he believes is relevant to everything

"Gage isn't taking an anti-video-game violence stance He describes himself as a hardcore gamer who is excited about the release of Modern 2 and not at all an anti-video-game-violence guy Instead, he hopes that the Lose/Lose's real-world consequences for player aggression against virtual aliens will provoke conversations about the worth of replica Omega 1528.76 watch virtual things. He sees the game as part of the dialogue about how important the virtual parts of our lives are,

a topic he believes is relevant to everything from MySpace-related suicide to griefing in video games, that touches on everything from social interactions online to banking. "Lose/Lose is out there to try and engage us in this conversation," he said "What replica Omega 2901.51.82 watch does it mean that we value property differently? How can we interact with each-other successfully in an environment where my hard drive is my artistic livelihood,

but yours might only contain links to YouTube? Or in which some have their primary social interactions, and others only use a place to unwind and destress This isn't a situation that can be solved with rules or laws, but one that we have to grow into societally, and yet, it's growing ever faster than we're understanding what that means How do we replica Omega 951162.75 watch catch up?"Personally, I've always been really interested in how the internet abstracts us from what we do or say by way of anonymity This is the same mechanic that Lose/Lose employs

I think the people who've played

"It was never meant to be made, rather a catalyst for discussion. "But Lose/Lose is being played A list on Gage's website reports high scores generated by gamers unafraid of the damage "Lose/Lose would do to their computers The top scorer has "slaughtered 4912 aliens" and replica Omega 4617.31.02 watch done who knows how much damage to their computer, if the data being pulled by the game's website is accurate and real, which Gage says it is

"I think the people who've played it have added an important element to it," he said "In demonstrating that they value their data differently. "Or, perhaps, Lose/Lose players value other people's data differently Gage said he's aware of the game replica Omega 1396.79 watch being played on computers at retailers such as Best Buy or The Apple Store, an act he discourages He equates the act with going to a store's display computer and dragging important files into the trash.

Regardless of where people are playing the game and whose data they might be destroying, the themes of Lose/Lose are still relevant To Gage, one of the game's key attributes is that it gives the world a video game that undisputedly has real-world replica Omega 1465.51 watch consequence. "I do think it's worth questioning what this medium can convey," he said "Lose/Lose does this by taking the standpoint that killing in video games could have consequences in real life, and it supports this statement by having consequences.

Once again it is time for my Infected Mushroom

Players drop their pieces to the beat of music, clearing the board with combos for big points More than 100 stages of single player gameplay and four different difficulty levels should keep the solo gamer occupied, while cooperative and versus online play for up to four players should ensure you never play alone. The niftiest feature of the game, however, is the replica Omega 2262.50 watch ability to import your own music The game will analyze your tunes and let you play along to a beat you might be more comfortable with

Once again it is time for my Infected Mushroom collection to thrive!O-D Beat Drop will be available on Wednesday for 800 Microsoft points. This week on Arcade: 0D Beat Drop [Major Nelson]Zach Gage says his riff on Space Invaders isn't maliciously replica Omega 951460.79 watch designed software made to destroy your computer files — though it might do that It's a more thoughtful project than that Lose/Lose is about values and value

It's about what happens if a "Game Over" screen destroys your copy of the game, as happens with Gage's game And it's about what happens if every alien invader that you shoot down for points represents a file somewhere on your computer, a file that, if you blast that replica Omega 1514.20 watch alien, is deleted forever. As it says in red, all-caps letters on the official Lose/Lose homepage: [sic]"I'm shocked anyone has played it at all," Gage said in an interview with Kotaku

successfully leading the charge for EA

Playfish will now operate as a part of EA Interactive, a division of the company dedicated to web and wireless games More than 150 million Playfish titles are installed and played around the world, with titles like Pet Society, of which I am a big fan, generating more than 1 billion play sessions a month. "Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends replica Omega 2579.75 watch and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space," said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Interactive

"EAi has been successfully leading the charge for EA, and with the addition of proven expertise from Playfish, their broad consumer base and strong game brands, we're moving ahead aggressively in our plans to lead in the category of cross-platform replica Omega 4586.75 watch social entertainment. "If there was any doubt that EA was completely serious about the social networking games space, this should get rid of it

This is an aggressive move into the growing industry segment that could only be topped by the acquisition of Mafia Wars creators Zynga, which I am fully expecting some major game company to announce any day now. Puzzle and rhythm collide in O-D Beat Drop, the puzzle game that lets you use the beat of your own music to set the pace of the game. replica Omega 321.93.42.50.13.001 watch Developed by Cyclone Zero and published by Arc System Works, O-D Beat Drop is your standard block-dropping puzzle game with a rhythmic twist