gaming

Juarez the Video Game?

Image credit: screenshot via YouTube

Last week I posted a link to the much discussed Great Gatsby video game that's making the rounds. It's not like me to turn my attention to video games for two weeks in a row--no offense to anyone--but this story on NPR's "Morning Edition" caught my attention. This summer, the French gaming company Ubisoft will release a game they call Call of Juarez: The Cartel. As you might expect, the game is generating a lot of controversy due to the real-life situation of the border city. This news comes on the heels of the bloodiest weekend in recent memory, in which 53 people were killed (as reported by The Houston Chronicle). 

Great Gatsby, Great Game

Image Credit: Screenshot, http://greatgatsbygame.com/

All you beautiful little fools, let's have a mid-week party, shall we? In the spirit of good times, I'll draw your attention to the fact that, this week, what we talk about when we talk about Gatsby has changed. I'm not refering to the upcoming film, which will star Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan. No, I'm talking about the video game version of the classic novel! Like ol' James Gatz himself, the game has surfaced from complete obscurity only to become the talk of the town. (According to internet buzz, the game was found at a yard sale.) Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely seen this little gem already. Surely, your lit nerd or gamer friends have posted a link on facebook! In case you haven't taken a peek yet,  play a few rounds here.

Portrait of the Artist as a Science Dilettante: An Interview with Zack Booth Simpson

Last month, I posted a profile of Zack Booth Simpson, a local artist, game designer, and biology researcher. Earlier this week, we met up at Spider House here in Austin to discuss the creative process behind his interactive art installations; the dismal state of popular science in 21st-century America; and his unconventional path into academia. You can find a transcript of my interview with Zack here.

Portrait of the Artist as a Science Dilettante: An Interview with Zack Booth Simpson

By Eileen McGinnis, Viz. Contributor

Last month, I profiled Zack Booth Simpson, an Austin-based artist, game designer, and molecular biology researcher. Among his many projects, Simpson’s ten-year-old company Mine-Control creates interactive art installations that explore scientific themes. I met with Zack on January 19, 2010 at Spider House; selections from our conversation follow.

Portrait of the Artist as a Science Dilettante

bacterial photography

Image Credit: Aaron Chevalier and Nature

H/T to The University of Texas at Austin

Next month, I’ll be posting an interview with fellow Austinite Zack Booth Simpson, a video-game programmer, artist, and part-time research fellow at UT’s Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology. On the 50th anniversary of C.P. Snow’s famous “two cultures” lecture, in which Snow described a “gulf of mutual incomprehension” between literary and scientific cultures, Simpson’s eclectic body of work suggests the value (and urgency) of a new synthesis.

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