Category Archives: Videogames

An article and an interview

Posted on 2005-10-14 by Benjamin Hourigan

About two weeks I had my first ever paid-for article published. “Are Videogames Conservative?” appeared in the September edition of The IPA Review (57:3). Today, Libby Price, a presenter on Melbourne radio station 3LO, got in contact with me to … Continue reading →

Posted in General, News, Self, Videogames | Tagged Academia, Australian Time, Berlitz, Dad, First Radio, Ipa, Melbourne Radio, New Job, Politics, Radio Interview, Radio Station, Time Thanks, Writing | 12 Comments

Tôkyô Game Show 2005 or a month in Japan (part the fourth)

Posted on 2005-10-7 by Benjamin Hourigan

Note: I compressed the thumbnails too much when posting this, so please click on the the images to see the full-size, full-quality versions. Saturday 17 September Even though Tôkyô was 2 hours and about 3000¥ in train fares away, I … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Self, Videogames | Tagged Awe, Booth Babes, Changing Trains, Chiba Area, Chiba Prefecture, Clear Blue Sky, Commuters, Disappointment, Game Show, Metal Gear Solid 4, Pimp, Playable Games, Pods, Quality Versions, Trade Show, Train Fares, Train Line, Train Tickets, Travelators, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment

Eight Virtues

Posted on 2005-04-12 by Benjamin Hourigan

If you don’t get this post, don’t worry. It’s a geek thing. Today I’ve been redrafting the chapter in my thesis about the history of RPGs, and had to find out what the Eight Virtues from the Ultima series were. … Continue reading →

Posted in Self, Videogames | Tagged Affinity, Britannia, Code Of Ethics, Compassion, Favour, Honesty, Honour, Humility, Imaginary Situations, Milestone, Moral Code, Nostalgia, Personality Tests, Purity Test, Rpgs, Ultima Iv, Ultima Series, Villains, Virtue, Virtues | 1 Comment

Role-playing

Posted on 2005-04-4 by Benjamin Hourigan

Occasionally, when I’ve had some spare time, I’ve been playing World of Warcraft. Usually I’ll spend a few nights or afternoons playing for several hours, then have a long break while I do other things. The game (commonly known as … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Self, Videogames | Tagged Afternoons, Australians, Fictional World, Gaming Experience, Gnomes, Good Guys, Horde, Life Friends, Long Break, Minotaur, Night Elves, Orcs, Pve, Pvp Server, Race War, Reputation System, Role Playing Game, Scourge, Tauren, Warlock | 1 Comment

Thesis: Ch. 1–Introduction

Posted on 2005-03-20 by Benjamin Hourigan

Today I’ve posted the frontmatter and introduction of my PhD thesis on role-playing videogames, which now has its own page here. I’m really hoping to get some feedback on this, especially from gamers. Some reasons why you should read the … Continue reading →

Posted in Self, Videogames | Tagged Academia, Blog Entry, Nonsense, Phd Thesis, Role Playing Videogames, Rpgs, Writing | 3 Comments

Cross-media franchises

Posted on 2005-02-25 by Benjamin Hourigan

I had lunch yesterday with Harvey Lee, formerly of Blue Tongue Entertainment, an Australian videogame developer. Among the things we talked about were licensed videogames: apparently these are the only opportunities available to small, contracting developers. “Think about it… What … Continue reading →

Posted in Videogames | Tagged Blue Tongue, Commercial Failures, Cross Media, Doom 3, Dungeons Dragons, Empire Index, Ephemeral Fantasia, Exact Words, Game Sheet, Gear Solid 3, Half Life 2, Harvey Lee, Jade Empire, Metal Gear Solid 3, Niche Market, Radiata Stories, Risk Projects, Rpg Players, Shadow Hearts, Technical Proficiency | 2 Comments

Getting it right

Posted on 2005-02-17 by Benjamin Hourigan

Richard Bartle, QBlog. “Fact Checking.” 16 February 2005. Since I just started playing World of Warcraft, I had a look today at Richard Bartle’s typography of online players, which Espen Aarseth refers to in his great paper Playing Research. From … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Videogames | Tagged 16 February, Amazon, Bandwagon, Factual Errors, Faf, George Lucas, Hcds, J C Herz, Multi User Dungeon, Nick Montfort, Nickm, Pop Group, Richard Bartle, Roy Trubshaw, Star Wars Universe, Typography, Virtuality, Wing Commander, Wing Commander Series, World Of Warcraft | Leave a comment

All my draft are belong to you

Posted on 2005-02-17 by Benjamin Hourigan

On Monday, I completed the first draft of my PhD thesis: Kingdoms Without Borders: Single-player role-playing videogames’ aspirations for the future of human society. Today, it’s exactly three years since I formally commenced the course. So things are going fine. … Continue reading →

Posted in Self, Videogames | Tagged Aspirations, Borders, Feedback, First Draft, Human Society, Kingdoms, Phd Thesis, Public Beta Version, Single Player, Six Months | 7 Comments

World of Warcraft, my first MMORPG

Posted on 2005-02-17 by Benjamin Hourigan

A little while ago, I mentioned that I was keen to start playing Lineage. Well, I did start it, and despite the fact that I’d paid US$15 upfront via PayPal because NCSoft insisted my credit card verification number was invalid, … Continue reading →

Posted in Videogames | Tagged Card Verification Number, Chat Box, Credit Card Verification, Credit Card Verification Number, Great Game, Legend Of The Red Dragon, Levelling, Lineage, Mac World, Mid 1990s, Mmorpg, Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Ncsoft, Old Game, Paypal, Role Playing Game, Sprite, Subscriber Base, Ugly Font, World Of Warcraft | 4 Comments

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (review)

Posted on 2005-02-5 by Benjamin Hourigan

Ubisoft Montreal Studios. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. 2003. Ubisoft Entertainment. Gamecube, PAL. This game spent a long time on my “currently reading” pile (okay, so you don’t read a videogame, but there are books on that pile, … Continue reading →

Posted in Videogames | Tagged Action Games, Aristocrat, Bad Boy, Game Sheet, Gamecube, Hadn, Hd, New Game, Persia The Sands Of Time, Powerbook, Prince Of Persia, Prince Of Persia 2, Prince Of Persia The Sands Of Time, Prince Of Persia The Sands Of Time Review, Reminiscence, Reviews, Sands Of Time, Sequel, Swordfighting, Videogame, Videogaming | Leave a comment