I’ve been thinking about why so many technical fields are dominated by men. Here is a great chart about the percentage of men and women in various jobs in the gaming industry in 2010 (for more from this study click here):
Yearly Archives: 2011
84 posts
The idea that fields of technology such as open source programming is a meritocracy is very, very dangerous. It leads to all sorts of discrimination, sexism, and racism. It also leads pretty smart people to say some pretty dumb things. For example, Michael Arrington wrote a piece called “Too Few […]
Ok, so I am doing the unthinkable and rehashing a post from the past (albeit from my personal blog) because it’s a topic that I have been thinking a lot about and one that I have been thinking a lot about recently, especially with the release of the Dead Island […]
Episode 5: Hardcore Farming!: Your Mama is a Gamer(“Save As” to download) The fifth episode of the Not Your Mama’s Gamer podcast where we talk about intersectionality and gamers, the “new” hardcore gamer (according to Zynga), and President Obama on gamification. Links of Note: Dead Island Trailer Torchlight (Runic Games) […]
Well, yes. I’ve argued again and again that gender, race, class, and all sorts of social constructions can be influenced by the way those things are depicted in entertainment media like video games. But, I’m a hypocrite. I would also argue against anyone who claims that violence in video games […]
Episode 4: Reality is Broken and the Fantasy May Not Be Much Better Off! (“Save As” to download) The fourth episode of the Not Your Mama’s Gamer podcast is live and ready for download. This is the episode that was supposed to talk about intersectionality and games, but we never […]
Guilt has finally gotten the better of me. It has been too long since I posted a real post. I have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes lately and was really feeling like a slacker. Then I asked myself the big question…how is that any different from […]
In a recent article on CNN.com, Omar Gallaga, who is a technology contributor to NPR’s All Tech Considered, feels “haunted and sad” by what he considers a disturbing trend in video games—“putting children in peril and, often, allowing them to be gruesomely killed.” The trailer for a new survival horror […]
I’m writing this as a response to a thoughtful article called “If tech discussion was really about tech, it wouldn’t be sexist” by Restructure. The author writes, “There is sexism in tech culture. However, I continue to love tech, because I think of the sexism as a separate, unnecessary appendage […]
Episode 3: Skinner Box Logic, Facebook, MMORPGs, and Freemium Games (“Save As” to download) The episode in which we talk about Skinner Box logic, Facebook games, and MMORPGs. Dr. B. drops the F-bomb twice and apologizes profusely and Alex reviews Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology […]
So this week Alex did 2 things to suck my time dry. First she talked me into going back into WoW and then she agreed to my hair-brained idea to make a video about Skinner Box Logic in video games. To make it even funnier, we spaced it and made […]
Episode 2: Who Ya Callin’ Hardcore?!? (“Save As” to download) The second episode of Not Your Mama’s Gamer podcast where Alex, Sarah, and I talk about gender, hardcore gamers, 3D technology, depression, Sam’s video game compulsion, and Disney’s Epic Mickey. Don’t worry it all comes together nicely. Links of Note: […]
“It was a simpler time, when games were primarily marketed to children, and they were easy enough that your sister could jump in for a few hours and not be intimidated” Why do I love Bejeweled 3? More interestingly, why is my first reaction to keep my love of Bejeweled […]
When I was little, I ran around with a black leather belt around my waist and a red ball cap on my head. On one side of my belt, I stuffed a plastic ax; on the other side was a toy handgun that thudded when the trigger was pulled. Some […]
What’s exciting about the potential of this theorycraft is that, sort of like writing, knowing the (rhetorical) situation can make you better prepared to respond to the variable you may face, whether it be a wily audience or a rogue barrel.
Our students don't just value our classes because we play World of Warcraft or add achievements and leader boards to our grading policies. They are playing the game because their grade is at stake. They may enjoy it in the meantime, but ultimately they have an ulterior motive.