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PBS' Game/Show asks, 'What is a Gamer?'
The latest episode of PBS' series Game/Show aims to define what a gamer is. Is it anyone who plays a game or is it simply anyone who plays a certain type of game? Despite gaming's strong community, the term isn't as inclusionary as we might think. Game/Show argues that the "gamer club" has become more about exclusion than a celebration of the hobby we all are so fond of. Of course, that's not to say all communities are this way – we tend to think we're pretty inclusive – but it's certainly a discussion worth having. So what do you think is a "gamer?" Game/Show says we don't feel the need to define "moviers" or "musicers," so why do we feel the need to define gamers? If your grandma plays a bunch of Threes, is she a gamer? Or is it only those folks who can stampede through Halo on Legendary with no help? Should the term be limited to those folks who know a vast amount of information about games? Oh, and the correct answer to "What is a gamer?" is, of course, "A miserable little pile of secrets." [Image: PBS]
Apple TV adds PBS and Yahoo
Apple TV's continuing expansion rolled on today with the addition of PBS and Yahoo's Screen channel. The streaming box has been steadily adding channels from the likes of Disney and ESPN over the last year. PBS fans eager to watch the channel on Apple TV will first need to sign in using their Facebok or PBS's registration system, then identify the PBS affiliate for their area. But don't get your hopes up about binge watching Downton Abbey just yet. The service doesn't offer live streams, and according to AllThingsD, PBS plans on cycling out content based on when it airs on broadcast stations. If you want to get your Abbey on you're still going to have to go to Amazon's streaming service, which currently has exclusive rights to air full seasons. Yahoo's Screen channel on the other hand is more of a sampling service, offering trailers, clips of TV shows and clips from Yahoo web partners like ABC News and The Onion. As always, the new channels should be available on your Apple TV the next time you turn it on.
Apple TV update adds Yahoo Screen and PBS apps
Yahoo's been working hard to include support for Apple services in its Screen iOS app, now it's gone one better and launched its video-discovery app on Apple TV. With an emphasis on comedy, Yahoo Screen has been designed to collate the best of web video, including clips from Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show, as well as live news, events and music. You'll also be able to browse trending videos and watch Yahoo Originals programming, which are delivered direct to your Apple TV without the need to AirPlay them across. AllThingsD reports that PBS has also quietly pushed a new app, letting users get their Nova, Frontline or Antiques Roadshow fix (older episodes of Downton Abbey will be available shortly after PBS begins re-airing seasons early next year). Today's update may only available to US users but Apple isn't being shy about broadening the number of Apple TV apps available across the globe.
PBS programming comes to the Xbox 360
If you aren't watching anything from PBS, you're missing out and now you have one less reason to ignore America's Public Broadcasting Service. Starting today, both local and national PBS programming is coming to the Xbox 360 -- if you have an active subscription to Xbox Live Gold. This includes both new and archive, full-episodes of shows like Frontline, Nova, American Experience and of course Downton Abbey -- the classic Triumph of the Nerds, isn't available, however. In addition to the full-length episodes, there are also clips from popular shows and web-original video from PBS Digital Studios. So if you missed League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis on Frontline a few weeks back, quit playing Madden 25 for a bit and learn why playing Xbox is safer than playing football.
PBS brings Masterpiece, Austin City Limits, more to Xbox 360
Joining the stable of streaming video options on the Xbox 360 is a new PBS app, which offers on-demand access to full episodes of fan-favorite shows like Nova, the Masterpiece anthology series and Austin City Limits. Though it includes a huge range of programming (especially when compared to other Xbox media apps), the Xbox 360 PBS app is not designed to replace PBS itself. Instead, it's a new wing of the station, offering fans the highest rated programs in an on-demand format. "This launch is an important next step in our strategy to make PBS content available through a variety of platforms, while maintaining the connection between the viewer and their local PBS station," said PBS Digital vice president of product development Jon Brendsel. "While PBS member stations will always be the first place to find high-quality PBS programming, the launch of our Xbox 360 offering recognizes that viewers are looking to engage with their local station in the time and manner they choose." The PBS app is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It's a free download, but using the app will require information about your current cable company. Happily, PBS appears in almost every cable package, so you should already have access.
PBS Game/Show asks: Can permadeath teach us to live better lives?
The latest episode of PBS' ongoing Game/Show series poses an interesting question: Does DayZ and other permadeath games teach us how to live better lives? Game/Show thinks so, positing that the threat of a permanent end to a gaming experience ultimately adds more weight to the time within that experience, creating even more moment-to-moment tension. Of course, the downside is death anxiety, the awareness that our end will come at some point. But video games are unique in that they allow us to confront our own demise at any time and learn from it – which isn't something we can say about life. Yet?
Latest episode of PBS' Game/Show discusses male stereotypes
The latest episode of PBS' weekly webseries Game/Show asks the question: Do video game stereotypes hurt men? Following a recent episode exploring sexism in gaming culture, host Jamin Warren returns to discuss growing body image issues and social expectations men face, as well as the ways video games relate to them. This is the sixth episode in the entertaining Kornhaber Brown-produced webseries, which includes videos about violence in gaming and the "Let's Play" YouTube phenomenon. Each episode offers a fascinating look at the culture surrounding games and the "relationship between videogames and modern life." We recommend you find six minutes and 43 seconds to watch this week's episode; it's a good one.
PBS' Game/Show delves into video game violence
The latest episode of PBS' webseries, Game/Show, dives into the often-controversial topic of violence in video games. The episode briefly explores the history of violence within sports and other types of games, helping to explain why violent acts are depicted as often as they are in video games. Hosted by Kill Screen's Jamin Warren and produced by Kornhaber Brown, the series has just two other episodes. The first is devoted to analyzing the success of characters like Mario, Sonic and Link, while the other looks closer at the rise of "Let's Play" videos on YouTube.
PBS introduces 'Game/Show,' new webseries analyzing video games
PBS is furnishing a new weekly webseries called Game/Show, produced by Kornhaber Brown and focusing specifically on video games. The first episode attempts to analyze the popularity and staying power of three gaming icons: Mario of the brothers Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Link, wielder of the Triforce. Will we still be playing games starring Mario in 2577? What makes these characters so endearing? Brown suggests it's the shared monomyth themes. Monomyth, a term coined by Joseph Campbell, involves a basic hero's journey where an everyman protagonist is thrust into an extraordinary situation, overcomes all odds and returns home to bestow goods and favor upon their friends and family. Yup, we have plenty of that going on in games.
Roku can now tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street with new PBS channels
Big Bird (or "Big Yellah," as we like to call him) and his Sesame Street cohorts are now available for streaming on your Roku box. Not just that, but his non-avian colleagues from PBS and PBS Kids are also making the trip, arriving today in new PBS and PBS Kids Roku channels. The two new channels offer more than the on-demand access to PBS programming you'd expect; PBS Digital Studios' work is also available to stream (we're quite fond of it, if you couldn't tell). While it's not 100 percent clear what exactly is available at any given time, PBS' announcement says "hundreds of videos" can be accessed, which are pulled from the archives, from national and local daily programming, and include biggies like NOVA, Frontline, and American Experience (it stands to reason that heavy hitter Downtown Abbey won't be available, given its exclusive license with Amazon starting next month). PBS Kids is similarly well-stocked, with "more than 1,000 videos," which includes everything from Curious George to, yes, Sesame Street. There's a short teaser video of the service being used just below the break, should you not be able to contain yourself until you get home. Update: According to Roku, not all Roku players support the new PBS channels. "Both PBS and PBS Kids are available immediately for all Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku LT, new Roku HD players and the Roku Streaming Stick in the US," the company says. Heads up!
PBS shows how hacking is reclaiming its good name after a bad rap (video)
Hacking is still a loaded concept for many, often conjuring negative images of corporate espionage, fraudsters and prank-minded script kiddies. PBS' Off Book wants to remind us that hacking wasn't always seen this way -- and, thanks to modern developments, is mending its reputation. Its latest episode shows that hacking began simply as a desire to advance devices and software beyond their original roles, but was co-opted by a sometimes misunderstanding press that associated the word only with malicious intrusions. Today, hacking has regained more of its original meaning: hackathons, a resurgence of DIY culture and digital protests prove that hacks can improve our gadgets, our security and even our political landscape. We still have a long way to go before we completely escape movie stereotypes, but the mini-documentary may offer food for thought the next time you're installing a custom ROM or building your own VR helmet.
'Beat Making Lab' series brings music tech, know-how to aspiring talent in developing communities
Is the next Mos Def or Azealia Banks languishing in a region where there's no way to get his or her talent across? The producer who's laid down beats for those stars, 'Apple Juice Kid' (aka Stephen Levitin) along with fellow UNC prof Pierce Freelon aim to find out with a new PBS series called Beat Making Lab. In it, the pair take their talent, teaching skills and crates of audio gear to underserved communities in nations like Panama, Senegal and Fiji. The first episode (below the break) takes place in the Congo, where they're shown setting up a permanent recording studio at the Yole!Africa non-profit community center, then giving a crash course in beat-making tech to six highly motivated students. The Congalese artists use that know-how to lay down tracks that reflect their unique personalities and culture, which are showcased at the culmination of the episode. The series covets more than just a nice performance, though, as one student put it: "When the instructors return to the US, it won't be the end, but a beginning for us -- because we'll be able to teach others how to create their own beats."
NOVA's Earth From Space documentary shows a super-connected planet (video)
We've already had a meteorite shower to remind us that Earth is just a small part of a much, much larger universe. If that wasn't enough perspective for you, PBS is offering a follow-up through NOVA's newly streaming "Earth From Space" documentary. The two-hour show illustrates how our planet's individual climates and ecosystems are really part of one larger unit, with ripple effects that we didn't always anticipate until an abundance of earth observation satellites made them clear. You'll have to be an American to watch before the documentary, at least before it arrives in disc form on April 2nd. Every Earth citizen can still watch the trailer after the break.
PBS mini documentary covers eSports' many bases
Off Book, the PBS webseries that previously investigated what makes indie games so darn creative, has produced an eight minute documentary on the history of the eSports its four major facets: RTS, MOBA, FPS and fighting games, the latter of which are too cool for acronyms.
PBS explores the world of people who get paid to play video games
From LAN parties to MLG, the history of competitive gaming has been a fascinating one. Following up on similarly themed episodes, like the one back in October that explored the indie gaming community, PBS's Off Book is tackling the world of competition, cramming as much info as it can into a seven and a half minute piece, including the move from entertainment into an industry, including the growing pains associated with its push into the pop-culture. It's an interesting look, with plenty of input from MIT sociologist T.L. Taylor. And it offers up a good glimpse for those of us who don't possess the chops to get handed one of of those giant novelty checks in front of a room full of excited spectators. Live vicariously through the video after the break.
PBS stacks humans against all other life on Earth, discovers we're doing okay
At just over 7 billion in number, human beings are kind of a big deal. Despite our greatness in numbers, however, there are quite a few other species sharing our little blue dot. Sadly, the one greatest in number isn't something you see every day or ... well, ever, for that matter. And say what you will about obesity in our society, but PBS' "Life By the Numbers" Digital Short (part of its new "It's Okay to be Smart" series) argues that human biomass (287 million tons) is nowhere near that of even a single species of krill (500 million tons). Take that, Richard Simmons! See the full video, just below; if it does end up guilting you into weight loss with all that biomass talk, might we direct you towards the Hapifork?
PBS profiles Martin Goetz, recipient of the first software patent
PBS has been exploring a fair bit technology history with its digital shorts lately -- examining the likes of animated GIFs, indie games and coding as art in its Off Book series -- and it's now tackled one issue that's making more headlines than ever: software patents. It hasn't provided a distilled history of the topic this time, though, instead offering a brief profile of the man who received the first software patent in 1968, Martin Goetz, as part of its Inventors series. Not surprisingly, he still sees a place for software patents, but admits that the current situation is "a little bit of a mess." Head on past the break for the video.
Free for All: Adventure Time's nostalgia is MMO drama done right
I've tried to explain my love for a bit of melodrama several times over the years. It's sort of a hard thing to explain. I like a good bit of "sad" in my MMOs when I can get it, and I can say that I enjoy some measure of drama as well. Sure, many MMOs have a dramatic storyline quest here or there, but more often than not, the game forgets to be a world and rushes us off into yet another combat assignment. The fact is that it's very hard to find the balance. We all want a good story, but many of us just want to get to the good stuff. The loot. The treasure. The virtual glory. I've had a hard time explaining my want for a game that makes me feel real emotion and explaining why I enjoy those feelings. Well, the PBS Idea Channel on YouTube did it much better than I ever could, and it used the popular Cartoon Network series Adventure Time as the perfect example of why nostalgia is a powerful and universal thing. When it comes to video games, I believe nostalgia is even more powerful than loot.
Bill Gates to chat education on PBS in first TED Talk made for TV
Word comes by way of The Wrap that PBS is slated to air the very first TED Talk produced for TV on April 16th, and it'll feature Bill Gates, to boot. The special sets its sights on discussing education and will include the likes of educators Geoffrey Canada and Sir Ken Robinson alongside Microsoft's co-founder. In advance of the broadcast, the program will be taped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater on April 4th. There's no word on whether tickets are up for grabs to attend the event, but we'd start searching for friends who know Gates if you'd prefer the live experience. [Image credit: World Economic Forum, Flickr]
PBS' latest digital short explores the world of coding as art
PBS already showcased indie game creation and buggy software, so this week's digital short on coding as an art form isn't exactly what we'd call a big surprise. It is, however, delightful (also not a big surprise); NYU's Daniel Shiffman, Barbarian Group's Keith Butters, and RGBDToolkit's James George / Jonathan Minard do a great job of representing the medium. The latter folks even employ Microsoft's Kinect with their coding to magnificent effect. See for yourself just below the break.
