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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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Attention Hog August 13, 2008 - by Ian Bogost
In the game, the player pilots a cute pig toward people wandering around. If they face you for enough time, a heart fills up and turns gold, earning points. Each level has a target, and failing to meet it ends the game. Power-ups that improve your attention-getting powers are offered each level. There is also bacon, something that should find its way into more games. I feel like the "hog" metaphor is apt, and the game does partly capture the process of looking for people to look at you as rapidly and thoughtlessly as possible, which I think the author wanted to capture most. What's missing is the sense of needing to continue to tend to, or be subjected by, these so-called "relationships" constantly. It's a cute, simple account, and I'm happy to see a game that critiques today's attention culture, but I'm not sure Attention Hog reaches the level promised in the description, to address "self-promotion, social anxiety, obsessive need for peer validation, and distraction as entertainment." (thanks to Jason, and to Chris for additional discussion) POST A COMMENT
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