As previously threatened, I'll be kicking off a conversation today at SXSW about how the video games industry might pick up a few useful tips from Alternate Reality Games. The conversation takes place between 3:30pm and 4:30pm in Ballroom E. I'll be joined by Steve Peters of 42 Entertainment, probably Dan Hon of Six to Start, and whoever else wishes to drop in.

The idea for this so-called "Core Conversation" was pitched months ago, so I hope to freshen and expand the topic by identifying some areas in which video games have already adopted ideas and mechanics made popular by ARGs. Looking forward to the chat, hope you can make it.

• Hands-On With ‘Echochrome,’ The Pros And Cons Of Sony’s Bold PS3 Game
  Escher-inspired puzzle game Echochrome (PS3) to get level-editor and sharable levels this year, says Sony.
  (tags: ugc sony ps3 game gaming tools)
• DSvision: Official download service for Nintendo DS revealed
  Download Nintendo content (and games) via your PC to SD Micro card which fits into DSvision slot 1 card. I'm already using a passthrough card to play music, movies, and homebrew apps on my DS: why would I want DSvision?
  (tags: gaming nds nintendo media distribution publishing hardware handheld console technology)
• Games that Don't Work Online - Word Games & Math Games
  Steven Davis discusses cheating methods and tools for web-based word and math games--trivia games also noted. In short, it's easy to cheat. Designers should expect cheating, and players at best can hope for honorable opponents.
  (tags: gaming cheating tools commentary casestudy web online internet design)
• Halo celeb victim of repeated account hacks, Xbox Live "customer support"
  Joystiq reports that a celebrity-status Halo 3 player was conned out of his Xbox Live account by attackers using simple social engineering. Boo, Microsoft.
  (tags: microsoft xboxlive xbox game gaming celebrity status reputation identity hacking griefing)

• New PS3 Themes Are Sorta Cool [Citizen Game]
  Make your own PS3 screen themes with PNG graphics and XML files. Wish the Xbox interface was as open. I'd get rid of those annoying banner ads if I could.
  (tags: diy ps3 design visualization interface)
• Google’s Game-Focused Advertising Initiative To Launch This Month [GigaOM]
  "Google is going to embed 15-second, 'video-type' pre-roll and mid-roll ads in some of Bunchball’s casual games." Not liking the idea of video ads. Text or static graphics, maybe. Text for sure.
  (tags: advertising advergaming gaming business google)

• Viewing inDuality: IBM-backed startup debuts fully-functional Web-based Second Life viewer
  James Au reports that inDuality is a "universal metaverse plug-in" transmitting about "95% of the SL experience from the world to the web." I'm curious about the size of said plug-in, and what the missing 5% might comprise.
  (tags: synthetic.worlds web technology software business metaverse secondlife)
• The 10th Annual Independent Games Festival
  173 entries for the 2008 Indie Games Fest. So little time. I'll play anything I don't have to download, but I'm waiting for someone to tell me the top 10 or 20 to check out.
  (tags: games gaming indie competition list)
• Why Card Copying May Not Ruin Eye of Judgment
  I figured the ability to easily spoof Eye of Judgment cards would ruin the game completely, but hadn't considered that if every player has every card, the game becomes more skill-based and less chance-based.
  (tags: game games gaming design security technology ccg ps3)
• Ben Cerveny's talk at PicNic 2007: "Gaming the system"
  Takeaway: "Game design defines a vocabulary of moves that are internalized by players and this type of 'literacy' is going to allow people to utilize complex applications."
  (tags: games design work play systems psychology society presentation notes)
• Canada Post Brings The Great White North to SL
  I hope my tax money didn't go towards paying for this useless venture. Based on reported comments from Canada Post's Direct Marketing SVP, I'm not confident the dude has any idea what Second Life actually is or does.
  (tags: synthetic.worlds mixed.reality places canada culture business marketing bullshit)
• Managing the 100-Person Friend List
  The Xbox Live monkeysphere is limited to 100 monkeys. Here's one workaround a Microsofty recommends: track your friends in an external Excel spreadsheet, and move them between spaces manually. Or, just emtpy the sea with a sieve.
  (tags: xboxlive xbox hci groups networks software data identity administration logistics)

When I first read about PS3 augmented reality game Eye of Judgment, it didn't even occur to me that cheating would be an issue. Surely Sony had planned ahead and would be able to prevent players from pulling the wool over their Eye cameras.

Security expert Steven Davis brought my attention to the cheating issue in his analysis of Eye of Judgment as revealed in a Wired blog post:Wired article explaining Sony's anti-cheating strategy:

"Sony, as a thoughtful designer, had to consider how to handle cheating with their card game... after all, if players manipulate the deck, they can gain a substantial advantage. The solution, as described by Susan Arendt of Wired, is to have the console shuffle the cards and then tell the player which one comes out."

Eons ago, I used to work as a clerk in an all-night copy shop, and having seen everything from counterfeit currency to bootlegged public-transit tickets, I wondered if Sony had considered what comes naturally when you put a flat object of value, people and a color copier (or scanner and ink-jet printer) together in private. Apparently not--the cards don't appear to come with copy-protection measures, such as a unique serial number.

Eye of Judgment: Broken.

• Metaverse Market Index
  Everybody and their dog wants to be the go-to hub for metaverse metrics. Phase 1: "[identify] standards for key activity and economy metrics, and [publish] technological information." Plus, solicit funding.
  (tags: statistics data metaverse measurement synthetic.worlds groups business)
• We Love Japan
  Fantastic, ongoing success story of Toronto-based indie game developers Metanet, a 2-person team whose highly playable Flash-based platformer "N" paved the way to mainstream console / handheld game development.
  (tags: games gaming development business indie places toronto tokyo)
• New PS3 Model Is Broken
  Sony cuts PS3 pricing and kills backwards compatibility with PS2 titles. Another nail in the coffin for the PS3. Incidentally, it's a coffin made of raw stupid.
  (tags: games gaming business sony ps3 retro hardware)

Reporting from the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival, Gamasutra brings word that Sony's microworld Home will eventually be opened to user-generated content. Beyond avatar and residence customization, Home users "will be able to share other content that they have created -- photos and videos of themselves, and user-generated content tools such as their own t-shirt designs," project director Peter Edward reportedly said, adding "We'll also be giving out tools to allow scripting, java minigames and so on." Sounds like Sony's willing to get its hands dirty with managing user creativity--opening the doors to user-generated content has major benefits in terms of customer retention, but raises a swath of critical administrative, legal, social and security issues. [Update: such as Flying Cigarettes, Talking Condoms and Virtual Homelessness]

On a related note, I was flipping through this month's issue of Game Developer Magazine and noted that Epic's Mark Rein says that the upcoming Unreal Tournament 3 for the Sony PS3 console will facilitate user-created game levels ("mods") created on a PC. This should extend the shelf-life of the game for quite some time. I'm not entirely clear as to whether the mods will be able to be distributed through the PlayStation Network, but that would be ideal.

• ‘Your sources are not your friends’ — CBC’s new Facebook policy : InsideCBC.com
  Short-sighted CBC policy about Facebook usage by journalists pertaining to social networking, facts and disclosure. It's great the CBC is thinking about this stuff, but why go after Facebook specifically when other SNS abound?
  (tags: facebook media online politics socialsoftware journalism)
• Zombies Can Be Black, Too « Citizen Game
  Another viewpoint in the "black zombies" controversy murmuring around the latest 'Resident Evil' game: "...no one howled when you killed an entire village’s worth of Spaniards. Is this any different, really?"
  (tags: game zombies society racism race discourse)

Development team Metanet discusses level-building issues for N+, an upgrade of its original Flash-based platform game N, revealing that over 1,000 N+ levels have been designed for the Xbox Live / Nintendo DS / Sony PSP versions. The team says:

"...it’s amazing how much room for creativity and invention there is in the level design for a simple tile-based 2D game. After 4 years we’re still finding new tricks and concepts to play with. Crazy! Why anyone would jump to 3D when there’s still so much to figure out in 2D is beyond us ;)"

Even though this last sentiment wasn't entirely serious, the Metanet team is barking up the right tree, in my opinion. Platform games (such as Lode Runner or Super Mario World) are particularly suited to 2D, and not necessarily improved by adding another D.

I suppose I have to mention some exceptions to my own little rule here, such as 2.5D (which can offer improved platform-game play), and specific platform-style games that break the dimensional mold, such as the optically-insane Echochrome and 2D/3D hybrid Super Paper Mario. Feel free to add your own exceptions in the comments section.

Sony spokespeople presented in person and in avatar form during an E3 press-conference yesterday. Among their announcements were expansions to PlayStation Home, an online microworld serving as a lobby from which games and other media are experienced.

According to an emailed press-release, a newly-designed "Home Square" will replace the lobby concept starting this fall, described as an "open air space" intended to give Sony developers more freedom to build upon the Home service (not sure how an open air space accomplishes this--more virtual real estate, maybe?). Four new virtual apartments were introduced, including a Beach House, Norwegian Cabin, Manhattan Penthouse and a traditional Japanese House, places where avatars can gather and share content. I still haven't seen Home in person, but it seems terribly dull.

[Update: Joystiq live-blogged from E3 that Home is coming to mobile phones; users can send mobile pics directly to Home; a social networking service links Home into the web. I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned in Sony's original press release.]