Game Politics

GamePolitics Has Moved !!!

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 18:03:32 GMT

After 18 months on LiveJournal, GamePolitics is sporting a new look.

As of this past Monday, our new site was up & running. You'll still find us on the web at www.GamePolitics.com. The new site uses WordPress for the blog portion, and has lots of new goodies...

For you LiveJournal die-hards, the bad news is that I'm not going to be updating the LJ any more. However, I will leave it active indefinitely as an archive.

Nor will I be unscreening comments. The need to do that was a big reason for the move.

The new site has an RSS feed as well.

No, Ace. I think you are...

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 01:21:58 GMT

....

Jack Thompson Lawsuit to be Filed in Albuquerque

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:53:16 GMT

We're all going to have to learn to spell "Albuquerque."

That's because we're going to be hearing a lot about the New Mexico city, since Jack Thompson's promised video game violence lawsuit is going to land there today. As reported by the Albuquerque Journal Thompson and a local attorney, Steven Sanders, will file a wrongful death suit based on the July, 2004 murders committed by Cody Posey, 15 at the time.

Posey, 15 at the time of the killings, was found guilty early this year of murdering his father, stepmother and stepsister. Sentenced as a juvenile, he will be held until he turns 21. The defense maintained that Posey was severely abused by his father.

The video game connection is not yet clear.

Safe Sex Game

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:34:34 GMT

Hot Coffee it most definitely is not.

As reported by Joystiq, the University of Connecticut is soliciting proposals for a "safer sex video game."

According to UConn bid specs, the goal of the project is "to test the feasibility of using a PC-executable game (non-Flash) format to change the safe sex practices of an otherwise hard to reach group – urban emerging adults."

The University wants vendors to make the game "fun, motivating, and efficacious." That last one's not a dirty word, by the way.

If trials are successful - and no, GP does not know where you go to volunteer - the game will be distributed "broadly." As Joystiq notes, Europeans are already ahead of us in using game tech to teach safe sex.

Proposals from game developers are due back to UConn officials in November.

GP Server Switch on Monday

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 15:38:18 GMT

It looks like GP finally will move to our new format and new server tomorrow. If you'd like, you can check out the beta of the new look.

So, we will definitely have some amount of downtime, depending upon how smoothly the transition goes.

Forums will also go down at the time of the switch. I expect them to be back up later in the week.

Finally, LJ comments are disabled during the transition.

Keep your fingers crossed...

Editorial Roundup: Longing for Pong, Games as Societal Scapegoat

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 15:30:08 GMT

This week's editorial/opinion roundup takes us to Canton, Ohio and San Francisco.

In the Canton Republic columnist Tom Martin writes, "When I was a kid, spinach was good for you and video games included neither murder nor sex. What a difference a few decades make."

"...I had Pong. I knew Pong. Pong was a friend of mine... I know Ms. Pac-Man ate a lot of those gremlin things... but as far as I know she didn't pop a cap in somebody's keister."

"I've seldom been one to wax poetic about yesteryear. Yesteryear often comes back to us with the blemishes airbrushed out... playing Pong didnt make me aspire to play pingpong, tennis or another racket game in the real world. So maybe no one will want to join a street gang after playing 'The Warriors.' But making sport out of theft, murder, prostitution and senseless destruction seems wrong on every level. Maybe our spinach isn't the only thing tainted"

Inside Bay Area columnist Tom Leupold writes about the public perception of games:

"...despite evidence to the contrary, games are still seen as the sole providence of teenage boys, at least by the mainstream media. I asked (Prof. Dmitri) Williams (seen at left) why..."

"In his research, titled A Brief Social History of Game Play, Williams recounts that video games began as an adult pastime, with the earliest arcade machines appearing in bars and nightclubs... In the mid-'80s, the collapse of the video game industry virtually wiped games off the map. When Nintendo revived the hobby in the late 1980s, it marketed its machines as toys... That solidified the perception in the minds of the public that games were kids' stuff."

"...Williams, 34, said those under 38 have a different view of games than their elders. Most have grown up with games and, like television for the previous generation, games are embedded in their culture..."

"As Williams points out, every new medium has been condemned by the older generation when it was new... As the report states, 'Often, focusing attention on the medium is a convenient way of assigning blame while ignoring complex and troubling problems... blaming an external force like media provides an excuse to ignore the primary risk factors associated with juvenile crime and violence, which are abuse from relatives, neglect, malnutrition and above all, poverty."

Australian Official Thinks Bully Rating Too Lenient

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 14:48:27 GMT

Some politicians in Australia are taking issue with the official government rating given to Rockstar's controversial Bully, or, as the game is now known outside of the North American market, Canis Canem Edit.

The West Australian is reporting that New South Wales Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt is concerned about what she considers an overly-lenient rating given to Bully by Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC). Ms Tebbutt urged parents to keep the game out of the hands of their children, and has requested that the country's Attorney General review the classification.

"I'm concerned that its message for violence is undermining what we're doing in schools to counteract bullying," she said. "I also want (the A.G.) to assure me that everything that needs to be taken into account has been taken into account in this classification process."

Even before the ESRB assigned Bully a "T" (13 and older) rating, the Australian OFLC rated the game "M" for "Moderate Themes, Violence, Sexual References", which, under the Australian system means the game is recommended for players older than 15. No legal restrictions are placed upon its sale, however.

New Zealand rated the game "R13" with the descriptor "contains violence", which means it's sales are restricted to those 13 and up.

-Reporting from Canada, GP Correspondent Colin "Jabrwock" McInnes

America's Army Begins "Real Heroes" Campaign

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 14:23:08 GMT

Sports games endeavor to include accurate player rosters and game adaptations of movies try to use real actor voices and likenesses whenever possible. So it should come as no surprise that the U.S. Army is using real soldiers as characters in its America's Army game.

"The America's Army Real Heroes program puts a face on some of the exceptional Soldiers who are at the forefront in defending our freedoms. With Real Heroes young adults can learn about the accomplishments of some of the heroic men and women that make the Army the world's premier land force," said Colonel Casey Wardynski, Project Director.

Players who download the latest version of the free online game will be able to interact with four such Heroes during training missions and while exploring an interactive Virtual Recruiting Center.

The first batch of soldiers to become Real Heroes are Sgt. 1st Class Gerald Wolford, Sgt. Tommy Rieman, Maj. Jason Amerine (pictured), and Sgt. Matthew W. Zedwick, the later two of which GP editor Dennis McCauley had the chance to meet at this year's E3.

"It was cool," said McCauley. "I'm a big admirer of the troops."

Additionally, players (or anyone with an internet connection) will be able hear the stories behind these soldiers via videos available on the America's Army website.

More soldiers honored for their service in Afghanistan and Iraq will be added in the coming months and a line of Real Heroes action figures will be available at retail soon.

-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent Andrew Eisen

Jack Thompson Ready to Drop Another Game Violence Lawsuit?

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 15:46:49 GMT

Jack Thompson has been teasing a planned lawsuit which he says will be announced Monday.

On Friday GP was treated to a subject-line only e-mail which read, "So, Dennis, you going to my big news conference Monday?"

Not if you don't tell me where it is, Jack.

Later, GP and GameSpot received a similar message, saying only, "Big news conference by Jack Thompson Monday. Hooah!"

Hooah, indeed. This morning the anti-game activist dropped a little more news in the comments section of GP's The Political Game column on Joystiq. Thompson wrote:

"On Monday, September 25, Thompson will journey to another state and announce, with his co-counsel, the filing of what will likely prove to be hugely significant wrongful death action against Sony and Take-Two..."

So, it's a GTA case...

"One thing Thompson will talk about at the news conference are the ways in which the industry has targeted him and his family for harm in retaliation for his appearance on 60 Minutes... One thing that is useful in what is going to occur Monday is that the prosecutor of the kid who killed in this instance actually called Thompson and asked him to bring this lawsuit..."

GP has requested clarification via e-mail, but received none. We could speculate on a few cases, but it's probably best to wait for Monday's announcement.

GP on Joystiq: Will Jon Stewart Save Gaming?

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 15:17:22 GMT

Oops!

Forgot to mention yesterday's The Political Game column on Joystiq, wherein GP concludes that only one man can save video games from political craziness...

Having Trouble with Audio of Utah Video Game Hearing? GP Can Help

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 15:03:19 GMT

A number of readers have expressed difficulty with trying to listen to the audio of Wednesday's video game hearing before the Utah legislature.

If you are still having issues, GP has thoughtfully placed it on the web for download in MP3 format. Click here.

It's a 56mb file, so be patient.

And if you're playing catch-up, click the link for all GP coverage of Utah's game legislation efforts.

Regarding the Controversy Over Monday's APA Study & Game Violence Article

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:33:41 GMT

On Monday of this week, GP carried an item, No "Direct Causal Link" Between Games & Violence in APA Report.

It sparked a bit of controversy. It was suggested in certain quarters that GP ignored the views of Dr. Brad Bushman (left) of the University of Michigan, a member of the APA committee which issued the August, 2005 resolution.

That's not at all correct. In raising a particular question we turned to the two listed contacts for the APA study, Dr.Elizabeth Carll, committee co-chair and Dr. Dorothy Singer of Yale. There were a total of six committee members involved in the report. Dr. Bushman was among them. Not feeling the need to contact all six, we went to the two that the committee itself suggested.

The question Monday's GP article raised was, in retrospect, perhaps too narrow. But a very damning - and very narrow - interpretation of the APA study has been bandied about in recent times. GP wanted to pin the assertion down and see if it was accurate. We've heard it said or seen it written (and not by Dr. Bushman, by the way) that, "The American Psychological Association last year found a direct causal link between violent video games and teen violence." (emphasis GP's)

While the APA study was indeed very critical in regard to game violence (as we dutifully reported last August), that particular sentence seems to draw a straight line between violent games and real-life violence in the same way that a straight line is drawn between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer. However, as GP - admittedly, a layman - interpreted it, the APA report just didn't seem to say that there was a "direct causal link." In fact, searching the APA resolution, that term does not appear anywhere. Nor do the words "causal" or "causation."

But we're not afraid of industry-critical views here, and we like to think we present the news as factually as possible. To that end, we did indeed reach out for Dr. Bushman for a clarification. He in turn advised GP that he was working out a response between himself and Drs. Carll and Singer. Dr. Carll was kind enough to send that response along on Thursday night. GP promised to reprint it verbatim. Here it is:

"Brad Bushman forwarded to both myself and Dr. Singer the comments you sent to him regarding the content of the APA Resolution on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media. I also forwarded to Dr. Bushman your original email to Dorothy Singer and myself, which is below."

"To clarify, the APA Resolution on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media stated that there was an increase in aggressive behavior as a result of playing violent video games. The Resolution did not state that there was a direct causal link to an increase in teen violence as a result of playing video games, rather an increase in aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, and a decrease in helpful behavior as a result of playing violent video games." (emphasis GP's)

"The statement in your email of 9/19/06 to Dorothy Singer and myself refers to "teen violence" as opposed to aggressive behavior, which is why Dorothy Singer and I responded as we did. While violence is an extreme form of aggression, the body of research of which the resolution speaks is about aggression."

(GP: Yes, "teen violence" was the specific issue asked about, because that's the specific assertion which has been made in certain quarters. And Drs. Singer and Carll are in agreement on their answer, which was accurately reported in Monday's article.)

"In the interest of accuracy for future articles, it would be helpful to state that the APA Resolution on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media reported an increase in aggressive behavior as a result of playing video games, rather than only reporting that there was no causal link to teen violence. Reporting that there was no causal link to teen violence without reporting that there was an increase in aggressive behavior, as a result of playing violent video games, may be misleading to the reader."

(GP: Point taken, Dr. Carll, although reading Monday's article clearly shows no intent to mislead. While not outlining the specifics of the aggression angle, GP did note, "The 2005 study was quite critical of interactive violence... Violence in video games appear to have similar negative effects as viewing violence on TV, but may be more harmful because of the interactive nature of video games." Monday's article also linked to the full APA resolution for those readers who wished to learn more about the APA's findings.)

Dr. Carll continues:

"The specific paragraph in the APA Resolution on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media states: 'WHEREAS comprehensive analysis of violent interactive video game research suggests such exposure a.) increases aggressive behavior, b.) increases aggressive thoughts, c.) increases angry feelings, d.) decreases helpful behavior, and, e.) increases physiological arousal'"

"Hopefully this has helped clarify an important distinction. Thank you for your interest."

And GP thanks Drs. Carll, Singer and Bushman for investing their time in clarifying this issue.

Bottom line? GP stands by Monday's article.

Online Game Lampoons Airport Security

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 12:14:04 GMT

Air travel hasn't been much fun since 9/11.

Fear, heightened security regulations, long waits and inconvenience are standard features of flying commercially these days.

Fortunately, a new online game may give you a chuckle next time you're queued for the metal detector. Prof. Ian Bogost and his Persuasive Games studio have released Airport Security, a satirical take on ever-changing regulations for air travelers.

In the game players must remove prohibited items such as toothpaste and shampoo from passengers' bags before they reach the security checkpoint. New regulations appear randomly, prohibiting, for example, pants. It only takes a mouse click to remove those as well. You character may be reduced to its underwear, but at least he - or she - will be allowed to pass through security.

Airport Security is chock full of clever touches. Instead of the usual "easy, normal, hard" difficulty levels, for example, players must choose among "fickle, arbitrary and knee-jerk," presumably the security employees' attitude du jour. The airport loudspeaker references the random prohibition of clothing articles with announcements such as "Security fashions are chaging daily. TSA stylists are available for consultation."

On Water Cooler Games, Ian Bogost explains that Airport Security is the first product of a new partnership between Persuasive Games, Shockwave.com and Addicting Games. We look forward to future efforts.

Play Games, Advance Science

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 11:04:43 GMT

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it." - Agent K, Men in Black

And, as Rob Goldstone, director of Indiana University's Group Experiment Environments, might add, "Collective behavior is potentially more controllable than isolated individual behavior because of the strong influences among the individuals' behavior." Goldstone's research uses video games to "observe, explain, and computationally model how groups of people behave."

The game experiments are available online and open to the public. Goldstone's design goal is to have more than five people playing at any given time. But until the project gains more popularity, AI bots fill in for missing human players. At game's end, players can read a thorough explanation of the group behavior modeled and what the experiment results can mean to the real world.

Group Path Formation is one experiment/game that rewards participants for reaching target destinations but subtracts points for each step. Fewer points are deducted if a previously established path is followed so players must strike a balance between the shortest distance and following in the footsteps of others.

"At a broad level, the best grounds I can see for being optimistic about the future of humanity is that sometimes people will shun well-trodden roads and forge their own paths," said Goldstone in an email to GamePolitics. "But once they do, it turns out that they are attractive paths for other people to follow. In this way, humanity can be both flexible and efficient."

"The alternative method of crowd control suggested by our work is to change the structure of the environment such that certain navigational behaviors are facilitated while others are indirectly hindered. Even without instituting physical or abstract barriers, it may be possible to indirectly control collective behavior with considerable efficacy..."

"To this end, the Active Walker can be used to guide policy decisions. For example... if you want a group of people to create path networks that minimize the total amount of trail needed but still connect a set of destinations, it is best to have people's steps wear away quickly... because rapid decay of paths allows the group to create new paths without being strongly constrained by the original..."

While a web version of Group Path Formation is not yet available, there are four other experiments you can occupy yourself with while benefiting science at the same time. Bonus!

Forager explores how participants allocate themselves in a world with scarce resources.

Picture Game asks participants to guess an answer to a problem. Participants are shown other participants' answers and how well they scored, which can be used to influence guesses.

Group Sum ask participants to enter numbers which are added to a single sum. The goal is to make that sum equal to a hidden number. Participants are given feedback about the relationship between the sum of their guesses and the number that is hidden.

In Musical Choice participants listen to and rate music. Players are shown others' ratings; this information can shape their own.

"I hope that the combination of serious experiment and somewhat interesting game will make the experiments attractive," said Goldstone. "People spend an awful lot of time playing Solitaire and society really doesn't benefit all that much. I'm hoping that some people will decide to play our games instead so that science can benefit."

"The result I find most interesting is that precisely because people share the desire to avoid crowds, migratory crowds emerge!"

-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent Andrew Eisen

Take-Two Faces De-listing from NASDAQ

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 03:00:19 GMT

More corporate problems for Take-Two Interactive?

According to financial site TheStreet.com, the publisher of GTA and Bully has been notified by NASDAQ that it is not in compliance with filing requirements.

This was not unexpected, according to the game publisher, due to an ongoing internal review of employee stock options. The investigation delayed filing of third quarter paperwork. Take-Two says it plans to request a hearing with NASDAQ to review the situation and will file the paperwork at issue as soon as practical.

Take-Two is among several high-profile firms, including Apple, Dell and Novell to have received such notices from NASDAQ.

Listen to Utah Video Game Bill Hearing...

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 16:43:34 GMT

Audio from yesterday's video game hearing in Utah is now available... Fast forward the recording to 8:24 where the game bill discussion begins.

New bill sponsor Rep. Scott Wyatt (R) is pictured at left.

Scandinavian Pol to Brits... We'll Take Your Video Game Industry

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 12:53:51 GMT

"Hey, U.K., if you don't want that video game industry, we'll take it..."

That seems to be the message some Scandinavian officials are sending to their British counterparts. As reported by GameIndustry.biz, Erik Robertson, leader of Nordic Game, a government-funded organization, criticized the British government for not supporting the country's video game industry.

"I would say that if the British government and politicians in Britain keep refusing to support their industry," Robertson said, "the third in the world in terms of size - from the Nordic perspective: good idea."

Norwegian minister for culture and church affairs Trond Giske (seen at left, perhaps preparing for the release of Forza Motorsport 2) echoed Robertson's remarks.

"I'll be careful giving advice to politicians in other countries," Giske said, "but I can say what our objectives are towards this industry. I view it as a cultural industry, as a media branch. This is something people develop their impressional skills, their ability to see the world in different angles and ways, and I think it's very important that we have ways of telling stories from our own culture also in this industry as in movies."

British Official Calls for Investigation of Al Qaeda Video Game

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 12:06:00 GMT

Police in the U.K. may soon be tracking down the creators of a computer game designed as an Al Qaeda propaganda tool.

On Monday, GamePolitics reported on Night of Bush Capturing, a crude first-person shooter in which the player targets President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The widely-covered story even made its way into the mainstream press.

Now comes word that a member of Parliament is urging British police to take action against the game's creators. As reported by today's Sun, Labor Party MP Andrew Dismore has called for a probe into Night of Bush Capturing. The shadowy organization which produced the game, the Global Islamic Media Front, is apparently based in the U.K.

"The police should prosecute whoever is behind this," said Dismore. "Soliciting murder is a serious criminal offence and the producers of this game should be dealt with."

Dismore has previously lobbied against British-based Islamic radicals, including cleric Abu Hamza, now jailed for inciting murder.

The Sun also dishes on the furor surrounding a new board game, War on Terror (seen at left), which bills itself as "a family game for 2-6 players... You can fight terrorism, you can fund terrorism, you can even be the terrorists. The only thing that matters is global domination..."

Developer Attends Utah Video Game Hearing, Offers Impressions

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:42:42 GMT

You want the inside scoop on yesterday's video game law hearing in Utah? We've got it covered like a blanket here at GamePolitics, including the impressions of a local game developer who attended the hearing.

Although he indicated last week that he would be there, anti-game activist Jack Thompson didn't make it due to what he described to GP as a "pressing litigation matter" in Florida.

Lame duck bill sponsor David Hogue (R) and Rep. Scott Wyatt, apparently the bill's new sponsor, offered an amendment to have HB257 mirror the language of Thompson's ill-fated Louisiana video game law.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, according to an industry source, did a thorough job of explaining the bill's constitutional problems to the committee. As GamePolitics has previously noted, Shurtleff has a friendly relationship with the ESRB, and has engaged in a Utah-based campaign to educate parents about video game ratings.

GP has learned that some legislators apparently left the hearing, causing the committee to lose its quorum just after lunchtime. That development led to an adjournment with no action taken on the bill. Discussions are likely to resume next month.

As mentioned, a video game developer attended the hearing. We provide his report, preserving his request not to publish his name. The content, which arrived in e-mail, has been edited slightly for readability (not that it wasn't well-written, but the author didn't plan on it going straight into a GP article. Material in parentheses was inserted by GP. We greatly appreciate this on-the-spot info):

"Well, Jack Thompson wasn't there today, so I'm disappointed... What did happen is that the sponsor, Rep. Hogue, came up and talked about his bill. He brought up Columbine, and all sorts of school shootings. He described how violent 'videos' were, and how they should be regulated."

"He brought up the American Psychological Association (APA); how violence in video games made kids violent; and how kids between 14-18 are in a critical development stage. And of course, he brought up those favorite whipping boys, 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' and - as Hogue calls it - 'The Bully'."

"Then they brought up an amendment to the bill, and basically changed the bill so that instead of defining certain types of violence, they just use the same three prong test as with pornography. Some committee members brought up the idea of porn equalling violence in video games, asking 'if we can regulate porn, why can't we regulate violence the same way?' At least one committee member did bring up the first amendment, and it was discussed briefly."

"The Attorney General (Shurtleff) came up and discussed the bill and its likelihood of passing court scrutiny. He mentioned that every district court has ruled against every violent video game law made so far, and that the odds of this bill surviving court scrutiny was 'very slim'. Rep. Hogue tried to defend the bill, saying that this bill does something different from other bills, and that it doesn't try to take games off of shelves. Other committee members brought up concerns about supporting a bill that would be 'tied up in the courts' and 'waste of money defending it'.

"Then an old lady came up and complained how society was becoming more violent, and that something needs to be done. She said that this bill needed to be passed, and it didn't matter if we wasted money defending it. It's for the children, etc."

"The ESA guy (apparently a lobbyist - the industry routinely offers testimony at these hearings) came up and talked about how in eight court cases so far, we've won eight of them. He mentioned the ESRB, and how he was working with the Attorney General in promoting the ESRB to Utah parents. Then, during question time, well, some of the committee members were rough on him. One of them nearly accused him of making violent games for kids. Of course, the ESA guy wasn't a game developer, but an attorney, so he really couldn't comment on that. Other committee members appeared to honestly not know what the ESRB was, and has questions about it."

"After the ESA guy, time ran out and several members of the committee had to leave. They tried to deny a motion to adjourn, but they left anyway. They decided that this issue was of too great importance to leave unresolved, so they shelved it until October. I'm rather disappointed that I didn't get to speak, but at least I get a chance to refine my testimony for next time."

Tivo Alert - IGDA Head Debates Game Violence Critics

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 01:58:32 GMT

Fire up the Tivo!

Jason Della Rocca, executive of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) advises that he will appear on MSNBC's morning news with host Amy Robach (left) this morning.

According to Jason, he'll be debating in five-minute segments with Blois Olson of the National Institute on Media & the Family at 9:30 EDT and later with Dr. Craig Anderson of Iowa State University at 10:30 EDT.

Topics will include video game violence and the recent Dawson College rampage. Della Rocca lives in Montreal, where the shootings took place.

Web Comic Weighs in on Game Violence Debate

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:05:58 GMT

This timely comic from Filibuster Cartoons really doesn't need an explanation, does it?

GP: Kudos to Jabrwock for sending it our way...

Utah's Hogue Resurrects Game Bill... Hearing is Today

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:03:28 GMT

Despite the fact that he will be leaving public office in 90 days, Rep. David Hogue (left) isn't giving up on video game legislation.

As reported by the Deseret News, the lame-duck Republican is seeking to revive failed video game legislation in the Utah House. His bill, HB257 S01, is of the "games as porn" variety. It will be given a hearing before the legislature's Judiciary Interim Committee today.

The Hogue bill passed the House overwhelmingly early this year, but died in the Senate. It would need to be re-introduced in the next legislative session, and will require a sponsor, since Hogue will no longer be a House member. Today's hearing is an apparent effort to develop support for the bill in 2007.

"I have a lot of confidence in that this bill will pass," Hogue told the Deseret News. He believes it will stand up to constitutional challenge. As previously reported on GP, however, First Amendment scholars have not been kind to Hogue's measure.

"What the other states have had a problem with," Hogue explained, "was actually trying to keep the sale of those things off the shelf completely. We've identified these materials as being harmful to minors. I think it can be proved in court."

"My feeling" he continued, "is that the industry has not done a good job at all of being able to police this themselves. The thing that bothers me is I've got a 13-year-old granddaughter right now that can walk into a Blockbuster and pick these things up."

GP has heard from a Utah-based game developer who plans to speak against the bill. Miami attorney Jack Thompson claimed last week that he would be testifying today. However, this morning he advised GP via e-mail, "I had to cancel my trip yesterday because of a pressing litigation matter. I have provided written material to the committee, including the APA study which points out causation, not correlation..." (see yesterday's GP piece on the APA report)

Past GamePolitics coverage of the Hogue bill can be found here. Hogue did not respond to several GP requests for comment.

No "Direct Causal Link" Between Games & Violence in APA Report

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 00:41:16 GMT

If you listen closely to the debate over video game violence, you'll hear some misinformation bandied about on both sides of the issue.

One troubling theme we've heard lately involves an incorrect interpretation of a game violence study issued in August, 2005 by the American Psychological Association. The bad information that GP has been hearing lately runs along the lines of:

"The American Psychological Association last year found a direct causal link between violent video games and teen violence."

That's not correct. It's wrong.

In the public policy debate over video game content, it shouldn't be related as fact to legislators. Nor should it be fed to an already game-wary public.

For clarification, GamePolitics went to the source - the American Psychological Association itself.

Yale University's Dr. Dorothy Singer, who co-chaired the study committee, told GP via e-mail that claims of the APA finding a "direct causal link" between games and actual violence are "...wrong and misinterpreting the statement... nowhere do we make such a claim in the resolution, nor does APA... Our studies cited were correlational... there is a difference."

Indeed. Correlation and causation are often confused. Correlation shows a relationship between A and B. Causation means that A caused B. Big difference, especially when applied to a public policy debate like video game violence.

Dr. Elizabeth Carll (left), who chairs the organization's Interactive Media Committee added in an e-mail to GP yesterday, "There was no reference to direct causal link in the APA Resolution on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media. I scrolled through my email and saw Dorothy Singer's response as well and we are in agreement."

All of that is not to say that the APA report is an endorsement of the video game industry. The 2005 study was quite critical of interactive violence. Dr. Carll said at the time, "Violence in video games appear to have similar negative effects as viewing violence on TV, but may be more harmful because of the interactive nature of video games."

Other APA committee members who participated in the preparation of the report include Iowa State University's Dr. Craig Anderson and Dr. Karen Dill of Lenoir-Rhyne College. The APA's full resolution on video game violence is available here.

GP: The debate over video game content is an important political and cultural issue. Research data is a key piece of that debate. So is presenting it accurately.

GP Book Review: Penny Arcade's Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 13:38:13 GMT

Penny Arcade Volume 2: Epic Legends Of The Magic Sword Kings
by Jerry Holkins & Mike Krahulik
reviewed for GamePolitics by Ryan Sharpe

When Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, better known as Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade fame, published Attack of the Bacon Robots in January, it was a test run, a sort of feeling-out of what publishing a "real" book was like. (We're ignoring for now the abortive Year One: A Penny-Arcade Retrospective)

Now the lads have returned to the book biz with Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings which collects all of the Penny Arcade strips from the year 2001.

As a loyal Penny Arcade reader, it's kind of hard to critique a work to which you've already been exposed. On the other hand, there's a ton of nostalgia to be had just reading through the old strips, many of them with a twinge of humor that can only be gained through hindsight. The hyperbole of yesteryear is made doubly funny today by the fact that it - or something equally ridiculous - actually came to fuition.

Also new is the inclusion of selected posts from the site, chronicling events like the burst of the dot.com bubble and the infestation of Tycho's apartment with rats. Fascinating as they are to read, there are too few of these gems. For the amount of potential material available (the website post for "This Old Base" alone was a comedy goldmine) I longed for more. Of course, Tycho's commentaries for each strip are original material and good for a few laughs to boot.

All of this isn't to say that Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings is just about old Penny Arcade strips. While only covering half the time span of Bacon Robots, Kings is almost as thick as its predecessor. The extra pages are taken up by an array of intriguing side projects, most of which haven't yet fully seen the light of day.

"The Boneyard" is an especially exciting section, revealing ideas and stories that one can't help but think would make for some kickass graphic novels. Personally, I would someday like to visit the alternate dimension where "Automata" got the lion's share of Mike and Jerry's creative talents.

For all the new bits and pieces, however, Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings feels just a little thin. While the added material is certainly better than the anemic "sketchbook" at the back of Bacon Robots, as one of the lucky few who have seen the entire first "issue" of Over Easy, I know there's more they could have packed into this book.

Then again, if the only criticism that can be leveled against your work is that there isn't enough of it, that's a pretty nice compliment.

By the way, the next book in the series Penny Arcade Vol. 3 The Warsun Prophecies is due out in late November.

Islamic Radicals Release "Night of Bush Capturing" Game

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 13:14:18 GMT

According to the terrorism trackers at the Site Institute, radical jihadists have released a new anti-American computer game.

Night of Bush Capturing is an first-person shooter based on the Quest for Saddam engine. The game features six levels with names such as "Jihad Beginning", "America's Hell" and "Bush Hunted Like a Rat". A soundtrack of Jihadist music loops during play.

The game was released on Friday by the Global Islamic Media Front, described by the Site Institute as "a jihadist mouthpiece". Site reports that an ad for Night of Bush Capturing says that the game is being distributed for "terrorist children".

Hot Air has links to a download of the game as well as a video trailer.

GP: As we described in recent coverage, this continues a jihadi trend to communicate radical Islamic themes through game technology.