If you are a Wizard 101 player, you might find this of interest

Plano, TEXAS - December 15, 2008 - Online entertainment company KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. today announced the pending launch of full featured wizard vs. wizard card duels in the highly immersive 3D virtual world Wizard101 (www.wizard101.com). The newly expanded Wizard Arena will enable players to participate in practice or ranked spell-casting duels against each other. All other aspects of the current worlds in Wizard101 are collaborative, and community members play spell cards that come to animated life in order to battle zany creatures like Ninja Pigs.

“If you prefer questing or mini-games, great… you never have to duel another player,” said Todd Coleman, Director of Wizard101. “But families — and a lot of core gamers that are playing Wizard101 too — are going to have a great time competing against other players in the Wizard Arena.”
KingsIsle will launch the enhanced player versus player (PvP) Wizard Arena this week. Players will be able to access the Wizard Arena from any of Wizard101’s worlds. Upon entering, one of multiple Arena looks in the style of Wizard101 worlds such as Moo Shu, Marleybone and Krokotopia will be generated. All dueling in the game is turn-based so that victory is more about strategy and deck building, rather than button mashing or internet connection speed. The new launch will give players two ways to compete against each other using the characters they have developed in other areas of Wizard101

for more details click here.

The really interesting thing though is that although this is  a no blood kiddie approved game - you can place bets on the duels in the form of in-game-gold… for some reason - this doesn’t seem to sit in the same kiddie approved slot.

. Thanks Mystic World, for the hat tip

Speaking of whether you play the game or the game plays you, Ralf posted a link to a game called Auditorium.

This is a flash game, with very elegant visuals.

A blurb from the Auditorium site:

Auditorium is about the process of discovery and play. There are no right or wrong answers; there are many ways to solve every puzzle. To get started, fill up the first audio level. We hope you enjoy the demo of Auditorium.

I didn’t get very far because it jammed my computer (which does not necessarily mean that there is a problem with Auditorium, it only means that I need to upgrade and fix my computer up really soon.

Two things I did notice, how ever, while playing the game… the music is repetitive and can get quite annoying (I only did 3 levels so its not necessarily so) and you really have to play quite a bit in order to get a hang of the controls.

I will probably go in again and see if I can do better and get further a little later on.

When you play - how do you do it? I mean - what is your style - are you all about scoring every possible point, gaining every bonus checking out every corner, or, are you more about the spirit of the game - Do you play seriously - or for fun.

I am a fun player. I like to sit down and have a ball. We tend to spend our days running around like panicked rats in traps - will I be able to do this and that and the other? OMG - I’ll never get this done!, and so on, that when I finally get to relax - I want to do just that.
I used to annoy my friends whith my game style which seemed to them to be unfocused and not that serious… but I stuck with it.
Jason Della from Reality Panic tried on something similar for size and this is how he sums it up:

Admittedly, I am feeling a bit of anxiety (especially when running past a pile of crates), but I am enjoying the more “carefree” style of play. Or rather, I’m just playing the game rather than the game playing me!

So - Do you Play or does the game Play you?

It Seems that Games aren’t all that addictive after all!
I know that there has been a lot of backing and forthing on this over the years but this time the debunker is The founder of the Smith and Jones Center, a game addiction clinic in Amsterdam.
According to Mr Bakker, only 10 % of the gamers who come to him for treatment so cross addiction’s to other forms of addiction, like alcohol and drugs and for them the abstinence based treatment has been successful.
But for the other 90% percent, who will play for 4 hours or more a day, it seems as if it is more an obsessive type of behavior more than an adiction, and he classifies this as a social problem more than anything else.

Often, the person (child or adult) feels unaccepted or rejected in other environments and has no one to turn to, because the schools and parents aren’t properly attentive to these kids and completely miss out on the roots of the problem which is usually a lack of communication skills.
Read the full BBC article here.

This ring very true to me - its lovely to be able to transform to someone completely different on-line or while playing, and be able to be part of a group and socialize or take part in something, even if it is virtual. People who have social problems might very well transfer there existence into the gaming world where it is easier for them to deal, and avoid real life and its challenges in this manner.

Thanks Shacknews for the hat tip

courtesy of Corey Holms

Why is it that we play games? To satisfy something that we are not getting in the real world?

For the rush and the action?

For the instant gratification?

So we Can do all the things that would not be acceptable in real life (like blow peoples heads of)?

Or Just because?

All of these, are viable reasons to be a gamer and I am sure that there are very many others that I have failed to mention, the biggest and most important of those of course, would be to learn new things and master new skills in an interesting and fun way. Jane McGonigal came up with a new term to describe a certain type of learning process that is true to the gaming world as well, in some cases.

She calls these games Experience Grenades. Games that you can play and seemingly achieve nothing or not much or something or other, but like grenades, once you start playing, or pull the pin - something is bound to explode in your head - now, in an hour, day or week. But it will explode.

You realize: You’ve learned something. Your cognitive patterns are different. Your view of the possibilities in the world around you has changed. Your sense of your own potential is changed. You’re ready for something you didn’t even know was coming. You understand something intuitively that seems alien or confusing to others The thing is: This doesn’t necessary happen DURING the game. During the game, you might not believe the game is working. in the best case scenario, you might think you’re JUST having fun. Worse, the game might seem silly. You don’t trust the design, it seems to be asking things of you that you don’t naturally want to do. Or it might seem abstract — what’s the practical takeaway? IOr even worse, it might seem wonky or arbitrary or broken from your POV. But it’s working. If you’re playing, the pin has been pulled. If you’re really participating and immersed in the game, the work is happening in your brain. It just is. I’ve seen it again and again. The experience happens now, the payoff comes later.

I never thought of that - games as life lessons, or more likely as personal trainers - you have got to trust the process and resign to it, once you do, the inevitable will happen and something will change. Even if it just changes slightly, it will change. I love this concept.