and the NOFACD is erecting shock netting across much of the border regions of the river to catch any other mutations which may be lurking in Riverview’s waters.” – SimMetro Daily, February 5, 2088

The biggest surprise here so far: there are myriad shades of green everywhere you look – the grass in the fields, leaves on the trees, stems of flowers which burst in colors. In my last article I wrote about the sucking mud that pulls at your shoes as you walk, but in fact a great deal of the land here seems to have survived. I took great joy this morning in walking out past the mud pit which my house is built on to stand on the grassy banks of the river and watch the sun rise over the distant mountains. Not until I asked some of Riverview’s citizens did I find out about my mistake.

Above you see Atlas, famously holding his plumbbob, kneeling now amidst the deathly mold.

The green which I took to be a sign of health is in fact an unknown species of mold. Experts from the local Soil and Water Research Facility speculate that the mold is a mutation of the chlorophyll-containing tissues of once-healthy plants, though further tests are being conducted. The mold spreads quite insidiously and has been known to cling to the plants it was once a part of, as well as to sink immediately into shoes, clothing, and skin. The mud which I thought was a sign of death is actually the only safe place to walk, and crews have gone to great effort to clear those areas. As for my own exposure to the mold, I will be under careful monitoring by a team of scientists at the Soil and Water Research Facility for the next several days. And of course, my sunrise strolls are at an end. Until now I had taken comfort knowing that the peace of a long walk can still be known, even in this broken land. Now I see even that simple pleasure is denied to the victims of this blast.

In my next update on life behind the fence: a look into the controversy surrounding acting Riverview mayor, Vita Alto, and an exclusive interview with one of the protesters marching even now outside of City Hall. Until then, be well, and remember to keep sending your prayers to these brave citizens.

Melissa Mark, SimCity Times Freeland Writer

Editor’s Note: Ms. Mark is currently the only reporter willing to relocate to the site of the Riverview Blast. Stay tuned for more installments from inside the gates, as she continues to give SimCity Times exclusive coverage of this terrible tragedy.

După ce au dezamăgit milioane de fani din întreaga lume cu SimCity Societies, și cu atipicul CityLife, băieții de la Monte Cristo au lansat zilele acestea imagini și video din noul joc ce se află în dezvoltare momentan, și anume Cities XL.

Diferit de City Life Societies, în care ”fericirea” cetățenilor primează, Cities XL va prezenta ceea ce place tuturor fanilor vechilor jocuri SimCity, și anume creearea unei frumoase și prospere așezări urbane. Jocul va permite, de asemeni, popularea unor zone foarte vaste (ca de exemplu pădurile), dar și o modalitate online, revoluționară pentru genul său.

Conform francezilor de la Monte Cristo, modalitatea online va presupune mii de orașe ale utilizatorilor ce comunică între ele și din punct de vedere geografic (autostrăzi,cale ferată, avion), și din punct de vedere economic (dacă de exemplu se vrea creearea unei metropole, va trebui obținut acordul altor useri pentru înființarea de alte orașe de mici dimensiuni la periferie, cu scop agricol sau industrial). Cam atât cu detaliile. Jocul se va lansa oficial pe 9 octombrie pe PC.