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a forum for the uses of videogames in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment



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Two Outstanding Perspectives
August 18, 2007 - by Ian Bogost

Andy Nulman on why there's nothing wrong with single-player games:

But, given the success of community Web sites like MySpace and Facebook, all of a sudden everyone thinks there needs to be "community" associated with everything. It's "community this" and "community that." Hey, have you ever heard of the game "Solitaire"? It's one of the most popular games in the world and it's just one person enjoying a game all by themselves. Nothing wrong with that.

Rob Fahey on why "game" needs to mean more than gamers let it:

Besides, the accuracy doesn't matter; the word "game" is a label for interactivity, not a pigeon-hole which must be dispensed with because of its older connotations. After all, very few films are actually created using film any more, and there are a lot of novels which aren't exactly novel - the names remain, because they are intricately linked in people's minds with the class of entertainment they represent.

Hallelujah.




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