Because of my connection to the flOw team, I wasn't allowed to vote on that piece, but I was very happy to see it selected. Some of my other personal favorites included "Puzzle World Twilight" by Jay Epperson, "Canyon Dwelling" by Tyler West, and "Four Knights" by Richard Anderson, but they are all amazing pieces.

Jamie and Devon originated the game in the CTIN 484/489 Intermediate Games class, and they talk about the ideas behind the game in their statement on the Values at Play site: "The idea for Hush was actually born out of a Values At Play exercise. We had to create a game from a randomly chosen game mechanic and game theme, and we drew "Singing" and "Human Rights". The contrast between these two cards posed a challenge and yielded many unconventional ideas, including the core concept for Hush. One of the things that attracted us to the concept is that the player isn't viewing this horrific event from a distance and attempting to "solve the problem"; they are immersed in the moment, experiencing the terror of a Hutu raid. It's also important that even though the player is not in a position of power, the player still has the noble goal of saving a child."

Submissions for the next Values at Play contest are due July 1, 2008.

Well, the festival is back. In June 2008, New York will have the chance to come out and play again across the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The festival will run from June 6-8. The excellent bookstore Blue Stockings will play host to the festival and serve as headquarters. The festival will spread across the Lower East Side of Manhattan, bringing the streets to life.

For more information visit:
http://www.comeoutandplay.org

Call for proposals:
We want to include as many different types of games as possible in the festival schedule. We are looking for innovative games that make interesting use of public space.

What are we looking for?

Make sure your game sounds fun and interesting. We like innovative use of public space. We like games which make people interact in new ways. We like games that alter your perception of your surroundings. But most importantly, we want the players to have fun

Some general suggestions:

* Your game should have rules
* Your game should have a game and people should be able to win
* It should be out in public

Other than, it's up to your imagination.

APPLICATION :: To apply, visit http://www.comeoutandplay.org and download the application form.
Download directly at: http://www.comeoutandplay.org/submissions/COAP08Submission.doc

SUBMISSION DEADLINE :: April 15, 2008

IndieCade’s 2008 flagship festival will be held on July 10-13 at Open Satellite, a contemporary art exhibition gallery in Bellevue, a city in the Seattle area’s technology-dense Eastside. It will be followed by an additional half-dozen global exhibitions and showcases highlighting the creativity, vision, and work of leading independent gamemakers.

Call for Submissions:
Independent game artists and designers from around the world are invited to submit interactive media of all types, from art to commercial, ARG to abstract, serious to shooter. Work-in-progress is encouraged.

A diverse jury of industry leaders will select entries for top prizes at the IndieCade @ Open Satellite Festival. All entries for the Festival will also be considered for presentation at the other 2008 IndieCade international showcase exhibitions.

Submissions Deadline: April 11, 2008, Midnight PST.

For more information and to enter: www.IndieCade.com.

Activision Inc. and Vivendi's Vivendi Games will merge in a multi-step deal that will create Activision Blizzard, a new gaming giant with what would be a combined 2007 calendar year revenue of $3.8 billion. Executives said the combination would make the new player the largest and most profitable gaming company.

After the transaction, whose overall value the companies put at $18.9 billion, French entertainment and telecom conglomerate Vivendi, the parent of Vivendi Games, will own 52% of the new entity. It is set to boost that to 68% under a planned share tender offer.

The new company's name comes from Vivendi Games label Blizzard Entertainment, which produces "World of Warcraft," the world's biggest multi-player online role-playing game with more than 9.3 million subscribers worldwide. The companies said the deal will shine a spotlight on the value of "Warcraft" and Vivendi's overall gaming operations, which also include such popular titles as "Spyro" and "Crash Bandicoot" but are currently hidden in the larger conglomerate structure of Vivendi.

This week, the project launched its website: http://www.valuesatplay.org, which offers a wealth of game design ideas and scholarship about games and human values.

Also, the project announced the Social Impact Game Contest 2007: the first in a series of Values At Play sponsored game contests, this is an opportunity for non-professional designers to attempt serious issue game design. The contest is accepting submissions in three categories: Social Impact, Community is Revolutionary, and Greenwoods. Designers can create games that deal with an issue, value, or mechanic listed on the website, an issue specific to their community, or a game that addresses a social issue within the context of a big box retail store. Submissions will be accepted until January 1, 2008.

The CTIN 484/489 intermediate games class has been testing some of the tools and methods from ValuesAtPlay this semester and has generated some very interesting work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinojabber/sets/72157601895655254/

The other two games include a mobile HIV/AIDS game and a supportive virtual world for young people. The three winning games each receive US $5,000 and all finalists will attend the Changemakers Change Summit at the RWJF-sponsored Games for Health Conference in Baltimore, MD in May 2008.

More info and all the finalists here.

The tests will be 1/2 hour individually scheduled appointments on the following dates:

- Monday November 12 between 4PM and 6PM
- Wednesday November 14 between 4PM and 6PM

No special background or experience in game design or game play is necessary -- though we do ask that if you volunteer, you must show up, as this is a required class assignment for the intermediate students. Everyone is welcome. Playtests will each take approximately 30 minutes and will be held in the Game Innovation Lab at the Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts.
Please contact Tracy at tfullerton at cinema dot usc dot edu if you’re interested in scheduling an appointment.

Thanks Warren! Sometimes it is hard to know whether what we are trying to do here in our little cubbyhole of experimentation will be appreciated. Your words mean so much to us! More here.

Also mentioned in the post was Glenn Entis' presentation about his pre-production workshop -- of which I am a huge fan. Glenn recently put together a great sidebar on this workshop for the next edition of Game Design Workshop. Warren mentions the "mind mapping" exercise which figures prominently in the new edition!

Some quotes from the article: "If Lucas' path from his grainy student film "Electronic Labyrinth" to his first feature film, "THX 1138," was the model for generations of film students, then the new model could be seen in the success of a game called 'flOw..."

In the conclusion of the article, Day notes, "While the gaming industry is currently intent on aping and besting the Hollywood blockbuster model with action and effects heavy games like "Halo 3," the next generation of gamers is looking to evolve the medium to the next step between technology and art."

More at the LA Times site.

Since a bunch of people have asked and kindly sent their condolences, I thought I'd make an exception to my "game stuff only" posting rule and say a little something about my uncle Dave who passed away unexpectedly on Thursday night. He was my uncle, but because he was only 12 years older than me, he was also a good friend.

A laid back guy, who liked to play guitar, drink a little bit of beer, and mess about in boats. He and my aunt Helen have two children, my cousins Ian and Bonnie, and live in Beverly, Mass where they have a very cool house, which Dave has been working on over the years, and which was originally built before the Revolution. He is the youngest of my father's siblings, and everyone still treats him like the baby.

Like most of my extended family, his favorite place to be was Deer Island, NB, a tiny little place up off the most northeasterly coast of Maine where there is nothing to do BUT hang out, drink a little bit of beer, play guitar and mess about in boats. He would do just that when he went up there in the summers with the rest of the family.

Breaking out of tradition, we all went to Aruba a couple years ago for my cousin Matt's wedding, and while we were there Dave, my aunt Helen, cousin Bonnie and I went snorkeling -- something you just can't do in the chilly waters up in New Brunswick. Dave and I also made it to a Red Sox game last summer; which was the last time I saw him, since I didn't take the time out of my busy schedule to visit the island this year. That's a lesson in priorities I won't forget soon.

Dave was always the first one to have a good time, though, that's the way I'll remember him most. Whenever I'm hanging out, having a little bit of beer and messing about in boats, Dave will be in my memory. He would probably laugh at this little Internet memory and tell me to go out and have some fun. I'm going to try my best to take that advice.

The exhibit runs October 4-December 15, 2007. For more info: http://beallcenter.uci.edu/