Game AI – the intentional loser

Thanks to slashdot, I came across this article on making intentional mistakes to make gaming more fun. Just another reminder for me of why AI is such a fascinating field. The article is also really friendly to non-programmers too.

Gaming not an addiction…most of the time

I’ve posted on this before on a previous blog, but I’ve held to the opinion that playing games for a significant amount of time isn’t usually an addiction, and I’ve finally found someone with credentials who agrees.

Computer Game Piracy

Via Slashdot, I came across this blog post by Cliff Harris, an indie game developer. He’s asking those who pirate his games to explain why they do so, promising anonymity to those who respond. His goal is to figure out how to better market his products to reduce piracy and increase sales. Also interesting is his followup, listing the lessons learned.

World of Warcraft science conference

I came across this article about a science conference run entirely within World of Warcraft. Sounds like a neat idea! Then again, my grad supervisor or another grad student on the projet I worked on is going to Sydney, Australia in September for a paper which I’m credited on; I’d much rather go to Sydney than log into WoW.

Lara Croft: Armed Gunman

I came across this article this morning. It describes a UK man who was arrested and held in jail for 13 hours because police officers, responding to a nuisance call he’d placed, mistook a Lara Croft dummy for a gunman.