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Secrets Of Dungeons And Dreamers

Posted by simoniker on from the more-cash-please-i'm-british dept.

Thanks to Wired News for their story discussing the forthcoming book, Dungeons And Dreamers, which is subtitled 'The Rise of Computer Game Culture From Geek to Chic', and "..documents the manically creative lives of gamers by tracing the career of eccentric 'Lord British,' as [Richard] Garriott is known to millions of fans, and panning out to explore the social anthropology of computer game culture." The article points to the book's official website, where you can also find a copy of the book's first chapter, and, as for the wider implications of success stories like Ultima creator Garriott's, co-author John Borland says: "..history matters, and we want people to realize that Quake isn't an isolated phenomenon. Games back in the 1870s had similar themes, so did mid-century toy soldiers and H.G. Wells novels."

15 comments

  1. Yeah but. by falcon5768 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Did HG Wells let you frag the characters in the story???? I think not

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    1. Re:Yeah but. by falcon5768 · · Score: 1

      How was this offtopic, it was a joke based on the fact that the article talked about themes transend generations!!! ".history matters, and we want people to realize that Quake isn't an isolated phenomenon. Games back in the 1870s had similar themes, so did mid-century toy soldiers and H.G. Wells novels." "Humorous maybe but not offtopic... grrrrr

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  2. The BFG first appeared... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...in 1847's "Irish Hunter."

  3. Out of left field... by spumoni_fettuccini · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One of the first thoughts I had when I read the [/.] article was back to when I played pen and paper D&D [early 80's]and how the Christian faith denounced it as Satan worship and occult. I had my own relatives confiscating and burning [yes burning] my manuals. Man that cheezed me off 'cuase now I had to go out and buy new stuff until they found the next stash. In the first chapter sample his experience was completely different, parental support [yeah it was still nerdy to play but he didn't have to hide the stuff]. That got me thinking we now have objections to the violence and gore, but I've never really seen/heard anything about PC or console games being EVIL. Did they move on to better things or are they still decrying D&D type [paper or electronic]? Last thing I know they were harping about was Disney putting obscene material in posters and movies. Anybody know or was that just a fanatical fad?

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    1. Re:Out of left field... by GallicoTheGreat · · Score: 1

      Nah, those do-gooders just changed their focus from games to "disappearing" political enemies.

    2. Re:Out of left field... by falcon5768 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You do though, people dont give them any credence anymore. Just look at how often Harry Potter is put on the Banned book list by christian groups for promoting magik, or the fact that future versions of Mortal Kombat after the first one used motion capture, used animation instead not cause it was cheaper, but cause a ton of people created a controversy over how morally wrong it was to beat the living crap out of what looked like a real human. Its the same for any religion really, anything that threatens the mythos and mystisism they create will be banned to prevent people from seeing other sides of things or thinking maybe said religion is not the only option

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    3. Re:Out of left field... by spumoni_fettuccini · · Score: 1

      Hadn't thought about the Harry Potter issue [even though I had heard of it] and I had never heard about the Mortal Kombat one. Thanks for the info.

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      -- Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.
    4. Re:Out of left field... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, Disney's done that. I don't have a link handy, but a quick Google search should provide enough information.

    5. Re:Out of left field... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually ALL Mortal Kombats have been motion-captured, even the 3D ones. That is one of the things that makes MK stand head-and-shoulders above most other fighting games - the moves are captured from real martial artists doing their thing. That said, it's definitely true that it was toned down a bit by MK2/MK3 (particularly MK3). It wasn't so much a graphics resolution issue as one of adding more colors to make it look more "kid-safe". - an MK freak

    6. Re:Out of left field... by grumpygrodyguy · · Score: 1

      Did they move on to better things or ...

      Well, they knew infecting the world with christianity was a lost cause...so they punted and now support the republican party.

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  4. This is great news! by Daetrin · · Score: 2, Funny
    I've always known that i wasn't going to amount to much because i wasn't taking college level courses in elementary school or planing the conquest of the known world at age eight or whatever it is that those destined for greater things are doing nowdays.

    But after reading this article, i have new hope! I just need to be weird and whacky! I can do that! I can do weird and whacky! I always have been somewhat, but now i know that i just need to try harder! To be weirder and whackier than i ever have been before!

    Oh, and design world famous video games. Um. Well, i'll worry about that bridge when i come to it, i'll just go get started on the weird and whacky bit now.

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  5. missing chapter 1 by kurosawdust · · Score: 3, Informative

    if you cant see chapter 1 (this page is blank for me), just go to the "printer-friendly version" here.

  6. Spit and shine by August_zero · · Score: 1

    Are we gamers really ready to be part of the "main stream"?

    Part of the attraction to this sort thing has to be the fringe status it enjoys. Why would I want to do it if everybody else is doing it now?

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  7. Hmm by Dachannien · · Score: 1

    "...documents the manically creative lives of gamers by tracing the career of eccentric 'Lord British,' as [Richard] Garriott is known to millions of fans,..."

    Color me stupid, but isn't that a bit presumptuous?

  8. It would sell better if... by beders · · Score: 1

    ...the chapter was called Garriott the Geek Gets Laid.

    1. chuck out the sciencesy stuff
    2. concentrate on the sex
    3. ???
    4. profit!

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