40 :WGE MAG


“We should make every effort to understand new technology. We should take into account the possibility that developing technology may have important societal implications that will become apparent only with time. We should not jump to the conclusions that new technology is fundamentally the


same as some older thing with which we are familiar.”


Justice Alito, Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association


are in a much different world than the one in which Posner made his 2001 ruling (before the release of last-generation consoles like the Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube). Today, with devices like the Microsoft Kinect taking the controller out of the player’s hands, and games like L.A. Noire pushing the boundaries of what we thought possible with modern graphics technology, video games have pressed far beyond the type of interactive experience obtainable through the written word alone.


Luckily, not all of the Supreme Court Justices in Brown were so stuck in the past. Justice Alito’s concurrence (with which Chief Justice Roberts joins) takes a much more modern approach. As Alito astutely puts it: “We should make every effort to understand new technology. We should take into account the possibility that developing technology may have important societal implications that will become apparent only with time. We should not jump to the conclusions that new technology is fundamentally the same as some older thing with which we are familiar.” And though he ultimately agrees with Scalia’s ruling, Alito does so while still appreciating modern gaming developments such as motion controls, persistent online worlds, three-dimensional images, and the propensity for this technology to amplify what are already “astounding” levels of violence.


In truth, Alito’s decision to agree with the majority’s outcome - regardless of their dated approach - is probably the right one. Even considering today’s advanced technology, we haven’t quite reached the point at which our precedent addressing video game violence needs to be completely reassessed. Video game graphics still haven’t achieved true photo- realism, and motion controllers like the Microsoft Kinect are still imperfect. In other words, gamers - even minors - can’t completely lose themselves within games. Modern video game violence is still too distinct from reality to be considered offensive on the same level as obscenity - a category of speech which has historically been deemed unprotected due to its inherent offensiveness. However, the same may not be true three, five, or ten years from now as we progress into the eighth and ninth video game console generations. Only time will tell what the next PlayStation or Xbox will be capable of, but it is apparent that the majority’s approach in Brown will no longer be applicable as technology continues to progress. As Alito posits, “we should make every effort to understand new technology.” And once video games take a leap into full immersion and become virtually indistinguishable from real life, a reevaluation of our First Amendment approach will not just be warranted; it will be necessary.


Masur Law Article References: http://www.worldgamingexecutives.com/page/masur-law- article-references


This column is presented by MasurLaw, a New York City- based full-service transactional law firm focused on the media, entertainment and technology sectors. MasurLaw also has deep experience in many other industries including gaming. To contact, visit www.MasurLaw.com or email info@masurlaw.com.


Oddly Educational


NEW TRAVEL: Right before take the taxi ride, the user fills this easy form, not all the information is needed, but the most the better. Here the user may:


1. Type the taxi registration


------------------------------------------------------ 2. The user may pick the place to go (this with the help of google maps) ------------------------------------------------------ 3. Take a picture of the taxi registration or other taxi ID according to the country ------------------------------------------------------ 4. Type an average travel time ------------------------------------------------------ 5. Share in this two social networks that is about to take a cab


Right after the user hits “list” a new trip is begun and registered in our database.


KidnAPPed! C


During the trip each period of time (10 Seconds) the user’s position is refreshed by the help of the GPS, beyond show the point in the screen, the application also sends this new position to the user’s database online. The time of the ride is also shown and sent as well to the user’s account online.


olombia and countries in Latin America have the highest rates of kidnapping in the World and are continually listed in the kidnapping hotspots of the World ‘League Table’.


Companies like Foonkie Monkey in Colombia are trying to reduce the numbers of ‘express kidnappings’ where victims are taken to cashpoints and traditional kidnappings where victims are taken and held for ransom. http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Kidnapping#Statistics


THE COMPANY EXPLAIN THEIR MOBILE APP.


Taxi Seguro is the solution for one of the most common security problems in Latin America’s cities and in other countries (Spain and Russia), this is the express kidnapping. This form of kidnapping involves taking passengers of taxis hostage and threatening them with violence in order to obtain debit and credit card numbers. With debit cards having a maximum daily withdrawal limit, these kindappings can often last several days so that the criminals can empty the passengers bank account.


TAXI SEGURO FUNCTIONALITY:


The application starts with the user’s registration, basically we take vital information as name, Id, email, gender and a Facebook and twitter connection.


The user also creates a username and password, this whole information is sent to the Taxi seguro Database and web service infrastructure.


THE APPLICATION HAS VARIOUS TYPES OF ALERTS: 1. If the taxi takes more than expected by the user, the application sends first a moderate alert via social networks, if the ride takes really too long, the application activates a high level alert which sends a new Facebook wall message, also sends an SMS to the trust people.


--------------------------------------------------- 2. If the way that the taxi takes is not congruent to the expected different ways, the system sends a new moderate alert, the far the taxi Is from the according way of the ride increases the priority of the alert.


--------------------------------------------------- 3. If the user hits the “Panico” (panic) button the application immediately sends a high priority emergency including, social network messages with the information of the ride (position, time, taxi registration number and the picture taken of the taxi), also sends an SMS to the people of trust; this is the highest emergency alert.


Now if everything goes well as usually happens the user hits the “travel ended” button, and in case of not the application sends an alerts to the user (vibration alert) and messages to the travellers chosen “safety friends”.


Making travel in Colombia and Latin America hopefully much safer.


Earthquake App U


zbekistan is a relatively small country located near the Caspian Sea, sandwiched


between Kazakhstan in the north and Turkmenistan in the south, and shares a short border with Afghanistan. Uzbekistan might be best known for having 30 to 40 earthquakes per year. In 1966, an earthquake nearly destroyed the capital, Tashkent. According to Iskander Nematjanov - an animator and game developer - Uzbekistan is also home to an emerging game development industry, of which he is very optimistic.


World Gaming Executives talked to Mr. Nematjanov to learn more about his company. “We make games in Uzbek, English, Russian and German. In the future we plan to make games in Spanish, Chinese and Portuguese. We make quest, puzzle, action, RPG and many other types of games.” Iskander told WGE of his plans to expand throughout Europe. “Now we are selling our products in Uzbekistan and Russia but we plan to sell them all over the world - because the theme of our products is education. It means our products are universal.”


Iskander’s studio, Barsajdar Technologies, boasts a team of 15 people: 1 director, 1 musician (a highly ranked specialist who can also compose original tracks), 2 artists (who have earned distinguished international achievements), 8 designers (they work on 3D Max, Maya, Flash, 4D Cinema and Blender) and 3 motion designers. The company is currently working with Uzbekistan’s State Respond Service (Ministry of Emergency) to create a cartoon and PC game to educate people on how to prepare for an


“Now we are selling our products in Uzbekistan and Russia but we plan to sell them all over the world” because the theme of our products is education. It means our products are universal.”


earthquake. His company created a cartoon called, “What must be done at the time of an earthquake.” Iskander told WGE, “The idea of the animation was mine but the State Respond Service needed a cartoon, so we created it for them.” He then discussed the PC game, “The game will teach children the right behavior at the time of an earthquake. The genre of the game is “quest.” The game is being developed with Adobe Flash + Action Script technology.”


Mr. Nematjanov earned a university degree in International Law and told WGE of his continuing education, “I graduated from the refresher course of lawyers in the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan and received a diploma. I have completed a course of UNDP on computer literacy (Certificate). I ended a course on Risk Management at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade of Uzbekistan. In 2009, I founded the software company “Barsajdar Technologies” and chose education as the theme for my products, which include games and cartoons.”


There’s a good reason why Iskander’s passion revolves around earthquake education, “Because I have three sons and I love children. As a father, I want to create useful games for children.” It is no wonder then that Iskander’s aim for the future is, “To become a great developer of educational PC games!”


WGE thanks Mr. Nematjanov for taking his time to speak with us.


WGE MAG: 41


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