culture

You Hack Or You Die

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OK, the title is a bit heavy, but it’s inspired by an intriguing quote from Big Think. Also anything Game of Thrones related gets attention, so my next post will be “Tyrion Lannister Brings Love Diet Secrets.”

From “To Those Who Can’t Hack It In Today’s Economy.”

“In a world created by hackers those who can’t hack are the underclass. No matter what you do today, success amounts to a form of hacking, whether you’re running a hedge fund or if you’re just clipping coupons to get by at the bottom of the economic spectrum. “

The author, Jaron Lanier (who I should note I do not always agree with) then goes and discusses general computer literacy, while missing what I think is a deadly important point.

We need to hack to survive. It’s not just about computers.

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Economics Not Culture

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Serdar Yegulyap and I have been having a scattered dialogue about science fiction, culture, and economics as of late, mostly over at his blog.

(As he and I are both fans of old-school correspondence, I’m working to make sure I do part.  I want to see what can be done with a blog-implemented, old-school correspondence on issues. Hell, we might get a book out of it.)

Frankly, I am concerned Economy has replaced Culture in America.

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Why We Can’t Explain Video Games To Non Gamers

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A lot of us have, are, or want to work in gaming. Which is great, even if the industry is insanely confusing (enough for me to have ranted about it for quite some time). Gaming is a legitimate form of development and dare I say it, art. Also it really helps push technology, so I’m all for it.

Except as I expand my work in the geekosphere I encounter a lot of people who just don’t “get” gaming. Oh they’re as nerdy as the rest of us, as technical (if not moreso in some cases), but they don’t see why people would blow hours doing this and what they get of it. Wondering why some people don’t “get” gaming is something I’ve been thinking of.

I’ve been thinking about it because it affects how we develop, how we market, and how we communicate. If we are missing people that may enjoy our games, that is an issue. If value is not communicated, that is an issue. If sometimes we’re wasting time on a bad project we could avoid with the feedback of a “non-gamer” that is a big issue.

So why is it some people just don’t “get” games? After some analysis, I came to a few conclusions, some of which are surprising.  Well, to me.

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