Category Archives: Ian Bogost

Melancholy Moo

I was finally able to do a pretty in-depth story that’s been important to me for some time. The subject is my friend, Ian Bogost, and the two major projects he’s worked on in the last year or so. At a glance those projects are diametric opposites; perhaps if you read the story you’ll be able to find some commonalities that might have even escaped their creator.

I’ve been getting excellent feedback from you guys via social media since this article ran at the beginning of the week — thanks to those who’ve spent time with the story and if you haven’t, please do. And for follow-up, you can check out a blog post by Frank Lantz, who’s also featured in the piece.
One of Bogost’s colleagues is Molleindustria’s Paolo Pedercini, of whom I’m a big fan. Something interesting happened when he released a mobile game that was critical of the mobile hardware industry on iOS, and I interviewed him about that here.
I like standing up for what you believe in. As long as you’re being rational about it. As you may or may not know, I’ve been doing a monthly column in Edge’s print magazine for the past few months, and it looks like they’ve begun to make their way online. Check out the debut piece!
When people care about complex issues, discussion is challenging. Read about how MIT’s GAMBIT team tackled the difficulty in making an RPG about LGBTQ identity issues in a community context, and check out Auntie Pixelante’s scathing response.
Other things: I checked out Mindbloom and Glitch, and I spoke to former AAA execs Ben Cousins and Senta Jakobsen about Ngmoco’s innovative new Stockholm office. Spending a lot of time getting ready for GDC Online — not only have we Gamasutras got a lot of coverage to do, but I’m giving a microtalk on the critics’ panel at the Game Narrative Summit. If you’ll be at GDC Online next week, come say hi to us!
Sigh. It’s a lot of stuff. Sometimes I feel I’ll never be able to get it together.

Fight!


So, you saw this lawsuit, right? I feel like at least one of the people whose name appears in the complaint has diligently studied this article of mine.

I’m no lawyer, but it looks like the people who are in the deepest ‘ish’ are West and Zampella, if Activision turns out to be able to prove any of this. And I am told little off-the-record anecdotes by people who would know that seem to suggest that the behavior on their part — specifically as concerns being difficult to Activision and Treyarch — is at least plausible.

I have seen Jason West in person only once in my life; it was at Bungie’s Halo Reach booth, where he was shuttling in to see a private demo.

But, you know, I don’t know. Numerous lines in these legal documents are redacted, primarily to protect EA, according to the notes on them, but Activision is promising to try to get that information unsealed. Surely all of the facts remain to be determined by a court. It’s unseemly for a member of the press to armchair-speculate. But you guys can do that all you want!

ANYWAY. Tension between Activision and EA has been brewing for some time and becomes increasingly uglier. This is the ugliest yet. So! It’s time to choose your sides. Who is the evillest empire?!

Renowned academic, designer and satirist Ian Bogost, of Cow Clicker fame, is offering Facebook users the opportunity to show, via bovine demonstration, which side you support in this battle royale. Do you work best in an environment of “pessimism and fear”, or do you like “a mean BBQ”? Which of these two execs really got the horns put on him when West and Zampella Respawned?

“Today we settle disputes in the courtroom or the boardroom,” said Bogost, speaking exclusively to SVGL. “But in different times men clicked to the death to resolve their differences. Thanks to the power of the Web, once again we can let the people decide! Click your cow to victory! Click it for democracy and truth and justice! Click!”

Play Cow Clicker, pick either Bobby Kowtick or John Riccowtiello and show your support. On Facebook. Which is about being social and sharing your feelings on things, right?

PS: Cow Clicker was named one of 2010′s top 10 Cult Hits on today’s Gamasutra top five by GD Mag editor Brandon Sheffield.

PPS: This cowfight may or may not have been my idea