Week 1
www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/269/report_display.asp
Pew Internet
& American Life Project report focused on a telephone survey of adults to
determine what console and computers games they play.
ALA Gaming in Libraries Toolkit
gaming.ala.org
Resources
include history of gaming in libraries, advocacy tips, sample promotional materials,
and best practices.
gamelab.com/game/ayiti
This game challenges players to manage a rural family
of five in
Entertainment Software Association
Industry Facts 2008
www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp
Overview of
sales and other industry data for 2008, including statistics about who plays
what type of games.
www.theescapist.com
Roleplaying
gaming advocacy site with encyclopedia entries
on roleplaying games advocates and gaming controversies that provided
opportunity for advocacy, FAQs, bibliography and more.
www.freerice.com
Players answer multiple
choice vocabulary lessons to earn grains of rice that are donated to
impoverished areas.
www.gamerankings.com
Videogame review
aggregator that provides links to reviews on a variety of websites and ranks
them.
Genesee Valley BOCES Swift Six
sls.gvboces.org/gaming
Board Game Advocacy site – GV BOCES offers a circulating
collection of authentic, modern board games to member school libraries, to use
as supplemental classroom materials.
Get
Your Game On! Gaming at the Library
www.slideshare.net/informationgoddess29/central-ar-library-system-presentation
This presentation from a full day session on gaming covers
definitions, advocacy, reader’s advisory to gamers, game design, gaming statistics,
gaming programs, and gaming collections.
www.icedgame.com
The object of the downloadable game Iced
is to become a citizen of the
Library
Gaming Census Report, Year 2
www.ala.org/ala/alonline/index.cfm
Results from Dr. Scott Nicholson’s annual survey of
gaming in libraries.
www.jeffwu.net/games/ngame.swf
You are a ninja! Collect gold
cubes and work your way out of each level’s maze. Controls: left/right arrow to
move, Z+shift to jump, K (to commit suicide) if you get stuck.
www.rocksolidarcade.com/games/planetcruncher
Use your mouse to draw
circles around like planets, then collect the rainbow colors prisms they emerge
are the planets collide. Capture asteroids for extra points.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pong
Overview of the history of one f the most famous
videogames ever created.
www.seriousgames.org
Initiative for games where the focus is education or training
rather than recreational.
www.setgame.com
Online pattern
recognition game – find six sets of cards where all of four unique variables
(color, shape, shading and number) are all alike or different within each set
of variables.
games.fandango.com/games/spider-solitaire/playgame.aspx
Popular online
card game, featuring multiple sets of cards.
Teens, Video Games,
and Civics
www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/263/report_display.asp
Pew Internet
& American Life Project report focused on a telephone survey of adults to
determine what console and computers games they play.
www.kongregate.com/games/pixelate/understanding-games-episode-1
Short tutorial
on game design that includes an opportunity to play the classic game Pong.
vgchartz.com
Sales data for
consoles and individual games.
www.informationgoddess.info/glossary.doc
Listing of
videogame terms to know.
Week
2
www.alice.org
Allen v.
Academic Games League of America 89 F.3d 614 (9th Cir.1996)
bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/89/89.F3d.614.html
In this landmark case the
court ruled in favor of the AGLOA, declaring that playing videogames does not
constitute public performance as defined under copyright law. Additionally, “Whether privately in one's home or publicly in a park, it is
understood that games are meant to be "played."
www.aadl.org/aadlgt
Blog to promote and
recap gaming activities. A library card is required to participate through
posting comments.
www.aadl.org/video
Includes video from a
number of tournaments and gaming events.
Ben 10 Alien Force Game Creator
gamecreator.cartoonnetwork.com
Ben
10 is drag-and-drop
game creation software with preset characters and settings. Build your game,
test it, and upload to the Cartoon Network website for others to try!
www.cheatcc.com
Cheat Code Central is
a comprehensive site for gaming hints, tips, strategies, and cheat codes to
help you through your videogame play.
Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESBR)
www.esrb.org
Videogame ratings
website. Features information for parents and consumers, ratings guidelines,
and searchable database.
Families
bond over the board at library’s game night
www.kccommunitynews.com/articles/2008/06/18/miami_county_republic/news/doc485829e12ac74921158894.txt
Article about family
board game night at a
www.gaiaonline.com
Online 3-D world with
games, movies, and an active online community that hosts art contests, discussion forums,
customizable profiles, digital characters and cars.
www.yoyogames.com/make
Game Maker is a free
drag-and-drop style game design program. The website offers tutorials, support,
an online community, games to beta-test and effects to download, such as
backgrounds, graphics, and sound effects.
www.gamesinlibraries.org
Monthly podcast
produced by Dr. Scott Nicholson that features news, reviews, interviews and how
to for tabletop games and videogames in all types of libraries.
www.webjunction.org/150/articles/content/443418
Webjunction article
about an innovation program for at risk youth that used gaming to transform a
community.
gtsystem.aadl.org
Free online
tournament management software from Ann Arbor District Library, featuring
player profiles, local standings, and a national leaderboard.
www.guitarhero.com
Official website featuring
news, merchandise, standings, and community calendar.
libraryxo.org/sneeri/CLA_GH.ppt
Presentation on how
to host a Guitar Hero program, by
Sarah Neeri.
www.kingdomofloathing.com
A
free, comical MMOG peopled with hand-drawn images. This game is turn based, so
you can only play for a specific amount of time each day. Choose a character
class, battle monsters, win loot!
Maple Story
www.maplestory.com
A 2-D side scrolling MMOG. Play a Warrior, Magician, Bowman, Thief.
New York Public Library.
Jefferson Market 3: Gaming
apple.itunes.com
Available via iTunes. NYC teens share their gaming experiences
at NYPL in this audio podcast.
www.imls.gov/applicants/basics.shtm
The
www.redoctane.com
Publisher of Guitar Hero sells the game and
components. Write to them for “swag” for your videogame programs that feature Guitar Hero.
www.runescape.com
A massively
multiplayer online game (MMOG) set in a medieval, fantasy-style world. It’s
fairly easy to master, it’s a long and deep game, and there are lots of ways to
play (focus on chat, focus on quests, focus on leveling, focus on crafting,
focus on making money).
www.youtube.com/user/snicholson
Scott Nicholson’s
personal video blog includes brief game reviews, discussions about libraries,
gaming, research, and more.
scratch.mit.edu
Scratch is a free
scripting and prototyping environment program for 3D object behavior that runs
on Windows 95/98/NT. It has a drag and drop graphical interface that translates
to java, C++, and other “production” programming languages, so it also reads
many common 3D file formats. It was developed at MIT. The website provides
tutorials and other instructional materials.
www.surveymonkey.com
A website for survey creation. Free accounts are limited to 10-question
surveys. Easy to use, easy to collect and report data.
Seniors and Students
All Love Playing the Library’s Wii
www.infotoday.com/MLS/may08/Gritten.shtml
InfoToday article about
teen.secondlife.com
Teen Second Life (TSL) is a
free 3D virtual world where teens
can meet, create and socialize with new friends using voice and text chat.
Videogames as a Service:
Hosting Tournaments at Your Library
pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200502VideoGames.pdf
VOYA how-to article on providing gaming tournaments.
www.wizards.com
Home of Dungeons & Dragons
games, DragonLance books, and much more to support tabletop roleplaying games.
Youth Digital Arts CyberSchool
www.ydacs.com
Online curriculum for
game design (among other topics) with tutorials and forums. Discounted software
to keep beyond the duration of the go-at-your-own-pace, month-long session is
part of the package.
Week
3
www.1Up.com
Publisher of Electronic Gaming Monthly and other
console and computing magazines, 1Up has extensive features that include blogs
and podcasts in addition to reviews, forums, and news.
gaming.ala.org
The ALA Gaming website
is the portal for the ALA Games and Gaming Member Internet Group and community.
It features a blog, wiki, and gaming toolkit.
www.animeted.org/4librarians/video-games/Video-games.htm.
Website by two gamer librarians with a wealth of information on
videogames, including a great section on how to process videogames.
www.btol.com.
Library jobber that
sells games, consoles, and accessories for PC, Nintendo Wii & DS, PlayStation
PSP, 2 & 3, and XBox 360. Standing order plans available. Email Julie
Dyson, Manager of Music & Video Services at dysonj@btol.com to get an
update.
www.bestbuy.com.
Retailer. Games,
consoles, accessories. Accepts purchase orders through their government and
education division.
www.circuitcity.com.
Retailer. Games,
consoles, accessories. No purchase orders.
www.compusa.com.
Retailer. Games,
consoles, accessories. Accepts purchase orders through their business services
unit.
www.demco.com.
Library
vendor. Retails security devices.
http://www.direct2drive.com.
Digital download
service. Download PC games to your computer. Cost is $20-$50 per game.
www.theesa.com/facts/salesandgenre.asp
Industry facts and
statistics, courtesy of the Entertainment Software Association.
Entertainment Software Ratings Board
www.esrb.org
Information about
videogame ratings, including a database searchable by title, publisher, rating,
and platform.
intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/flowing
Game. Swim in the
ocean. Eat or be eaten.
www.gamecrazy.com
Retailer. Part of the
Hollywood video franchise; prevalent in
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_the_Year
Game of the Year, or
GotY, is an award bestowed by a number of venues in the gaming industry.
www.gamefaqs.com
A CNET site for game information.
www.gamespy.com
Game review
site. Also has cheat codes, demos, and more.
www.gamestop.com
Retailer. GameStop
sells new and used games, consoles, and console accessories in addition to
action figures, trading cards, and strategy guides. No purchase orders.
www.gametap.com
GameTap delivers
arcade classics, console favorites and PC bestsellers, unique content, and
machinima.
www.gamesinlibraries.org
Podcast produced by
Scott Nicholson, on all kinds of gaming in all kinds of libraries.
Get Your Game On:
What Makes a Good Game?
pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200608GetYourGame.pdf
Article
on evaluating videogames.
www.gresscoltd.com/kwikcase/demo
Library Vendor.
Retails security devices.
www.transbuddha.com/mediaHolder.php?id=1488
Flash version of the console game. Roll your sticky ball (katamari) over
items to grow the ball to a specified size before your time runs out!
indianajones.lego.com/en-us/games/default.aspx
Side-scrolling
platform game delivers a taste of the console version.
Library Successes: A
Best Practices Wiki: Gaming
www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Gaming
Community website
featuring model programs and collections.
www.mobygames.com
A
game documentation project that attempts to “catalog” all videogames.
www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.htm
Classic side-scrolling historical adventure game! Set off
across the country with your carefully chosen supplies, avoiding hostile
people, cold, and disease.
www.overdrive.com
Library vender. Over
70 program titles in every educational curriculum category for every age group
from preschool to adult.
www.playfirst.com
Digital download
service, featuring flash and java games. One-hour trial, most games are around
$20 to purchase.
www.redoctane.com
Game publisher.
Offers discounted bundles for their popular Guitar
Hero game. No purchase orders.
www.replacementdocs.com
An archive of game manuals.
www.ssww.com
Vendor. A craft and
activity supply distributor; they sell Dance
Dance Revolution as a fitness activity.
Thomas Kline/Crimson Multimedia
www.crimsoninc.com
Library vendor.
Provides CD-ROM products and console games, and labeling and cataloging
service.
www.mbmpl.org/vg/?page_id=6
Sample Video Game
Collection Policy from the fictitious Mario Brothers Memorial Public Library.
www.shopperinc.com
Vendor. Security
devices and shelving units.
www.walmart.com
Retailer. Games,
consoles, accessories. May be a resource for grants.
www.xs4all.nl/~pot/infocom/zork1.html
Text adventure game. Type commands to advance game play.
Week
4
www.1up.com
A particularly good
cheat code site because it covers all generations of all platforms, and
includes previews, reviews and discussion boards. The advertisements on the
site are videogame-centric.
www.alice.org
Educational
software for doing 3-D computer programming, developed by Carnegie Mellon.
usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24&l2=164
Company that makes
portable, inexpensive, flash hard drive notebook computers.
Ben 10 Alien Force Game Creator
gamecreator.cartoonnetwork.com
Build your own custom game based on the popular Ben
10 cartoon, then share them with your coursemates! Or, just try a
few games made by other users.
www.bradygames.com/index.asp
Publisher of videogame cheat code guides.
www.xgenstudios.com/play/castle
Position
your mouse over an enemy troop, and use the left-mouse button to pick him up.
Make a throwing motion with the mouse, releasing the button to fling your
unfortunate victim through the air.
www.delicious.com
An online social
bookmarking application for saving, organizing, and annotating URLs.
www.doppleme.com
Create a
2-D avatar. Free, java-based, registration optional. Download avatar, or take a
screenshot.
www.faceyourmanga.com
Create a
2-D avatar. Free, java-based, registration optional. Email image to yourself or
take a screenshot.
www.slideshare.net/informationgoddess29/face-your-manga-presentation
Short presentation on
what an avatar is, how libraries can use them, and some sites to try to create
your own.
www.gamasutra.com
Professional
organization for game developers. Hosts an informative website and an annual
conference.
www.gwap.com/gwap
Tagging games.
www.imvu.com.
Create a 3-D avatar. Download required. Account required.
www.reasonablyclever.com/mini/flash/minifig.swf
Create a
2-D Lego style avatar. Free. No registration required.
indianajones.lego.com/en-us/games/default.aspx
Play a short version of console favorite. Mouseover objects to collect; click on flashing red
obstacles to avoid them.
www.madlibs.com
Online version
of the classic, hilarious, story-creation game.
www.magpo.com/play.html
Drag and drop words
from themed kits to make an online poem.
www.meez.com
Create
a 3-D animated avatar. Free, account optional.
laptop.org/en/laptop/index.shtml
One
laptop per child project. Small inexpensive laptops with built in Wi-Fi and a
variety of content creation tools.
www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal
A collection of beautifully illustrated mini-games, Mostly puzzle and action games. Pick any game from this collection.
www.peacefire.org
A
website dedicated to freedom of access to information, and to providing
filtering workarounds.
www.primagames.com
Publisher
of print and e-book strategy guides for over 500 videogames.
Public
Libraries and the Internet 2008: Study Results and Findings
www.ii.fsu.edu/projectFiles/plinternet/2008/Everything.pdf
Interesting
statistics on topics like the average number of computers per library in the
U.S. Published by the Information Institute, Florida State University College
of Information.
www.ebaumsworld.com/flash/play/3677
Create a
2-D Simpsons-style avatar with a background. Flash based. No registration
required.
thesimsonstage.ea.com
Online karaoke
website with tools for creating your own audio recordings and machinima.
www.southparkstudios.com/fans/avatar
Create a
2-D South Park style avatar. Free, flash based, no registration required.
www.sploder.com/free-game-creator.php
Free Flash-based game
design program. Make a ship game or robot game.
www.weffriddles.com
A series of clever riddles. Figure out
the answer, and move on to the next “level” by typing the correct website
address.
www.wordle.net
Content
creation tool for creating tag clouds.
avatar.yahoo.com
Create a
2-D avatar with a background. Free account required. Copy and paste code to
embed, or take a screenshot.