For those interested in the innards of major social trends, MIT’s Technology Review<\/i> has a few great links.<\/p>\n
\nFirst up is this nice info-graphic animation about what’s inside an iPod<\/a>. Basically little hard drives with a few microprocessors, the iPod and its digital brethren are fascinating extensions of the personal computer and the Walkman, with massive implications for the cultural industries.<\/p>\n \nAlso linked from MIT is this weblog review of The Sims 2<\/a>, the suburban life simulator and God-playing game. The review is particularly interesting because it’s written by a player that likes to wreak havoc on his virtual world (called a ‘griefer’ in gaming circles). Some upgrades in The Sims 2<\/a> worth note for the cultural manager: players can now set up their lives and towns in a Shakespeare-inspired village called ‘Veronaville’; personality and physical traits of virtual parents now carry forward to their virtual offspring in a nod to DNA; characters now have not only user-controlled personality traits in the moment, but aspirations for their lives, as well.<\/p>\n \nIt’s quite striking from the review how this wildly popular simulation game has become a form of playwriting for its players (in this case, the reviewer created an anti-hero specifically designed to mess with the other virtual characters). From costuming, to face design, to set design, to motivation and direction, games like The Sims 2 have become theatrical entertainment, with some of the same richness, depth, and interplay you might find on stage…minus the real people.<\/p>\n