Artistic Merits of Violence in Games

28Nov09

Today at the MQ/Raum D in Vienna/Austria at around 7 pm a talk will be held on the artistic merits of violence in games. You heard me right – the artistic merits of violence. Jurie Horneman, a former Rockstar, is going to try and find some value in the use of violence in games, while keeping in mind that this is still a highly controversial topic that is only approached from one side – the real-life killing spree.

If you believe that there are no artistic merits in anything connected with violence – show up and voice your opinion in a non-violent manner. If you cannot think of one good reason why there should be artistic merit in anything - show up and be enlightened. If you are simply into games and find this topic intriguing and highly controversial – show up and have a good time.

 

Where? Museumsquartier Raum D

When? Sat. Nov. 28th at 7pm (which is tonight!)

 

Entrance is free, only the number of seats creates an artificial limit.

 

See you there!

Filed under: Design, Game Design, Game Development, Game Related, game   |  1 Comment
Tags: artistic, computer, console, games, horneman, jurie, merit, rockstar, subotron, talk, vienna, violence

Bunnyscope

10Nov09

Hello…

Can anyone hear me?

Hello?

Filed under: Bunnyscope, Private, Uncategorized   |  7 Comments
Tags: blog, bunny, destiny, hijack, plush, rodent, toy

Machinarium

28Oct09

Even though the new family member (PS®3) combined with the new games (The Beatles™ Rockband™, Little Big Planet™ and Arkham Asylum™) keeps me quite occupied and highly entertained I have not forgotten my passion for smaller adventures and indie games.

Ages ago I stumbled over the game Samorost and

Filed under: Consoles, Design, Indie, Mac, PC, PS3, game   |  2 Comments
Tags: adventure, amanita design, arkham asylum, console, linux, little big planet, Mac, PC, point and click, PS3, rockband, samorost, samorost 2

It’s been a hard day’s night…

26Oct09

…and I’ve been drumming like a dog!

A few weeks ago the wonderful and ingenious mastermind of this residency decided that it was about time to spend an enormous amount of money on Beatles Rockband™. I agreed, since I was more than ready to take my destined place at the drums. From deep within I felt that drumming is the gift that needs room to blossom and develop. It turns out that I was right.

Filed under: Consoles, Design, Game Design, PS3, game   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: beatles, rockband, brütal legend, jack black, john lennon, paul mccartney, george harrison, ringo starr, beatlemania, playstation 3, guitar hero, beatles rockband

Gamer Girl September

02Sep09

Gamer Girl September

Filed under: Gamer Girl Art Project, Gamer Girl Pin Up Calendar, Gamer Girls, Photography   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: art project, gamer girl, gamer girl calendar, nintendo, princess peach, september, super mario

Gamer Girl v2.0

02Sep09

I have to apologize beforehand for not having updated this blog in a while (which translates into “months”). The perfect excuse (for basically everything) is that crunch-time hit me hard and knocked me out for the last few months. Since I had  been working  (and still am) on two different projects my time was almost equally divided on work and work. Not much time to breathe, even less time to chase after photos, interviews and concepts.

This made me rethink the whole project.

Filed under: Gamer Girl Art Project, Gamer Girl Pin Up Calendar, Gamer Girls   |  1 Comment
Tags: art project, format, gamer girl, gamer girl calendar, Gamer Girls, v2.0

Gamer Girl May

01Jun09

Before I present you the new gamer girl I would like to apologize for the long break. Work is getting in the way and it seems as if crunch-mode might last until September. Just to be warned – this could mean that the upcoming presentations might take a while as well. I will provide you with further information on the project – there might be a change in format and concept. I won’t give away too much.

But now on to another gamer girl and her presentation.

Filed under: Gamer Girl Pin Up Calendar, Gamer Girls, Photography   |  1 Comment
Tags: calendar, female, gamer, gamer girl, may

Being a Woman and Dealing with Press and Media

28May09

A few weeks ago I was asked to give an interview for a German online gaming portal that wanted to take a closer look at the company I am doing level design for and the product we are currently working on. Since it is a casual MMO that comes from an Austrian team the game and the team working on it has become the center of interest. Rightfully so. Another issue that has become another focus point is the fact that I am, genetically speaking, a woman. More so, a woman that dabbles in a male-dominated area – games and design.

Filed under: Fairy Tales, Game Design, Game Related, Gamer Girls, Level Design, MMO, Private, game, target audience   |  9 Comments
Tags: austria, development, female, game, Game Design, interview, IT, Level Design, media, misinformation, MMO, press, unprofessional, vienna, woman

Plants vs. Zombies

19May09

Due to an incredible amount of crunchtime and a deadline that puts a lot of emphasis on the “dead”-syllable I have not found the time to update my blog as much as I would have wanted to.

In the last couple of weeks I have spent my freetime and weekends at work.  Nonetheless, I have managed to download and play the pre-release version of Plants vs. Zombies (by PopCap), which I was really looking forward to. To be honest, this was the first time I remembered the release date of a casual game and eagerly checked out every bit of information I could get my fingers on. Their marketing strategy did feed my ever-growing curiosity (and also gave me a few good laughs, a new avatar and a song I cannot get out of my head) and constantly reminded me to look out for the new and exciting game in which – well, what exactly do these plants do in this game? And how do the zombies come in? Do they interact? How are they connected? And what kind of game is it anyway?

Filed under: Mac, PC, game   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: addictive, casual game, plants, popcap, time management, tower defense, zombies

Female Target Audience

26Apr09

While discussing different kinds of sports today with friends following observation was shared: the male athletes tried to beat their own score each time they engaged in their chosen sport, while the female athletes focused on the physical activity itself and did not care to beat their own scores or set their goals higher. Even though this is a rather simplified and generalized theory it made me think of games and why certain games are not played by a bigger female audience.

Filed under: Game Related, Gamer Girls, game, target audience   |  4 Comments
Tags: female, Gamer Girls, gamers, games, genre, target audience