Computer games have come a long way! In this episode, we discuss different types of games and how and where you play them. We also discuss the game rating system and whether or not it's useful.
Guests
Kurtis Scaletta
Kurtis Scaletta
Kurtis Scaletta has a Master’s degree in English, and will soon complete his Master’s in Instructional Systems and Technology. Kurtis work’s in The University of Minnesota’s Digital Media Center, where he consults with faculty on ways to make technology a tool for education.
Blake Krone
Blake Krone
Blake Krone has been playing computer games for 14 years. He was member and leader of a gaming group called Afd which played online games such as Unreal Tournament, Quake 3, and Tribes. He also was a Top Level Admin and gamer for HomeLAN Federation, which provided financial backing and hardware for online tournaments. He later moved on to being a producer/commentator of Internet Radio broadcast shows for the online games. Blake is a senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Information Technology Infrastructures.
Jesse Huset
Jesse Huset
Jesse Huset is the manager of PC Palace, a LAN gaming center designed to provide you with the ultimate gaming experience!
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Congresswoman Betty McCollum represents the 4th district in Minnesota. She is an advocate for a stronger and more comprehensive rating system for computer games.
For Your Files
Kurtis Scaletta talked game consoles and games on personal computers.
"It’s really just a matter of if all you want to do is play games. If you bought a PlayStation 2 it’s [less expensive, and] you’re going to get the best games, and it’s optimized. The graphics are going to be very quick, the sound is going to be excellent, and the games will be out sooner. But if you’re looking to buy a personal computer, and you like gaming, you might want to get a personal computer that’s optimized for playing games. It’s going to cost more, but you’re going to have everything a personal computer would have. You’re going to get the graphics accelerator, and a sound card. Some games might take a little bit longer, but eventually almost all of the games you can play on a PlayStation will come out for the PC."
Minnesota Representative Betty McCollum would like to see rating systems for movies, video games, and magazines.
"First I don’t necessary know if we need to legislate. I’ve been talking to two major retailers right here in the Twin Cities area, Best Buy and Target, and [discussing] what can we do to make this work. Because we all know that a 5 year old, a 9 year old, 10 year old, or 13 year old, cannot walk into a store and buy a Play Boy. So why can’t we, working with the retailers, establish the same kind of protocol, the same kind of safeguards, for some of these sexually mature games and these games that have a lot of violent content in them."
Console
A type of video game system that is optimized for game playing
and hooks up to your TV.
Immersive Environment
An environment in a computer game where there are no controls
other than a mouse pointer.
Simulation
A type of game that simulates a real life activity, like a flight
simulator or an auto racing game.