TriplePoint PR

Back to school already? Here are 25 games that will get your brain in shape before you know it. Even if you’re not headed back to the classroom, we can all use a good mental push up (and a fun distraction) from time to time.

Frisky Mongoose has compiled a list of 25 top titles for “brainstream” gamers both young and old. Did your favorites make the list? poweRBrands and Empire Avenue are 2 of our favorites, simple because they offer something totally unique and relevant for PR and marketing folks like us. Several – if not most – of these social, mobile and casual games are free, so put on your smarty pants and play learn your hearts out!

Facebook games:

poweRBrands by Reckitt Benckiser – “The first Facebook game of its kind, designed to test players’ marketing and business abilities, teach strategy and decision-making skills, and introduce users to the culture and challenges that face the company’s marketers every day.

This week, the folks at Greenopolis are proud to unveil Oceanopolis, a new social game on Facebook that offers an innovative approach to recycling and conservation – make it fun and rewarding through the vehicle of social gaming!

Referred to by TechCrunch as a “Facebook Game With a Mission,”   Oceanopolis combines the engaging experiences found in today’s top social games with real world calls-to-action for recycling and conservation of natural resources.  With the ultimate goal of building a long-term sustainable community, Oceanopolis players are encouraged to maintain their environment through the in-game actions of converting waste into treasure by recycling. The team over at Greenopolis have done a fantastic job in summarizing what players can expect when the game, currently in open beta, receives a full rollout in the coming weeks.

A recent keynote at the Develop conference by Hello Games’ Sean Murray cast a harsh light on the realities of publishing downloadable games on home consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade, Sony’s PlayStation Network and Nintendo’s WiiWare Channel. He purports that self-published games like his recently-released critical darling Joe Danger (which sold 50,000 units week one on PSN) are both more successful and more profitable than those of major studios.

Joe Danger, breaking all the rules.

It’s no secret that, when it comes to home entertainment, we’re in the midst of a distribution revolution. Content once tied to broadcast airwaves is now being ravenously consumed on the internet via computers, video game consoles and set top devices.

TriplePoint has the privilege of working with some of these new media startups. PlayOn (which recently made the jump to iPhone; CNET link) streams Hulu and other web video onto PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, without the need for a costly Hulu+ account. For those without a video game console, Softkinetic is providing a Microsoft Kinect-like experience to a massive install base via their set top box gesture recognition system.

With two cameras and a powerful microphone, Kinect knows who’s in front of the TV. For games like Dance Central, the technology will track all the poppin’ and lockin’ you can throw at it. But as an entertainment hub, a Kinect-enabled Xbox 360 will change the way that marketers convey their messages. Advertising is the backbone of media, providing the funding for programming and keeping content free for the viewer.

The Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) is one of those rare trade shows where with a little bit of effort, the stars can align to produce something spectacular.  With nearly every major company in the gaming industry vying for attention at the show, breaking through the clutter and noise of the West and South Halls is no small feat.  It requires thoughtful planning, timely execution and well, a CEO who is willing to shave his head to fulfill a bet.

The LEGO Group and developer NetDevil made a resounding splash at E3 2010 last week with LEGO Universe, the upcoming MMOG that will change the way you think about online play.

E3 attendees were able to demo the game live on the show floor and take home customized Minifigures from the “build bar.” Members of the press got a special look at the game’s unique “behaviors” system, which enables players to apply simple programmable abilities to their LEGO creations and literally bring in-game models to life.

As the development team works around the clock to perfect LEGO Universe for an October launch, enthusiasm is rapidly building among LEGO fans, gamers and press around the globe. From hardcore MMO enthusiasts and game industry influencers, to mainstream media, kids and parents, LEGO Universe is striking an imaginative spark in everyone who plays it.

Judging from journalist reactions at E3, what’s not to love? LEGO Universe beat out big names like Final Fantasy XIV and Star Wars: The Old Republic to bring home some of the top E3 awards, proving to gamers everywhere that LEGO Universe is a force to be reckoned with – not just for kids, but for LEGO fans and gamers of all ages.

See what all the cool kids are saying about LEGO Universe at E3 2010, including top awards and preview impressions to-date:

Last Thursday, we stopped by the Automattic Lounge at Pier 38 in San Francisco to hear a panel of venture capitalists and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs answer the question—are we blowing another bubble? Moderated by VentureBeat’s Owen Thomas, discussion began by asking how to spot signs of a bubble. Panelists included Paul Martino, chairman of Aggregate Knowledge; Christine Herron of First Round Capital; Corey Reese, CEO of Trumpet Technologies; and Tim Chang of Norwest Venture Partners.

Sign of a bubble:
• Big rush of capital into any particular market, whether or not market can absorb that capital
• More jobs or resumes floating around
• Look at valuation of jobs market: people getting lots of job offers versus a more challenging market
• Software developer who’s never done programming taking programming jobs
• Look for broadness of activities rather than deepness
• Grandma asking about tech stocks
• Cheese sommelier serving personally sliced fine cheese at corporate events (note: there was no cheese sommelier at the Automattic Lounge)

Jamin Brophy-Warren

In a climate when print properties are scaling back or shutting shop altogether, it takes a great deal of courage to start a new magazine from scratch.

After being one of the youngest hires in the history of the Wall Street Journal and covering a variety of web and entertainment topics including videogames, Jamin Brophy-Warren left the WSJ to take on a new challenge with the launch of Kill Screen Magazine, an in-depth print product fixated on a single question: “What does it mean to play games?”

We recently had the chance to catch-up with Jamin about his new venture.

TP: We’ve known you from your time with the WSJ and various other places, but tell us a little bit about your new venture, Kill Screen?

The buzz surrounding CES 2010 in January was all about 3D technology – new TV sets, new Blu-ray players, games, mobile phones…. the list goes on and on. Also contributing to the 3D hysteria, films adopting the 3D format (one in particular that involved blue aliens and told a cliché storybook tale of love, courage and rebellion) are captivating moviegoers around the globe. While heavy tech addicts are drooling over 3D technology, the jury is still out on whether the mass market will be willing to spend their hard-earned clams on rigging the home with 3D. I attended the 3D Gaming Summit seeking answers on whether the world was truly ready for 3D.

New Speakers and Panels Announced for the Digital Media Law Conference in San Francisco on April 29

The conference will commence with keynote speaker Mick Bobroff, partner in Ernst & Young’s Northern California Technology practice, examining revenue recognition models for the sale of virtual goods. Additionally, speakers will address a range of vital topics at the Digital Media Law Conference, such as protecting intellectual property, contract negotiation, digital music licensing and consumer privacy.

Featured panels throughout the afternoon will prepare business leaders for new challenges and developing legal concerns in the digital media space. The Digital Media Law Conference will be held on April 29, 2010 from 12:00pm until 6:30pm PDT at the Commonwealth Club.

In addition to virtual goods revenue recognition, speakers will address a range of vital topics at the Digital Media Law Conference, such as intellectual property, digital music licensing and consumer privacy. New speakers will join the following panel discussions:

I think it’s a bit harsh to say that social gamers are “weird”, as Newsweek recently put it… But you have to dig a little deeper than face(book) value to understand the attraction of playing casual games with actual friends on the (social) web.

In the end, it all boils down to the fact that people like playing games with their friends, and the Facebook platform allows new audiences to enjoy a “gaming community” atmosphere in a familiar setting (Facebook) with people they know, and games they can learn to play easily and that don’t require a large time investment to enjoy (social gamers are busy)!

It’s more fun to beat your friends than strangers, and social games can even lead to better connections with Facebook friends you don’t know very well, or otherwise wouldn’t have a chance/reason to interact with on a regular basis.

With every move you make, a chemical called dopamine sends a message to your brain to tell your muscles to function. When the dopamine supply is seriously depleted, messages cannot be transmitted efficiently, and the body cannot respond as easily. Imagine having your supply of dopamine cut down by eighty percent. That’s Parkinson’s disease (PD). With a bevy of medications available to deal with both physical and cognitive symptoms, the real challenge is finding non-pharmaceutical forms of relief.

Fortunately, good doctors prescribe exercise as seriously as they do drugs. A study at the University of Pittsburgh found that an exercise regimen slowed down the degeneration of nerve cells in rats with PD. Research is now occurring to find concrete evidence that this benefit also applies to humans.

Fishing.  One may call it a sport.  Another may call it a hobby.  Regardless of how it may be classifed, fishing is an activity that requires great patience, dedication, and knowledge of  the creatures one is in pursuit of and the environment which they inhabit.

Perhaps a deceased master of management practices does not serve as the ideal fishing companion, but this past weekend, the late Peter Drucker tagged along in spirit on my initial fishing endeavor of the 2010 season.  The first official weekend of spring presented a prime opportunity to gather my fishing rod and head down to the lake in hopes of snagging the big one.

After baiting my hook and casting my line, I sat on the dock of Carnegie Lake and perused through the 392 pages of Drucker’s 1954 TriplePoint cult classic, The Practice of Management.  Having spent a larger portion of the past few weeks reading and digesting the book (I am not alone), I searched for anything particularly motivating as I waited for signs of life to surface from the vast body of water that lay in front of me.

Players of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games have long known that working cooperatively and competitively within the game space has improved not only their leet gaming skillz but also real life abilities, including leadership, communication skills, creative thinking and adaptability. Lee Sheldon, assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, has taken the use of MMO design and terminology to the next level and applied it to his classroom education.

Referenced by Professor Jesse Schell in his talk at DICE, Sheldon has applied basic elements of MMOs to his classroom, including forming guilds (small groups within the classroom), quests (activities and projects – both “solo” and “guild” based), offering “Boss battles” (exams), and using XP points instead of grades. While the media has focused mostly on Sheldon’s use of a non-traditional grading system, they’re missing the bigger picture.

Prepare for trouble and make it double! March 14, 2010 was the launch date of the new Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver games on Nintendo DS, remakes of the 1999 original Gold and Silver games on Game Boy Color. For those who thought ahead of time and had a Reservation Card, Target was giving away gift cards per game, as well as Lugia and Ho-oh collectible figurines. For once daylight-saving time was actually welcomed in my home, as it meant I would get to play the new games one hour earlier. After several hours of anticipation and strategic decision making (“I’ll buy Gold if you let me play your Silver later…”), I finally had a copy in my very own hands. Pokémon HeartGold was my game choice and I am happy to say that it combines old-school Pokémon antics with some updated adventures.