Posts by Val Waldron

Here is an interesting conference coming up this month:
Different Games is a two-day conference on diversity and inclusiveness in digital games, hosted April 26-27, 2013 at NYU’s Polytechnic Institute in downtown Brooklyn. Different Games is a space for radical discussions of representation in games and the relationship of the medium to designer and player identity.

Here is our list of top games played during the month of March. The Xbox 360 dominates with FPS and sports games, and the Wii U is still getting plenty of love from a few very dedicated players.

The generous donor of our Arcade Legends machine, Joshua A. Bilmes, has been highlighted in the library's newsletter. A lover of classic games, he is also the president of the JABberwocky Literacy Agency, where he represents authors of science fiction and fantasy, and is the author of the blog Brillig.

Please mark your calendars for March 25th-April 6th and join us as we highlight some of the motion-related consoles and games available at the CVGA by hosting a Motion Gaming Tournament. This tournament will include the following games:Sports Champions: Gladiator Duel for the PlayStation 3 Move Fruit Ninja Kinect for the Xbox 360 Kinect Antigrav for the PlayStation 2 EyetoyExcite Bots for the Wii Dance Dance Revolution X for the PlayStation 2 Dance PadThe event will be a silent tournament that takes place over the course of two weeks (March 25th-April 6th). Participants can come in anytime the archive is open during these two weeks and play the games whenever their schedules allow. Prizes (Amazon gift cards!) will be awarded after points are tallied up at the end.Anyone affiliated with the university (excluding tournament officials) may can sign up by providing avalid UMICH ID, name, uniqname and email, and may sign up in person at the archive desk,via email at video.games@umich.edu, or by phone at 763-6533. See the full tournament rules here.

Here is our list of top games played in the archive during the month of February. The usual suspects top the list, with Mario becoming popular again now that we have the Wii U. Smash also makes an appearance, despite being played only on Fridays.

Here is our list of the top 10 games played in the archive for the month of January. Sports games make up a good portion of the list, with favorites like League of Legends and Mariokart making an appearance. We also see the emergence of a PSP game and the Arcade Legends cabinet, which has garnered interest ever since we got it last year.

Here are the top games played in the archive for the month of December. The sports games show a clear lead, with various versions of Call of Duty close behind. League of Legends also makes another appearance on the PC front.

The makers of the upcoming online free-to-play PC game called SMITE have expressed their interest in finding beta players from UM to check out the game. They are offering free beta keys to anyone who likes their Facebook page.

Here is our list of games played most in the archive during the month of November. Our new Halo 4 game comes very close to topping the list, while League of Legends rises to take on its Xbox 360 contenders. Black Ops is rising too, perhaps in anticipation for Black Ops II in the archive. (No, we don't have it yet. Check Mirlyn.)

Happy Election Day! During this season of politics, we thought we'd give a nod to video games that simulate elections and games that allow you to step into the role of leaders. If you haven't gotten enough political drama this week, feel free to try a political simulator at the archive.