The sf genre has always posed the question, ?What if?? Its sister genre, high fantasy, has held the throne of popular attention for some time, but now authors are employing hard and soft sciences again, More...
Libraries have clubs where a group gathers to discuss a book the members have all read. Why not have game clubs built on the same principles? This is the question posed by Aramis Troche after More...
Forget the stereotype about males being the only gamers. Women and girls play, and we are doing so in increasing numbers.
By now, most libraries have embraced gaming. We understand that a fun-based activity like this fulfills our patrons? social and recreational needs. It?s all very serious stuff, this having fun business. But at the core More...
Gaming and fitness hardly seem at first glance to go together. Stereotypical gamers sit motionless for hours in front of their screens, only their fingers and thumbs twitching across the keyboard or controller. Aren?t they More...
In my previous column, ?Gateway?or, ?Bait??Games? (LJ 11/15/10), I recommended basic games to intrigue apprehensive beginning players. Here, I discuss more complex games, for players up for more of a challenge. Board games rule Electronic More...
LJ reviewer M. Brandon Robbins highlights the past year's top games for libraries plus speaks to the three most hotly anticipated releases of 2011.
They peer in, dubious and shy. Mom scans the room to see what sorts of other children there are. Dad and his little girl both look intrigued. You smile encouragingly and invite them in. Clearly, More...
Does your library offer M-rated games? Whether you are currently exploring or rethinking your policies on this issue, there are many factors to consider. What is an M-rated game? Most video games released in North More...
Gaming has many documented benefits to seniors: it can engage their interest, get their competitive juices flowing, facilitate computer proficiency, and work their muscles both mentally (Brain Age) and physically (Wii Fit). Allan Kleiman, 58, More...
At the 2010 TED Conference in Long Beach, CA, game designer Jane McGonigal, whose work I previously discussed in "Games with Heart" (LJ 1/10), said, in short, "Reality is broken. Game designers can fix it." More...
In "Gamers with Heart" (LJ 11/15/09), I cited instances of gamers working toward a common charitable cause. Here, I focus on games specifically designed to incite action and raise social awareness.Ethical, or serious gamesThe free More...
Head back toBookSmack!for more storiesGamers are constantly engaged indiscussion over the best games out there, and, as any passionate group of enthusiasts, have a range of opinions on the matter. The basis for my own More...
In "Games and Literacy" (LJ 6/15/09), I wrote about the potential of games to develop literacy skills; in "Games and Literature" (LJ 8/09), I discussed narrative and storytelling in games. The circle now closes with More...
In the world of gaming in libraries, Eli Neiburger, associate director of IT and product development at Ann Arbor District Library, MI, is a name to conjure with. His 2007 book, Gamers…in the LIBRARY?! The More...
In my previous column (Games and Literacy, LJ 6/15/09), I talked about literacy, reading, and writing associated with the gaming hobby. In libraries, we also pride ourselves on being about literature, not just Dick and More...
Twenty-five years ago, librarians met gamers at the castle gates with pitchforks and torches, not sure exactly what to think about these loud, rowdy college kids declaring they were delving into dungeons to kill dragons-and, More...
Video of library commissioners playing videogamesstokes controversy11-page audit prompts 28-page response from Library CommissionOne online commenter opines: you can't buy publicity like this A ten-minute YouTube video (embedded below) showing five Nebraska Library Commission employees More...
Most video games released in North America carry a rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), a nonprofit, self-regulatory, third-party entity formed in 1994 by what is now the Entertainment Software Association. ESRB ratings More...
Videogames are typically grouped into genres based on gameplay interaction, but there's no standardized criteria for defining game genres, and the unofficial list is long, contentious, changing, and rife with crossovers. A syllabus for a More...
Silent Hill. Hitman. In the Name of the King. These count among a throng of films adapted from or inspired by videogames, all of them generally panned (sorry!) by players and critics. Though some game-to-film More...
Picture a videogame player. What do you see? Ten or 15 years ago, the question might have evoked an image of an adolescent boy, probably in a basement somewhere, parked zombie-like in front of the More...
