It's Here!

Some of the research material I ordered last week has just arrived--and just in time for a probably rainy Saturday that will have to be entirely devoted to running experiments.
Today's stair number: 4

Comments

Unknown said…
Heya!
This confirms that u have the cushyest job in the whole world! You put my student bludgyness to shame. Also, I don't understand the stair count thing - is it some sort of weight loss program?
7:09 PM
Alex said…
This is actually very serious!! Good video games are very well designed pieces of software. They don't just look beautiful, they are very usable (kids can do it!). They usually contain some progressive training elements that allow players to start playing without having through reading a 100-page manual or go through "introduction" lectures (as is the case for most business software), and learn without even thinking about it (the military is all over this aspect). My goal is to make sure people here experience computer software other than the "productivity" tools they fight with on a daily basis. Personally I study games as an example of interactive software, which has a whole lot of interesting properties and requirements not generally found in your everyday spreadsheet. I also think some games are valid platforms for research in a wide range of disciplines (for example for behavioral studies when people assume a secret identity, for social dynamics in online games, etc.)
That being said, it's pretty cool to be able to study all these games... and that actually leaves very little time for true deep bludging ;-)

The stair number is just a funny statistic I have decided to record: how much exercise I get from living in a third floor appartment in a building that has no elevator...
6:34 PM
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