Of course that's fascinating, but what would they do with a mammoth? Polar bears are becoming endangered because of rising temperatures and mammoths have disappeared, supposedly because the climate was too warm. They'll have to build a large freezer to keep the beast alive--Jurassic Park meets Frosty the Snowman--or they might not find a place cold enough on Earth for that purpose.
What about the Dodo? Any bits left?
That's a strange coincidence they're talking about this JP-like experiment a few weeks after Michael Crichton's death. Posthumous humour?
My bad, sorry! I should have proofread my submission more carefully.
Oddly, this announcement does not appear on the front page of the Google Blog. Maybe they want a quiet exit, or is it just a cache problem on my side?
Yahoo, under fierce financial pressure, has begun a search to replace company co-founder Jerry Yang as chief executive
"Your search did not match any documents."
Many sports games may fit what you require?
Probably not... look at his criteria again:
Are there really no games where the goal isn't so much about increasing your own power and defeating others...
Competition and winning is what sport games are all about so that should rule them out (besides if he didn't think by himself of trying out sport games before...).
Are there really no games where the goal isn't so much about increasing your own power and defeating others, but where you instead grow by doing things that benefit others, where enemies shouldn't be killed out of hand, but befriended; where learning, teaching, research and social skills are more important than killing and conquering?
It's not a game you need, it's to work for a NPO. Past a certain point, real life's challenges might meet your expectations better than virtual ones. Or maybe try dating simulations! There's a lot of befriending going on.
The gameplay is basic, and without a storyline no one would play it for 5 seconds.
But you are still playing, you're admitting it yourself. I didn't say it was just a matter of gameplay, I talked about interaction, that's different. I didn't say either games can't deliver a storyline. Besides, this is getting off-topic, re-read what the original poster asked for: "profound concepts", this is beyond adventure game plots. I doubt Hotel Dusk and Trace Memory, even turned into novels, would give him the intellectual kick he's after.
Just one more thing, while re-reading your message.
...are also meant to provide entertainment, but many also provide deep subject matter and tough issues for humanity
This is where you're wrong, books/movies, even music, are not meant to provide entertainment, this is just a possibility among others, a consequence of their broader scope.
Because by definition books and movies are not games, as simple as that. Sure their content can entertain but that does not make them games, you don't "play" with movies or books unless you're 1 year old. But then you play with anything, even with your food and your wee-wee (hopefully not at the same time).
With games you have to interact and that interaction is supposed to produce fun and pleasure. If you change that basic principle, would it be still a game? Good video games are interesting if they are fun to play, good books and movies don't need to be fun to be interesting.
profound concepts, to learn of new paradigms, processes, and possibilities
... So what exactly are the barriers of entry for great thinkers (or groups of thinkers) to leave their mark on games?
Just the way this is worded sounds awfully pedantic and is borderline shoddy intellectuliasm. Video games are meant to be played, yes, like children playing with their toys. I'm sorry if the analogy is unbearable for some adults who look back with contempt at their childhood's leisures but the aim of games is to provide fun, entertainment, so until this is redefined, whoever needs to have "deep" thinking trips would be best advise to discuss with academics or read books written by them on philosophy, metaphysics, or whatever rocks his vessel.
However, I would also have to disagree with the "mindless fun" designation. Like in every media/art, there are many different types of games that require various skills and inclinations. From strategy games to puzzle games, there are plenty of titles that test the sharpness of your mental faculties. And if it's not the treat humanists are looking for, there's still the option to analyze the current games offering rather than expecting them to offer you food for the brains in a conspicuous package. What I mean by that is that some games may already propose deeper themes and topics and material for debates and thinking, all you need is just to look for them, look beyond the gameplay, this is one way to explore games with a more adult view and it's certainly better than expecting them to serve pompous content with a Plato Seal of Quality.
"The medium is the massage." -- Crazy Nigel
