Week 8: Second generation computer games. The handheld device

Activities

Activity 1

Explore wikipedia's History of computer and video games here. What were your favourites? What were a complete waste of time and money, not to mention an insult to your finer sense of gaming?

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Favourites

Pacman

Dungeons & Dragons

Super Mario

Sonic the Hedgehog

Phantasy Star Online

World of Warcraft

Final Fantasy

Waste of time?

Myst - Holy hell this game was so ridiculously hard! There's no way you could play that shit without a walkthrough.

Activity 2

Let's talk about convergence and portability (or mobility) in the discussion forum, and try to discern whether all the additional functions on our mobile phone (as just one example) is what we really want, or whether we are being duped by the 'bells and whistles' marketers.

Post your comments to the forums and if possible, add links to some of the great material you have researched.

Chat with you online.

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It feels like many devices and products are trying to be too many things at once. I feel that it's relevant for some and not so much for others.

For example, I don't use much of the features on my mobile phone. I feel they are irrelevant. I don't want to do anything on it that's going to flatten the battery quicker because I want it to be ready for it's primary importance, making/recieving phone calls and SMS. If I want to play a game, I'll play something designed for gaming. I usually carry around my DS or PSP when I know I'll need something to kill time while I'm out and about!

Low tech examples of convergence? Hmmm...I suppose that many print publications have website counterparts to further engage their readers. Many of the competitions from magazines require the reader to head to the website to enter for example. Many products require you to go onto the internet for further information about them, regardless of whether it is an electronic device or not.

I definitely feel that most, if not all electronic devices are heading towards internet connectivity & general PC connectivity for transferring of data.

Perhaps one day even furniture and other products that need assembly at home will require the purchaser to visit a website for an online guide.