I had a brief conversation with A.L.I.C.E. (mentioned in Milly's blog on 11/15). She seemed to be able to respond to common conversational sentences with ease (e.g., How old are you? Where do you live?) . She could even respond to some idiomatic sentences (e.g., What's going down?). As the questions became more specific, however, her ability to provide meaningful responses decreased. My guess is that A.L.I.C.E. "learned" English in much the same way that many of us learned a second language (mastery of easier, more common questions and answers).

I like the idea of using something like A.L.I.C.E. as an on-line mentor in the program management simulation. I'm wondering if our design could take a first chop at gathering the data (e.g., types of questions that students might ask) needed to create the underlying "intelligence."

Computer game recommendations anyone? My nieces (16, 14) and nephews (15, 13) are getting a computer for Christmas. So, I am thinking about buying computer games as Christmas presents. Costco has quite a number of games...The SIMS, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Flight Simulator, Civilization, Harry Potter... but, I haven't played any of these. I'd appreciate getting some recommendations.

Bad news for educational games and middle aged kids
According to Violence and Games , an article by Colin Gabriel Hatcher, 49% of 7th and 8th graders polled preferred to play electronic games involving violence and only 2% of those interviewed preferred Educational Games. If our golf game went electronic, we might have to incorporate blood thirsty caddies and golf cart chases.

Your e-games may be spy games. Check out this article about the sneaky stuff e-game manufacturers are slipping into their games to track your movements on the web: computer game alert

Two things about this NY Times article,The Family That Slays Demons Together, struck me:
1) More proof that parents are involved in "kids" games. Sure, the Milton Bradley family from 1950's predates this but it seems kind of like a Renaissance of sorts. I've been playing Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time. Definitely for kids. But hey, I'm actually enjoying it.
2) The author reports that people sell items their characters have won in games like Diablo to other people for their characters.As the author says, "The battles may be fantasy, but the shopping is real."

Ask Alice

A.L.I.C.E. is an artificial linguistics entity (at least that what she likes to say about herself) created by Dr. Richard Wallace in 1991 and activated in 1995. In fact, her birthday is coming up (November 23rd). Alice uses AIML (Artificial Intelligence Markup Language), an XML-compliant language. Alice has 25,000 categories from which responses are called, which means you can have a pretty interesting conversation with her. There's an AIML primer that gives a very nice overview of what can be done.

I've known about A.L.I.C.E. for a few years now but she came to mind when looking over some of the games we're creating. I realize that this may be too advanced or just another headache, but maybe not. For example the project management group (my group) and the history group may be able to use her, or someone like her. Someone to give some kind of advice or some help for when someone is really lost. Perhaps players could access their helpbot X number of times, or they loose points, etc.

Try out a conversation with her, she has very interesting taste in music.

Well, who's going to see Harry Potter this weekend? I heard that tickets are selling like hotcakes (really, how do hotcakes sell?) and that theaters have added extra shows. On the website (I'm surprised I could get through), they have interactive games and you can practice your wizardry. Being in the gender webquest group, I wonder if these games would appeal as much to girls as boys. And, is this entire Harry Potter phenomenon as fanatical to girls as it is boys? or to boys as it is girls? If so, why? Hmmm...

Thanks, Reed. I guess the Xbox is a pretty hot item. Little did I know when I saw the ad during the World Series that it would be such a big deal. I guess we'll see how it does on the market.

FYI. For those of you interested (A.G.), there is an interesting article in the Union Tribune today about the Microsoft XBox. Front page of the Business section.

Flash enthusiasts:
For a look at wireframe animation using Flash, check this out.
Hey, don't yank my string....!
Have fun ;-)

Sorry folks. Evidently, only people working in the game industry are invited to tonight's IDGA coference. The place where they're meeting is just too small, but they are in search of a larger venue. Lady I spoke with didn't know about the ED TECH 670... now she does.

Wow- when I commented about the value of Hollywood production to be used in the service of educational products and games, I didn't consider that education had had such illustrious Hollywood names behind it. I pulled this off the site that Bernie mentioned on 11/11.

"Then, in the 1950s and 1960s, educational film reached a zenith in the with the Bell Labs Science Series. This set of educational films, directed by Frank Capra and produced by Jack Warner, used creative storytelling and advanced filmmaking techniques to engage a new generation of students in science."

Which is an ironic observation, of sorts, when you see how utterly low tech are their own presentations of storyboards. You can barely make out the voice overs. That said, the optical physics lesson embedded in the Amazon adventure seems, um, fine. But with all the build up of this monumental collaboration at MIT , I guess I was expecting... more? I'm not sure what. Not to be trite but elegant games are elusive, even at MIT.

I was attempting to research computer gaming camps for kids and I ran across a computer camp that mixes computers with hiking, swimming, and sports. It is interesting that learning about computers has become a fun thing for kids to do during the summer, in combination with typical summer camp activities. Computer Camp

Found another site for an organization that thinks video game violence is inappropriate, especially for children. Lion and Lamb puts video games in the same category as drinking and driving, smoking, and pollution. They advocate that there was a time when these "bad" things were also considered "cool" and they are attempting to change society's views on violent video games to make them socially unacceptable. Interesting point of view, but in their argument for why violent games are so bad for children they talk about how kids are constantly "being enticed to watch or participate in some act of make-believe violence." My question is: before video games, didn't kids role play violent behavior? Even being the "good little girl" that I was, I regularly played cops and robbers with the neighborhood kids. Then when we got older we moved on to laser tag. My point is we were active participants in the make-believe violence. So which is better, to physically run around attempting to shoot your brother or to shoot an opponent on a Television screen where the blood looks a little more life like?
I went shopping for a toy gun a few weeks ago for a Halloween costume and I had to go to 5 stores before I found one, and that was a water gun. Many stores said they don't sell toy guns, but these are the same stores that sell violent video games. It seems that role-playing violence is politically incorrect (no doubt in reaction to school shootings) but video games have taken its place.
One last question: is violent behavior a natural developmental phase children need to go through to in order to process the ideas of good vs. evil and death?

An important aspect of game design is incorporating a lock mechanism. They are of critical importance to adventure and role-playing games. It’s important to properly use lock mechanisms in a game because designers tend to overuse them. I found a great article on the use of locks. You can find it at
Role-Playing Locks.

Many interesting articles on Game Design can be found at
Game Design Articles

Another interesting article describes good project management skills in designing your game. It follows the processes of good project management. They are Planning the game project, Extracting the schedule and the budget from those plans and Controlling the generated budgets, schedules, activities, and overall objectives throughout the life of the project. Project Management

I don't know if this is new or not but here is an interview of Marc Prensky by Lguide
He likes games that are designed to solve specific business problems and uses "engines" [templates, frames or shells.]

While catching up on my 670 reading assignments (ha-ha) I saw the web sites connected to our two texts. TwitchSpeed is the one for the Prensky text. And surreal.com surreal.com is where Rouse works as a game designer etc. The surreal site presented a game called "Drakan" that may help you gender webquesters: check out the "Brave heroine Rynn and her noble, wise and powerful dragon Arokh" who (like all of us on a normal day) "engage in brutal hand-to-hand combat, solve puzzles, and interact with a host of bizarre creatures." P.S. to Michael G. & Robert F.: Wow, that was a great idea for a GBG game. I love it! Why don't you "jump ship" from your current eGame group and start a second GBG team to compete with Paul and me?! :0)

Okay, so I just bought my first digital game. And guess what it was? Thanks to Erin (etc.), I used my "one-click" Amazon shopping option and bought "You Don't Know Jack." However, instead of the recent version I chose the "Jack Snack Pack" which is a "Healthy mix of trivia viddles from the Jack family" and "a great package that will give newcomers a good taste of what JACK has to offer." Inside you get the first game or volume 1, two theme games and THE RIDE, which is an excellent twist on the series. "If you're new to the JACK games, the SNACK PACK is a great way to experience what Jack has to offer." I can't wait!

While searching for examples of history games online I came across this site with a large number of games, but for all you Harry Potter fans out there, try playing
Quidditch! Its located on the right side of the site in the Top Ten Games column. Have fun!

As a connection to the "Glass Bead Game" we played in class tonight, Bob Faust and I created a game in which you use a search engine to pair terms and find how many page connections you can come up with. We played a most and least variation. Most you would type in two terms like "kennedy" and "conspiracy" to see how many sites would come up (over 160,000 pages by the way) and the other person would type in two of their own terms. The winner of the round is the person who got the largest number of pages. The least is the opposite where you try to find two terms that would find the least amount of hits. We played throughout the break and had great fun. We were both surprised when terms like "pool" and "Afghanistan" came back with 78,000 pages.

I have played You Don't Know Jack a number of times, and never thought of it as a violent game. It never occurred to me. I suppose the in-your-face announcer guy is a bit abrupt, but the game is more like a pop game show, and you answer trivia questions. It reminds me of the 1950s style game shows - just updated to modern style. Compared to many games out there, I think this is a family-style game suitable for everyone. That's just my opinion. I highy recommend the purchase of the game - its' fun!
Buy the game

If you are interested in seeing how people rate games check out: Grading

I wanted to share with everyone that my sister works for PrimaGames, a division of Prima Publishing which publishes game strategy guides. Their website is Prima Games

If anyone would like to talk to her about what her company does, let me know. They have some game information online. I went to visit the company with her and she took me to this special room where all they do is play the games all day and figure out strategies to put in their guides. There were four guys in the room which was covered from ceiling to floor with games posters, merchandise, etc. It was a bizarre peek into the computer game industry think tank. Prima Games is located in Folsom, CA, but if anyone ever wants a tour while they're up there, I might be able to arrange it. But basically, they don't design the games so much as they test and document the strategies for players.

This Saturday night I was up way too late playing "Crazy Taxi." In it, you're a taxi driver (you get to choose between the sexy lady taxi driver and the gruff macho man, among others). You pick up passengers and take them to their destinations. You only have a certain amount of time, and the more "crazy" things you do, like almost hitting cars, but not quite, the more your passenger likes it. You can drive all over the place, including the sidewalk (and watch the people scream and dive out of the way), you can crash into all sorts of things, and your car still works. It was a lot of fun, but I noticed that after playing the game, especially late at night, driving was DANGEROUS! I had to remind myself that I was no longer in Crazy Taxi Land and avoid the urge to just drive like a maniac. I just thought that this might apply to the violence group. I do think that video games can change your take on reality, even if it's only for a little while.

I tried to download and play You Don't Know Jack, but was unsuccessful. What I did find was that the game has quite a following of fans. This game is on one side of the violent game spectrum in that no one is shot at, but it does have a very sarcastic and insulting tone--similar to the TV show The Weakest Link. Many argue games like this break down the moral fiber of society and encourage disrespect. The only thing that isn't debatable here is a lot of people enjoy this game and this type of humor. You decide...
You Don't Know Jack

For you Rube Goldberg types, there are several games out there published by Sierra called The Incredible Machine: Contraptions, and The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions (TIM:EMC). For those too young to be familiar with Rube Goldberg, he drew cartoons depicting incredibly complex machines to perform simple tasks. TIM:EMC lets you build elaborate machines to do things such as catch mice (remember the old Mousetrap game?) using gears, pulleys, radio controlled explosives (no kidding) and the like. Very good at teaching logic, as well as cause and effect. The link to the demo is broken in the TIM:EMC page, but can be downloaded from the Sierra homepage under the downloads section.

Especially for the Game Industry group but could be interesting for other groups is Flipcode Daily Game Development News & Resources, including interviews with game developers etc. One article discusses the resources used by game developers and why.

I happened upon this site refencing the book Tech Savy: Educating girls in the computer age The site has some really good points from the book that will prove helpful in the gender webquest. I like the quote by Sharon Schuster, president of the AAUW Educational Foundation. "Computer games don’t have to be the virtual equivalent of GI Joes and Barbies. We have to think less about ‘girls’ games’ and ‘boys’ games’ and more about games that challenge our children’s minds. When it comes to computer games and software, girls want high-skill, not high-kill." How true, so many of the games I've found directed towards girls are about social issues, like make-overs and getting a date, oooo exciting learning material there!

I talked to my brother and some of his friends last night. They are all in the 19-21 age range. I picked up a copy of "Electronic Gaming Monthly", which is one of the leading industry magazines (according to the in-the-know clerk at Radio Shack where I bought it). There is an article in it that breaks down the battle between the X-box, GameCube, and Playstation2, all being released this month.

My brother and his friends are PS addicts. They are intending to become PS2 addicts as well. When I asked them why they weren't interested in getting the X-box or the GameCube, their answer matched the analysis from the article: "It comes down to the games." Evidently, the console people buy is secondary to what games they want to play. When looking to decide, they analyze the choice of games available, and then pick the console based on which one plays their games of choice. According to the magazine article, and my brother, the perception is that Nintendo offers games targeted at a younger audience. And the game choices offered for the X-box aren't compelling enough to get him to switch consoles. He was highly upset when I told him that the "Resident Evil" series is going to be exclusive to the GameCube from now on, but even this isn't enough to compel him to dish out the extra money for the GameCube. I'm finding this in an interesting world.....full of...eh....controversy.

By the way, this isn't an on-line magazine. The website only offers a couple of the articles, and tries to get you to subscribe. I'll bring the magazine to class tonight if anyone is interested in looking through it.

While looking for some information on gender issues in games this site titled Beyond Point and click: The Search for Gender Equity. located at Gives three main guidelines for determining whether or not a game is a good game at the very bottom of the site.
1. Is the game educational?
2. Is the game equitable?
3. Is it a good game...fun?
The link referenced is dead but I was able to locate the page at this URL http://www.terc.edu/mathequity/gw/html/gwhome.html.
This site seems to have some good information on selecting math games for both boys and girls.

Whoa! Scroll down a bit in the IGDA link that Christie blogged. There's a San Diego chapter forming with its first meeting on Thursday, November 15. Hot damn!

And, even though they showed no interest in educational games when I went to their booth at the Game Developer's Conference last Spring, the IDGA site points to an MIT project about using about games to teach.

In trying to find some background about the games industry, I've found little information on educational games, but a ton of information on e-games for entertainment. IGDA (International Game Developer's Association) proved to be a good resource for getting into the mind of a game designer, (which I'm finding can sometimes be a scary place). Their site offered a couple of interesting articles about how you might start to become a game designer, and about where the industry is going in the future. Check them out!

These people take board games to a whole new level...check out these photos of the games they play at Game Empire. Not sure if they are historically accurate, but the detail is amazing!

I am used to looking at web sites that feature review games that would not fall in the educational domain, so naturally when I was looking for competing products for educational games, I was coming up dry. I just happened upon the Kids Domain web site that offers hundred reviews of educational titles. Very good "family-orientated" reviews for those of us that need that angle.

Here is a historian's spin on Paul's answer to the Sistine Chapel puzzle.

Sistine Chapel -> abuse of religion -> 9/11

Want a convenient way to locate and download research articles in the comfort of your own home? From the SDSU Library site, go to the Articles Database and scroll down to the Education Abstracts Full Text or the E-Subscribe links. At the Education Abstracts Full Text link, I was able to find and download three articles about computer games and gender (HTML and PDF format). At the E-Subscribe link, I was able to purchase two ERIC documents (PDF format) about computer games and gender for $12.95. (I got the ED# by doing a search using the ERIC link on the Articles Database page). Another possible way to obtain a document found on ERIC is to go to the Interlibrary Loan page and scroll down to the Ingenta Article Delivery Service. As an SDSU graduate student, you can get an available article from this service for free if it is not held by the SDSU library and if the cost is under $30. I should be getting an additional journal article faxed to me in the next 48 hours.

Thanks for the laughs, Dan. Some of those sound awfully close to home!!

Speaking of ratings, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rates video and computer games. They are classified as Contained Areas (ESRB) and/or Interactive Sites (ESRBi). The ESRB symbol is located on the front of the package and gives information on the content and the age for which it is appropriate. "Descriptors" in a black and white box on the package back--give more details about the product in terms of: violence, sexual themes, language and other areas of interest.

There is a search feature at this site that will allow you to check on the ratings. Be sure to select the ESRB or ESRBi. When I checked on Bejeweled--it came back zero results. When I searched for Alchemy--it came back with Bejeweled and Alchemy--both rated for everyone and with "no descriptors" listed. Star Trek Conquest, online --is rated as mild violence.

I only have older versions of Ninetendo and Sega--which do not contain a rating. So, I can't give any more info at this point in time. But it sounds good!

In reference to the Zone site, did I mention that was a place to play FREE. Try Alchemy.
Anyway, I went back and checked on Game Empire, online since 1997, and they offer a 20% discount- -if you buy online. The interesting thing is that it has some links for inventors resources, and discussions of role playing games, with some references to violence. Following the links, I found Star Trek CCG (Customizable Card Game) [March 2001] . The first of Decipher's CCG games to go online. It features a game table, meeting center and a deck builder, to customize your game!

At this point, everyone probably could use some game humor. Well, I think most of us don't quite "get" all of these, but give us five weeks and some of it will probably fit. You know your game is in trouble when...

While watching the news this morning, I remembered a Pakistani English language newspaper I used for a project I worked on some years ago. If you want the story that is closer than just about anything, check out Dawn. Here is the article the news has been referencing in the story that bin Laden has weapons of mass destruction. I know this is ungamely....

Another update on the Microsoft Xbox from our friends at NY Times.


Nvidia and Flextronics are two companies involved in subcontract work in the production of the Xbox. A chip maker, Nvidia is the smaller company. It anticipates 10% of its revenues from the X-box contract. Its stock has risen 90% since January 2001. Hello! Know anybody else in the Santa Clara doing that well? (For an update on the exodus from the Silicon Valley, largely of twenty-somethings, read this )

Flextronics is more diversified and will be hurt less if X-box flops.It could even, the article concludes, make up for its losses in a "quarter or two;" hence it's a more conservative investment choice.

For the design group and other interested parties: I'm pretty sure that the game design world is dominated by men. But have you heard of Jane Jensen? She works for Sierra and designed GK2 and GK3 (that's Gabriel Knight parts one and two for those who don't know). I know I've already talked about that game, but I happened upon a "diary" that she kept about the design process. She talks about lots of different things including keeping the game details a secret from the fans, the general design process, and also I found her thoughts about the general state of the gaming industry very interesting. She was very excited about the idea of interactive fiction and was disappointed to see how the people who might like that kind of thing aren't playing video games for the most part. She also talks about being torn between the actual story and the demands/limitations of technology. Check out her entry from 10/14/97. It's a few years old, but it echoes a lot of the things Rouse has said.

I happened on the POLSIM Simulation Server while investigating ways to build simulations around a database back end. This might be interesting to the History and Project Management e-game teams. More info about it can be found in the article Dynamic Goal-Based Role-Play Simulation on the Web: A Case Study.

The answer to my puzzle? hmm.....
There is no "one" correct answer, that's the beauty of it!
How about this (in one move):
Sistine Chapel -> religion -> 9/11

I think that the responses so far have been very interesting (all unique). Certainly many I hadn't considered. I especially liked the move through skyscrapers. Keep posting!

This is for all of you who listen to Car Talk on Saturday mornings. Did you know that Click and Clack have a puzzler online? It is a "curious conundrum" that deals with what else...cars. You can enter your answer online with a chance of winning. Check it out.