Water Cooler Games http://www.watercoolergames.org/ Water Cooler Games is a forum for the uses of video games in advertising, politics, activism, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment. en Copyright 2012 Sat, 06 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Water Cooler Games is Closed - Please Read http://www.watercoolergames.org/archives/001056.shtml Water Cooler Games is now closed. Thanks for reading all these years. The site has been archived in full (with comments) at http://www.bogost.com/watercoolergames. For my take on "videogames with an agenda," you might want to read Persuasive Games.

I am now blogging at Bogost.com. This RSS feed now contains posts from there (after this one), although you might want to update to this feed instead: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ianbogost.

—Ian Bogost, August 2009

]]> 0000@http://www.watercoolergames.org/ Plenoptic Photography First image out of my Lytro — I just received my Lytro lightfield camera. It's the first commercialized plenoptic camera, which is an optical device with an array of lenses to capture a scene at multiple focal points. There's a lot of terrible rhetoric in the tech and electronics communities about this camera, claiming that it will allow you to take a photograph and "worry about focusing... http://www.bogost.com/blog/plenoptic_photography.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/plenoptic_photography.shtml blog art photography Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:00:30 -0500 A Portrait of The Artist as a Game Studio The style of thatgamecompany — While we often see the evolution of artists working in old media, ever-shifting technical terrain tends to obscure videogame makers' aesthetic trajectories. In Thatgamecompany's pathbreaking and gorgeous games for the Playstation 3, we get the rare chance to watch these artists at work against a fixed technological backdrop. My review of thatgamecompany's Journey, in the context of a discussion of... http://www.bogost.com/writing/a_portrait_of_the_artist_as_a.shtml http://www.bogost.com/writing/a_portrait_of_the_artist_as_a.shtml writing criticism videogames writing Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:22:08 -0500 Rise of the Videogame Zinesters Anna Anthropy's new book — These days, everybody can make and distribute a photograph, or a video, or a book. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters shows you that everyone can make a videogame, too. But why should they? For Anna Anthropy, it's not for fame or for profit, but for the strange, aimless beauty of personal creativity. That's my back cover blurb for Anna Anthropy's... http://www.bogost.com/blog/rise_of_the_videogame_zinester.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/rise_of_the_videogame_zinester.shtml blog books videogames Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:03:33 -0500 Game Developers Conference 2012 My schedule for this year's event — It's almost time for the Game Developers Conference again! To think, last year I was struggling to escape the grip of a certain cow game, and this year I've perhaps almost partly escaped the grip of a certain cow game. This year I've got a relatively light schedule. First, Ben Sawyer, Jane McGonigal and I are running the new GameIT... http://www.bogost.com/blog/game_developers_conference_201.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/game_developers_conference_201.shtml blog games speaking Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:42:09 -0500 Videogames as Art Medium and Inspiration or, A Slow Year at the Telfair — This week, the Telfair Museums will open Game Change: Videogames as Art Medium and Inspiration. My game A Slow Year is among the pieces that will be on exhibit from February 27 to April 1, 2012. I'll be in Savannah Thursday evening for the Game Change panel, from 6-8pm at the Jepson Cetner. Other artists in the show include Kunal... http://www.bogost.com/blog/videogames_as_art_medium_and_i.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/videogames_as_art_medium_and_i.shtml blog art games Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:51:24 -0500 Alien Invasion An update on my next book — I talked to my publisher this week and got news that Alien Phenomenology is scheduled to land in the warehouse by March 7. It should be shipping to booksellers immediately thereafter. If you preorder from Amazon.com, you'll see it ship out that very week. While I can't make any promises, sometimes these dates move up thanks to happy accident, so... http://www.bogost.com/blog/alien_invasion.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/alien_invasion.shtml blog books philosophy Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:40:34 -0500 The Perils of Farmville Me on NPR's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane — I've had a chance to be on a number of different radio programs, both national and local. I really like doing radio, particularly longer programs on NPR and CBC since the additional time really allows more sustained exploration of a topic. It's also particularly fun and weird to be on a show you've listened to extensively. I did NPR's Talk... http://www.bogost.com/blog/the_perils_of_farmville.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/the_perils_of_farmville.shtml blog Facebook games press radio Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:22:30 -0500 Making Books It's not the same as writing books — Back when his book The Textual Life of Airports was published in December, Christopher Schaberg reported what most authors do: seeing his book for the first time. "What a weird feeling," Chris wrote. "It resembles an object from outer space. Vaguely recognizable, yet totally alien at the same time."This is the experience of most authors. We say we "write books,"... http://www.bogost.com/blog/making_books.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/making_books.shtml blog airports books philosophy writing Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:10 -0500 Academic Professional Job Opening Work with me at Georgia Tech Digital Media — We have a job opening for a staff position in my program at Georgia Tech. The job is for an Academic Professional, who will serve as assistant to the Graduate Program in Digital Media. You get to work with me and nine other core faculty in the program, as well as with others in the School and College, to help... http://www.bogost.com/blog/academic_professional_job_open.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/academic_professional_job_open.shtml blog academia Georgia Tech Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:03:09 -0500 Slashdot Q&A — Just a short pointer post for those who get my updates via blog or RSS. Last month Slashdot covered the Wired article about me and Cow Clicker, and invited readers to pose questions. The editors selected some, which I answered, and which Slashdot has now published. The questions were good, and I'm pretty pleased with my answers too, so I... http://www.bogost.com/blog/slashdot_qa.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/slashdot_qa.shtml blog Facebook games press Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:49:32 -0500 The Bulldog and the Pegasus — Originally published as an opinion piece at Gamasutra In Greek mythology, Bellerophon is the hero who tamed the Pegasus. He used the winged horse as a mount to defeat the Chimaera, a monster with the heads of a lion, goat, and snake that breathed fire and devoured villagers. Bellerophon's many heroic deeds were widely praised, and his subjects adored him.... http://www.bogost.com/writing/the_bulldog_and_the_pegasus.shtml http://www.bogost.com/writing/the_bulldog_and_the_pegasus.shtml writing Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:34:40 -0500 Speculative Realism Aggregator Update New blogs, optimized, mobile version, etc. — As promised, I've cleaned up and updated the Speculative Realism blog aggregator. Thanks to those of you who made suggestions in the comments or by contacting me directly. A few quick notes: I've added a link to the aggregator in the right sidebar, under "resources." Not sure why I never had one. There is also a mobile device-optimized version of... http://www.bogost.com/blog/speculative_realism_aggregator_1.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/speculative_realism_aggregator_1.shtml blog philosophy software Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:10:35 -0500 On Technical Agency and Procedural Rhetoric A quick response to Joshua McVeigh-Schulz — There's an interesting discussion over at Culture Digitally between Gina Neff, Tim Jordan, and Joshua McVeigh-Schulz on the subject of technical agency, or "how we should (re)theorize the politics of technological systems." Gina Neff's opening comments include a welcome statement about the limits of SCOT perspectives on technical systems: Within the social studies of technology, technological determinism is dead. By... http://www.bogost.com/blog/on_technical_agency_and_proced.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/on_technical_agency_and_proced.shtml blog games philosophy politics rhetoric Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:46:13 -0500 What is a Game Bundle? From my Persuasive Games column at Gamasutra — From Humble Bundle to Steam Sales, from Indie Royale to Indie Gala, it seems like you can't go online anymore without seeing a new "game bundle" offering -- a set of unusual, overlooked, and independent game titles offered at a substantial discount for a limited time, often with a portion of proceeds donated to charities like the Red Cross or... http://www.bogost.com/writing/what_is_a_game_bundle.shtml http://www.bogost.com/writing/what_is_a_game_bundle.shtml writing business favorites videogames Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:29:09 -0500 Help Feed the Speculative Realism Feed Seeking updates for the SR blog aggregator — As many of you know, for some time I've been operating an aggregator for blogs related to speculative realism. You can view post previews on this site, and there's also an RSS feed in case anybody is still using RSS readers ;) It's about time I revised and updated the list of included blogs. The system gets a bit bogged... http://www.bogost.com/blog/help_feed_the_speculative_real.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/help_feed_the_speculative_real.shtml blog philosophy Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:35:45 -0500 This is a Blog Post about the Digital Humanities A response to Stanley Fish, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, and others — ... http://www.bogost.com/blog/this_is_a_blog_post_about_the.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/this_is_a_blog_post_about_the.shtml blog humanities Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:00:00 -0500 Robert Jackson's DSCOOOO1.jpg Project At the O-Zone Journal — The new O-Zone journal has a section called OO Frequency, for content that takes a form other than writing. A while ago they posted my short video for OOOIII, Seeing Things, which deals with the photographer Garry Winogrand and the website Dear Photography. More recently, they've posted a lovely new video from Robert Jackson, who is a doctoral candidate at the... http://www.bogost.com/blog/robert_jacksons_dscoooo1jpg_pr.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/robert_jacksons_dscoooo1jpg_pr.shtml blog art philosophy photography Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:28:15 -0500 Airplane Explanations Some notes from in-flight — On planes, passengers lose all connection with personal and cultural history. This is why everything must be explained by flight attendants, carefully and completely yet succinctly, efficiency. To fasten your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle and tighten the strap. To release, pull the tab on the buckle. This aircraft is equipped with display screens and earphone... http://www.bogost.com/blog/airplane_explanations.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/airplane_explanations.shtml blog travel Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:29:45 -0500 Review of Bone's Restaurant By my nine year-old — It's been a while since my daughter has offered her opinion in writing on matters of contemporary culture. No doubt you remember her reviews of TRON: Legacy, recording artist Madeline's album White Flag, and Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams. And if you do, you may have noticed a pattern of, well, mild contempt. Thus I am happy to publish... http://www.bogost.com/blog/review_of_bones_restaurant.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/review_of_bones_restaurant.shtml blog criticism food Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:59:13 -0500 Civet Poo Coffee A tiny review — Kopi luwak, or civet coffee, is a rare, expensive, and low-production variety of coffee. A rather unusual process is required to produce the coffee. First, the Asian Palm Civet, native to the Indonesian Archipelago, selects and eats certain wild coffee cherries. The civet consumes the cherries for their outer pulp, and the the bean there enclosed passes through the civet's... http://www.bogost.com/blog/civet_poo_coffee.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/civet_poo_coffee.shtml blog food Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:00:41 -0500 Object-Oriented Answers Responses to Parikka — Jussi Parikka, author of Insect Media among numerous other books, recently posed a series of questions about object-oriented ontology. Levi Bryant has already responded, as has Paul Caplan, and I like both of their responses. I thought I'd offer my own here, so here goes. (The block quotes are Jussi's questions.) Is not the talk of "object" something that summons... http://www.bogost.com/blog/object-oriented_answers.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/object-oriented_answers.shtml blog media philosophy Mon, 26 Dec 2011 12:46:03 -0500 The Virtues of Long Compiles Thoughts on the material conditions of programming practice — I was corresponding yesterday with Jock Murphy, a Portland-based photographer, software engineer, and mobile game developer. Jock had read Racing the Beam, and we were talking about the relative differences between the 6502 and the Z80 microprocessors. This subject led us to different programming practices, a topic Nick and I discuss in RtB in relation to the Atari, but for... http://www.bogost.com/blog/the_virtues_of_long_compiles.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/the_virtues_of_long_compiles.shtml blog programming Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:19:39 -0500 If the reader clicks the word "cow" then the cows will come. Wired's online cow clicking game about Cow Clicker — As promised, I'm now linking the iPad and web versions of Wired's story on Cow Clicker. There are some interesting features of each. The iPad edition features clickable cows that moo, but the online version of the story really, uhm, sets the moood... it includes a complete Cow Clicker-themed cow clicking game with Facebook integration. So, go try that out.... http://www.bogost.com/blog/if_the_reader_clicks_the_word.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/if_the_reader_clicks_the_word.shtml blog cows Facebook press Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:53:33 -0500 The Curse of Cow Clicker In this month's Wired Magazine — Jason Tanz wrote a fantastic feature for the January 2012 issue of Wired about me and Cow Clicker. The feature includes, to use Levi's words, a centerfold of me, on a fence, in a pasture, with a cow (see below). The print issue is on newsstands now, with a web and iPad version coming soon. Look out for those, as... http://www.bogost.com/blog/the_curse_of_cow_clicker.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/the_curse_of_cow_clicker.shtml blog cows Facebook favorites press videogames Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:28:58 -0500 A New Philosophy for the 21st Century Briggle and Frodeman in the Chronicle — Adam Briggle and Robert Frodeman have written an excellent article for the Chronicle, A New Philosophy for the 21st Century. A stupid subscription is required, frustratingly, so let me excerpt some of the good bits for you here [update: here's a PDF]: It is time to reclaim the public role of philosophy. This does not mean rejecting rigor. By venturing... http://www.bogost.com/blog/a_new_philosophy.shtml http://www.bogost.com/blog/a_new_philosophy.shtml blog education philosophy Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:05:09 -0500