So, Gillian, I just finished listening to the Marketplace podcast. My immediate reaction was that they are way behind the news in gaming. WoW is basically a zombie at this point - and they only just now noticed? ObComplexity: WoW has its own subeconomy of grinders that sell everything from ready-made advanced characters to in-game armor and weapons - all for out-of-game, real money (or bitcoins). WoW is not first with this phenomena - I first saw that type of thing in Blizzard's earlier on-line game - Diablo II.
The more interesting aspect of current gaming, to me, is the Twitch and YouTube scene. I'm fascinated by the ecology that has sprung up over the past few years with hundreds of thousands of people following the most famous gaming video producers. Essentially, there are folks who started out sharing their gaming experiences that have become video producers (some with very professional equipment). These folks participate in conventions, make videos together, cross-over to other games, work for organizations that suggest games and protect the actors/producers from unfriendly gaming companies (Nintendo), and have formed a new, alternative sub-economy. Some of the list members may have heard of the celebrity You-Tubers (I love the puns in that name) like PewDiePie - the most subscribed channel on YouTube. The celebrities and the bizzare (dummesaulol) color most people's view of YouTube, but the gaming community is astounding in its variety and breadth. Twitch seems to be gaining popularity with the way that it brings back the social aspect of tabletop games like D&D in an electronic forum. I don't watch other people game when I could be gaming, myself, but there seem to be lots of folks who do watch. Most of them spend a lot their time talking to each other or the channel owner in the sidebar chatroom. Twitch also shows professional gaming events - an interesting study in economic complexity. For those who are fans of agent-based simulation, you might find this YouTube series to be very interesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEDBfvlaBWQ That's the first video of one of twelve players in a death-match set in the cartoon universe of Minecraft. What I find fascinating (and surprisingly complex) is watching the corresponding videos of the other players to see how close they sometimes are without even knowing it. The other interesting aspect is the mistaken conclusions that each player makes about the situation based on their perceptions. Both of these aspects are characteristic of real-world small unit combat. Ray Parks Consilient Heuristician/IDART Old-Timer V: 505-844-4024 M: 505-238-9359 P: 505-951-6084 NIPR: rcpa...@sandia.gov<mailto:rcpa...@sandia.gov> SIPR: rcpar...@sandia.doe.sgov.gov<mailto:rcpar...@sandia.doe.sgov.gov> (send NIPR reminder) JWICS: dopa...@doe.ic.gov<mailto:dopa...@doe.ic.gov> (send NIPR reminder) On May 28, 2015, at 6:34 PM, Raymond Parks wrote: Did this already air? I'm not getting any response when I click on the play icon. Of course, I run noScript and I don't trust a lot of scripts. Ray Parks Consilient Heuristician/IDART Old-Timer V: 505-844-4024 M: 505-238-9359 P: 505-951-6084 NIPR: rcpa...@sandia.gov<mailto:rcpa...@sandia.gov> SIPR: rcpar...@sandia.doe.sgov.gov<mailto:rcpar...@sandia.doe.sgov.gov> (send NIPR reminder) JWICS: dopa...@doe.ic.gov<mailto:dopa...@doe.ic.gov> (send NIPR reminder) On May 28, 2015, at 6:30 PM, Gillian Densmore wrote: I seem to be the resident Gaming Geek: http://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace/marketplace-thursday-may-28-2015 ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
