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Amazon's new reading app for kids combines humor and text messages
Amazon has been obsessed with the act of reading for years, and now it's trying (again) to get kids obsessed with it too. That's why the company spent the last year building Amazon Rapids, a reading app launching today meant to help youngsters understand the joy of reading. So, what does $2.99 a month actually get you? A surprisingly fun, focused way to experience stories.
15 Minutes of Fame: TEDx speaker on overcoming anorexia with WoW
Continuing our look at young people successfully folding World of Warcraft into their successfully unfolding lives, this week we interview another student for whom WoW has made a big impression. "I saw your Breakfast Topic post How has WoW made your life better?, and well, a few weeks back I had the opportunity to give a TEDx talk about how playing World of Warcraft helped my fight anorexia and a crappy education system," wrote Erik Martin, aka Klaes of Emerald Dream (US). Talk about All The Things ... Also a game designer who has even worked on projects for the federal government, Erik has rallied from anorexia to go on to advocate for student agency and motivation in education. With a confidence bolstered in Azeroth, he's assembling his own experiences and aspirations into a big-picture view large enough not only to fill his own sails but to help others push off from safe harbor.
Growing Up in WoW: One-third of a lifetime shared with Azeroth
A few months ago, I received an email from the kind of player who sets off all sorts of bells and whistles for a feature writer like me -- a WoW fan who's integrated the game into a balanced, engaged, lively lifestyle. If you've ever found yourself shaking your fist and snarling at teenaged players as a group -- Get off my lawn! -- then you've probably never met a young player who's got his stuff together quite so well as Zukkai of Area 52 (US). I'm 18, I'm a raid leader for one of the 10man teams in our guild, and I've been playing since I was 12. In December, I can claim that I've played WoW for a third of my life. Along the way I've been in school full time, and will be attending university in the fall. When I first started playing, my parents regulated my play time. Once I started controlling my play time, I had to learn about my own time management and how to balance WoW with RL priorities. I've also learned how to deal with the social stigmas of playing WoW through high school, including how to explain to your friends that you might not be able to go somewhere because you have to raid. I've managed to grow up right along side the game, and I think playing it for so long has taught me a couple of valuable lessons along the way. I've had stretches where I'd be playing 4-5 hours a day and I've had stretches where I've toyed with quitting, but I've kept going for 6 years. I've never had massive amounts of time to play, but I've managed to put together my Insane title and collect a large sum of pets and mounts, as well as raid at the heroic level. Fixated on gaming? Hiding away from life? Not in the least. Our conversation with Zukkai reveals a player for whom World of Warcraft is just another pastime -- albeit one that's filled a full one-third of his lifetime. Moving in and out of WoW with the rest of life's rhythms is as natural as breathing, as Zukkai demonstrates in this look at life for one of the many players today who are growing up in Azeroth.
Ten-Year-Old Hacker presents iOS game exploit at DefCon
A 10-year-old hacker who goes by the name CyFi uncovered a new exploit in iOS and Android games. The time-based exploit lets you advance in a game by adjusting the clock on your phone or tablet. The California girl discovered the flaw while playing an unnamed farming game. Tired of waiting ten hours for some corn to grow, she advanced the device clock ahead and discovered an exploit that forced the game to advance prematurely. Several games are vulnerable, but their names are being withheld so the developers can apply a patch. Though they may be patched, she has reportedly looked into a few tweaks that may get around this fix. CyFi presented this information to DefCon Kids, a part of the popular DefCon hacking conference dedicated to the budding, young hacker.
Defcon Kids event invites hackers to bring their genetic back-up units
Apparently, kids aren't at all put off by the air of misadventure and notoriety that surrounds hacking. In fact, they're so eager to partake in lock-picking workshops, clue-deciphering seminars and social engineering round-tables, that Defcon in August will have a side event totally dedicated to proto-hackers aged 8-16. The focus will be strictly on well-intentioned hacking and cyber-security, so there's little risk that your progeny will be set on a life-path that ends in a lengthy jail term. Nevertheless, the organizers warn that the main adult event will be going on all around the kids' areas, leading to a risk of exposure to bad language, possible nudity and an "assortment of philosophies." And if that doesn't deter them, nothing will.
The likelihood of a matured Harry Potter MMO
We can all agree that the concept of a Harry Potter MMO has probably been shopped around the gaming industry a few times by this point. This has of course lead to rumors of such a game being in development. Recently these rumors -- and they are just that for the time being -- have popped up again after Turbine received 40 million in funding from various sources, which included some links to the Harry Potter franchise.Being a topical blog, Mystic Worlds tossed its hat into the Harry Potter MMO ring, saying that the game may not be what some people are expecting -- if it's actually being made. The theory being that because the books are focused primarily on a younger audience the games will follow a similar path. If Turbine was to make a Harry Potter MMO chances are likely it would be a fairly straight-forward -- and well made -- adaptation that would be tailored towards a younger audience. It would be nice if the game was set after the original books and in a slightly more grown-up world, but somehow we doubt that's going to happen. Either way, we'll be playing such a game regardless -- it's just what we do.
Tips for the youths applying to guilds this summer
This time of the year brings with it an influx of guild applications from the younger crowd. These applications are often done with zeal and lust for a summer's worth of gaming that is unappreciated by adult players. After all, school's out and what better way to enjoy the good weather than to spend it sitting in front of a computer screen?My guild in particular has seen an increase of the 15 to 18 year old crowd applying to raid with us. Unfortunately many of these applications are not on par with what we're looking for in raider's gear and experience (we're done with the Black Temple and Mount Hyjal, and are working on the Sunwell). Everyone is also 18+ in our guild, and we'd like to keep it that way.However, we have seen a couple of applications come our way that have stood out from the rest. While these people are young, they have shown excellent communications skills, along with solid understanding of their class and raid awareness. While we have covered applying to a guild before, I think it would be appropriate to talk for a moment about some tips for the younger crowd trying to get into a guild this summer.
EA Blueprint developing games for social networking sites
EA has put two of its major players behind EA Blueprint, a new project focusing on creating games for social networking sites like Facebook. The team is lead by EA Los Angeles heavies General Manager Neil Young and Director of Artist and Repertoire Alan Yu. According to Gametap, Blueprint will work with small developers and assist with funding and project management. There will be some new IPs mixed in with extensions of current EA games, but the key focus is high-quality "small-scale transmedia" titles that can reach millions. EA is already testing the waters with a game on Facebook (and its 62 million users) called Facebook Smarty Pants. With EA's own CEO presenting a different type of EA recently, perhaps small-scale transmedia cooperation could take the place of the mega-acquisitions we're used to with the company.
All the World's a Stage: Drawing the line on ERP
All the World's a Stage is brought to you by David Bowers every Sunday evening, investigating the mysterious art of roleplaying in the World of Warcraft.There are some people out there who use online games as a venue for their erotic fantasies, from husbands and wives spending some imaginative time together online, to complete strangers flush with desire and looking for some sort of satisfaction in each other. Most of these people who try out Erotic Role-Playing (or ERP) in WoW realize the need to keep it private; they do whatever they do in private chat channels, where it stays their own affair. But there are a rare few who take ERP to an extreme: they form a guild whose whole purpose is to engage in ERP, and proceed to garner a largely negative reputation for themselves. They wear their suggestive guild name like a sign above each of their character's heads, as if to draw as much attention to themselves as possible. Their members indulge in various sexual fantasies, some of which may even be extremely distasteful and objectionable, played out in an environment where everyone is encouraged to "explore" with one another in anonymity. Obviously, the moral danger here is that young people may be tempted to wander in, way before they are mature enough to understand or deal reasonably with what they experience there. We generally assume adults to be responsible for themselves in such matters, but children may very well be confused and curious, even willing to lie about their age in order to unravel such adult secrets. Indeed, ERP is a subject matter that the vast majority of players do not want to see -- least of all parents who like their kids to grow and learn from their interactions with others within the game, or at least have a safe and fun experience. Therefore, roleplayers of any sort have a responsibility to keep the public environment clean and safe for all who play there, and for the few involved with ERP guilds to do otherwise is dangerous and unethical.
Vince Young talks Madden curse on Jimmy Kimmel Live
It wasn't exactly a surprise, but last night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live did mark the official announcement of Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young as the cover star for Madden 08. Kimmel harped a bit on the Madden curse, joking that last year's cover star Shawn Alexander was "attacked by a shark" on field. Shark attack jokes? What is this, the summer of 2001?Young for his part, brushed off concerns that the cover shot will lead to disaster. "I done prayed about it and we're gonna go home and try to get to the playoffs and try to get to the Super Bowl. We'll see what happens," he said. We're not big gamblers here at Joystiq, but if we were we'd put some money against Young's confidence in his health this season.
Analyst: lower price, younger demographic
Analysts get paid a lot of money to come up with stuff. While most of the info they spew out is incorrect, it's still fascinating to see the kooky predictions that they come up with. GameDaily BIZ reports that Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian believes that Sony will be targeting younger players in future PSP campaigns: "Sony could be preparing to bolster the PSP handheld market with a shift in marketing towards a younger demographic, possibly including a hardware price cut later this year."A lower price combined with some more kid-friendly software a la LocoRoco may help the PSP compete directly against its biggest competitor: the DS. Certainly, Nintendo has reaped the benefits of going for the younger gamer: will Sony be able to strike gold as well?
Canada to outlaw iPods in the car for youngsters?
Grant Robertson at The Digital Music Weblog (a sister blog) has dug up details on a move from the Canadian Automobile Association to pressure provincial governments in Canada to ban younger drivers from using electronic devices, such as mobile phones and MP3 players, in the car, eh. While some think they have their song switching skillz down pat while juggling a Big Gulp™ and steering with their knee, Grant also cites a study released in April 2006 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that states "the many forms of distractions are collectively responsible for as many as eight out of every ten crashes" (do y'all even have 711's and 'Big Gulps' in Canada? If not, consider yourselves lucky).Check out Grant's post on the issue covering more on this sudden iPod-hating from Canada (we kid). But if the thought of not being able to cart your tunes with you is too much to bear, you might also need to start checking up on those fancy iPod-integration kits that let you control your iPod from your steering wheel.
