To everyone who came out to the inaugural TEDx Rochester—and especially to those who stopped by to play an arcade game or two in the lobby of host Geva Theater Center—I would like to send my deepest thanks. It was an honor to be part of this event and to speak about the rich history of electronic games and our current initiatives at NCHEG.
The “I remember when” stories many of you shared between games are a reminder of why we […]

Continue Reading about Thanks TEDx Published on:
November 6, 2009

 
As I took the field and prepared for battle, a tiny yellow flag with a double-headed eagle marked my kingdom, the Citadel of Durnin.
While this fantasy adventure took shape, my friend handed me a cardboard score chart and some tiny red plastic pegs to keep track of my men and supplies. Much of what my friends were setting up looked familiar: molded plastic warriors and dragons, cardboard tokens, and, of course, a colorful game board. And then they took it out—the […]

Continue Reading about Remembering the Dark Tower Published on:
October 30, 2009

The games I love to play as an adult—strategy games such as Age of Empires: The Asian Dynasties and Sid Meier’s Civilization IV—are clearly influenced by my childhood favorites, perhaps most significantly Utopia for Mattel Intellivision. If you’re not familiar with this groundbreaking simulation game, I suggest you check it out.
Will Wright revolutionized the game industry, yet nearly a decade before his city-building classic SimCity launched, legendary game designer Don Daglow produced Utopia, the industry’s first construction and management simulation […]

Continue Reading about Creating an Ideal Community Published on:
October 8, 2009

My recent family vacation to the Adirondacks was a great respite from work, school, and the seemingly endless yard work that has consumed the better part of my summer. The weather was great—just right for a scenic boat ride on the lakes—and other than a marauding bear outside the inn in which we were staying (yes, a real bear), the trip was filled with quality family time, relaxing evenings, and great gaming.
Great gaming? This is not a concept normally associated […]

Continue Reading about Retro Arcade Gaming…in the Adirondacks?!? Published on:
September 3, 2009

Can it be 20 years already for Game Boy?
 In 1989, Indiana Jones embarked on his “Last Crusade,” Joe Montana and Jerry Rice led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl victory, and Milli Vanilli lip-synced their way to the top of the charts.  That year wasn’t simply about landmarks such as those or Arsenio Hall’s rise to fame and Pete Rose’s fall from grace, however. It also marked the beginning of the Game Boy era.
This summer marks the 20th […]

Continue Reading about Game Boy’s 20th Birthday, Already? Published on:
August 12, 2009

The debate over violence in video games is one that has shadowed, and at times nearly overshadowed, the electronic games industry (despite the fact that they account for a relatively small percentage of the game market). When did all this fuss begin and where has it led?
Ever since Exidy Inc. released Death Race—a mid-1970s arcade game where players steer pixilated race cars around a graveyard in an attempt to run down undead monsters—there has been increasing public concern about […]

Continue Reading about Graphic Violence as a Motivator for Game Players? Published on:
July 16, 2009

Prior to the museum opening of Videotopia, I was assigned to “test” the vintage arcade games that were arriving as part of the exhibit. That’s right—I got paid to play arcade games for the better part of a week. I know what you are thinking, but this is research. At least that’s what I keep telling everyone.
 It’s hard work navigating virtual asteroid fields, battling predatory insects, and saving the planet from pixilated alien invaders, but someone had to ensure the […]

Continue Reading about NCHEG Welcomes Videotopia to Strong Published on:
July 7, 2009

Just how popular are comic book superheroes today?
Judging by recent domestic box office receipts, electronic game and toy sales, and the robust memorabilia market, superheroes have as much appeal as ever. More than 70 years after Superman burst onto the scene,
In June 1938, a new comic book hit newsstands and dime stores, capturing the imagination of American children nearly instantaneously. What merited such attention? The first issue of Action Comics established the superhero genre with the creation of Superman—an […]

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February 3, 2009

Growing up in the late ’70s and early ’80s, “visions of sugarplums” never danced in my head and my dream of the perfect holiday gift never included a Red Ryder BB gun. What I really wanted to find under the tree was the latest video game. The eagerly anticipated holiday wish books sent by Sears and JCPenney offered page after page of electronic games for my friends and me to consider, and the ones we coveted most were the video games for […]

Continue Reading about The Perfect Holiday Gift Published on:
November 25, 2008