1. Flash76 asked Aleks Krotoski: "What effect do you think the 'Byron Review' will have on gaming?"
2. Aleks Krotoski answers: "I hope it will encourage people outside of gaming culture to look more critically at the media coverage of games. I anticipate that Dr. Byron will find conflicting messages and no final yay or nay one..." Show more»" I hope it will encourage people outside of gaming culture to look more critically at the media coverage of games. I anticipate that Dr. Byron will find conflicting messages and no final yay or nay one way or the other. I expect that there will be more scrutiny about how games are made - depending upon governmental regulations which may be a result of the report and i hope that people will recognise them for the medium which they are. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:52:44 PM

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1. MTyrrell asked Aleks Krotoski: "Do you think the image of games suffers because they are called 'games'? Does this mean serious but violent games suffer criticsm compared to serious but violent books and films? "
2. Aleks Krotoski answers: "The word "game" is problematic there are too many associations in the public's mind with what a game is - something that's done only for pleasure, something that's not serious something that doesn't teach..." Show more»" The word "game" is problematic there are too many associations in the public's mind with what a game is - something that's done only for pleasure, something that's not serious something that doesn't teach something that has no consequence. I don't beleive games falls into that category. They CAN fall into it, but they don't have to and before they're truly accepted by the mainstream not just the current population (and media slant) the name will have to change or the public perception will have to go. Whichever comes first! "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:44:55 PM

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1. JazzHand asked Aleks Krotoski: "Historically, society seems to come round eventually to appreciating new artforms like Jazz and comic books. Will Video Games inevitably reach the level of artistic respect that other art has?"
2. Aleks Krotoski answers: "Yes i believe they will but they will need to grow in many important ways. First, in terms of depth of character and narrative. Second, in terms of input - devices like the Wiimote have shown that games..." Show more»" Yes i believe they will but they will need to grow in many important ways. First, in terms of depth of character and narrative. Second, in terms of input - devices like the Wiimote have shown that games CAN be played by all kinds of people! yet who the heck knows what to make of a PS3 controller? Third, in terms of the breadth of interactivepossibilities on offer. Fourth, in terms of the time it requires. They'll become more sophisticated over the next few years and probabl;y more integrated into our lives and then we'll see a new medium emerge which will have the depth of other traditional art forms "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:20:53 PM

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1. Flash76 asked Aleks Krotoski: "Is there a difference psycologically when killing a photo-realisitic human in a game? Is it Ok to kill cartoony people? "
2. Aleks Krotoski answers: "Hmm, that's a really difficult one. To date there is no conclusive evidence either way although there's more of a suggestion that the effects of playing vilent video games is not as bad as most tabloid..." Show more»" Hmm, that's a really difficult one. To date there is no conclusive evidence either way although there's more of a suggestion that the effects of playing vilent video games is not as bad as most tabloid headlines would have us believe. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:19:10 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Aleks Krotoski: "Has any research been carried out to look at any links between increased shortfalls in literacy and numeracy and the computer game 'abilities' of primary school age children?"
2. Aleks Krotoski answers: "I'm sure there are, but none that i can pull out of my hat at the moment. there are several British researchers who are examining the effects of gaming on learning - both games developed specifically ..." Show more»" I'm sure there are, but none that i can pull out of my hat at the moment. there are several British researchers who are examining the effects of gaming on learning - both games developed specifically for education and those that come from game emporium shelves. Angela Macfarlane at Futurelab is one of the key people in this area as is John Kirriemuir. They both do a lot of research in this area. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:18:11 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Aleks Krotoski: "Computer games appear to be encouraging solitary, silent and emotionless environments for children. Is this likely to have an impact as these children mature and is 'the way to go' consuls like the wii..." Show more »"Computer games appear to be encouraging solitary, silent and emotionless environments for children. Is this likely to have an impact as these children mature and is 'the way to go' consuls like the wii that encourage interaction and communication?" Show less »
2. Aleks Krotoski answers: "Ii'm actually just writing an article about this for New Statesman. Perfect timing!Games have traditionally been perceived to be"solitary" probably by the nature of games that have come before, but increasingly,..." Show more»" Ii'm actually just writing an article about this for New Statesman. Perfect timing!Games have traditionally been perceived to be"solitary" probably by the nature of games that have come before, but increasingly, as a response to the needs of an ever-diversifying audience, game developers recognise the need to make them more social.The best example of this has been multiplayer options in front of a console but now, if you take a look at the PS3 games and Xbox360 games, all of the releases have an online component to assure that there's some opportunity to interact with - gasp - real human beings! Does this have other risks for children though? As far as risks for kids, most schools in the UK are actively promoting digital literacy as part of their curriculum learning objectives, so if kids can learn to interact with one another in an environment which they enjoy in which they're being social, then it fulfills what the UK government hopes for kids' education and development kids develop an understanding of the norms of interacting online through multiplayer games they develop an understanding for potential threats and they learn how to deal with them in situ, which is a much better way to learn - according to most of the education research - than by learning the theory behind X, Y and Z. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:16:27 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Aleks Krotoski: "Do you think games are scapegoated for societies ills?"
2. Aleks Krotoski answers: "I think they're one platform that is problematised in the press, yes. Just like the internet - people don't understand it, therefore they put it into a box which they feel encapsulates everything about..." Show more»" I think they're one platform that is problematised in the press, yes. Just like the internet - people don't understand it, therefore they put it into a box which they feel encapsulates everything about it so they feel safer about what it means! Games are currently an unsolved quotient they are more interactive than traditional media yet they have less depth than traditional media - they are in their infancy. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 12:29:04 PM

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