The original version of WolfQuest completely slipped under my radar upon release two years ago. I was probably too occupied with either saving for, or playing, my shiny new PS3. Wolfquest isn’t really like most games however, it’s been developed in partnership with the Minnesota Zoo and eduweb. The game aims to “teach wold behaviour and ecology through its exciting gameplay and social interactions.”
This title is among the first to seriously use the videogame medium as a learning tool, and raises the debate of educational gaming all over again. In fact just thinking about the possibilities throws up so many genres that could be used as learning aids.
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I have been endlessly frustrated over the past few years in reading about the UK government’s complete apathy towards encouraging games developers to set up shop on our isles.
That frustration has only been exacerbated by the news from the government of British Columbia in Canada. The Canadian establishment has announced it will be offering some enticing tax breaks to studios beginning new projects starting from August this year.
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Last week Keith Vaz, the British Labour MP for Leicster East, typified in his actions what can be seen as the general disdain many politicians appear to have for seriously debating videogames.
Vaz, a Labour MP since 1987, was due to participate at the’ Westiminster eForum’ debate with EA’s Keith Ramsdale, CEO of Eidos Ian Livingstone, West Bromwich East Labour MP Tom Watson and Wantage and Didcot MP Ed Vaizey. However, Vaz did not show and left the debates organizers to announce for him that he could not make it.
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We’ve all done it, sat there playing our most loved game and said to ourselves: “I wish I could make games like this”. In our naive eyes it seems to be all a bed of roses, but recent rumblings have pulled back the curtain on what it means to be a games developer in this generation of consoles.
A recent open letter to Rockstar Games’ San Diego development studio on Gamasutra.com, from a group calling themselves “Determined Devoted Wives of Rockstar San Diego employees,” has shed light on allegedly poor working conditions and benefits.
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