neils clark

That was the first time I’ve had an MP5 (or any kind of machinegun, for that matter) pointed at my forehead. Try everything once, I say!

“You know,” Evan was telling me, “they only have one bullet in those things. Just for firing a warning shot.”

It was the tourist police. And as this officer swayed side to side, amicably chatting up the hostel attendant, the gun strapped around her torso seemed to be permanently tracking the top of my head. Ok, ok. Maybe I’m being a bit skiddish, but those things have been known to go off uninvited!

Last night, for at least the fourth time, I said goodbye to Dave and Chris, a couple of righteously dorky Englishmen. This last one was probably my favorite in a long stream of goodbyes. I was in the shower, when I heard, “Open the door, bitch!” Cheeky banter followed, and they shook hands with a towel-wrapped, moistened Neils. Probably won’t see them again, since they’re headed to Phuket and I’m going back to Singapore for more briyani and ginger tea. They’ve been off for 11 months now, and haven’t many weeks before they wind up back in jolly old England. Last night, along with Casper the friendly Dane, we had pizzas, beer and vodka.

Beyond sexy hostel parties, Shavaun has been helping me to get acquainted with more developmental/child psychology. We decided that the book proposal’s other sample chapter will probably be on the whys and hows of healthy playing in children. And if we can make a topic like that an easy and enjoyable read… then…

Go us.

We sent out our query letters starting about four days ago. The actual book proposal is finished, 20 pages double spaced, and polished a little. The first sample chapter is finished. It’s entertaining, and something that could teach my grandma about games, though I want to make it read like a gripping thriller - if I’ve got the time.

Still, my serious adventure was going between the jungles of Malaysia and the hostel in Singapore, because the train broke down. More on that later.

Neils Clark :: Sep.04.2007 :: General :: 6 Comments »

“Is this going to make my head explode?”
“There are worse places to die.”
“yeeeeeaaarrrrccchhh!”
“My chiropractor is going to kill me.”
“You can crawl on me, but if there’s penetration I’m going to scream.”

Yeah, so while writing I was coaxed into going to get a pretty good, pretty cheap 1.5 hour massage. It was reflex/back-crackology, split into a 45 minute foot massage and a 45 minute spinal blitz. Back to sitting poorly and churning out charming game addiction literature!

Neils Clark :: Sep.01.2007 :: General :: No Comments »

$10 ringits ($2.8 USD), for an 11:30PM Big Mac delivery, after 2 weeks of street food, makes Neils a happy camper.

…

Mmmmmmmmmm

Neils Clark :: Aug.31.2007 :: General :: 2 Comments »

So I was sitting in Malaysia, writing a book on videogame addiction, and watching an episode of the Hills, when I had an amazing idea. Reality TV that focuses real life research.

But how?!

How do you aknowledge wonderful ideas - and the people behind them? How do you take the excitement of something like Survivor, and then fuse that with the real-feeling drama of something like the Hills, or Virtual Laguna Beach?

People love things like the Amazing Race and Survivor, original reality TV. But I think that taking things past the surfacey attraction of something like the Hills could prompt a hugely malnourished market to turn their televisions back on.

More importantly, it would bring our values back into areas like knowledge and understanding. They’ve already got the “next great inventor” shows - why not recognize researchers and students who have invested years - without the expectation of massive reward or recognition?

But… how the hell would it work? Any ideas?

Ye olde evil neccessity for television, product placement, wouldn’t be a problem. Our emphasis on technology and learning would bring in some lucritive markets there.

It’s just… how do you make research and the researchers behind interesting?

Can it be done?

Neils Clark :: Aug.31.2007 :: General :: No Comments »

Tonight is the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence - and I’m in Kuala Lumpur. For the last two nights, sounds reminiscent of artillery have rung out in the night as massive firework mortars were set off all around the small hostel where I’m staying. Last night, trucks tied with dozens of Malaysian flags sped haphazardly down roads, Malaysians with faces painted ran shrieking at anyone and everyone who walked the streets, and massive fires have been set only a few yards from our front door here.

These guys know how to throw a party!

Neils Clark :: Aug.30.2007 :: General :: No Comments »

I was grabbing some extra info on the SoP when I stumbled upon Nic Suzor’s blog. He has some great thoughts on the panels, and on some of what was happening behind the scenes. If you’re interested in getting more on the academic conversations at SoP, then check his blog [here].

Neils Clark :: Aug.26.2007 :: General, Research :: 3 Comments »

“Quite possibly the most influential book on gaming worlds by Neils Clark… ever.”

-Danny Miller

Neils Clark :: Aug.07.2007 :: General :: No Comments »

Hey all, I wanted to repost what I brought up on Slashdot, alongside what seems to be a conversation on whether casual gamers will stand a chance against the Wrath of the Lich King.

What these Liches want from a Naga?

I’m going to be blunt this time: I’m skeptical. Here’s my reply to their ongoing discussion:

The primary motivator for sticking with a game is social bonding.

Coming soon, WoW, now over 2 years old, is going to have serious competition with this Christmas’ new MMO releases, and they know that losing too many key players would mean a rank 8 hemorrhage on their player base.

So they’re giving us a lot to do.

It’s the model that we’ve had all along. It focuses on grinds, and sometimes it can really seem like this style of MMO misses the mark for content which people can enjoy. At least, enjoy with an amount of time which is socially acceptable. I mean, how sustainable is the gamer lifestyle, really? Apart from what we call “game addiction,” looking at things like diet, nutrition and exercise with heavy gamers makes me think that we need to demand something which won’t kill us, because I swear to god, a plate DPS class? GTFO, I can’t resist that.

I also bring up my upcoming Gamasutra article, which I had really expected to be released by now. The full discussion thread can be found here: Wrath of the Lich King Officially Announced.

I’m extremely curious to hear any of your comments on Casual gaming in WoW, but also on that tipping point whereupon an MMO might start to purge players.

Neils Clark :: Aug.03.2007 :: Games, General :: No Comments »

I just wanted to post some quick links on the World Series of Video Games, which aired for the first time on an American network this last Sunday.

From the article:

Not coincidentally, the other two games in tomorrow’s broadcast most resemble a music video (Guitar Hero II) and a boxing match (Fight Night Round 3). What will not be seen are violent shooting games like Halo and Quake; CBS was adamant that on a Sunday afternoon on broadcast television, only relatively tame games would suffice.

While representatives for the other major broadcast networks said they had no plans to cover video games as a sporting event, CBS is planning to broadcast at least two more video game programs this year.

The rest of the New York Times’ coverage of the event can be found [here] for the time being, though they have been known to charge for older articles.

If you know where to find CBS’ Youtube/video footage from the WSVG which took place about a month ago in Louisville, KY, then please let me know. =P

Neils Clark :: Aug.01.2007 :: Games, General :: 3 Comments »

Sure, sure, by now we all know that Lindsay Lohan was busted for driving under the influence (with a suspended license, but that’s fashionable right now) and for felony cocaine possession, all less than two weeks after completing her second trip to rehab. What really caught my eye wasn’t the scandalousiness of it all, it was how the morning news people all seemed supremely accepting and understanding of Lohan’s heartbreaking tribulations. They even got on Leno for cracking jokes about the thing (though to be fair they were coming from another network).

Ultimately, I think it all comes down to the ankle bracelet. Lohan was wearing an ankle bracelet which detected through her skin whether or not she had been drinking. And she had been drinking. We see that and think, “ok, well maybe she does have a serious problem.” I feel so bad for her awe!

We’re accepting of it because it seems obvious that she’s drinking against her will, and there’s at least some science to back that up. Game addiction research isn’t about “discovering the science,” or understanding a game. Most people don’t want to understand. The researchers just take games, and compare them against a simple scale for addiction. The results: 8.5% of your children are addicted! That doesn’t tell us how we can help.

This can be incredibly illuminating for people who want to look at (what we call) game addictions. There are no ankle bracelets. There are no researchers or research quite so deeply identifying the chemicals or processes at work with game addiction. Most of the researchers don’t care to. They don’t have to. The public wants to know how afraid they should be (rather than what might actually help), and so certain researchers fill a demand. There’s little to no sympathy, and rarely any respect. In the absence of ankle-bracelet-level-understanding (or at least some consensus that it can be beyond one’s control), most of the people are using grossly reductionist criteria for “game addiction,” which doesn’t reflect what’s happening with people whom we call game addicts. Continually using that criteria, rather than understand what’s going on, just means that detailed understanding is getting further out of reach.

What’s really frightening is what might happen if big pharm suggests using anti-addiction treatments — when there’s obviously more than just addiction here.

To end on a silly note, I don’t think that there’d be any shortage of “game addict” volunteers for longitudinal experiments…

But good luck convincing grantors that it’s serious data collection…

I have a lot of thoughts on Lohan’s loutishness. I’ll just say that I’ve been “off the sauce” about as long as her (prior to her most recent heartbreaking incident anyway), and that the book has been wrapping itself up very nicely. We’re on schedule to start shopping for publishers by mid-August.

Neils Clark :: Jul.25.2007 :: Game Addiction, General :: 2 Comments »