Author Archives: Benjamin Tyler Dodge

Art museums can be fun, but sometimes, they can be downright boring.  What fun is it to stare at paintings all day that you can’t even interact with?  In fact, if you attempt to “interact” with a painting, you’ll probably … Continue reading →

According to a recent article from BBC News, researchers at McGill University in Canada have reason to believe that playing tetris an hour a day while wearing special goggles can help treat lazy eye.  Their study, published in the scientific magazine … Continue reading →

Before there were Xbox LIVE achievements or Steam achievements, kids earned scout badges.  The scout badge system recognized the motivational power of achievements well before any video game.  In an ironic twist, the Boys Scouts recently introduced a badge for … Continue reading →

As we have learned in class, the user interface is where the player and the game world meet.  The player takes action, and the game world responds.  Traditionally, player actions have been restricted to buttons, dials, and joysticks.  Game world … Continue reading →

In class, during our discussion on social games, we talked about how bad of an idea it is to give a child access to a credit card and a free-to-play app with in-app purchases.  Free-to-play apps with in-app purchases are … Continue reading →

Watch the show.  Play the game.  Change the world. That’s the tagline of a new massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS) game called Defiance.  The game, released on April 2nd, plays like any other ordinary MMOFPS.  Aliens come.  There’s … Continue reading →

With all the controversy swirling around the release of SimCity, critics have accused EA of being a greedy and overbearing company that violates their customers’ trust and alienates their loyal buyers for the sake of earning more money.  In an effort … Continue reading →

Great social change often begins with great art.  Common Sense by Thomas Paine inspired colonist to take up arms against the British in a fight for independence.  The Jungle by Upton Sinclair put pressure on Congress to pass the Meat Inspection … Continue reading →