Hi folks! Our third-Monday-of-the-month series is going to be news from the world of games. We’re still getting everything up and running, and the tabletop games business is quiet at the moment as it’s gearing up for convention season, so this month’s entry will be a bit short. But still hopefully of interest!
General upcomings
There have been a few interesting announcements about upcoming releases in games – some of which are not so new, but perhaps newsworthy to library folks.
Trading card game Magic: the Gathering has just announced its next big September expansion is going to be called Khans of Tarkir. Rumours are that dragons will play a significant role in the fictional world of the game – one to keep an eye on if you have patrons who like dragons. They also have a new multiplayer set called Conspiracy coming out shortly featuring intriguing [pardon the pun] multiplayer mechanics.
Speaking of TCGs, our sponsors Konami (thanks again!) have just released the latest set for their card game Yu-Gi-Oh! The set is called Primal Origin and is the final set in the 8th series of the cards.
The 5th edition of iconic tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons, which has been playtested extensively under the working title D&D Next, is slated for release this August at Gen Con and generally on August 17. It could be worth thinking about as a school holiday program – pick up the rulebooks and run a few games, then point the players at a display of the tie-in fiction.
In a surprising turnaround, Microsoft have announced that they will be selling their XBox One console in a new Kinectless bundle. This is noteworthy because they have stuck to their guns about requiring the Kinect motion sensor/camera, to the point of costing US$50 more than rival console the PlayStation 4, despite both considerable market friction on the higher price and consumer resistance to the idea of a compulsory infra-red camera attached to the TV (and, usually, an internet connection). The announcement means they’ll now be selling the console for the same price as the PS4 (or, so reports say, $50 less here in Australia) – and also does away with technical and privacy issues that might have made it harder for libraries to include the consoles in their facilities.
Interesting reads/views
From the Department of Ingenious Absurdity: Mario in a box – http://vimeo.com/28781718 – Possibly useful as an inspirational tool for a robotics (or game design) session at your library?
From the Department of Archaeotechnology: The Atari landfill excavation – http://www.wired.com/2014/04/atari-et-dig/ – A story about the proof an urban legend turning out to be true (pretty much). There have been stories about an early ET tie-in game being so bad that Atari buried copies of it in landfill circulating for years – certainly the game was pretty bad! Personally I thought the story was worth it just for the mention of “Atari truthers” at the end.
From the Department of Good Fun: Games for Good video update – http://www.spreecast.com/events/games-for-good-supporter-update [inactive] – Games for Good is an initiative of games consultant and writer James Portnow (Extra Credits) that was funded via crowdfunding site RocketHub last year, to highlight the many positive contributions that games make, and to enable and encourage gamers and game-makers to collaborate with other folks doing good in the world. In this video (recorded during a livestreamed update to backers) Portnow talks about what he and collaborator Soraya Een Hajji have been up to – and it’s pretty impressive! The update is followed by a lengthy Q&A, which might be a little more skippable to a less invested audience; but as an introduction to the kinds of inroads games are making into the wider culture – and their ambitions to do good things along the way, which notably for libraries prominently includes standing up for Net Neutrality – it’s not a bad place to start.
That’s it for now! If there’s anything else you’d like us to add, please feel free to be in touch!
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