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The debate over violence in video games is one that has shadowed, and at times nearly overshadowed, the electronic games industry (despite the fact that they account for a relatively small percentage of the game market). When did all this fuss begin and where has it led?
Ever since Exidy Inc. released Death Race—a mid-1970s arcade game where players steer pixilated race cars around a graveyard in an attempt to run down undead monsters—there has been increasing public concern about […]

Continue Reading about Graphic Violence as a Motivator for Game Players? Published on:
July 16, 2009

Some years ago, I watched Maggie Jane, my four-year-old niece, play with a few of her toys. She was seated on the living room floor, surrounded by talking adults who occasionally directed questions to Maggie about things like her preschool and her swimming lessons. Maggie respectfully answered their questions, but she was clearly engrossed in playing with her Barbie dolls and the plastic giraffes from a zoo play set. She had paired them—one doll with one giraffe—and made up stories […]

Continue Reading about Play’s the Thing—Really Published on:
July 14, 2009

This could be the game-changer… or perhaps not.
I’ve been following the news about OnLive with great anticipation. OnLive, if you haven’t already heard, is launching a high-performance, streaming service that could be the first of its kind to offer a true online gaming experience previously relegated to PC or console play. Let’s face it—one of the biggest limitations to gaming is the choice of platform, and the affordability of each. Having an X-box 360, PS3, and a souped-up gaming PC […]

Continue Reading about Playing in the Stream – OnLive’s New Gaming Service Published on:
July 11, 2009

Prior to the museum opening of Videotopia, I was assigned to “test” the vintage arcade games that were arriving as part of the exhibit. That’s right—I got paid to play arcade games for the better part of a week. I know what you are thinking, but this is research. At least that’s what I keep telling everyone.
 It’s hard work navigating virtual asteroid fields, battling predatory insects, and saving the planet from pixilated alien invaders, but someone had to ensure the […]

Continue Reading about NCHEG Welcomes Videotopia to Strong Published on:
July 7, 2009

I was getting crushed. There’s no two ways about it—I was being soundly beaten at Ping-Pong by a man forty-five years my senior. I pride myself on being a good Ping-Pong player, but here he was, demolishing me. Serve, miss, point. Serve, miss, point. He was putting unbelievable English on the ball, and I didn’t stand a chance.
Of course, I was playing the master, the man who invented the game—the electronic version, that is. I was playing with Ralph Baer, […]

Continue Reading about Ralph Baer Brings His Brown Box to NCHEG Published on:
June 29, 2009

Let me confess—I’m a Blockhead. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it simply implies that I am a fan of New Kids on the Block. Jon, Jordan, Donnie, Joey, Danny, and I go way back to the summer of 1988 when their second album, Hangin’ Tough, dominated the pop charts. I had posters (over 200 of them in my bedroom), pillow covers, beach towels, T-shirts, ten-inch-diameter buttons, videos, dolls, action figures, scrapbooks from their concerts, […]

Continue Reading about OMG! It’s NKOTB! Published on:
June 12, 2009

I snagged my prom dress off the Macy’s sale rack for $26. What was wrong with that? Nothing, I suppose—until my mother discovered that I’d mentioned it in an interview with the local newspaper. Apparently, I should have kept my mouth shut when told that I looked like a million bucks. But whether you were a prom penny pincher like me or a big spender, your prom mementoes and memories belong here at Strong National Museum of Play.
For many of […]

Continue Reading about The Time of My Life? Published on:
June 1, 2009

At a loss for what to write next, John Steinbeck embarked on a tour of the country in 1960, accompanied by his standard poodle, Charley. The trip resulted in an extended meditation about the state of American life called Travels with Charley. Beyond the travelogue and observations that the book offers, Steinbeck shares numerous comments about his canine travel companion. The great novelist thought Charley was smarter than he was, in some respects. And when he looked into Charley’s eyes, […]

Continue Reading about Travels with Charlie Published on:
May 18, 2009

Donald Trump never knew how close he came to competing with me-and not because I wanted to play a boss on reality TV. No, the truth is that, as a kid, I dreamed of making it big in the world of high-profile architecture and real estate development. If things had worked out differently, I might have ended up going toe-to-toe with “The Donald” instead of becoming a museum curator. But show me a Kenner Girder and Panel construction set, and […]

Continue Reading about Building an Empire Published on:
May 5, 2009