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.
Danny LeDonne, creator of Super Columbine Massacre RPG (previously discussed on WCG: 1, 2, 3) was on KPBS public radio (San Diego) recently, where he discussed the game, as well as violent videogames in general. Danny's explanation of the game is thoughtful as usual. You can listen to it here. A number of other games come up in caller discussions, including Postal and America's Army. Dr. Karen Dill from Lenoir-Rhyne College and the Committee on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media weighs in in the second half of the program, repeating the old, tired idea that games lead to "aggressive thoughts and emotions." The program is certainly a must-hear for anyone interested in SCMRPG, for any reason.
Danny also let us know that he was recently interviewed by Der Spiegel about the game; an English subtitled version of the story is up on YouTube.
And not just incidentally, SCMRPG is a finalist at this year's Slamdance game festival, along with a bunch of other great titles (including WCG friend Nick Montfort's Book & Volume).
Information is Beautiful
The Art History of Games
The Art History of Games
Objects & Things
Object-Oriented Ontology Symposium
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