Go here and search for 'war sims'. It is on Jorn Barger's Robot Wisdom site - one of the most impressive websites I know of.

It is a timeline of war simulations and war games, starting very, very long ago:

"The history of knowledge-representation is probably reflected best in the evolution of military simulations. Fighting, defending, and also hunting intelligent prey are vital skills that go back a billion years. Kittens when they wrestle are unconsciously simulating more-serious grownup fights."

It shows the entire history of writing and mathematics from the point of view of how it was used to represent knowledge about war and combat. It covers the invention of the computer (for the military, remember?) and ends with Chris Crawford's "Balance of Power". I'm sure Chris would approve.

It's always refreshing to get a new and different perspective on things, and this is a doozie.

Codemasters introduces fast-track career development and training initiative.

I think this is really smart - both to have an HR / training strategy, and to announce it.

"Says Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, Codemasters' Group HR Manager: "With the implementation of the fast-track programme, we believe this is the first time a company in the games industry has taken staff development so seriously. The appointment of a specific Training Manager is also a major step forward for the company as we seek to provide assistance to staff and further improve their skills." "

Well, I don't know what some of the larger companies like EA are doing, but Kalisto Entertainment, a company I once worked for, had a detailed HR strategy and hired a manager responsible for training, a man who had previously managed internal training for Motorola in all of southern Europe. Sadly, by the time he arrived in late 2000, the company was already starting on it's long slide to ruin.

"Let's face it. The real problem with massively multiplayer online RPGs is the people who play them. Nobody actually roleplays. People just run everywhere screaming in poor English about how they set their pets on fire."

And other surreal observations.

Here's a first look at an actual Game Boy Advance SP.

(Thanks, Tobe.)

Does gaming rot minds? Does it improve hand-eye coordination? Does it make you anti-social and dangerous? Does it make you go blind? Should you not ask the question, just read the box before you buy it?

Here's a different and interesting view. Professor Talmadge Wright and colleagues at Loyola University, Chicago have examined the social aspects of online games, specifically Counter-Strike. (Here's the same thing in German.)

The jury's out on whether that Sony ad is a hoax or not.

This article talks about a wonderful ad for the Sony PlayStation 2, which you can download here (1.87 Mb).

(Thanks, Tom!)

Q: What kind of company was Perfect Entertainment? A: Perfect was the kind of place where you would sometimes go to the pub for lunch and wake up the following morning in a field with a hangover and a traffic cone.

(From this interview with Chris Bateman, writer and designer on Discworld Noir, among others.)

Here's a review of Disaster Report, a very original survival horror (?) game, placing you in the middle of a city during an earthquake. It sounds well-executed.

"The first notes in the longest and slowest piece of music in history, designed to go on for 639 years, are being played on a German church organ on Wednesday."

C'mon people, get those minds stretching.

(From Dave Barry's blog.)