When Rolling Stone mentioned recently that Adult Swim plans to release a wave of new mobile video games, fans of the channel’s crass cartoons responded with uncertainty. Adult Swim dabbles in the video game industry regularly, and its track record makes it difficult for gamers to determine if these new games will sink or swim.
In 2008, Adult Swim released their self-proclaimed “Worse Games Ever: Go Right.” Designers based this online flash game on the network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a […]
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The Pogo Bal Paradigm
If you grew up with siblings, you probably recognize that a brother or sister doesn’t always make the first choice for playmate but will usually suffice. As the youngest of three children by five years, I yearned to play along with my older brothers but could never quite keep up. Both seemed more knowledgeable, more agile, and more talented when it came to play. My oldest brother constructed amazing snow igloos and drove a snowmobile. My middle brother excelled at […]
By Any Other Name: The Origin of Atari
The year is 1972, and video game innovator Nolan Bushnell and his partner Ted Dabney are fresh from their design of the first commercial arcade game, Computer Space. Before beginning their next big project, they decide to trademark their gaming company, Syzygy, named after an astronomical term for three celestial bodies in a straight line. Unfortunately, a representative for the California Secretary of State reports that the name is already trademarked. Forced to think of another option, Bushnell changes his […]
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Kids and Cooking: Playing with Fire
Recently, my six-year-old son has taken an interest in learning to cook. For years, he played happily with his toy kitchen, concocting elaborate and dire sounding dishes (broccoli and pineapple soup, anyone?). Now he wants to cook like Daddy. Perched on his stool next to my chopping block, he’s been learning how to use a chef’s knife safely—fingertips curled under, thumb tucked behind the fingers. Watching the little guy carefully chopping potatoes and carrots makes me inordinately proud, and makes […]
The Influence of Dungeons and Dragons on Video Games
My two favorite childhood Christmas gifts were a red three-speed bike and a blue-boxed Basic Dungeons and Dragons set. On the bike, I rode miles from home, shifting gears to climb previously unconquered hills and discover new places around my small Connecticut town. With Dungeons and Dragons, I discovered freedom of imagination just as thrilling as the physical freedom the bike provided.
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) cast its spell on many people during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and, like […]
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More than Words: Theater’s Unsung Heroes
Rolling my artifact cart through the exhibits at The Strong’s National Museum of Play, I often spot guests who are shoo-ins for the stage. These budding thespians linger under the colorful lights in Kid to Kid and the majestic red curtain in Reading Adventureland’s Fairy Tale Forest. There’s nothing like playing at plays—take it from me, since I spent most of my high school years performing in theatrical productions. One of the lessons I picked up through those acting experiences […]
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What Video Game Crash?
Think for a moment about some great video games. Consider coin-ops such as Atari’s vector-graphic Star Wars, Bally/Midway’s James Bondesque Spy Hunter, and Cinematronics’ laserdisc Dragon’s Lair. Search your memory and recall playing early PC games like Dan Bunten’s M.U.L.E., Bill Budge’s Pinball Construction Set, or Richard Garriott’s Ultima III: Exodus. Return for just a minute to the shag carpet in front of your family television set where The Activision Decathlon, World Series Baseball, and a port of Zaxxon sat alongside […]
America at Play Contest Winners!
The America at Play: Play Stories Video Contest ended on Friday, April 15, and the results are in! Voters selected the first, second, and third place winners: How WE Play in Justin, TX, Dance, and My Game. All three videos prove that play doesn’t end when you become an adult; “grownups” embrace and enjoy play too! Congratulations to the prize winners and thanks to everyone who submitted a video to the contest. You’re to be commended for your dedication, creativity, […]
Playing with Living Pictures: Clockwork Tableaux
Imagine that it’s January 1896. To your dismay, you find yourself stuck at your aunt’s house one particularly dreary winter day with absolutely nothing to do.
Your aunt’s parlor is cold, with the wind whistling in through the single-pane windows and the wood fire barely taking an edge off the chill. Even worse, there’s nothing to entertain you. You don’t play the piano and radio, television, and the Internet don’t exist—there’s not even a cat to play with. Your aunt fetches […]
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