Project Glass: One day...

As I wrote in 'A Brand New Playground' this just MIGHT be the future of glasses and technology...

5th Ave Frogger by Tyler Deangelo, Renee Lee & Ranjit Bhatnagar

Frogger... who didn't play it when (s)he was young? Now you can play the 'real-life' version in a fusion with the original arcade classic! Check out the video!

Guy from Method (WoW-guild) on World Series of Dating

Look at the reaction of these two lovely people when they find out they used to be playing the same game and the guy was actually member of the legendary 'Method' guild... brilliant!

Coolest music videoclip EVER! - It's interactive! Red Hot and Chilli!

Drawsomething sells 50 million 'copies' - an update...

Drawsome is Awesome! 

But still, could be improved...

I just advised the guys at Drawsome to add some game-mechanics to their app to make it more fun.. Let's see if they incorperate it...



1. Add 'time'. This will work two ways and will increase the points you get for drawing and guessing a word. The quicker you draw, the more points you (both) receive when guessing. The quicker on guesses a drawing - again - the more points (you both) receive.

You could even add a challenge mode: draw THIS WORD within 100 seconds (amateur-mode), 60 seconds (designer-mode), 30 seconds (Bob Ross-mode)

2. Limited Ink... the less ink you use the higher your score.

3. Draw with 1 strike... the less 'strikes' you use on the canvas, the more points you get! In challenge mode you can have: 30 strikes (amateur), 15 strikes (pro) 5 strikes (Mondriaan mode) ...

What do YOU think?

Friday Fun: I'm an Art Director

This is why Art Directors SHOULD NOT develop game concepts...

Touch Code System...

Impressive enough to share, but I have NO IDEA what you should do with this technology... Just like Augmented Reality in many cases. It's a stunning technology, but applications are most of the time badly thought-through and useless.

Facebook and Google: Disrupting Gaming Platforms

I wrote about this two years ago, when I started writing the Dutch version of my book 'A Brand New Playground' in 2009. In my book I wanted to described the available gaming platforms like Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as well as handhelds Nintendo DS and PSP. But when I dove into 'PC platforms I noticed that a 'PC' as such was not the just one platform or 'a platform in itself'. You would have 'multiple platforms' you could access by using a PC (or rather ... the internet). Within the platform 'PC' I defined three segments:

1. Client based (DVD Roms)
2. Server based (DVD combined or downloadable code that you need to install combined with Server based prescriptions - paid or free)
3. Browser based (casual games on websites)

Since mobile phones and tablets can go online so easily through Wifi you have to redefine how you describe gaming platforms... now (from April on) all the new television sets will be 100% online as well offering all sorts of content, varying from the weather on demand (like an app), through YouTube-channels, Google-channels, Gaming channels, etc. etc.

In my book I mentioned that gaming consoles like the PlayStation 3 are not just gaming consoles, but portals to all the internet content there is: music, film, photo, etc. LA Times recently posted an article claiming that the Xbox is actually used more to watch other content than just games. Microsoft reports that families are spending over 80 hours monthly on content like movies (through the HBO-portal for instance) and music!

At the end of writing my book I got frustrated about offline versus online, above the line versus below the line and such and concluded: THERE ARE NO LINES ! The internet is based on one thing and one thing only: Content! This 'content' can be textual, visual (static or dynamic, audible or software (fun or functional). If you want to build a brand around 'content' it is wise to first come up with a good concept and content strategie, but that is all (largely) explained in the presentation below. And of course I would be happy to help you with developing a good concept for your brand anytime. 

Brand New Game Digital Interactive Branding

View more PowerPoint from Bart Hufen [BrandNewGame]

The point I wish to make here is that platforms and hardware are no longer connected in the traditional sense. Both 'hardware' as well as 'software' platforms (like Facebook) can be gaming platforms... Facebook was the best example up to now, but Google Play will be a fierce competitor to Facebook and might actually be the key driver to make Google+ successful (as I believe Google+ is not really successful in terms of active users year to date). 

So keep your eyes open for Google Play and Smart TV and stay tuned to my blog! ;-) 

Social Gaming Trend Report 2012 by Newzoo

An interesting outlook from my friends at Newzoo on social gaming or casual gaming as it was called since the social media hype exploded into our faces... ;-) Check it out and let me know if you have any questions through Twitter. Newzoo Trend Report: Casual Social Games - February 2012

View more presentations from Newzoo

Man (60+) playing flight simulator

A great example that not only young people are playing games... This man plays his flight sim every day since he got his pension. He actually talks with friends over 'Skype'. Great to see how old boys still keep their game going on!

Funny also that his wife is actually scanning stamps for her collection... !

PS - Yes ... I need a new television, but I seldom watch TV hahaha. Will buy a Smart TV soon...