How could you go wrong choosing William Shakespeare’s plays and characters to be the centerpiece of a massively multiplayer online game?
Just ask Ted Castronova who received a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation to create Arden: The World of William Shakespeare, then discovered genius alone isn’t enough. As Chris Baker reports in WIRED […]
Archive for the 'Dust or Magic' Category
Making Games That Don’t Suck
Published April 10th, 2008 in Dust or Magic, Serious Games, Uncategorized and User Experience. 1 CommentWill Wright’s “Spore” Coming in Sept.
Published February 13th, 2008 in Culture, Dust or Magic, Uncategorized and User Experience. 1 CommentIn one of the most anticipated product announcements in years, Will Wright said this week that his new game, Spore, will be released worldwide on September 7th. I’ve seen so many previews I’ll be glad to get my hands on it (though I don’t look forward to the Cloverfield-esque movie sequel where “Spore Eats […]
But Will it Fly?
Published January 2nd, 2008 in Business & Finance, Dust or Magic, Uncategorized, User Experience and Web 2.0 & Beyond. 0 CommentsWith the new year comes new resolutions, intentions and plans. For those of the product development persuasion, that means continuing to pick the right ideas to champion, design, develop, and bring to market. If only it was so tidy and predictable. Much as I’ve tried to normalize product development — and consistently pick the […]
The Best of 2007
Published December 21st, 2007 in Business & Finance, Culture, Dust or Magic, Educational Technologies, Emerging Technologies, Marketing, Project Management, Serious Games, Uncategorized, User Experience, Web 2.0 & Beyond and nextNY. 0 CommentsI decided to publish a readers “best-of-2007″ list for my final post of the year based on a Google Analytics site report. Here are a dozen plus two of the best stories on this blog in 2007 (click on the title to go to that post) ranked by number of visits:
Games Meet the Social Web
A […]
Dust or Magic Video Wrap-up
Published November 20th, 2007 in Culture, Dust or Magic, Educational Technologies, Marketing, Project Management, Serious Games, Uncategorized and Web 2.0 & Beyond. 2 CommentsI left the 2007 Dust or Magic conference a few weeks ago with nine hours of video to edit, my mind full of new insights about interactive technology for kids. Though I’m remiss in writing up my notes for the blog, the videos alone are an excellent window on this exclusive gathering with presentations […]
A Penguin’s Tale
Published November 12th, 2007 in Culture, Dust or Magic, Marketing and User Experience. 2 CommentsLane Merrifield opened the Dust or Magic conference by giving us a front-row seat to the creation of Club Penguin. If there was ever a testament to the Power of Nice it’s Lane’s story.
Although Club Penquin seemed to burst on the scene last summer when it was acquired by Disney, it’s been far from an […]
Kerpoof - Three Seconds to Fun
Published November 11th, 2007 in Culture, Dust or Magic, Educational Technologies, Serious Games, User Experience and Web 2.0 & Beyond. 2 CommentsKrista Marks has a bold vision to change the way kids interact with the computer and learn about creativity, and her new site Kerpoof is a giant leap forward in that direction. A unique blend of Web 2.0 goodness, user-generated content and social media savvy combined with brilliant design and some of the best Flash programming around, […]
Nurturing Creativity
Published November 9th, 2007 in Dust or Magic, Educational Technologies, Emerging Technologies, Serious Games, User Experience and Web 2.0 & Beyond. 0 CommentsMitchel Resnick is an interactive media visionary. He directs the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the Media Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and develops technologies to engage people, particularly children, in creative learning experiences. In his presentation at Dust or Magic he shared his latest research and gave us an update on Scratch, the programming […]
User Interface Devices for Kids
Published November 8th, 2007 in Culture, Dust or Magic, Educational Technologies and User Experience. 0 CommentsEric Strommen has designed and studied interactive learning products for children on almost every interactive platform available including Nintendo, SEGA, CD-I, DV-I, CD-ROM, online services and more. He founded Playful Efforts to provide research services that assist in the design, manufacture, and sale of products that encourage children to achieve their maximal creative and cognitive potential through […]
Children’s Technology Trends in 2008
Published November 7th, 2007 in Business & Finance, Culture, Dust or Magic, Educational Technologies, Emerging Technologies, Uncategorized and nextNY. 2 CommentsIn this video presentation I taped at the 7th annual Dust or Magic conference, Robin Raskin forecasts the trends she sees coming in children’s technology for 2008 and beyond.
Robin has been translating technology into consumer friendly terms for more than 25 years. Today, as a writer, new media consultant, and speaker she spends a great […]
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