Don’t wanna be a drag, everybody gotta bag
RedheadFangirl
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Posts by RedheadFangirl
Fight, race, shoot, rock with party games
12 years ago
Elias presented Party Games for Libraries at the NJ Library Association conference last month. Mine this for a lot of good content on what platforms and games to use for lib programs. We had a short discussion on good DS games after!
Multiplayer Video Games In Libraries
View more presentations from EliasSan.
DJ-JP, Justin lobster roll, & Redhead swordplay
12 years ago
by RedheadFangirl
in event
NJ Library Association Annual Conference in April 2010– IT section added the hot Tech Lounge, where librarians came by to learn about gaming, Flip videos, and other hot tech programming for libraries.
Lightning talks – 5 mins- were held at one lunch time to learn about various hot topics in a fast, never boring environment.
I captured a few 8bit librarians in photos here…
LibrarianJP and Justin Librarian in the NJLA tech lounge
Librarian JP DJ Hero in the NJLA tech lounge
Wii Sports Resort- Doug and Redhead Fangirl Swordplay (I won!)
1st INFOLINK Lib Cup Gaming Tournament
12 years ago
Wii favorite Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the focus of a regional library gaming tournament in eastern New Jersey recently. On April 17, 2010, INFOLINK (The Eastern New Jersey Regional Library Cooperative) sponsored a video game tournament at the Elizabeth Public Library. Total attendance was 50, including parents, siblings, and random competitive gaming enthusiasts. The Brawl competitors consisted of 19 teens and tweens, representing six different area public libraries: Cranbury, Hillside, Piscataway, Sayreville, Scotch Plains, and Summit.
Teens from the INFOLINK Lib Cup Gaming Tournament
The broadest competition was in League 1 (the middle school bracket, grades 6-8) which featured a draw of 16 blood-thirsty tween combatants. League 1 began with four seeding matches, each consisting of four players all brawling at the same time, to determine ranking seeds. The final bracket was set up NCAA basketball March Madness-style with east, west, north, and south divisions, each with players ranked 1-4. Once seeding was determined, the tournament entered the bracket mode and featured one-on-one, single elimination competition. This bracket featured upsets-galore and ended with just four players remaining by noon.
After lunch was served, the afternoon began with League 2 (the high school bracket, grades 9-12). Though not as deep as the tweens, with only 3 participants making the trek to Elizabeth, League 2 featured competition that was just as fierce. This bracket featured a 3-brawler seeding round, with all three teens competing simultaneously. Once seeding was determined, League 2 moved straight to the bracket competition with a 2 v. 3 match, followed by the winner competing against the 1 seed in the final. Seeds held true in this bracket with Demetrius Pettway (Cranbury Public Library) defeating Anthony Sasso (Sayreville Public Library) in the finals.
Fueled by a chocolate brownie inspired sugar rush and pure middle school gaming blood lust, the afternoon session culminated with the final four playoff from League 1. When the dust settled, it was Kyle Bolton standing atop the tournament bracket with a victory over fellow-Piscataway Public Library gamer Matthew Buys. Testing was not done for performance-enhancers, but there must be something in the water in Piscataway, NJ.
This tournament was the culmination of the Lib Cup 2009-2010 gaming season, which featured 13 participating libraries. In addition to Lib Cup, INFOLINK is also responsible for a Gaming Service that loans video game equipment to central NJ libraries. This service began in March 2009, and is scheduled to end May 28, 2010 after fulfilling its projected goals.
Submitted by Allen McGinley, Piscataway Public Library
Grown up gaming w/ DSi XL
02 years ago
The new Nintendo DSi XL dropped on Sunday, March 28.
- Larger screen size than the DSi, 93% larger than the DS lite
- Two locking viewing angles
- Speakers are louder and clearer
- Longer stylus comes with system, also includes pen type stylus
- DSIware games included, Brain Age Express Arts & Letters; Math
- Top is glossy with a matte bottom
- Larger size, weight seems same
- Buttons all identical to DSi
Nintendo is hoping to gain an older gaming market with this system. The larger screen size makes it easier to see, and the look and pen makes it seem less juvenile. Sharing gaming experience could be better with this larger model.
Libraries could potentially have gaming with DSi XLs, perhaps attracting a different age crowd. E-books are rumored to be released by DSIware– could be a player in the ebook market for libraries to be aware of.
Price point is $20 more than the DSi. Comes in either Bronze or Burgundy color
If you have a DSi, you might wanna wait for the upgrades in the next version (DS2)…
3,2,1…Mario Kart tourney!
22 years ago
Eli Neuberger, Ann Arbor District librarian and author of Gamers? In the Library?, suggested using GT System for the hardest part of running gaming tournaments, the ‘heavy lifting’ of creating brackets, points, matches. You create brackets online without the frantic scribbling on paper or on an spreadsheet. There hasn’t been a 2010 announcement of events, but contact information is found on the wiki to find out more.
GT System is a framework and a set of web tools for producing videogame tournaments of any size for players of any age or experience level. It gives you everything you need to promote and run a videogame tournament at your institution, and it allows all GT system players to see where how they stack up on local, regional and national leaderboards!
Patrons drop and add on-site to tournaments, so all the pre-game work can get blasted by surprises.
One experience:
I ran a Mario Kart tournament without this system – our library had an Under 12 years and Over 12 tournament. The children’s librarians did not fully get across to some kids/parents that they were wait listed, so all showed! Had to work quick on my blank ppt to change the brackets and matches I worked on.
Also, there were going to be 4 adults working the tourney, and two couldn’t come. Left a lot of work setting up controllers, announcing brackets for one while the other worked the room, helped sign in kids, talked with parents, took photos…
I was fielding calls from college students about using cheats and their own controllers. Having played Mario Kart, I was familiar…but not the endless hours these kids had! You might just have to make decisions on the spot– just stick to them!
Eli told us that if you have elementary kids, someone will cry. I think at least three kids cried. It’s hard when their parents are there, and you want them to have fun. But competition is a fact of life, and not everyone gets the blue ribbon.
Siblings bring their own twist; I had a set of triplet boys, and two made it to the finals of 3. The great thing was the parent who told me the triplet who won was not athletic or academic, so it was a win on a big stage for him, a first.
I created certificates for the top three winners, and a gave a gift card for GameStop to the winners in each age group.
The library I’m at now has weekly teen gaming, monthly elem. level gaming, and many tournaments. I’ve offered to try a MK tourney again- loved the cheering and laughing a whole room of parents and siblings made.
On board
62 years ago
Pandemic board game
“Modern board games offer a rich gaming experience with a strong focus on communication and personal interactions.”
ALA December 2008 “Games for learning”
Let’s not forget board games in the gaming and libraries movement!
Chris Harris (http://www.digitalreshift.org/) was a speaker at April 2009 “Gaming Extravaganza Day”, a Central Jersey Regional Cooperative program.
He gave an interesting presentation on board games for libraries, and modern board games used in school and public libraries. Chris used gaming research and he has linked the games he uses to the NY State curriculum standards, including math and social studies
Highlighted points from Chris:
Don’t buy “educational games”, but fun and complex games that use cooperation (rather than the greed based Monopoly type), and cross many different skills and subjects.
Hobby or game stores, or http://funagain.com stock them, and take purchase orders.
Much less $ into hardware and software than video gaming, all $ goes right into content.
Just print his “Board Games that Pwn” worksheet of game ideas-
http://digitalreshift.org/files/boardgamesthatpwn.pdf
HIVE 2 player, 20 mins, Age 6+
Looks simple, mimics classics like Go and Chess
IF WISHES WERE FISHES 2-5 players, 45 minutes, Age 8+
Catch fish, sell at the marke
If wishes were fishes- Board Game
PANDEMIC 2-4 players, 45 mins, Age 8+
Work to cure deadly diseases
More sources–
School Library System Game Library
Boardgameswithscott.com
Syracuse University -Associate Professor at the School of Information Studies. My research areas include the intersection of gaming and libraries and bibliomining, which is the measurement and evaluation of digital library services through bibliomining, or data mining for libraries
No whammies!
52 years ago
Come on down! You are the next contestant…
Press your luck
You can have a big dose of 80′s nostalgia for the game show Press Your Luck. Yes, the “Big bucks, big bucks, no whammies!” show that in its heydey featured whammy characters dressed as Boy George, Michael Jackson.
Gamefly sent this and we took to the family Thanksgiving gathering, knowing the siblings would remember and enjoy. What surprised us was how long they played it– hours! The questions can be absurdly easy “What number follows 1,2,3?” Uh, 4? So much family laughter passing and spinning to win. In a library setting, at least a few rounds for 3 players can be done in an hour.
Press your luck 2010 edition Wii, DS, and PC/Mac
The Price is Right 2008 and 2010
My mother loves the Price is Right, and even likes Drew Carey replacing Bob Barker to our surprise. We gameflied (Game Fly, the Netflix of games) this to play with her, then just picked up a $10 copy of the 2008 version. Yes, you bid to get on stage, play classic games like Plinko and Cliffhanger, spin the wheel, and have the Showcase Showdown. There are small videos inserted so when a prize is shown (A brandddd newww carrr!) it feels more interactive. The actual PiR girls show you the item you are bidding on, along with the delightfully horrible puns for the Showcases.
Price is Right 2010, Wii and DS
The Price is Right CNET review
More Game Show Games include -Family Feud, Trivial Pursuit-
Gamespots Top Wii Games
These may not be the games for the hardest core gamers playing Xbox360, but fun for small groups and definately when playing with older adults. There’s more than just Wii Bowling for seniors out there for libraries!
Game Archive and Superman
22 years ago
Superman is a librarian at the University of Michigan, and he has created an amazing Video Game Archive.
Seriously, you can contact him at superman@umich.edu, under his secret identity of David Carter.
In November, I traveled to Ann Arbor, MI to meet Dave Carter, librarian and comics blogger at Yet Another Comics Blog. I had seen some press about the Computer and Video Game Archive he created at the Art, Architecture & Engineering Library. My husband and his three sisters all went to the University of Michigan (Hail to the Victors!), so it wasn’t a hard sell for him to visit the alma mater.
My thoughts were that we could play some old school games. I was surprised, and pleased, to see almost every station full! There were students playing Sega; students playing the brand new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on a large flat panel; and everything in between.
From current generation (PS3, Xbox360, Wii) to previous generation consoles, to classic consoles…PC games and classic PC games…the archive has it all, and they aren’t just to look at—they are all functioning!
PS2, TRS-80, Intellivision, Atari 2600, Tandy, Turbocrafx 16, Nintendo 64, Game Boys, and more!
I just wanted to be a student there for a few days to take advantage!
Dave was a superb host showing us the library, recording studio, virtual reality area, and of special interest to me- the Graphic Novel collection.
Yes, as a librarian Dave is a teacher, reference coordinator, graphic novel collection specialist, and video game archivist. I know you are drooling with jealousy!
Original collection plan post for the Computer and Video Game Archive.
You’ll find some background details at Eaten by a Grue: http://libgames.blogspot.com/, especially the early posts.
And if you are anywhere near Ann Arbor, make the trip up to see for yourself!