"But how would object-oriented teaching work at a practical level? How could students possibly be able to rethink their attitudes about objects and even see objects as social actors?"

Using the pedagogical directive “empathy + design for complex processes,” Katherine Lambert of the California College of the Arts initiated a course titled “Lifecycle.” The primary goal of the class was to familiarize students with a collaborative, cross-disciplinary design process.  The pedagogical vehicle was research into the urban waste disposal process and sustainability practices with an emphasis on the end points of the Lifecycle.  The class focused on the development of a product (or system of products; physical, software, or both), a service or an environment - which is often a container for products and services.

"What's really happened isn't so much a tale of cracking the mass-market...as a tale of companies learning about the value of specialisation."

Specialisation - be it on a genre, or a target audience, or a medium - provides a wealth of benefits, both in terms of specific expertise and in terms of the ability to structure your entire company around the requirements of your market sector. It's hard for a company used to building monolithic boxed software to embrace the mindset required to iterate quickly and release lots of smaller products, or to run a full-scale service for several years.

 

"something odd is happening in the world of video games systems – nobody wants to release new ones anymore."

Sony says the third in its PlayStation family – of which we typically see one every six years - is "future proof". The firm has a 10-year lifespan mapped out for the system.

Xbox 360 – the first device to market in the latest "generation" of consoles, back in November, 2006 – has been available in Europe for more than four years, with its manufacturer Microsoft promising that its finest moments are still to come. Its predecessor managed just three years, eight months before being replaced by its powerful younger brother. While Nintendo is tight-lipped about plans for a new Wii console, it gave its existing machine a shot in the arm last year with a super-sensitive controller.

For the first time in video games history, online system updates and cutting-edge accessories are allowing these companies to refresh their systems in new ways – and extend their lifespan way beyond that of their ancestors.

"When does the wisdom of crowds give way to the meanness of mobs?"

mantras of “open culture” and “information wants to be free” have produced a destructive new social contract.

“The basic idea of this contract,” he writes, “is that authors, journalists, musicians and artists are encouraged to treat the fruits of their intellects and imaginations as fragments to be given without pay to the hive mind. Reciprocity takes the form of self-promotion. Culture is to become precisely nothing but advertising.”

"This is what happens when a medium [videogames] ages."

There is a tendency in some art games to derive the artistic impact from refusing to let the player change things, from the conflict between what the player wants to achieve (and thinks he might be able to achieve) and what the designer has chosen to allow. At its simplest, the gimmick is to get the player to try to do something impossible, and then wait for him to give up.

But the more art games do this, the less effective the technique is -- especially in works that identify themselves formally with an art game movement.

"Just for fun, try substituting the words 'Big Brother' whenever you read the word 'Facebook'"

1 We will advertise at you

"When you use Facebook, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, add applications, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalised features."

2 You can't delete anything

"When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information."

3 Anyone can glance at your intimate confessions

"... we cannot and do not guarantee that user content you post on the site will not be viewed by unauthorised persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of user content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other users have copied or stored your user content."

4 Our marketing profile of you will be unbeatable

"Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (eg, photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalised experience."

5 Opting out doesn't mean opting out

"Facebook reserves the right to send you notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications."

6 The CIA may look at the stuff when they feel like it

"By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States ... We may be required to disclose user information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. We do not reveal information until we have a good faith belief that an information request by law enforcement or private litigants meets applicable legal standards. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity perpetrated through the Facebook service or using the Facebook name, or to prevent imminent bodily harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies."

"We are deeply and fundamentally attracted, in fact, to games"

perhaps the most remarkable thing about modern video games is the degree to which they offer not a sullen and silent unreality, but a realm that's thick with difficulties, obligations, judgments and allegiances. If we are to understand the 21st century and the generation who will inherit it, it's crucial that we learn to describe the dynamics of this gaming life: a place that's not so much about escaping the commitments and interactions that make friendships "real" as about a sophisticated set of satisfactions with their own increasingly urgent reality and challenges.