In a word: Gaming
Still more from yesterday's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday, the body of which concluded with a series of articles on video games from Michigan State University and Indiana University.
Michigan State University: MSU is among top schools to study video game design
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University is among the best universities to study video game design in North America, according to a new ranking published this week.
MSU earned the No. 5 spot in North America in The Princeton Review's list of "Top Schools for Video Game Design Study for 2011."
Brian Winn, associate professor and undergraduate director of the game design and development specialization, said the honor is significant for current and future students.
"We are the only school in the Midwest and east of Utah to be listed in the top five, so this program is a real boost for students looking for this education outside of the western region of the U.S.," he said. "We are honored to receive this recognition and excited about the future of video game education at MSU."
Indiana University: School of Education researcher investigating how 'Guitar Hero' might produce the next prodigy
Wallace Foundation funding a review into how digital arts tools might best promote arts learning among youth
March 10, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- You might wonder what kids who spend a lot of their time playing "Guitar Hero," messing around in "Garage Band," or painting a picture on a Wii game system might be getting out of it. An Indiana University School of Education professor wonders why they might not get a real passion for the arts.
The Wallace Foundation has funded a new review underway by Kylie Peppler, assistant professor in the Learning Sciences Program of the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, to examine how new technologies widely used by youth might better entice them to seriously pursue the arts. Peppler is conducting a study to review technology, discover the best research through workshops with leaders in the field, and produce a study featuring the most successful models and how educators might create innovative ways to promote arts with technology.
"Teenagers are consuming over 10 and a half hours of media a day but are generally not avid producers of it," Peppler said. "Many technologies are now available designed to offer alternatives to direct arts instruction. Given decreasing funds for the arts, it's worth exploring the potential for new technologies for self-directed arts learning."
Michigan State University: Social network games even help grown-ups with their relationships
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Think social network games are just for kids? A recent Michigan State University study found that many adults are playing games such as Facebook's "Farmville" to help initiate, develop and maintain relationships.
The MSU team of researchers interviewed a number of Facebook users between the ages of 25 and 55, said Yvette Wohn, a doctoral student in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media who led the study.
"The interesting thing is that we were asking people how they use Facebook to manage their different relationships," she said. "Surprisingly, all but one person talked about playing games as one of their relationship-management strategies."
While the world burns, Farmville thrives.
Speaking of the connection between video games and the world burning, the servers for Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, and Metal Gear Online are shut down because of the earthquake and tsunami near Sendai.
As part of the efforts to conserve Japan's electricity usage in the wake of the Sendai earthquake and tsunami, Square Enix and Konami are temporarily shutting down servers for Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, PlayOnline, and Metal Gear Online.
Final Fantasy XI and FFXIV's servers were shut down at 3 p.m. PST on March 13 and are scheduled to be down for a week. In addition, players won't be billed for the April billing cycle. The FFXIV Lodestone site, official game forums, and Square Enix support center will provide updates when available.
Metal Gear Online servers have been down since March 12. Kojima Productions is unsure about when they'll be brought back online.
Those games aren't thriving while the world burns! Originally crossposted to neonvincent on Dreamwidth. Comment here or there, whichever you prefer. http://neonvincent.dreamwidth.org/5503.html