1. Can games reflect what we are like? How do games influence us (especially youth)? Can we categorize people by the game they are playing?

Although I don’t like video games that much I want look into why other people do. That’s why I posted a list of best games but it’s PEOPLE that are my main area of interest.

2.When I was thinking about projects that I have done in the past they all fell in the categories o games that I like the most. I like quizzes, card games, chess and some other games that require body movement. I was trying to figure out what I like about gaming and I realized that I like: challenge, thinking abut strategy, concentrating on one thing, taking a risk, gambling , improvising, getting excited, forgetting about everyday else…

The most important fact is that although playing games require thinking, planing or other “effort” it helps me relax and feel better. That’s why I want to create games/environments were (hopefully) people would get some adrenaline going…

(No wonder there are so many people in Vegas!)

I found this interesting list of

10 Future Classic Games:

[www.forbes.com]

and

Games We Long To Play
[www.forbes.com]

It’s very funy, that in order for me to find some info on “jumping” I have to rely on blogs and other personal sites….

Here is some info on jumping from this blog:
[www.cloggie.org]

and from Wikipedia:

Originally, the gabber dance style called “hakken” was used to dance to jumpstyle music, although it is slower than hardcore; but later a new dance evolved called “Skiën” (to ski). Skiën means kicking one’s feet forward and backward on the bass line, while the torso goes the opposite way (right foot forward, torso back), once in a while lifting one foot significantly higher than usual to indicate a break in the beat. This dance, usually called “jumpen” nowadays (derived from English, to jump), originated in Belgium in 1997 but has seen a real popularity boost in recent years, gaining widespread fame in Belgium and Northern France around 2002 and more recently in the Netherlands. In other countries such as Germany and Austria it has also garnered some interest, albeit among a limited public. The Belgian DJs Da Boy Tommy and Da Rick are often credited with its invention.
It is also called skank but is different from the skank associated with ska and reggae music.
Often another variation of this dance called “Duo-Jump” is performed by two people who choreograph their movements and perform them in unison along side one another. This variation of the jumpstyle dance also originated in Belgium. Some see similarities in the dance style with inline dancing
Jumpers can go to special jump discotheques, often called “Jumpotheques”; for example “The Oh!” in Gavere. Also special events, like the yearly Bassleader-event in Flanders Expo Ghent, are mostly kept in Belgium, but also events like ReverZe and Explosive Car Tuning or Jumping Is Not A Crime(JINAC) do their part in spreading this music style….”

And if you want to learn the steps here is a link to a tutorial:
[www.youtube.com]

I did some research abut jumping boys and their style in my favorite video:) I have to do more but at least I know what it is:

(from wikipedia)

….The term Jumpstyle is used both for a musical genre (a subgenre of Techno, recognized by its hard beat and playful melodies) and for a type of dance usually performed to this style of music. In the early days of Jumpstyle, many categorized it as a slower variant of Hardcore Techno, but it has since solidified its position as a genre of its own.

Jumpstyle traces its roots to Belgium in the late 90’s. While the trend has caught on in other parts of the world, such as the Middle East, it remains largely unpopular in America despite the embrace of American bands such as Captain Ahab and prominent exposure on shows such as So You Think You Can Dance.

Jump also comes with a certain way of dancing, and there are certain ’styles’ in this dance.

• Oldskool jump: Was based on the first move that was used in the dance called ’skieën’, later a certain standard routine came that was a combination of kicking forwards and backwards both legs on the basslines, even later certain moves came such as a spin.

• tekstyle/starstyle: The jumper dances it to french tek or Hardstyle. The jump is more sidewise than the others.

• Hardjump: This is the hardest variant of Jumpstyle. The basic step is different from the others and the jumper has to pitch hard on the ground.

• Freestyle: With this style, the ‘jumper’ does whatever he/she feels like, there are no certain restrictions of jumping and it usually involves a mix of Oldskool Jump & Hardjump & tekstyle.

• Duojump: Is jumping with two (or more) people at the same time, usually the people performing the Duojump have practiced it before performing it, since they both do exactly the same routine and try to synchronize it as much as possible.

I just found this funny video of boys jumping in Den Bosch (Netherlands). (I used to live in that town). I was actually looking for a video of something else and found this. I like parts when many kids jump in the middle of the town and on the check board. I think I might use this idea for one of my projects. It’s energetic and fun! Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eRxiGFrSA8

As everybody know I have many interests and ideas for my thesis.
Here are my major themes:

PEOPLE-human interactions and reactions with people/objects/situations
(seems to have many interesting options and unexpected outcomes)

LIGHT and it’s aspects: power, projections, screens, color, magic, expectations,

If you have any suggestions GO AHEAD AND blog, Blog, BLOG, BLog, BloG, BlOg, Bolg