The Sims 2, Blogs, and no more Belle ...
Sunday, September 19, 2004
[X] ZDNet Australia has a small interview will Will Wright on the release of The Sims 2 here and here. I found this Q&A interesting:
[X] BBC Technology also reports that the world's most (in)famous blogging "call girl", Belle du Jour, has ended her widely-read blogging confessional; see her last post here (the book is still in the works, though).
[X] Kaye Trammel has started an excellent bibliography on 'Blog Research and References'.
[X] Torill Mortensen reflects on blogs as teaching tools here; her notes about using blogs relating to lecturing are pretty close to my own use at the moment!
[X] Finally, The Weekly Standard has a brilliant summary of the blogosphere's discrediting of the Bush service record documents; a moment in history when bloggers worked out what 60 Minutes couldn't!
You've talked before about what you call the "Calvin factor" -- players building things just to destroy them. What's the Calvin factor here?I would have imagined it would be easier to empathise with a robot in a virtual world. BBC Techology also has an article on the Sims 2 which notes that genes are getting more important in the virtual worlds, too:
We did find with "SimCity" -- and later with "The Sims" -- that players really enjoy exploring the failure side. They want to experiment with all the different ways they screw up the Sims' lives, from having a bladder failure and soiling the carpet to losing a job or being spurned in a romantic advance. The failure states in "Sims 2" are quite a bit more elaborate than in "Sims 1." And you've got a deeper emotional connection, so when the Sims fail, you really feel guilty. You feel as if you're dealing with a pet instead of a robot.
In The Sims 2, there is an added complexity of genetics. Whole generations are created, and their success in life is determined by decisions about their aspirations that the player makes early on. The Sims become a lot more aware of social and emotional bonds, and you can even make them look like you. Your offspring will carry on genetic traits decided by you.[Via TerraNova]
[X] BBC Technology also reports that the world's most (in)famous blogging "call girl", Belle du Jour, has ended her widely-read blogging confessional; see her last post here (the book is still in the works, though).
[X] Kaye Trammel has started an excellent bibliography on 'Blog Research and References'.
[X] Torill Mortensen reflects on blogs as teaching tools here; her notes about using blogs relating to lecturing are pretty close to my own use at the moment!
[X] Finally, The Weekly Standard has a brilliant summary of the blogosphere's discrediting of the Bush service record documents; a moment in history when bloggers worked out what 60 Minutes couldn't!
[Posted by Unknown] [2:25 pm]
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