Couldn’t Script it Better Herself A Brief Guide to Gamer …€™t Script it Better Herself SOA...
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The two groups inde- pendently showed that Ngal is a sensitive marker of renal failure, and after extensive studies with mice, the two independently found that Ngal was protective. “Given the fact that Ngal expression is conserved in mice, rats and human kid- neys after damage, we are hopeful that the protein will be protective in humans,” said Barasch. Ngal will be ready for ini- tial human trials after one further confirmation in mouse models. The study is the result of a collaboration between CUMC’s Departments of Medicine (Mori, Cheryl Kunis and Barasch), Anesthesiology (H. Thomas Lee) and Pathology (Vivette D’Agati), as well as researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (Jaya Mishra, Devarajan) and Kyoto University (Masashi Mukoyama). For more information, go to: www.cumc.columbia.edu. B anners have gone up along Broadway and Amsterdam this month to commemorate Women’s History Month. The theme of this year’s celebration, sponsored by the mayor’s office, is particularly meaningful to Columbia.“NY Loves Women: Your City, Your Success,” seeks to recognize the contribu- tions of New York City women as a key component of the success and vibrancy of the city. Jeanette C. Takamura, dean of the School of Social Work, along with Lisa Anderson, dean of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and Jean E. Howard, vice provost for Diversity Initiatives, asked colleagues whether they would be interested in participating in the banner pro- gram. The response was over- whelming. Imprinted with the logos of Columbia’s various schools, the banners mark the University’s cele- bration of Women’s History Month, as well as its commitment to hon- oring the enormous achievements of women at Columbia. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Women’s History Month and also the 30th anniver- sary of the New York City Commission on Women’s Issues, which initiated the banners proj- ect. The commission invited New York City institutions of higher learning to purchase banners as part of an effort to underscore the educational opportunities the city offers to women. More than 16 schools and offices at Columbia purchased banners, which will be on display for two months. The long history of women’s struggle for full inclusion in American society is interwoven with the history of Columbia, a story told engagingly by Barnard Professor of History Rosalind Rosenberg in her new book, Changing the Subject: How the Women of Columbia Shaped the Way We Think About Sex and Politics. Richly documenting the accomplishments and the profes- sional barriers that challenged a long list of distinguished Columbia women—including Margaret Mead, Zora Neale Hurston, Kate Millett and Ruth Bader Ginsburg—Rosenberg shows the importance of their work to the political and social history of modern America. Through the recent creation of the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity Initiatives, the University has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting diver- sity at Columbia. Among other priorities, it is vigorously pursu- ing the recruitment, retention and promotion of outstanding women scholars and administra- tors so that the rich history of women at Columbia will have an equally distinguished future. 12 TheRecord MARCH 18, 2005 By Sheri M. Whitley T here’s a noob in the 4X pipeline, and she just found an Easter egg. Grats. The sentences above may not sound like English, but they do actually make sense—if you speak gamer slang.To the increasing number of people around the world who are fluent in gamer slang, the sentences tell them that a newcomer to the video game industry just found a bonus feature and offer congratulations. The newcomer, or noob (short for “newbie”), is Jennifer Estaris, a second- year student in the Writing Division at the Graduate School of the Arts. Estaris is one of 25 students recently awarded an International Game Developer’s Conference Student Scholarship. Awarded by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the scholarship pairs each winner with a mentor toward the goal of developing future industry innovators. “The gaming industry is very diffi- cult to break into,”says Estaris. But she is already well on her way toward that goal. Estaris works part-time at a game development company and uses her writing skills to develop the story lines that help turn many games into fan favorites. The seemingly odd pairing of creative writing and video games fills an important void in the evolution of the industry. As journalist Matthew Sakey wrote in an essay recently for IGDA, “Technology and creative [elements] are equal and inseparable aspects of development. Remove the technology, and the game becomes a novel. Remove the creativity, and the game becomes a spreadsheet.The sum of their collabora- tion requires pure synergy.” That synergy is what Estaris works toward. She fell in love with video games as a kid, playing Atari system favorites. Her fascination with those arcade-style games quickly piqued an interest in writing. First-generation video games had one objective: Destroy or kill as many bad guys as possible. After a while, destroying—or fragging, as the industry slang goes— becomes monotonous. But add a clever narrative, and suddenly the player is enveloped in the mythology of the game, embarking on a knight’s quest to recover a sacred relic or becoming a diplomat trying to identify spies from enemy countries. Who better than a writer to help fashion the game story lines—especial- ly when the writer brings a different perspective to the fore? The original versions of many of today’s popular video games, such as Age of Empires: Rise of Rome, had all- male characters. “Designers create games that appeal to them,” Estaris points out.“All-male developers of the past wrote games with no women.” Roberta Williams was an exception to that rule and an inspiration to Estaris. “She was one of the first women game developers to create female characters who were the hero of the game without being overly sex- ual,” Estaris says. Another mentor for Estaris is Bernard Yee,adjunct associate professor of computer science at Columbia and the instructor for “Video Game Design and Technology.” “Yee’s class is great,”she says.“A lot of people shy away from it because they think it requires coding, but you don’t necessarily need coding knowl- edge for the class. It’s more about studying the aesthetics of the game. What makes it fun? What makes a story compelling?” As any gamer will tell you, programs without a great story line don’t have gameplay—the rush a gamer gets while playing. Estaris’ favorite games, such as Final Fantasy (versions 7 and 10), and her current game flavor of the month, Katamari Damacy, which means “clumping soul” in Japanese, all have that element. Estaris made as much of an impres- sion on Yee as he did on her.After the end of her class with him, he took her on as a teaching assistant and later as an employee at his video game devel- opment company. Although she isn’t yet sure whether she’ll pursue video game development as a full-time career, Estaris is sure that she’ll continue to write narratives, even if just for the gameplay. A Brief Guide to Gamer Slang game where players must execute the four Xs: explore, expand, exploit and exterminate. artificial intelligence shotgun or other weapon capable of inflicting significant damage. the main villain in a game; a mini-boss is a less powerful enemy. a powerful player who often protects a weak- er player;an online “big brother.” feature built into the game that allows a play- er to gain power or abilities or unlock special game features. Cheats aren’t usually described in the game manual. cover me, partner. hidden game features included by devel- opers that usually don’t help players in gameplay but are sometimes amusing. to kill another player or blast something to bits. the rush experienced when playing a game; also, the ability of a game to inspire such feel- ings. person for whom games is a primary leisure- time activity. good job, partner. congratulations. player with a slow Internet connec- tion, which can negatively affect reaction time during gameplay. NPC that exists for the sole purpose of being killed by PCs. new player who is learning the game; often abbreviated as “noob.” software update, usually available for free download. player character controlled by a live player; NPC (nonplayer character) is controlled by the computer. to obliterate your opoonents. real-time strategy game where all players, including computer-controlled AIs, perform actions continually and simultaneously.Examples of RTS games are StarCraft and Age of Empires. simulation games; players build a city or other major construction project. game where players solve a problem using guile, cunning and intelligence. to intimidate opponents with textual insults or via sound files. document describing how to beat a game in detail; a is less explicit. way to go, partner. Couldn’t Script it Better Herself SOA Student Writes Her Way into the Video Gaming Industry Banners Away: Celebrating Women’s History Month Kidney Research continued from page 1 Eileen Barroso The combination of intriguing narratives with advancements in technology has helped boost the sales of games like Age of Empires (at left) and Katamari Damacy (above). 2003 NAMCO, Ltd. Ensemble Studios
Transcript of Couldn’t Script it Better Herself A Brief Guide to Gamer …€™t Script it Better Herself SOA...
The two groups inde-pendently showed that Ngalis a sensitive marker of renalfailure, and after extensivestudies with mice, the twoindependently found thatNgal was protective.
“Given the fact that Ngalexpression is conserved inmice, rats and human kid-neys after damage, we arehopeful that the protein willbe protective in humans,”said Barasch.
Ngal will be ready for ini-tial human trials after onefurther confirmation inmouse models.
The study is the result ofa collaboration betweenCUMC’s Departments ofMedicine (Mori, CherylKunis and Barasch),Anesthesiology (H. ThomasLee) and Pathology (VivetteD’Agati), as well asresearchers at CincinnatiChildren’s Hospital (JayaMishra, Devarajan) andKyoto University (MasashiMukoyama).
For more information, goto:www.cumc.columbia.edu.
Banners have gone upalong Broadway andAmsterdam this month tocommemorate Women’s
History Month. The theme of thisyear’s celebration, sponsored bythe mayor’s office, is particularlymeaningful to Columbia.“NY LovesWomen: Your City, Your Success,”seeks to recognize the contribu-tions of New York City women as akey component of the success andvibrancy of the city.
Jeanette C. Takamura, dean ofthe School of Social Work, alongwith Lisa Anderson, dean of theSchool of International and PublicAffairs (SIPA), and Jean E. Howard,vice provost for DiversityInitiatives, asked colleagueswhether they would be interestedin participating in the banner pro-gram. The response was over-whelming.
Imprinted with the logos ofColumbia’s various schools, thebanners mark the University’s cele-bration of Women’s History Month,as well as its commitment to hon-oring the enormous achievementsof women at Columbia.
This year marks the 25thanniversary of Women’s HistoryMonth and also the 30th anniver-sary of the New York CityCommission on Women’s Issues,
which initiated the banners proj-ect. The commission invited NewYork City institutions of higherlearning to purchase banners as
part of an effort to underscore theeducational opportunities the cityoffers to women. More than 16schools and offices at Columbia
purchased banners, which willbe on display for two months.
The long history of women’sstruggle for full inclusion inAmerican society is interwovenwith the history of Columbia, astory told engagingly by BarnardProfessor of History RosalindRosenberg in her new book,Changing the Subject: How theWomen of Columbia Shapedthe Way We Think About Sex andPolitics. Richly documenting theaccomplishments and the profes-sional barriers that challenged along list of distinguishedColumbia women—includingMargaret Mead, Zora NealeHurston, Kate Millett and RuthBader Ginsburg—Rosenbergshows the importance of theirwork to the political and socialhistory of modern America.
Through the recent creationof the Office of the Vice Provostfor Diversity Initiatives, theUniversity has reaffirmed itscommitment to promoting diver-sity at Columbia. Among otherpriorities, it is vigorously pursu-ing the recruitment, retentionand promotion of outstanding
women scholars and administra-tors so that the rich history ofwomen at Columbia will have anequally distinguished future.
12 TheRecord MARCH 18, 2005
By Sheri M. Whitley
There’s a noob in the 4X pipeline,and she just found an Easter egg.Grats.
The sentences above may not soundlike English, but they do actually makesense—if you speak gamer slang.To theincreasing number of people aroundthe world who are fluent in gamerslang, the sentences tell them that anewcomer to the video game industryjust found a bonus feature and offercongratulations.
The newcomer, or noob (short for“newbie”), is Jennifer Estaris, a second-year student in the Writing Division atthe Graduate School of the Arts. Estarisis one of 25 students recently awardedan International Game Developer’sConference Student Scholarship.Awarded by the International GameDevelopers Association (IGDA), thescholarship pairs each winner with amentor toward the goal of developingfuture industry innovators.
“The gaming industry is very diffi-cult to break into,” says Estaris. But sheis already well on her way toward thatgoal.
Estaris works part-time at a gamedevelopment company and uses herwriting skills to develop the story linesthat help turn many games into fanfavorites. The seemingly odd pairing ofcreative writing and video games fills animportant void in the evolution of theindustry. As journalist Matthew Sakey
wrote in an essay recently for IGDA,“Technology and creative [elements]are equal and inseparable aspects ofdevelopment. Remove the technology,and the game becomes a novel. Removethe creativity, and the game becomes aspreadsheet.The sum of their collabora-tion requires pure synergy.”
That synergy is what Estaris workstoward. She fell in love with videogames as a kid, playing Atari systemfavorites. Her fascination with thosearcade-style games quickly piqued aninterest in writing. First-generationvideo games had one objective:Destroy or kill as many bad guys aspossible. After a while, destroying—orfragging, as the industry slang goes—becomes monotonous. But add a clevernarrative, and suddenly the player isenveloped in the mythology of thegame, embarking on a knight’s quest torecover a sacred relic or becoming adiplomat trying to identify spies fromenemy countries.
Who better than a writer to helpfashion the game story lines—especial-ly when the writer brings a differentperspective to the fore?
The original versions of many oftoday’s popular video games, such asAge of Empires: Rise of Rome, had all-male characters. “Designers creategames that appeal to them,” Estarispoints out. “All-male developers of thepast wrote games with no women.”
Roberta Williams was an exceptionto that rule and an inspiration to
Estaris. “She was one of the firstwomen game developers to createfemale characters who were the heroof the game without being overly sex-ual,” Estaris says. Another mentor forEstaris is Bernard Yee, adjunct associateprofessor of computer science atColumbia and the instructor for “VideoGame Design and Technology.”
“Yee’s class is great,” she says.“A lotof people shy away from it becausethey think it requires coding, but youdon’t necessarily need coding knowl-edge for the class. It’s more aboutstudying the aesthetics of the game.What makes it fun? What makes a storycompelling?”
As any gamer will tell you, programswithout a great story line don’t havegameplay—the rush a gamer getswhile playing. Estaris’ favorite games,such as Final Fantasy (versions 7 and10), and her current game flavor of themonth, Katamari Damacy, whichmeans “clumping soul” in Japanese, allhave that element.
Estaris made as much of an impres-sion on Yee as he did on her. After theend of her class with him, he took heron as a teaching assistant and later asan employee at his video game devel-opment company.
Although she isn’t yet sure whethershe’ll pursue video game developmentas a full-time career, Estaris is sure thatshe’ll continue to write narratives,even if just for the gameplay.
A Brief Guide to Gamer Slang4X game where players must execute the four Xs:explore, expand, exploit and exterminate.
AI artificial intelligence
Boomstick shotgun or other weapon capable ofinflicting significant damage.
Boss the main villain in a game; a mini-boss is a lesspowerful enemy.
Brick a powerful player who often protects a weak-er player; an online “big brother.”
Cheat feature built into the game that allows a play-er to gain power or abilities or unlock special gamefeatures. Cheats aren’t usually described in the gamemanual.
CMP cover me, partner.
Easter egg hidden game features included by devel-opers that usually don’t help players in gameplay butare sometimes amusing.
Frag to kill another player or blast something tobits.
Gameplay the rush experienced when playing agame; also, the ability of a game to inspire such feel-ings.
Gamer person for whom games is a primary leisure-time activity.
GJP good job, partner.
Grats congratulations.
High pinger player with a slow Internet connec-tion, which can negatively affect reaction time duringgameplay.
Monster NPC that exists for the sole purpose ofbeing killed by PCs.
Newbie new player who is learning the game; oftenabbreviated as “noob.”
Patch software update, usually available for freedownload.
PC player character controlled by a live player; NPC(nonplayer character) is controlled by the computer.
Pwn to obliterate your opoonents.
RTS real-time strategy game where all players,including computer-controlled AIs, perform actionscontinually and simultaneously. Examples of RTSgames are StarCraft and Age of Empires.
Sims simulation games; players build a city or othermajor construction project.
Sneaker game where players solve a problem usingguile, cunning and intelligence.
Taunt to intimidate opponents with textual insultsor via sound files.
Walkthrough document describing how to beat agame in detail; a hint doc is less explicit.
WTGP way to go, partner.
Couldn’t Script it Better Herself SOA Student Writes Her Way into the Video Gaming Industry
Banners Away: Celebrating Women’s History MonthKidney Researchcontinued from page 1
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The combination of intriguing narratives withadvancements in technology has helped boostthe sales of games like Age of Empires (at left)and Katamari Damacy (above).
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