36: WGE MAG
WGE MAG: 37
60 Second Interview:
Tony Pearce TeePee Games
for social, smartphone and online Flash games. Powered by the robust and intelligent discovery engine Geronimo, TeePee Games is able to provide users with a personalised set of game recommendations by gathering and analysing data about their online behaviours and stated interests.
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Specifically, what platforms does TeePee Games support? TeePee Games currently supports Android, Facebook and online Flash games. Our Android app provides users with access to a large directory of games, allowing them to browse content by genre, view user ratings and directly download
hat is TeePee Games? TeePee Games is a rapidly growing discovery platform
and has been extremely well received, attracting more than 100,000 monthly active users in less than three weeks.
“The most
important factor to us when considering a game for inclusion on our discovery platform is quality”
titles to their handsets. The Facebook app works in a similar manner to our portal, utilising Geronimo so that users can find and play games most pertinent to their interests.
How has TeePee Games been received since launch? Brilliantly! We’ve experienced an incredible rate of growth and have had glowing reviews from a number of our members. TeePee Games continues to receive thousands of new user sign ups each day which I think is a great indicator of just how popular the service is becoming. The Facebook app officially launched at the end of July
Why should people sign up to TeePee Games? It’s free for consumers to use. TeePee Games members will find that we can offer them a unique games discovery service not available anywhere else - we help them to find games they’re sure to enjoy playing. The more an individual uses TeePee Games the more comprehensive our “gaming profile” of them becomes which in turn helps to improve the content recommendations that are made.
With so many games available on digital platforms it’s hard to get a game noticed
and attract users. For developers and publishers we can help bring in more users to their games by providing another avenue for that title to be found and played. Games companies will also find that the user base arriving to a game from TeePee Games is likely to have a much higher level of stickiness. Each game we sign up is meticulously indexed so that it is only promoted and recommended to its target audience i.e. individuals who play similar titles or those who have expressed an interest in that particular type of game.
How do developers and publishers get their games featured on the discovery platform?
Companies interested in getting their games featured on TeePee Games can contact our trusty Head of Content and Chief Scout Darren Newnham. We’re always on the lookout for new games to sign up and are happy to hear from all developers and publishers. The most important factor to us when considering a game for inclusion on our discovery platform is quality - we have stringent quality controls in place to ensure that our members are only presented with the best games on a given platform.
Finally, what’s next for TeePee Games? Are there plans to launch the service on other platforms? We hope to expand our discovery service onto a number of additional platforms, from smartphones such as the iPhone and Blackberry through to other social networks. The potential for TeePee Games growth is huge; the scope for expansion is as far and wide as the digital gaming landscape. For now though, we’re very much focused on signing up new content and improving the usability of our website, Facebook app and Android app.
Stuck in the Past
Association v. Schwarzenegger, a Ninth Circuit decision invalidating a California regulation of video game violence.
O
Oral arguments were submitted in front of the Supreme Court on November 2nd, 2010, and the Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit decision 7-2 on June 27, 2011 in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. This marked the first time our nation’s highest court ruled on the level of First Amendment protection afforded to violent content in video games. Given our current technological landscape, the decision by the Supreme Court to rehear the Ninth Circuit case wasn’t terribly surprising. As technology develops, video games are able to achieve higher and higher levels of sophistication, with impressive visual fidelity and increased interactivity. Our modern high- definition consoles and motion-based controllers provide gamers with a level of immersion that has previously never been reached. Utilizing such technology, contemporary titles like L.A. Noire, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted 2 and Mass Effect 2 have portrayed intricate, emotionally moving storylines on par with some of Hollywood’s most classic films. However, this increased level of sophistication comes at a price. It stands to reason that as video games become more realistic and interactive, the line between “virtual” and “reality” begins to fade, and the violent content within
n April 26th, 2010, the Supreme Court agreed to rehear Video Software Dealers
such games has the propensity to be much more dangerous for children (a class of persons who have been noted as lacking “that full capacity for individual choice which is the presupposition of First Amendment guarantees”). As such, these advances in video game technology provide state legislators with more ammunition, making the balance between freedom of expression and the state’s interests in the protection of minors as pertinent as ever.
“
...the line between “virtual” and “reality” begins to fade, and the violent content within such games has the propensity to be much more dangerous for children...”
But does the Supreme Court’s recent decision truly factor in these modern considerations? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem so. As mentioned above, the case was decided on June 27, 2011. However, the law being addressed was signed by Schwarzenegger on October 7th, 2005 - nearly 6 years earlier! Seeing as how the Xbox 360 didn’t see the light of day until November 22nd of that year - not to mention that the fact that the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii weren’t released until late 2006 - there is no way the law’s drafters took
How the Supreme Court’s Decision in Brown Fails to Appreciate Modern Technology: By Eric T. Gerson
into account the elevated levels of immersion provided by modern gaming technology. As such, before litigation even began, the decision was already technologically outdated.
Fast-forward to the oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court this past November. An evaluation of the transcript produces few if any references to games of the current console generation. In fact, the only current-generation titled mentioned was MadWorld, a standard-definition Wii title that portrays black-and-white, highly-stylized cartoon violence instead of photo-realistic gore. So what, then, are the Justices considering in making their evaluation? The one game referenced more than others is Postal II, a computer-based first-person shooter that was released back in 2003! Neither of these titles are a proper representations of what today’s gaming technology is capable of portraying.
The majority’s opinion in Brown is similarly devoid of modern considerations. Justice Scalia looks for “longstanding tradition[s]” of regulating violent content instead of appreciating the power of our advancing technological universe. Scalia also relies on theories espoused by Judge Posner in American Amusement Machine Association v. Kendrick, likening the violence and interactivity of video games to that of choose-your-own- adventure books and classic literature like The Odyssey. Needless to say, we
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