Interview with Josh Harmon from Quarterdown.com

A few months ago, a Redditor by the username of Jorsh started a thread inviting fellow Redditors to join him in creating a gaming website that would challenge the conventions of current gaming sites. Jorsh's real name is Josh Harmon, and this thread was the seed from which Quarterdown.com has sprouted.

Josh emphasized that he wanted the content of his site to not only be different and innovative, but substantial as well. To reach this goal, he would need the help of capable and inspired writers. I, for one, doubted that Quarterdown would ever come into fruition, but what I've seen this site accomplish during its short existence has surpassed my expectations, and will hopefully continue to do so.

I wanted to know how Josh accomplished this, so I asked =]

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Bold=Alphabet 1. Plain text= Josh Harmel

How hard was it to find the right people?

Fairly difficult, honestly.  Soliciting volunteer work for a site that doesn't exist yet may sound glamorous, but it's really a lot of trudging through writing samples and trying to pick out people with potential, even hidden potential.  There's a difference between having good ideas and being able to express them coherently, and there's also a difference between being a talented writer and having anything new to say about games.  Finding people who had both wasn't easy.

Do any of you guys know each other in RL?

No, but some of the writers are already building a great rapport.  I think you'll be seeing a podcast sometime in the near future.  We're either going to go for something that's super entertaining and humorously analytical or a 6 hour weekly discussion of pixel shaders.


What characteristics were you looking for in your team members?

Well, I think I already covered that above, but again: I wanted someone who had a unique perspective on games and a talented writer.  A good sense of humor helped, as well.

Do all of you have writing backgrounds, or is there an editor that makes sure every post is comprehensible?

Some of us have writing backgrounds, though none of us in an overtly professional sense.  My background's in academic writing, but I have some training in political journalism as well.  We've got a few people who work in the industry, and other people who come from a purely enthusiast standpoint.

I edit all the posts myself to ensure that they're presentable from a punctuation and grammar standpoint, and I'll occasionally solicit some further changes from the writer to improve flow and readability.


What is the biggest challenge of working with people over the internet?

Deadlines.  I don't have the hard-edge 1970s journalism advantage of calling employees into my office, shouting about deadlines, and then sexually harassing my secretary.  Times are changing.

Seriously, though, organizing everything over the internet across 6 or 7 different time zones can be a bit of a challenge, especially because I can't always get a hold of my writers when I need them.

Do you have any specific goals for this site?

Well, ideally, I'd like us to develop into a sort of side-dish to the bigger, news oriented sites.  The signal to noise ratio there is so high that I think it drowns out a lot of genuine discussion.  In terms of concrete things we're going to work on in the near future, we're going to be doing everything we can to empashize community and produce a wider variety of content.  We're adding a forum as soon as we can implement it, which will be a good place for the sorts of discussions that don't fit well into comments.

What was your inspiration?

Just a general distaste for how rare original, thoughtful content was on the bigger gaming sites.  Though if the night before launch was any indication, I also owe a great deal the fine people at Red Bull.

Who designed the site's layout? It rocks.

I mocked something up along these lines Photoshop, with a general sort of palette and layout, and then I sent it off to Ibrahim, one of our developers, who did some sort of voodoo that made it actually work and look better.  It was really a collaborative process for how things developed from there.

Clearly, this site shows how much potential the gamer community has. Have you had any other ideas for way of harnessing this potential?

Well, they're top secret at the moment, but I'll tell you that one of them has something to do with man-sized hamster balls.

Thanks for your time and humor, Josh. I wish you and the rest of the staff at Quarterdown.com the best.

The Dying Dream.

I came across something this weekend that nearly made me cry. This website pulled my heart strings like Slash standing outside a chapel in the desert. The content of this site is a video game theory concerning one of the monuments of my childhood memories, Final Fantasy VIII.  My heart string of fond memories quivers at the thought of this game.

The theory itself is an interpretation of the events, dialogue, and imagery of the game. It takes the characters' motives and personalities into consideration, and it provides a logical conclusion to a game with an abstract ending. I think video games are our generation's literature, and as the medium progresses, so will the intricacy of the stories. Naturally, seeing FFVIII being treated like literature made my heart string of hope and optimism resonate passionately. Ok, I'll stop with the cheesy metaphors.

In a nutshell, the fantastic events after the first disc actually take place in Squall's mind during his dying moments. The events are a projections of his hopes, desires, and of questions he wants answered. Rahul Choudhury and Diedra Rater, the people who came up with this theory offer a lot of evidence to uphold their views. Even if you disagree, it is worth checking out.

Another aspect of this that I find really exciting is the comments section. Currently, there are 459 comments on the page. The conversations taking place are pretty intense, and both sides (those that agree and those that disagree) offer logical arguments. There are a few trolls, but that is to be expected. Overall, this theory is stimulating intellectual discussion in the gaming community, and it is fostering the critical analysis of video games.

in case you missed the hyper link, http://squallsdead.com/

UK Gamers' Plot To Stick It To The Man

April 13th will soon be as notorious as the 5th of November. Ok, I'm exaggerating again, but hear me out.

In case you don't know, DRM (digital rights management) is a term used to described technologies that impose limitations on the use of digital goods, such as games, music, and movies. DRMs are meant to prevent or curb the piracy of these goods, but the DRMs that are being used in games are a nuisance to most gamers since they interfere with game play.

Ubisoft, a large game development company, is the target for most of the complaints concerning DRMs. The gaming blogosphere takes a strong stance against DRM's, and a clever plan to get their point across is underway. As proposed by SavyGamer,  the plan is for UK gamers to order Assassin's Creed 2, leave it in the shrink-wrap when it arrives, and return it on April 13th, citing the DRM as the reason for the return. Ubisoft may not listen to us as individuals, but it will listen to the complaints of the game retailers when they receive a bunch of returns because of DRMs.

This plan can be adapted for any country, but only the UK seems to be involved in the April 13th DRM Assasination.

For more info, check Savygamer and Negative gamer.

Bayonetta, or A reminder That Sex Sells.

For once, a game is being made into a controversy, not by mainstream media (yet), but by gamers themselves. All the buzz about Bayonetta focuses on the extreme sexuality of the game. I can't remember the last time that sex and games were discussed with such fervor; it seems as if everyone with a gaming blog has devoted as least one post to this game.

Some of the opinions out there are really interesting.
Yahtzee from Zero punctuation thought the sexuality was "shameless" and criticized the ridiculous anatomy of Bayonetta. He described her as " a pencil stuck through two grapes."
Landry from elder-geek saw it as a form of "Sexcapism", and he makes an interesting observation about glasses-wearing protagonists.
Movie Bob, the game overthinker, spends over 9 minutes discussing the history of sexuality in games and comes to the conclusion that Bayonetta is the first female character to pull of the "sexuality as a means of empowerment" angle.
Gamegirl seems to agree with Movie Bob, praises Bayonetta femininity, and says the game is beautifully made.

I think the outlandish sexuality of this game is a crude, but effective marketing strategy. Games like GTA have shown that even negative press will help promote sales, and the makers of Bayonetta definitely picked up on that. I highly doubt that this game was designed this way to fit some artistic vision, or to empower women; it was made this way because controversial themes get people talking, and word of mouth is still the best kind of advertising there is.

I know I'm contradicting the title of this post, but, in the long run, controversy will out sell sex every time.

Swedish army team building game

Wow, this is super addictive/ hard/ cool. I just had to share this with you guys.

http://team.forsvarsmakten.se/english/

Confessions of a Bummed-out Gamer.

" I was alone, overweight, and divorced."

This is the story that CirrusEpix shares in his video The Only thing That I know. The video was posted on Youtube a few weeks ago, and it has caused quite a stir. Apparently, the only things CirrusEpix knows is that video games ruined his life.

He blames video games for the thousands of dollars he wasted on them, and the countless hours and experiences he will never get back. He claims that gamers are fine giving up their real lives for simulated ones that are full of depression and loneliness.

There is some truth to what he says, but he is also making a gross generalization. I would argue that most gamers aren't depressed and lonely, but there are extreme cases, such as that of CirrusEpix, where people lose control of their lives and suffer the consequences.

The ultimate flaw of this video is that he blames games for his own lack of self control. Can you imagine an obese person making a video that blames food for his condition? Well, this video is pretty much the same thing. Although video games are particularly awesome and engaging, to let them take over your life and essentially ruin it shows that you have some mental weakness, or even a disorder.

For some people, this message might be exactly what they needed to hear, and who knows how many compulsive gamers were impacted by this video in a positive way. It just bugs me that we are all thrown under the umbrella of " lonely and full of depression." Also, he claims that video game experiences are "not real." He is just downright wrong in this aspect. See my experience post.

CirrusEpix does amend his message by saying that "healthy gamers don't dwell on the games, but embrace the community." So, at least he realizes that there is a difference between a compulsive video game addict and a person who loves video games.

here's the link to the video.

 

Back to Communication

If you've read my post on communication, you should already be well versed with my theories explaining why we love to discuss games so much.

I ran into an example of this on Reddit the other day, and I wanted to share it with you guys. This instance of gamer communication isn't extravagant or eye opening, but it is solid, and the subject matter hits close to home.

The title of the thread is " I just started playing FF Tactics, and it's kicking my ass..." As soon as I read this, I smiled to myself. FFT is a notoriously difficult game, and I remember many bittersweet nights that provided me with entertainment and glory as well as grief and frustration. The fact that over 70 comments were made on this thread shows that this experience was shared by many fellow gamers.

The inspired and passionate discussion that followed was full of tricks and techniques that the original poster could use. The complexity of these strategies showed that some of these gamers spent a little too much time on this game, but it also shows how engaging this game was.

This discussion sparked many others. People started sharing links to mods, they discussed other worthy games, they ranted and reminisced about their own unique experiences, and they expressed their love for this game.

The thread was full with amorous quotes such as:

"I have utterly destroyed this game about half a dozen times, and this thread is making me crave playing it again."

"I WOULD KILL for a good browser-based multiplayer focused version of this game." [LOL]

"Oh my god do I love Final Fantasy Tactics. It may be my favorite game of all time."

This thread was posted on sunday (valentines day/ coincidence?). The game in question came out in January, 1998. For most of us, 1998 seems like yesterday, but it was 12 years ago.

Gamers truly hold their gaming experiences close to heart, and their passion for games can be quickly re-sparked by something as simple as a thread titled " I just started playing FF Tactics, and it's kicking my ass..."

Update on foiled shooting

In my last blog I shared the story of the school shooting that was being planned, but was luckily prevented thanks to Xbox live. I found another article that had a little more information about it.

School shooting plot foiled by online gamer

The details are a little fuzzy right now, but there is some buzz on the web about a Canadian gamer who reported a gamer from San Antonio because he was sharing his plans to shoot up his school and kill several classmates, which he mentioned by name.  This all happened while the two were playing an "unspecified team-based game online" on x-box live.

Canadian authorities worked together with Microsoft to track down the gamer from San Antonio ( that's in Texas), and he has been arrested.

That's all the info that has been released for now, but I will definitely try to follow up on this story.  As always, I'm fascinated to see some event in the virtual world have quantifiable effects on meat world. In this case, the effect can be measure in human lives.

Although this bit of news should be regarded as positive, I can't help but feel a little sick to my stomach when I think about kids that are so depressed and so damaged inside that they have no qualms about taking a human life.

These gamers were probably playing Call of Duty, or some other first person shooter, and while I would never blame a game for some for turning people into desensitized murderers, I would not say they are blameless either...but I'm going to save that for another post.


Source

We should have seen this one coming...

It seems like common sense now, but I'm still surprised at the news that Wii-fit related injuries are becoming so common that they have their own nicknames.

Wii-itis (LOL) started withe the use of the Wii-mote; doctors describe it as something similar to tennis elbow. Some cases have even led to stretched or torn ligaments, but these injuries aren't as serious as the ones that have been related to the Wii balance board.

Wii- knee, the least serious of balance board related injuries, is caused by erratic bending of the knees while playing games. I don't know at what difficulty these people are playing at, or how old they are, but dislocated knee caps have occurred during gameplay.

Falling off the balance board has led to head injuries, dislocated bones, and one case of traumatic hemothorax (bleeding around the lungs). As serious as this sounds, it's also hilarious. I'm surprised that there isn't a report for the number of injuries cause by accidentally wacking your friends over the head during a heated match of DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3. (click this link if you want to laugh)

Will this lead to diminishing sales for the Wii? maybe you'll think twice before giving grandma a balance board for her birthday, but I highly doubt that people stop playing the Wii because they might catch "Wii-itis." Any kind of physical activity has the potential to injure you, so this shouldn't be a shocker. In fact, people love to take risks, so this might actually boost Wii sales.

I actually see this as further proof that virtual world and meat world are becoming more integrated. I'll expand on the possibilities on another post =]

Oh yeah, got to share my sources. Check the original article.

The american response to "Hand-egg".

Disclaimer: this post has nothing to do with the topic of this blog, but it is so worth sharing.

A while ago, someone put up a picture that shows why American football should be called "hand-egg," and it's actually pretty funny.

Recently, someone posted a comeback to this pic on Reddit. I give you "WTF bizarre stick-ball."

enjoy!

My Heroes =]

What do the words “extra lives” mean to you?


Most gamers would think of a green 1-up mushroom or a similar life-giving icon. Even if you’re not a gamer, the meaning of the words “extra” and “lives” implies something very positive.

I’m sure that Tim Troppoli had this in mind when he decided to name his organization Extra Lives. 

“WTF* is Extra Lives?” I asked myself as I clicked on a link that was advertising a The Legend of Zelda marathon.

Around new years, a group of gamers began broadcasting themselves playing through various Zelda titles. The marathon was to last 80 hours.

Like most people, I found this endeavor amusing, but, ultimately, it seemed like a ridiculous waste of time; it was something I would never do.

There was one redeeming factor, though. These guys were accepting donations for a charity called Free the Children. The initial goal was $2,000.00 and, at this point, they were just over $500.00.

The fact that they’d raised $500.00 by playing video games was impressive enough, but I doubted that they would be able to reach their goal. However, even during this initial state of skepticism, I noticed that the chat room of the site was buzzing with people encouraging, reminiscing, making jokes, and giving advice to the players; they were also donating. I knew I’d stumbled unto something worth following up on.

When I checked the site later that night, I was shocked to see that they had almost reached their goal. The chat room was pushing for the goal to be increased, and  I couldn’t comprehend what the hell was going on.

Why were so many people so eager to give their money to this website that was essentially just broadcasting a group of friends playing video games?

The best answer I can come up with is that the combination of nostalgia brought on by the game, the sense of community that was fostered in the chat room, and the benevolence of the goal over-powered the hearts of the viewers and turned them into frenzied philanthropists.

I watched in awe as goal after goal was met, and finally they passed the $12,000.00 mark, enough for Free The Children to build and furnish a school in a developing nation.

It’s been over a month now, and I’m still dumb struck with admiration. Extralives.org is an amazing organization. They not only inspired this blog post, they inspired my whole blog and my passion for analyzing the gamer community. Did I mention that these guys are in high school? 

I can’t wait for the opportunity to start my own game marathon for a charitable cause, and I can’t wait to see what the gamer community will do next.


Extra Lives

Free the children

WTF= what the fudge (I try not to curse)

Fair Game, by Michael Bywater.

I just came across an excellent article that was published in "The New Humanist" and submitted to eurozine. It's pretty much my first two blog posts in one, but I honestly think my posts are written better. Still, it's worth checking out.

I'm glad that established writers are addressing these issues, and that I'm not the only one that thinks of games this way.

Update on Australia

Thanks to Reddit, word about a new petition regarding the rating of games is quickly spreading. EB games, the country's largest video game retailer, started the petition when they realized that there was so much support for changing the censorship laws.

I suspect that EB games became aware of this movement through the many social media outlets that gamers use. ( my blog being one example =])

Over 50,000 people have responded to the petition, and an overwhelming 84% want the law changed. The Australian government is actually accepting submissions to a discussion paper on their site, and it seems like change is inevitable.

Hopefully, this case of censorship will soon be a thing of the past.

If you'd like to see the news article, click here.

To see the discussion on Reddit, click here.

For the Australian governments discussion page, click here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Interview With Raidon04, the Shenmue 3 Facebook campaign starter.

SEGA has expressed a willingness to resurrect the Shenmue series, but only if they can get an exclusivity deal. Although Shenmue 1 and 2 are highly praised, the games didn’t sell as well as SEGA hoped.

What’s interesting about the Shenmue franchise is how passionately the fans have been campaigning to let SEGA know that they demand a third installment. There are several campaigns out there, but one of the more dynamic ones is the Shenmue III Facebook campaign.

These 3,681 fans have made their own trailers, promos, and have done a few hilarious stunts to get SEGA’s attention. The group has been around for over 4 years. (I need a fact check on that >.>)

I got a chance to ask Raidon04, the founder, a few questions regarding the latest tease from SEGA.
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GamerBabel: Ok, so Sega has just announced that it would make a Shenmue III. Naturally, fans everywhere are rejoicing with renewed hope.

How do you feel about the big news of SEGA actively trying to find funds for a new Shenmue installment?

Raidon04: Well having actively campaigned for the release for quite some time, I have become rather skeptical of any indefinite news coming from SEGA. Over the past few years SEGA has commented on Shenmue on the possibility of a new sequel a few times. The campaign has been rigorous and non-conceding with many members contacting SEGA to enquire directly. Any news from SEGA has always been of obscurity with no definite response. This news can be taken with optimism or indeed it can be received like a Red Herring, I try and retain the former.

GamerBabel: With over 3,600 members and a bunch of different initiatives taken over the years, how much influence do you think your specific group had in this turnaround? Does SEGA know the name of Raidon04?

Raidon04: I think the group has been rather effective in spreading a reminiscence, thus rekindling peoples' minds of the pleasures of the game. Both this group and a few other smaller Shenmue campaigns have been proactive in taking different initiatives to pressure Sega to look back on the Shenmue saga. Some of the campaigns have been rather comedic and fun such as the 'show sega the money' scheme which asked fans to photograph themselves composed in Shenmue-like character outfits with their money showing willingness of purchase. Whilst other schemes ranged from toy-capsule mailing to SEGA as well as emails. We have heard responses from SEGA, with as always; obscurity. The group continues to grow and creates further popularity upon the net thus ever increasing the probability of that golden question being brought upon in SEGA interviews. So I do believe in the group's effectiveness. SEGA has received contact from me and have returned the favour. Other prominent former and current employees of SEGA have also been contacted and returned the gesture including famously the voice actors of Shenmue but no definite answer has been answered in any queries from myself. What has been clear although is the willingness of the voice actors to reprise their roles.

GamerBabel: When you started this campaign, did you expect the kind of response you have gotten from people?

Raidon04: I had faith in the group’s effectiveness of course. Although skepticism was an occasional issue due to financial failings of the games but I did not let that perturb me in establishing the group and advertising the campaign accordingly. The online petition, which has been in circulation for the last few years, was testament to the popularity of the game due to the copious amount of signatures, which at the time had a total of around 20,000.

GamerBabel: In general, are you impressed with the gamer community's ability to mobilize and bring about change in the world?

Raidon04: (laughs) Yes I do believe that the gaming community has a very influential amount of control. The video game industry has opened many new avenues within education, employment and has affected culture, journalism and the Entertainment Industry as a whole. I think the amount of opportunities and pleasure that such has established is indeed a good thing, but like most things in life; 'Too much of a good thing can be bad'. As long as the industry does not become too excessive, as the larger it will become the more regulation will be incorporated.

GamerBabel: Any extra thoughts you'd like to share with us?

Raidon04: I have always viewed games not merely as an engrossing entertainment, but as an aesthetic creation. Many games in the industry are beautiful creations of art with resplendent graphics, exquisite music and effulgent story lines. I think too many people play games merely for the enjoyment of the self whilst overlooking the aptitude of artistry put in the game. I think recognizing and appreciating the game forms even more captivation, and its something we should all do more as gamers.

GamerBabel: Thanks, for your time Raidon, and best of luck with the campaign.

I couldn’t agree more with Raidon’s responses, and his campaign is a shining example of what the gamer community can be/achieve.

Sadly, SEGA’s wavering stance on Shenmue has led to many fans becoming skeptical, but all of us still hope to take on the role of Ryo Hazuki and continue the adventure!

For the original article, click here.

That’s all for this post. Keep an eye out for the next one ;D

WoW more important in China than Google

Going off of my last blog post, which highlighted the political activism that gamers were demonstrating in Australia, I would like to bring up the recent conflict that Google faces in China.

Basically, Google threatened to pull out of China because it has been the target of many cyber attacks. 384 million people use Google in china, but there were no complaints from them; nobody cared.

To them, Google is just a search engine, and it is just as good as the other ones available.

What’s really interesting is how this quarrel compares to the WoW fiasco of last year. Sometime around June 2009, WoW went off-line because of some shady government bureaucracy that I don’t really understand, but the important thing is that close to 40,000 gamers were actively protesting until WoW was finally brought back.

Although some may see this behavior as obsessive, Gamers are passionate about their games, and they have learned that working together makes them a force to be reckoned with (pardon the cliché).

If you want to know more about Google’s situation in China, click here.

To catch up on what happened last year with WoW, click here.

=]

Saving the world without confronting the final boss.

Classics like Double Dragon and Contra introduced the world to co-op gaming. These intense games emphasized teamwork, and showed gamers everywhere that there is strength in numbers.

The satisfaction derived from clearing a level, beating a boss, or completing a game is usually exhilarating, and being able to experience this with your friends made victory that much sweeter.

Whether we realize it or not, these games were teaching us a valuable skill. As I’ve said before, the ability to work with others in pursuit of a common goal defines the influence of a community, and gamers practice teamwork quite often.

It’s no wonder then that we see the gaming community making its mark in the fields of philanthropy, policy making, and economics. For the sake of brevity, I’ll stick to one recent example of gamers influencing Australian policy.

The Australian government received a lot of criticism a few months back when its plans to censor the Internet were announced. Citizens protested in various ways, but nothing really came of it. Now the Australian government is attempting to prevent games with adult ratings from being sold.

What ever is a gamer to do? Well, if forming your own political party and preparing to run in elections against established politicians seems ludicrous, then you are not an Australian gamer.

The gaming community formed the Games 4 Croydon party, and they are preparing for elections that will be held March 20. How is that for teamwork? Of course, we still don’t know if they will be successful, but if we look at gamer statistics, such as the average age of the Australian gamer (30), we can get an idea of how strong their voting power is.

I’ll certainly be blogging about the results as soon as they I know them. Keep an eye out for that post ;D