Original Midrash Aggadah
When a blogger doesn't post for a while, it could be for a number of reasons, some good, some bad. Currently, I am very busy with several great, productive activities, which is making me very happy. But that does not mean that I am not writing. One of my goals for this year is not only to learn Torah, but also to share the learning and my thoughts on it with others through writing and teaching. Read more...
Playtime, Aug 30, 3:10pm
From Death to Life
A little over a week ago, I spent Shabbat at a JACS retreat. JACS is an organization led by volunteers that connects Jewish alcoholics, chemically dependent persons, and their significant others to each other and to resources, so that they can help support each other through the ongoing process of recovery in a nurturing Jewish environment. Part of that is also sharing knowledge about alcoholism and addiction with the wider Jewish community. Unfortunately, denial that alcoholism exists in the Jewish community is still fairly common. Read more...
Playtime, Aug 27, 3:10am
New Job
I graduated! In the Fall I start a new job. I'm finally transitioning from full-time student to full-time teacher. I'll get to see what the classroom looks like from the other side. I hope I'm ready. Or at least that I will be by then. Read more...
Playtime, Aug 23, 3:10am
Playstation 2 -WOW!
I decided that its about time that I put down these simple low-tech games I've been playing (widget games, go) and see what the big fuss is over the Sony Playstation 2. After Super Nintendo, I abandoned the inner gamer in me and I've been out of practice ever since. Games have advanced so much since that time that its been difficult to jump back in. However two evenings of sampling the PS2 has awakened me from my video game console slumber. I am now convinced that my life would be incomplete without that slim black console next to my TV. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
I'm in, game on!
Greetings. I'm Joachim, 2nd semester MA TESOL student. In my youth I was an avid video gamer, a Nintendo-loyalist (I would turn up my nose at 'inferior' brands like Sega), but I lost interest as I turned 16, got a car, and started talking to girls. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Go
I started playing Go this week. I had never played this game before. When I was in Japan I saw old men play it every afternoon in smoky dens-rain or shine. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about this game. I'm the type who usually tosses the manual away and dives straight for the controller. However, before playing Go I read a little about it on wikipedia and familiarized myself with the basic rules of the game. I figured I'd just figure out the angles as I went along. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
On Defense Unit
Defense Unit, as I mentioned before, is a very standard kill your enemies before they kill you game. Instead of completely dismissing it, I committed myself to spending more than the five minutes of fun that I usually allocated to such games. I wanted to see if I view games any differently now that I'm an adult. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Widget Games
I decided my foray into this game class would begin with a dashboard widget game on my Mac. I perused apple.com's house list of widget games, sorting through titles which looked promising. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Grow - a chat session
I'm telling you - this game is like a good drug! Here is a chat session that I had with my friend last week. I got him to play the game, and I think I hooked him. Basically this is what transpires during the chat: I tell my friend about the game, he figures out how to play it in about 5 minutes, we discuss strategies, and at the end of it, he even tells another friend about the game. It was fun playing along with him - as I'm sure you'll see if you read below. Warning! Please skip this chat session if you are offended by curses and references to controlled substances. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Educational video games
I do believe video games have unique properties that can be incredibly educational. I believe they have value, and aren't just an extension of "case based" instructional methods. As an individual interested in second language acquistion, I can envision how a video game environment would be ideal for language practice, in a context rich, meaningful environment. We have the technology and know how to create these games now, but hardly and of these "educational games" could stand alone as good games by themselves. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Grow Part 1
I am addicted to the Grow games, particularly the Grow RPG. I really like the cartoon graphics and animation and I am excited about the possiblities for flash based games. I think what is appealing about the game is its simpicity - yet there clearly is a strategy to win the game by defeating the dragon which hovers above this planet. What hooked me in was the interplay between the each elements - what you pick and when determines what 'grows' in the game, and hence, how far the hero advances in the quest. I have not beat it yet, but I assume that there is one set sequence that will win the game. I found myself constantly revising my strategies as to what would be the most appropriate element to drop into the world at a paricular time. I was slightly tempted to look up a 'cheat' for the game - which sequence would win - but I know that this would just take all the satisfaction out of actually beating it myself. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Go book
I picked up a cool Go book over the weekend, Go! More Than a Game! by Peter Shotwell. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Go and Karate
This semester I've taken a lighter courseload to accommodate a goal of mine that I've been pursuing since I was a 7th grader: a black belt in Oyama Karate. Oyama Karate is a Japanese martial art, which is full contact and combines traditional practice with modern fighting techniques. To those of you who played Street Fighter II, it is very similar to the style of Ken and Ryu - Shotokan Karate. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Again lost my city!
It seemed that I was doing much better than last week! Read more...
The Dragon in NY, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Gee Reading
If video games were destined to teach anything, I believe teaching foreign languages would be it. Traditional classroom settings have failed throughout history to consistently produce successful foreign language learners. Natural acquisition settings, in which people are exposed to language in context, and have ample opportunity to practice new linguistic forms is the ideal language learning environment. However, the latter choice, relocating to an area in which the target language is widely spoken, is impractical to most people. Video games offer an alternative to actually being in a foreign country: the possibility of recreating a context rich environment in which language learning can take place. Read more...
How to be a Player, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Absolutely NO IDEA
WOW!! Absolutely No idea....I'm ready to read materials, since I've heard that there were lots of reading. BUT, I cannot even find where I should go for reading. Read more...
The Dragon in NY, Aug 20, 3:11pm
NEED HELP
I'm still in the dark about civilization. Is there anyone interested in playing civilizaton??? let me know! Let's play together!!! Read more...
The Dragon in NY, Aug 20, 3:11pm
First day of my blog & PIKMIN I
Finally, I set up my blog....Actually, I had done this before, and tried to find the one. BUT, don't remember my id, blog title, password, etc...... I hope this time I can do work better on my blog. At least, I know some of us are gonna visit this blog, and can have pressure on keeping doing this, which is good...(or not?????) Read more...
The Dragon in NY, Aug 20, 3:11pm
My Strategy for Diablo
My cousin has been playing Diablo, Diablo Two and the extension version for a long time. But he still find it hard to conquer the hell level on his own. (Here I will explain a little bit about 'what is hell' though I think nearly all of my classmates have played or tried this game. In Diablo, if you have finished all the tasks and beated the final boss, you may think you have finished the game. No..the game is far from being over. There's nightmare and hell level waiting in front of you. In Nightmare and Hell level, you have to finish the same tasks and beat the same bosses, but the differences are the monsters will be much stronger and your resistance level will be lowered. )Ok, I will continue now. Thus, he decided to invite me to develop a new character to assist him. I have been working hard on my character in my winter break but since I am a novice in the game I only finished chapter one and chapter two. Later, I think the progress is too slow and I decided to quit the game. Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
My 1st One!
Hello, everyone. My name is Wenjing Zhou and I am an M.A in Instructional Media and Technology. Regarding the game experiences, I do have a lot in my childhood when I played a lot of video games with my cousins. I still could remember those cassettes ( or those little yellow rectangular boxes? -_- sorry I have no idea how to say it) in which there are usually sixty or more than one hundred games among which the most famous one is 'Mario'. I think all the people know this game and love it. Since I entered my high school, I was busy with my schoolwork and seldom played any video games. Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Continue on Diablo
This week I continued my journey on Diablo coz I really like myself now(actually the amatar in the game ) since I am a much stronger one who could raise five skeletons and a golem to fight for me. I really enjoy this less effort play mode. All that I do is to stand by, cast some black magic on the monsters and press space button to see what goods are on the ground. ( This new feature of shortcut is really impressive and exciting coz I still remember my first time playing Diablo 7 years ago when I felt difficult to pick things up. Always I could hear a ring sounded like 'Ding' dropped off in a chaotic battle which took me about 10 minutes to get the triumph but later cost me 15 minutes to find the valuable ring or emulet. ) Soon I found it boring to just stand aside and watch my skeletons fight. I admit it is an easy job but I need more impetus to continue the game. I talked to my cousin complaining that the game is less exciting and getting boring. My cousin pointed out that I... Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
My emotional experiences in game playing
I played a lot of video games when I was in my childhood. At that time, we only had those simple but classic little games such as Mario. Although the game is designed like a cartoon and Mario is nothing similar to me, I still felt nervous when I was playing the game and was totally concentrated on the game as if I was the charater there. I felt scared when Mario was about to conquer a difficult task. I felt excited when I defeat the horrible dragon at the end of each level. Sometimes, the fear prevented me from acting well that before I made a great leap, I felt inconfident and this feeling usually led to my failure. Now with the technology advanced, games look more real. Using 3-D or even 4-D technology enables players to get totally involved into the scenorios or fighting and they are more easily to put themselves into the character's positions that will naturally arouse their feelings. I tried a PS2 game this week called So Calibre II. This game is quite similar to the fighting... Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Games I played in the last few weeks
Set Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Games and My Identity
This weekend I hanged out with some friends and played 'Game of Killer' ( I translate it literally from Chinese). This game is very popular in China but it's my first time to play. First, to play this game, the minimum number of players should be six to eight, otherwise the game will be no more challengable. Then, since we have eight people, we selected one judge and remained seven players. We picked out eight cards and put a star on one of the card. After the cards were distributed, the one who got the star card will be the killer and this secret will only be known by the judge and the killer until someone has been killed and died. At the first round, the judge said ' It's late now, everyone closes his eyes and goes to bed.' Everyone closed his eyes except the killer. The killer now could use either gesture or eye contact to tell the judge which person he kills. Then after the judge said' It's time to wake up and Mary(for example) has been killed', everyone opens eyes and... Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Small Games
I was a fan of video games when I was a child. At that time, I played video games all day long with my cousin. After I grow up, though I like games as I always did, I prefer small games since I don't want to waste much time and energy on those online games(star crafts,etc.) and I know that if I start to play them, I will be addicted to them. I want games to be an entertainment instead of a task to me that when I want to rest and have fun, I play them for a short time and will not feel the responsibility or ambition to conquer something. To me, the games on MSN are proper for me but with only one inconvenience that whenever I want to play, the only way I can start a game is to find a friend on MSN and invite him to the game. This has troubled me for a long time until yesterday when I turned to my cousin, he told me to go to www.zone.com and have fun. All the games on that website are small games and the type of games I used to play on MSN. On that... Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Games for educational purpose
Last week I played a PS2 game my friend long time ago recommended to me. It is a singing game and basically your task is to sing a pop song in a correct tempo and rhythm. The name of this game is Karaoke Revolution and due to its success, it has introduced its volume 3 in which a lot of recent popular songs have been added. To play this game, you only need to purchase an accessory like a headset or a microphone. At first, I regard this game as an easy one since I am quite good at singing and my piano learning experiences have made me good sense on tempo and rhythm. Then when I started playing the game, I found it hard to catch the words. This game wants to make the tempo in an excessively accurate way that even a short word such as 'promise' will be seperated into two parts like'-pro- -mise-'and when all the words are arranged in this way, it's quite hard for me to catch up with them. I don't know whether this is because I am a foreign student and not familiar with the language... Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Games, educational or not?
This week my friend sent me a link and added a comment: Be sure to watch it!! I opened this web page with curiosity,finding it a player's play video and what makes it different is that his skill is nearly perfect. Read more...
Wenjing Zhou's Game Blog for MSTU 5510.005, Aug 20, 3:11pm
2nd Coming
This is my second post. Still feeling my way through the mechanics of running a blog. The learning curve is a little steeper than I anticipated. Must spend more time with my hands-on on the dashboard. Found some interesting info on the blogging phenomenon at the PBS webiste. It's called "Welcome to the Blogosphere" (link). Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Textbook Economics
The Brain Lehrer Show (WNYC, public radio) is covering "Textbook Economics" today. If the dicussion is any good I'll update with some transcripts. Usually the show's podcast can be downloaded for gratis at iTunes (that is NOT an endorsement). Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Individual Analysis v1.0
For my first Individual Analysis, I’ve decided to take a round-about stab at some of the ideas that keep pestering me as I read Barabási’s Linked. The book is basically a crash course in the phenomena behind large networks. Many of the concepts are intriguing and they will undoubtedly influence how many disciplines think about the exchange of ideas and information. Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Sign of the Times
Added the words blog and metacognition to the ol' Word dictionary. Mixed feelings. Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
My Techno-Biography
I grew up in Ira, Vermont (population ≈ 455). Not exactly Silicon Valley, but a nice, quiet spot for a young boy to bond with his first computer. It was around ’83 when a Commodore 64 first descended upon the Hoffman household, and in an era of arcade games, this gray box captured my undivided attention. Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Individual Analysis v2.0:
Confession: a few years ago I wanted to buy the Nokia N-Gage. Stop laughing, I really did. It was a gadget-geek’s dream and I had to have one. The notion of an all-in-one portable made me weak in the knees. As I surfed the web for a place to buy one, I decided it would be wise to read a review or two of the product first. To my dismay the N-Gage was viewed as a major flop. Every article chided it as a clever idea that was woefully executed. What to do? I couldn’t bring myself to ignore popular opinion, but I really wanted one. In the end, logic prevailed. Nokia never got my money and I never got my N-Gage. Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Individual Analysis v3.0
I don’t know why, but I’ve been surprised by the number of people toting portable gadgets on the subway these days. Recently, on a Manhattan bound J train, I noticed four people playing Play Station Portables. There were only about 20 people on the train so it was hard to ignore the coincidence of four individuals all playing PSPs. I know they are popular, but 4 on one subway car!? Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Issue Entrepreneurship Proposal
For my project, I’ve decided to support the spread of open-air internet access to major metropolitan areas. I believe the move to ubiquitous Wi-Fi in large population centers is inevitable and it will partially define the next chapter of the information age. Ideally, citywide Wi-Fi will bring a host of benefits to cities and the people living in them. These benefits include economic growth, social development as well as alleviating the digital divide. For these reasons, I stand in favor of cities proposing a public wireless initiative. Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Out of the Garden
Darwinia is a unique game. So far, I've been more intrigued by the feel, look and attitude of the game, than the game play itself. The retro-feel of the game draws me in. Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Thoughts on the First Round of In-Class Games
I want to start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the games the three groups presented. I was impressed on all levels, especially considering how difficult it can be to come up with an original idea, let alone actually having that idea take-shape enough to be fun enough to play. Kudos to all involved. Read more...
HOFFMANIZATION, Aug 20, 3:11pm
Test Post
Just testing to make sure the showtime27 Game Journal is up and functional ! Read more...
The Game Journal, Aug 20, 3:10pm
GTA - First Attempt
So here goes -- the sports gamers first attempt to sort out this world of Grand Theft Auto. This whole concept was new - a world where you can explore freely with very few limiting constraints. As a lifetime sports gamer and board game player, this vacuum of rules and time constraints, etc felt really awkward at first. Read more...
The Game Journal, Aug 20, 3:10pm
Play log # 1
So I was comfortably at home the other night doing work on my couch when I get a call from a friend who wants some advice on how to optimize recruiting in NCAA College Football 2005 for PS2. He's only 2 blocks away as it turns out, so rather than do the responsible thing and chat on the phone for a bit and get back to my work, I get dressed, walk over and proceed to spend a number of hours in front of the screen. Read more...
The Game Journal, Aug 20, 3:10pm
September 12
Our discussion last week about ideological games / simulations, including September 12 very much peaked my interest. It quickly became clear to me during our discussion that having control of an underlying set of assumptions that drive a simulation can be very powerful. I can think of numerous contexts in which this ideologically-driven simulation idea could eventually be a strong force in shaping public opinion, encouraging debate, etc, or as Frasca writes "If video games are indeed persuasive tools, then they can be used for conveying passionate ideas." I spent some time playing September 12th this week and even more time exploring this idea of ideological games and the potential ramifications of this genre. Read more...
The Game Journal, Aug 20, 3:10pm
GTA - trying to navigate the world
So I intentionally selected GTA as a game to play because historically games in fictional worlds with a high degree of player movement have not kept my attention for too long. I seem to get frustrated easily by an extreme lack of structure. Read more...
The Game Journal, Aug 20, 3:10pm
The biases I bring to a game
As the semester goes on and I find it hard to pick up some of the newer video games on the market, I realize that my perception of video game fun and of games in general is shaped by the games I played as a child. There is a distinct gap of about 15 years between the time when I actively played a lot of games and now. That gap has been filled with plenty of games, but most of them were more serious. I played a lot of golf but I wasn't playing for fun. I was playing to win, to get a college scholarship, to be the best I could be. So realistically, it has been years since I consistently played games (and new games just for fun). As a result, my idea of what a game should be, and what fun is seems to be caught in a time warp. I am constantly relating my new experiences attempting to get interested in new games with the games I enjoyed. I would much prefer to sit at my computer and play Commodore 64 games to going to the game lab and learning new games. It might be the... Read more...
Play Diary, Aug 20, 3:10pm
Is there really a strategy here?
This week while playing The Sims and Civilization I realized again why I rarely get deeply involved with video games. Read more...
Play Diary, Aug 20, 3:10pm
My first 90 minutes
I honestly can't remember the last time I played a video game. Maybe two years. And I had never played Dance Dance Revolution before Wednesday, so it seemed like a good game to try out. Read more...
Play Diary, Aug 20, 3:10pm
Decisions and Frustration
Whenever I learn to play a new game a process of learning the rules takes place. Usually you first learn how to protect yourself. Next you take your first steps towards using the rules of the game to take control offensively. In the process you learn to make decisions based on what you know at the time. Read more...
Play Diary, Aug 20, 3:10pm