Author Archives: Jens

Jens Schroeder

Jens

After becoming one of the world’s few experts in videogaming in East Germany by writing his German Master thesis on the topic, Jens moved to Australia to obtain his Master in Arts and Media from Griffith University. While in Australia, he met Blogcampaigning’s founders Parker and Espen and became a regular contributor in March 2006. Jens is currently enrolled in the University of Film and Television Studies in Potsdam, Germany where he is working on his Ph.D. It deals with the differences in perception of videogames in Germany and Australia and relates these to the different foundational dynamics of the two countries. When not dealing with videogames, Jens is also acting as a music supervisor for his friend’s movies.

Fanboys: These Days’ Mods and Rockers

By Jens | Published: March 2, 2010
When I was writing about the iPad and technicity, I noticed that the notion of technicity can also be applied to the scourge of the game world: Fanboys, and their hatred of other people’s choices. To recapitulate what technicity means: it is an “aspect of identity expressed through the subject’s relationship with technology. Particular tastes [...]
Posted in Jens Schroeder, Marketing, Technology, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Breaking with Technicity: The iPad is the Nintendo Wii of the Computer World

By Jens | Published: February 5, 2010
Apple introduced its iPad to mixed reactions: It’s not capable of multi-tasking, lacks Flash support, and has no camera. It was derided as a blown-up iPod touch. The enthusiasm that has surrounded other Apple launches was lacking. I believe one of the main reasons for this is the iPad’s break with the dominant technicity of computers. Technicity [...]
Posted in Communications, Technology, Video Games | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Australia’s contrary Internet tendencies

By Jens | Published: January 7, 2010
Australia is a weird country. Given that the country’s broadband is amongst the worst in the developed world, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced a plan to build a national broadband network. The ambitious project will take up to eight years, cost $43 billion, create tens of thousands of jobs and will see fibre-optic cable laid out [...]
Posted in Communications, Jens Schroeder, Online, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Internet Eyes’ put gamers on police patrol

By Jens | Published: October 9, 2009
A couple of months ago I wrote about a $2-million citizen surveillance system installed along the Tex-Mex border which allowed to people to catch Mexicans from the comfort of their home. I was joking about what would be next: Xbox users collecting achievements by helping to catch gang members? The answer came quicker than I thought: gamers [...]
Posted in Jens Schroeder, Video Games | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Left 4 Dead in the Aussie Censorship System

By Jens | Published: September 21, 2009
It looks like Left 4 Dead 2 has been banned in Australia. The reason: [C]lose in attacks cause copious amounts of blood spray and splatter, decapitations and limb dismemberment as well as locational damage where contact is made to the enemy which may reveal skeletal bits and gore. This was not deemed suitable for 15-year-olds. Despite the [...]
Posted in Et cetera, Jens Schroeder, Video Games | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Could game play at work actually improve engagement?

By Jens | Published: September 2, 2009
“Button” is a nice example of how games can be used to mentally stimulate people in order to keep them engaged in their mundane jobs. The game is as simple as it gets: there is a button on the screen and when it lights you push it. Explains Techcrunch: Blank Software will choose random times to light [...]
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Policenauts Fan Translation Finally Sees Release

By Jens | Published: September 1, 2009
Snatcher is one of my all-time favourite games. I’m lucky enough to own the original game for the Sega CD. After reading a review in a German gaming magazine, I bought Hideo Kojima’s early masterpiece right away. In this cyberpunk adventure you play as Gillian Seed, a “Runner”. Your job is to track down the source [...]
Posted in Communications, Metal Gear Solid, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How I Met the Inventor of the Videogame

By Jens | Published: August 7, 2009
Ralph Baer, inventor of the videogame console, recently came to Berlin to celebrate the online launch of the “History of Video Games Timeline” by the Berlin Computer Game Museum. Quite an exciting moment for me, and probably the last chance to have a chat with the man behind the craze that touched our lives and [...]
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Community-based video game funding – could it work?

By Jens | Published: July 30, 2009
Gabe Newell recently suggested letting gamers fund a title, and in the process cutting out the middle-man that is the publisher. “One of the areas that I am super interested in right now is how we can do financing from the community. So right now, what typically happens is you have this budget — it [...]
Posted in Jens Schroeder, Video Games | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Must Love Death: German Social Media Lessons

By Jens | Published: July 15, 2009
The preface: The claim resurfaces regularly. I’ve written about it; others have written about it: in terms of internet and social media, Germany lags behind. ReadWriteWeb just published an interview with Marcel Weiß, the editor of Netzwertig.com—one of Germany’s most popular blogs—in which he explains that Germany is at least five years behind the U.S. when it comes [...]
Posted in Communications | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments