And this week, we present the first of ...and I never stopped looking for ways right now if I had only focused, paid the Editor’s Choice issues, all tied up into of beating the system since. attention, etc. a neat package. Max Steele drops in to We hear from a lot of people on a weekly tell us about three hot up-and-comers in - Meophist Actually the article makes me want to basis wishing to write for the magazine. the world of game development. Pat get the software and try this whole thing Some just like the magazine’s style and Miller writes in from Tokyo, discussing In response to “Piano Wizards” from over again... want to be involved. Sometimes, they’ve how the ubiquity of games in Japan The Escapist Forum: If only there had already looked at our editorial calendar actually reduces the number of those been something like this while I was - falselogic and have an issue in particular for which considered gamers. And newcomer taking piano lessons. Around eight years they’d like to write. And some come Matthew McKeague takes us on a quest of my life wasted. I have nothing to In response to “Playing to the Test” forward with fully fleshed out pitches or to find gaming gems through the most show for it. I memorized every song from The Escapist Forum: The articles, great ideas, but not at all Random of all realms, The Suburban assigned to me and knew it by ear. I can question of learning games shouldn’t be related to our calendar. Yardsale. Find these articles and more in only tell you where middle C is on the “how can we make learning fun?” this week’s issue of The Escapist. Enjoy! piano and on sheet music ... What a Learning is already fun. It is built into It is these orphan articles which cause us waste ... Of course I feel bad about it our cognitive systems genetically. The the most difficulty. You see, we’re Cheers, now. I could be playing decent piano entire school system has unintentionally suckers for a great article, but we have built, and love, our editorial calendar. It is the foundation upon which the whole of The Escapist is built. However, we have learned in our first year of publishing The Escapist that sometimes it is best to have a little flexibility built into the mix. In response to “Anne Died of It is this need for flexibility that has Dysentery” from The Escapist brought forth the recurring Editor’s Forum: I remember playing that game a Choice issues you’ll find scattered lot. In the end, I learned how to “cheat” throughout the calendar. These issues the trading system so that I could get as are literally a mix of some of our favorite much as I wanted before I even started Homeless Articles over the last few months. the trip. broken almost everything about our lead me down the road to becoming a children’s natural ability to learn through lifetime gamer and PC tinkering expert. play. More on this can be found by reading about it from a teacher’s - Jacob.pederson perspective at johntaylorgatto.com In response to “Learning the Gaming Applying this idea to games is simple Way” from The Escapist Forum: Wow. enough. Our son, Elijah, never sees the That was the best article I’ve read all inside of the zombie factory, and a large summer. I know of a couple senators portion of his “learning” comes from PC who should give this a gander. and console games. A lot of parents wouldn’t dream of throwing Homeworld It’s so very heartening to hear of Becky’s 2 at a four-year-old; however, my theory improvement. It’s also wonderful to was that the fun of the game would spur know that the industry is contributing to the learning of Homeworld’s complex society in ways not related to money or systems like upgrade paths, 3d entertainment. navigation, tactics, and teamwork. My idea paid off, and Homeworld 2 quickly Between brain games and the Wii’s became one of Elijah’s favorite games potential for motor function therapy, Nintendo should think about expanding My point is that educational games (with into the medical industry. a few exceptions) are often the worst possible games to give to your kids. Full Thank you for making my afternoon! of boring drivel, the only thing they teach is a general mistrust of games. - number40one Your kids want to play what you’re playing, so let them. When my dad showed me how to copy the floppies to get my own StarFlight 2 galaxy going, it was a turning point in my young life and It’s becoming so ubiquitous that the Using neurofeedback, the helmet can hatred is old hat to us. Don’t allow your register how much the user is focusing - kids to play videogames. It deadens the very problem ADD sufferers have. their imagination, makes them more Doctors soon discovered its usefulness in violent, exposes them to boobies and therapeutic situations, as these are ruins their social conditioning with other qualities monitored in children with ADD. kids. Don’t allow your kids to play The helmet supports a surprising number roleplaying games. It’s a gateway drug of games on the PlayStation, PS2 and to the occult, it encourages devil Xbox systems. After measuring the worship, suicide and only losers do it, neurofeedback from the child, the anyway. helmet modifies the game. For example, if the child’s attention starts to waver, Most gamers are tired of hearing this, so the game slows down. It works best with tired they’re numb to the criticisms. But racing or platform games that require what we don’t hear enough of is the truth speed and direction control, responding of the matter: Gaming is good for you. to higher focus and rewarding things other than hand-eye coordination. Really. The S.M.A.R.T. BrainGames EEG While many have blamed today’s hectic Neurofeedback system from lifestyle – and computer games – on the Smartbraingames.com won’t even break rise of attention deficit disorder in the bank. But does it work? children, the fact has gone silently under the radar that there are computer games This past March, doctors declared that 9- available that are specifically designed to year-old Ethan Meyers was brain dead help kids with ADD. after a car accident, and when he woke up, would never function on his own. But NASA developed a high-tech helmet to Ethan has regained much of his memory assist pilots in flight simulator training, and mental abilities, partially with the measuring sustained attention, help of videogame therapy from the engagement, awareness and stress. same S.M.A.R.T. BrainGames product. It has long been known that doing On a social and religious level, Cure Light Wounds speed, sadly. It’s puzzles is good for your brain, and roleplaying games (namely Dungeons & been slow, proceeding in baby steps to there’s a plethora of cheap puzzle games Dragons) have been mocked, feared and begin to get back the skills he lost during available, and even more can be found demonized. In pop culture, playing D&D the stroke. for free online. What’s more, Big Brain is considered the stamp of the Geek With Academy and Brain Age are selling No Social Abilities™ - the thing you quit At the beginning of the 2006 summer, Nintendo DSes just as quickly as New when you get a girlfriend, a job and Derek was nearing the end of his official Super Mario Bros. These games are so finally grow up. speech therapy appointments. His popular, the publishers are developing therapist, Karen Patterson, asked him marketing campaigns to focus on women Derek Colanduno of Atlanta, GA, is an and the elderly. adult, geek, gamer, intellectual and co- host of one of the web’s popular Brain Age tests your concentration with a independent podcasts, Skepticality. He variety of tests from arithmetic to word has dabbled in being a radio DJ, an anti- memorization – and of course, it runs terrorism expert and a project manager the puzzle game that’s all the rage now: for an environmental engineering what he did for fun, since a lot of Sudoku. It uses the microphone for some company (his current job). everyday activities count as therapy for voice recognition games, such as saying stroke victims, and if they can have fun the color of a word – if a word “red” Last September, Derek suffered a stroke; during therapy, all the better. When he shows up in the color blue, you have to specifically what’s called a “bleed.” mentioned his D&D playing, Karen asked say “blue.” It’s challenging, and even for more information. more so when your dog decides to bark “A bundle of small blood vessels at the at the UPS driver while you’re yelling base of my skull ruptured and started to “Once she read more about D&D and “Red!” at your DS. It also utilizes the fill my skull with blood,” Derek said. other games of the type, she realized touch screen with handwriting “They had to go in and drill three or four that it is a good use of my time at home recognition software for arithmetic and holes and insert tubes into my head to to get myself back to talking normally writing games. All of the games, as the let out the excess blood.” He was in a and with friends and coworkers,” Derek little bobbing host head constantly coma for 45 days.