Q: Which FuturePast essays did you find to be the most intellectually and/or emotionally satisfying? In no particular order here's what you all had to say!

1. Daniel Komen
   Review of Edwin Zee's 07/futurepast.html about Mario
   
   I was impressed by Edwin's idea that biology makes it inherently difficult for older people to learn new procedural concepts. I have often been puzzled at how my elders often find so complicated and unintuitive processes that seem to me so self-explanatory, and I think this explanation has raised itself to my attention before, but I hadn't thought about it thoroughly before reading Edwin's page. Edwin's explanation is very convincing. It also contradicts my heretofore assumption that I would long into the future be able to learn new procedures and new games.
   
   Edwin may, however, be partly overlooking the massive amounts of time children spend learning and playing games, which adults tend to take for granted.
   
   Three years ago, I played Super Mario Bros. on Singapore Airlines. I found it rather boring. I guess it is mostly only fun to people who have little prior experience with platform games.
   
   
2. Nick LoCicero
   My two picks are 02 and 13:
   
   I like 02 because it chose a subject, Street Fighter, that has evolved over many years. Street Fighter has many characters in the game which reflect the deep cultural significance the game has received. The interesting thing that happened with the game is that people loved the first one so much, the company invented new characters to keep everyone coming back for more.
   
   Number 13 is particularly interesting because it involves a game outside Western culture. I have played the game, Mankala, which, as the page says, signifies for an African tribe, who is bound to lead the tribe and who is not.
   
   
3. Jono Hey
   A couple of aspects hit me most strongly as I read through the visions and histories.
   
   The first, from 07, 14 and 23, was that we are really still on the verge of getting interfaces right. Parents are confused with the games of today that their children play readily. So am I. But I don't think it's because I can't understand it, it's largely time invested. I think the advent of the Wii has strongly influenced people's visions right now. The intuitiveness of the interface changes games and draws people in who would normally recoil. Edwin's comparison of the original NES controller and the N64 makes things clear. What was missing was the Wii controller. Often things evolve to get more complicated before they can be simplified. I think we are reaching that stage now. We wanted richer interaction which meant more complex interfaces. Now we are figuring out ways to get rich interaction without that complexity and that will help games be available to all.
   
   The second was John's comment that "It will cause children to engage with complete strangers." I think this is true and, like he says, at once scary, but exciting. As Weinberger says: "In the real world, strangers are a source of fear; on the Internet, strangers are the source of everything good." Games, embedded in our lives, and not just on the net, have the potential to tap into this more. Games in the future will be as much about connecting people as the games themselves.
   
   
4. Lora Oehlberg
   (03) Daniel's Love Games
   
   The seemingly formulaic nature of love games seems strange to me; all of these games were programmed into a computer by a person or group of people, and success in the game seems based on following a logical storyline that correctly "solves" the puzzle of attracting another person ("Maybe if I give her flowers? Maybe if I send her letters?"). In reality, the most challenging parts of love and attraction are the intangible feelings, emotions, and memories of the two people involved, or sometimes flat-out luck in a given scenario (good timing, or unintentionally positive/negative actions). These cannot be reduced to a set of logical game rules. Although it may be gratifying to virtually play the "game of love", I'm not sure how well it serves to help its players actually find love in real life since it doesn't matter how well you play by the rules as much as how well you are able to react to the chaos in the real thing.
   
   
5. Angela Landin
   Here is my review.
   
   Although I enjoyed learning about all of the games, most of which I have never heard of before, I was really intrigued by Edwin's video game speculation. Listening to Super Mario Bros. music while reading through the information was a great touch that added a nostalgic element for me. I am from that first NES generation and so it brought back fond memories. It was also interesting to learn about the evolution of Super Mario bros because I hadn't followed it past that first NES version in the 80's.
   
   
6. Chikako Furuki
   
   The game speculation that I liked was Edwin's (file 07 Mario Bros. I had a similar experience with my parents when I started to play Mario Bros. My father was really good at it and as I played more, I ended up being better at it. As newer game consoles were introduced my parents were more and more focused on viewing me and my siblings playing. It's true that while playing Mario Bros., the player becomes Mario. While I was playing Mario I was really into the world of Mario, getting all excited over beating a strong enemy or dodging squids in the water stage. It's surprising to see Mario entering his fifth generation of technology. But it is a game that makes you want to play again later on even when you finished it and haven't played for a while. Looking at the history of Mario and the changes in technology, it makes me wonder what will come next. It will be fun to think about what kind of games and consoles will be introduced for our children and what will happen to Mario then.
   
   
7. Naomi Augustine
   Its difficult for me to pick because I found all of them equally interesting. I am forced to narrow down my favorites but I absolutely must mention multiple papers.
   
   *I enjoyed reading about the history and the game play of "Tin Ha Tai Ping" (#5) because I have not heard of it. The game's irony of the destroying "world peace" during the war period also made me ponder the game's meaning.
   
   *I thought the piece about love simulation (#3) was particularly bold and intriguing. I think it is an important game genre that is often missed or ignored for obvious reasons and it was refreshing to read about its background. Thank you for that...now I'm officially curious to try one (or several) out!
   
   *I especially shared the same opinion with #17 about the emphasis on game content and dynamics rather than graphics. This is something I feel very strongly about and I rarely meet people with the same view. Most of my gaming buddies and the general public are too quick to judge a game based on its graphics. There are a lot of games with good content but inferior graphics that are abandoned because the new games with over-the-top graphics steal the show. I feel that the number of bad games are increasing because people spend too much time beefing up the "look" of the game or throwing in numerous over-complicated rules to make up for creativity. I feel like we were trying to convey the same thought in the last paragraph of our papers-about how AI machines and games will provide everything we need and cause us to turn our backs on reality.
   
   There were other papers I have thoughts on but this review will become too lengthy. I guess I pick #17 if I had to pick only one. Thanks everyone for all the great images and videos. I wish I could have done more to mine but it was a bad week. Um...I hope people were able to find my paper since I'm lame and still don't know how to make my file html instead of htm. Also, sorry for my paper being off topic.
   
   
8. John Josling
   Reflection on Mankala
   
   This game has fascinated me since my father brought home a set when I was only eight. It always sat in our game closet, with no one really sure how it was played. I used to love to pick up the calico beans and move them from wooden cup to wooden cup. It was hard for me to see how a game could be created out of such simple parts. Where were the dice, the cards, the flowing text or the bright plastic counters?
   
   It is interesting to speculate on why this game never has caught on in the US. Is it really that we desire more flash and gaud in our games? Are we really so far removed from the seed-sowing genesis of the game? There seem counter examples to both of these. But it is a shame, it sounds like such an intriguing game. Next time I am home, I will have to see if I can find our set and teach myself how to play.
   
   
9. Michael Balistreri
   
   I thought the examination of games in the future in folder 17 was the most intellectually, and perhaps emotionally stimulating. It really got me thinking about the nature of the videogame industry and the way it has progressed. I agreed with most of the writer�s main points, but not all. Even the things I didn�t agree with got me thinking. Even the sarcastic joke news feed for the game of the future at the end gives you a lot to contemplate.
   
   
10. Devin Blong
    
    I was extremely impressed with the game histories in folder 13. Not only were the pages beautifully laid out, but the writing was interesting and thoughtful. I never realized how trivial pursuit served to enforce the domination of the baby-boomer generation, but on reflection, this makes perfect sense. This is the perfect example of games having unnoticed, yet potent effects on society.
    
    
11. Eric Kaltman
    
    I enjoyed John's work (14) discussing the future integration of technology and game play. The true ubiquity of electronics and children's entertainment is already at the fore of my mind, and I actually have mused on this topic myself internally. I fully expect that I will have no real clue as to how I should relate with my children (if I have them), and I think the article does a fantastic job of highlighting the trend of customization in modern children's entertainment. Honestly, I enjoyed the work because I had never considered the effect of customization or boredom with the slowdown of reality vis-a-vis the ever quickening realm of electronic entertainment.
    
    
12. Jennifer Siu
    
    I like to read the web site talking about street fighter because I really agree with his point. Besides, I really like to play fighting games and especially street fighter. I am agree that playing fighting games is not as violent as the parents think. Although many fighting games will appear bloody face of the character in the KO scene, I think the fun in playing fighting games is to entering the commands. It is very changeling to enter the whole commands and react to the opponent's attack. I think fighting games can improve one's reaction time and fingers' flexibility.
    
    
13. Jing Qin Su
    
    I like 'cat's cradle' of No. 19 student. He/She explains and analyzes the game by a very profound way, which I never thought of. He/she relates the game to "educating and socializing children: it develops motor skills, manual dexterity, and coordination". Moreover, he/she states all the elements clear and organized. Last, when relating the game to reality, he/she points out that the game is not like computer games, and it creates abstract imagination and requires a lot of memory. I really admire No.19's wonderful work.
    
    
14. Edwin Zee
    
    The assignment that I thought was the most interesting and thought provoking was John Josling's (Number 14). John's assignment discusses the evolution of ordinary games and how with the introduction of more advance technology how games will evolve to become superior today. I especially enjoy his thoughts on personalization and limitless boundaries that these games will have because that is what children enjoy right now. My favorite part of the whole paper is the last paragraph:
    
    Ultimately, as parents, we will neither like nor hate this game. We will never fully understand its nuances, and this is how it will have to be. Our children's generation will take pride in this cultural phenomenon; it will be part of the stratification that makes them different from their parents.
    
    I also believe as parents we will probably will not hate or be particularly fond of our children's complex games, but something we won't be able to understand and relate to.
    
    
15. Laura Greig
    
    Re: The Past and Future of Digital Love Simulation //Daniel Komen
    
    Lots of games have underlying save-a-poor-helpless-female narrative cliches, but I have never personally seen or played a love AVG, so Daniel's coverage was the most interesting futurepast for me.
    
    It really begs the question of why these games are not more popular or mainstream. Sex is certainly taboo in our country; we see the same evidence in movie ratings. Since many parents fear violent video games will turn children into violent people, it seems like love games would have a conversely good effect. Is it more unhealthy to simulate something socially encouraged than something morally abject?
    
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