The Association of Virtual Worlds has just released its new title The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds listing over 250 virtual worlds and is pleased to offer it free to anyone who is interested in the rapidly growing field of virtual worlds.
Basically a book listing of lots of virtual worlds. It’s interesting because it includes the bigger social networking sites.
Amongst the group’s findings was that Bejeweled had a 54 percent stress-reducing affect on test subjects, while Peggle was found to raise mood levels by 573 percent, something that study director Dr. Carmen Russoniello called “not surprising… given the game’s over-the-top celebration of players’ success each time they complete a level.”
Now that there’s a tangible, yet biased study on this, I’m sure other heavily corporate casual game developers are going to quickly meet up about this and try to “Push the Envelope.” I can imagine the scenario now, where a boardroom full of execs are yelling at each other trying to figure out how to make a game that has 600% mood level increase.
Gamasutra - PopCap-Underwritten Study Shows Casual Games Positively Affecting Mood
As promised, here is the first of several Company Profiles. For this first edition, I’m starting with the seed of everything this blog celebrates - Lovedelic. Please note - more information will be added to this page as and when I learn more about the company.
These guys did some awesome games and concepts, I really want to find them and play them :X
I’m talking to you, you self-righteous politicians and newspaper columnists, you relics who beat on computer games: you’ve already lost. Enjoy your carping while you can, because tomorrow you’re gone.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/28/games.censorship?gusrc=rss&feed=technology#box
TF2 Karaoke: My Heart Will Go On from FLOOR MASTER on Vimeo.
Amazing, amazing mod.