Category Archives: Programming

Pokemon Go: What Do Librarians Need To Know? @ School Library Journal

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pokemongoPokemon Go continues to fascinate gamers and librarians alike, and now School Library Journal has weighed in with another How-To Guide for the game.

If you’ve been anywhere near the Internet in the last week, you’ve probably heard of Niantic’s new game, Pokémon GO. Even by viral video game standards, its popularity has been impressive. According to SimilarWeb, within two days of its U.S. release, the game was installed on 5.16 percent of the country’s Android devices. This doesn’t even take into account iOS users, with whom the game has also been popular. Perhaps even more striking, the Wall Street Journal estimates that it has already added $9 billion to Nintendo’s market value.

Academic Librarian Carli Spina talks about how the app works (“Gotta Catch ‘Em All”), privacy and safety concerns some people may have, and how libraries are getting involved with Pokemon Go. Continue reading →

Pokemon Go: An Overview + Safety Issues to Consider @ School Library Journal

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pokemongoMore librarians have discovered the joys of Pokemon Go, including Alanna Graves of School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox. She put together a great how-to guide for the app that covers how it works, safety issues to consider, and links to strategies a few libraries are using to lure in Pokemon Go players:

This weekend my timeline flooded with posts about Pokemon Go. Then on Sunday afternoon, The Teen came home from a friend’s house declaring they had walked 3 miles trying to catch Pokemons. So I decided I needed to figure out what this Pokemon Go is because my teens are definitely in to it.

Continue reading →

Pokemon Go and Your Library

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Unlike a traditional Pokemon game, Pokemon Go asks players to use the GPS function on their smartphone (iOS or Android) to find Pokemon out in the real world. In addition to searching for Pokemon that appear randomly on the map, players can also use Pokemon Go to find “PokeStops” and “Pokemon Gyms” in their quest to become an accomplished Trainer. It’s easy to think of Pokemon Go as an app that’s very similar to geocaching with a virtual prize at the end, but this gameplay description from The Pokemon Company is very helpful… Continue reading →

International Games Day 2016 Registration is Now Open

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internationalgamesday2016The American Library Association has announced that registration for the 2016 International Games Day @ Your Library is now open:

This year many donations will be managed through this blog. You can subscribe to the blog to receive updates about donations, resources, and information on running a successful event.

You must register to be eligible for donations. Donations are available while supplies last.

A Press Kit to help you plan your IGD@YL event is also available.

“Unplugged Entertainment”: What One Library Did For Games Day 2015 @ International Games Day Blog

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internationalgamesday2015Looking for International Games Day @ Your Library ideas? Jake Hutton, a Children’s Library Associate at the Harford County Public Library, recently published a recap of his IGD@YL event from last year on the ALA’s International Games Day blog:

After months of preparation the day finally arrived. It was a resounding success. We had a total of 70 participants, with the majority either elementary aged or adults. Most of the participants stayed the entire day, playing pretty much every game we had available.

IGD was an extremely rewarding experience, and I left work already excited for next year.

Play Tetris Using a Bookcase

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Found this on Facebook the other day. The creator, Øyvind Berntsen, used LED lights connected to a computer to actually play Tetris on his bookcase.

There’s a little more information on how it works at Contemporist, but I haven’t been able to find a full set of how-to instructions just yet. If anyone out there has the instructions, please let me know!

Get to Know the ESRB Ratings

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Regardless of what some people think, not all video games are appropriate for players of all ages. Some games are actually designed solely for adults and children should most definitely NOT be playing them. So when choosing a video game (or helping a patron choose a game), it’s important to check the ESRB rating of the game to determine if it is age-appropriate for the person who will be playing it.

ESRB ratings work very similar to the MPAA ratings given to movies. In fact, the ESRB originally approached the MPAA about sharing the familiar G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 ratings, but the MPAA said no. Instead, games are rated by a panel of full-time ESRB raters who judge video footage of games supplied by publishers or developers that is supposed to include a general overview of the game including the storyline and any hidden areas.

The ESRB rating will appear on the front cover of every game and on the back cover along with additional “Content Descriptors” that describe events that will occur in a game. The rating of any game (along with more information on the ESRB as an organization, the complete rating process, and details of enforcement) can be found online at ESRB.org.

Below, you’ll find a quick rundown of each rating. Continue reading →

Instrument Compatibility Chart For Guitar Hero/Rock Band

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This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on August 5, 2009.

Harmonix has created the first official Instrument Compatibility Chart for the official instruments released alongside the Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Rock Revolution games.

The chart is available at RockBand.com/compatibility and covers includes compatibility notes for most of the Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Rock Revolution games ever released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. All of the Guitar Hero spinoffs released after Guitar Hero: World Tour are not specifically listed, but since they work off of the same framework as World Tour, the chart basically includes every Guitar Hero game ever released. The upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band is also included.

For those looking to maximize their plastic instrument dollar, the Guitar Hero: World Tour guitar and drums appear to have the best cross-game compatibility on all four platforms. But be sure to check out the full chart. It is a fantastic resource.