James_Portnow's Recent Blog Entries

• A Season of Hope

  The Child's Play charity dinner made me especially proud to be part of this industry.

  James Portnow is CCO of Divide By Zero Games.
  
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  There are some days that you can be unabashedly proud of our industry, some events that remind you what we could be, what we are at our very best.  Tuesday, December 9, 2008 was one of those days and the Child’s Play charity dinner was just such an event.
  

  December 17, 2008
• The Ethics of Persuasive Games

  The question before us today is “Should games persuade?”

  The question before us today is “Should games persuade?” 
  
  At first glance this seems like an obvious question with an obvious answer.  Of course they should.  How else will our medium advance to take its rightful place as a meaningful and impactful art?  How else will we effect change?  But this question bears closer examination.  In today’s piece we will be looking at dangerous ground we walk by making the tacit assumption that games, like traditional media, should persuade.
  

  November 16, 2008
• Video: The Uncanny Valley

  As in-game character models become more photo-realistic, their 'artificialness becomes more obvious'. James Portnow explores the phenomenon known as "The Uncanny Valley", with a mini-video documentary.

  The video above is a collaborative work between James Portnow and Daniel Floyd discussing the Uncanny Valley.  It is based off an article by James Portnow, the full t

  November 4, 2008