Whose side are you on?
Google's decision to review its policies in China spurred lots of comments about business ethics and compliance to their "don't be evil" motto. Whether it is a matter of ethics or,...
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Altruistic behaviour – [Adventures in Farmville #4]
We have seen how the usual balance in earnings and losses is subverted in Farmville, as negative events do not occur but earnings can be wasted if not collected in time - this is obviously functional to...
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Reaping the benefits – [Adventures in Farmville #3]
Last Sunday, I dedicated a post to negative events in gameplay, and I stated that no negative events occur. Actually, failing to harvest the crops in due time results in letting it wither and, consequently,...
Draught, floods and plant starvation in Farmville
What is the role of negative events in a game? Looking at the massively successful Farmville, there's not much to learn, as negative events are indeed a very marginal part of the experience. It has...
Farmville frenzy
When 67 million users are playing an online game, I can't possibly ignore it. So I signed up for Farmville, despite the negative press. But, as you might imagine, I'd rather go the real thi...
Get safe online
Basic knowledge about online security is a cornerstone of digital citizenship, so I welcome any initiative in this sense. Today I learned about the Get Safe Online Week - an initiative founded by...
Vanity font
Having a dreadful handwriting, up to a certain age, is a curse. Then, when you grow up just a little bit more, it becomes a sign of rebellion against formal authority. It's so common a pattern, that...
Neither virtual nor world
Following my considerations around virtual money and social networks (especially Facebook), I've come across an interesting question (is Facebook a virtual world?) and a meaningful thought about a...
We dared to complain about Rutelli’s english…
...but this is much worse. [via mirumir] For non-Italian readers, here is the reason for my reference to our former Ministry for Cultural Heritage: ...
Virtual gifts
Besides 3D avatars, one thing that intrigued me about Second Life was virtual money - and the ability to buy it and convert it back to real money. I guess this was one of the main reasons for the success...
Navigation disruption
Last week, Google announced the launch of their free turn-by-turn navigation system for advanced mobile phones.The Wall Street Journal reported that Garmin and TomTom stocks plunged after the announcement....