Why I cannot play games
So 8am on Sunday morning after the games conference found me at the doors of Cardozo, arguing with the security guard about letting me in. It is not easy to get into this building, but I managed it somehow. I went to my office and opened up the CD jewel box for SecondLife. All very exciting, right? And I was delighted to see that SecondLife was giving me a free year's worth of playing.
But it won't work. It keeps crashing. The IBM ThinkPad I bought less than six months ago doesn't have an adequate graphics card for this game (or, probably, any other top-line game). I called IBM and they said there was nothing I could do short of buying a new machine. Sigh.
If this is really the new frontier (and I'm prepared to believe it is), I'll have to break down and get yet another notebook. Research has revealed that the gaming notebooks weigh as much as a bowling ball.
Here's a collection of interviews/quotes about the future of online gaming. It's fascinating stuff. I talked to a couple of my Cardozo colleagues about the conference and they just couldn't take it in. The bit about McDonald's franchises being picketed by avatars particularly got them.
The draft paper I wrote about online identity for the conference is here. All comments welcome.
Suggestions for laptops also welcome.