Video games

Funspot's 15th Annual International Classic Video Game Tourney

Logan Shannon — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:37:01 +0000

This past weekend, Funspot arcade in Laconia, New Hampshire, played host to the International Classic Video Game Tournament. Gamers from all over the world have been traveling to Funspot for the past 15 years to compete against each other, sometimes on video games that were born long before they were. For many, it's a chance to play rare games that they've only heard about. For others it's a great chance to connect with like-minded friends over a friendly, albeit competitive, game of Tapper.

The competition runs for four days as participants try to post the high score on each of the tournament games. Outside the cordoned-off area reserved for the tournament, the rest of Funspot's American Classic Arcade Museum is open to the public. Mixed in amongst the novice players, you're likely to see world record holders trying to beat their high scores in between their tournament play. I spoke to three gamers who have made the nostalgic trip to Funspot repeatedly, enticed by the pristine machines and the sense of camaraderie among the players.

Special thanks to Derek Janiak for his help wrangling the elusive video gamers in their natural habitat.

Five Things You Should Know About The New Xbox

Jonathan Lynch — Tue, 28 May 2013 20:01:49 +0000

We recently spoke with Jamin Warren about all the controversy surrounding the launch of Microsoft's new console, the Xbox One. Here's five facts you should know about Microsoft's sleek new hardware.
1.) It Won’t Run Your Old Xbox Games

Pinball Wizard

Jonathan Lynch — Tue, 28 May 2013 14:46:20 +0000

In February of 2011, Jon Lynch visited the newly opened Pinball Wizard Arcade in Pelham, New Hampshire, where more than 200 impeccably restored pinball and vintage 80's video games are still luring gamers looking for big-time nostalgia.

The Xbox One Is For Everyone And That's The Problem

Virginia Prescott — Tue, 28 May 2013 13:55:43 +0000

In a product launch last Tuesday, gamers around the world waited with bated breath to see what innovations the Xbox One, Microsoft’s third console entry, would offer the gaming world.
The exhibition was sleek, innovative, trendy...and made almost no reference to gaming. Maybe not surprising, given that online entertainment usage outstripped online gaming for the first time last year. Here to discuss what Microsoft’s new console means for the future of home entertainment technology is Jamin Warren, co-founder of Killscreen and former culture reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
Here's a link to his article about the Xbox One.

Could You Create Your Own Game In 36 Hours?

Brady Carlson — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:44:46 +0000

Create your own game in a day and a half. That's the challenge awaiting participants in this weekend's New Hampshire Game Jam in Manchester.
Glenn Given and Michael Taylor are organizing the Jam; they sit down with All Things Considered host Brady Carlson to discuss how it works, the gaming scene in the region and what you can learn from trying to create your own games.

Word Of Mouth 05.04.2013

Rebecca Lavoie — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:47:19 +0000

In this special edition of Word of Mouth: are we catching up with technology? This week we'll explore the very human way we interact with technology; resistance is futile.

Pipe Trouble: A Controversial Video Game

Taylor Quimby — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:52:34 +0000

A major spill of heavy crude oil in Arkansas couldn’t come at a worse time for the Canadian tar sands industry - though President Obama has hinted he’s preparing to green-light the much-debated Keystone XL pipeline, any push in the wrong direction could finish the project before it even begins. Meanwhile a new report from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce says that, without new pipelines to help ease production bottlenecks, Canada will be missing out on an estimated 15 billion dollars annually.

Cosplay In Wild Places

Rebecca Lavoie — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:31:51 +0000

Since its name was first coined in 1984, cosplay has grown in popularity from a fringe convention pastime to a performance art form... Inspiring thriving real-world and social networks, and even competitions, like the World Cosplay Summit. Now, photographer Anna Fischer is looking to take the role playing subculture even further outside the convention-center walls of comic-con to a whole other level - the great outdoors. Her Kickstarter-fueled project is called “The Wild Places.”

PAX East 2013 Slideshow

Jonathan Lynch — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:24:10 +0000

Here's a slideshow of sights and scenes from PAX East 2013.

Word of Mouth At PAX 2013

Jonathan Lynch — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 22:07:48 +0000

The sheer volume of humanity packed into the Boston Convention Center doesn't really hit you until you're in and amongst the crowd. Everyone from game developers to Pokemon trainers and Final Fantasy cosplayers are here in force, mingling and chatting in lobbies and food courts. They've made the pilgrimage to the Penny Arcade Expo to celebrate gaming in all of its forms.

The Autism Simulator

Virginia Prescott — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Last month, Vancouver hosted the Hacking Health Weekend Hackathon, a place for collaboration between technology experts and health officials from across Canada. A team of three in attendance created a game simulation that elicits understanding and empathy towards those suffering from autism. The first-person indie game is called “Auti-Sim”, and uses 3-D graphics to simulate the horrors of sensory overload. Taylan Kay is a developer behind the thought-provoking indie game, and joins us today.

New Hampshire: The Birthplace Of Video Games. Really.

Ryan Lessard — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:56:33 +0000

In 1966, while working for Sanders, a defense contractor in Nashua that is today a part of BAE Systems, Ralph Baer began secretly working on his invention. He didn't have a name for it at the time so it was hard to sell to his superiors. No one knew what a "video game" was.

Video Game Industry Could Keep N.H. Young and Tech-Savvy

Ryan Lessard — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:00:00 +0000

New Hampshire is producing young programmers and designers looking to start their own video game business. And the trick is getting them to stay in the state…

Views On Violent Video Games

Laura Knoy — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:51:45 +0000

Violent video games - do they create real-world violence? It's a question studied for years, and renewed in light of the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Meanwhile, some in Congress are calling for an investigation into the effects of these games on children. As part of a three-day series looking at the conversation post-Newtown, we're examining the debate over video game violence.
Guests:

Word of Mouth 01.05.2013

Virginia Prescott — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:18:29 +0000

Word of Mouth's weekly show...the best of the best of Word of Mouth.
Part 1:
A new study shows that the act of holding a gun changes perception, as participants saw guns that weren't actually there. And Clay Wirestone wraps up the latest in video game trends, and looks forward to what's coming in 2013
Part 2:
TED cracks down on pseudoscience at local spinoff TEDX conferences. And film critic Garen Daley tells us what we can expect on the big screen in 2013
Part 3: