ESRB I'll be the first one to say that computers are only as smart as those that would design and write the software. That said, the New York Times recently posted an article concerning the ratings system of the ESRB and how it will move from human-based grading to computer-based grading. It isn't that the computers have some sort of A.I. that plays the entire game through an assigns a rating (wouldn't that be grand?) but rather that the games will move toward a questionnaire-based rating system.

Shane R. MonroeThere's too much content in this episode to cram into a subject line! Clocking in at three hours, episode 4 features an exclusive interview with retrogaming radical Shane R. Monroe and the talents of Mark Vergeer (back with a vengeance!), Christina Loguidice, Chris Kennedy, Rob Daviau, Matt Barton, and Bill Loguidice. We also announce and read the winner of our one paragraph videogame back story contest.

Download the episode here (128K format).

Segments and approximate times below:

• Matt reads "Donkey Kong," the prize-winning short story by Craig A. Meyer (4:00)
• Mark talks about his first look at Duke Nukem Forever (6:58)
• Christina on active gaming (18:43)
• Rob reminisces about the ups and downs of being an Amiga fanboy in Canada (28:17)
• Chris reviews the recent Supreme Court case on videogame violence (52:40)
• Matt interviews Shane R. Monroe (1:12:28)
• Bill talks about a literally killer game, Sub Mission, complete with original cassette audio (2:18:52)

It seems to be a common assumption that males prefer violent games, whereas females prefer games that are more social in nature (Second Life, Wii games)--and particularly ones that emphasize nurturing (The Sims).

Gamers become more aggressive from TV than from playing video games.

The British Board of Film Classification has conducted a study to gain more insight into the psychological effects of playing video games. The organization states that most gamers suffer more ill effects from TV violence than from video games. Click the following link for the full report: