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Water Cooler Games

Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Fire away: CBS News lauds military games

by Ian Bogost February 9, 2005

categories: Political Games

Today the CBS Evening News ran a story, "Uncle Sam Wants Video Gamers" (transcript, video), inspired by the recent military-industrial complex-rich G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit conference in Orlando. Breakaway Games' Doug Whatley scores the best quote in the article:

"You can create your own world, you can lay down units anywhere you want, set any type of scenario," says Whatley.

Except, of course, the scenario in which government funding doesn't support the continued expansion of the military. I guess I should really break down and create a "Military Games" category here on WCG, but I just don't have the heart to do it.

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