History and Facts :

• Jeux video : Notre top 40 de l'année (jeuxvideo.20minutes-blogs.fr)

  

  
  
  
• Teens who play video games tend to eat more, Canadian study finds (blogs.vancouversun.com)
  
  

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim :
  
  
  
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim "is a role-playing video game ... Skyrim's main story revolves around the player character's efforts to defeat the Nordic dragon god Alduin, who is prophesied to destroy the world. Set two hundred years after Oblivion, the game takes place in the land of Skyrim, which is in the midst of a civil war after the assassination of the high king..."
  (Wikipedia)
  
  
  
• «The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim» "réunit les meilleurs ingrédients de l'heroic fantasy...
  Un monde médiéval où s'épanchent sorts magiques et créatures fantastiques."
  (20minutes.fr)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Song of Skyrim - Read the lyrics below the video on YouTube.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• How video games are good for the brain
  "Concerns about violent programs persist, but researchers are discovering that playing can boost cognitive function and foster positive behavior."
  (boston.com)
  
  

• The Evolution of Video Game Controllers (popchartlab.com)

• World Joyland: The Warcraft/Starcraft-themed amusement park - Lots of photos
  Joyland is located in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.
  (shanghaiist.com)
  
  
• 
  

  
  
  "If you love MMORPGs, particularly WOW and Starcraft, then you’d most certainly have a great time at China’s counterfeit theme park based around the epic Blizzard videogames."
  (neatorama.com)

  
  
  
  

  MORE information (consumerist.com)

• US court rejects California ban on violent video games
  "The US Supreme Court has overturned a Californian law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to those aged under 18."
  See Games 'don't lead to violence'
  (BBC)

• Video Games Characters :
  
  

• The Alphabet of Video Game Characters (society6.com)	Seventy Minimalist Video Game Characters (geekologie.com)
  100 VG Characters In The Style Of Mega Man + higher resolution (geekologie.com)

• The Electronic Entertainment Expo,
  "commonly known as E3, is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It is used by many video game developers  to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware...
  E3 is commonly held in late May or early June of each year at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) in Los Angeles"
  (Wikipedia)

  21 photos (slate.fr)

  

  
  
  
• A World Map Of Video Game Villains - 2001 - 2011
  "Interesting infographic breaking down the nationalities of villains in military-themed video games." 
  (buzzfeed.com)

• Losing yourself in online gaming
  "Online role playing games are time-consuming, but enthralling flights from reality.
  But are some people taking their fantasy lives too seriously?"
  (BBC)

Chinese online gamer dies after three-day session "in which he did not sleep and barely ate"
(BBC)

• CRYSIS 2 :
  
  
• Crysis 2: Story Trailer
  "Crysis 2 continues the SciFi shooter game genre and combines action and story. This trailer sets the stage for the epic sequel."
  (YouTube)

  
  
  

• Crysis 2 - "an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek  and published by Electronic Arts."
  (Wikipedia)
  
  
• Crysis 2 - official site
  "It’s 2023, terrifying alien invaders stalk the New York City streets.
  Only you can prevail, wielding the supersoldier enhancements of Nanosuit 2...
  Be strong / Be fast / Be invincible / Be the weapon."
  (ea.com)
  
  
  
• Mafia II "is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven...
  The game is set in the 1940-50s era Empire Bay a fictional city based on New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit."
  (Wikipedia)

Watch the trailer. (YouTube)

• Operation Flashpoint: Red River 
  It is a video game. It is a sequel to Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.
  The plot is about a fictional conflict in 2013 Tajikistan.
  (Wikipedia)

Watch the trailer. (dailymotion.com)

• World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
  
  
• World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - Announcement Trailer + in French (YouTube)
  It should be interesting to compare the 2 versions.
  
  
  
• World of Warcraft: Cataclysm 
  "is the third expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following the last expansion  Wrath of the Lich King." 
  Read the story.
  (Wikipedia)

  
  
  
  

• ASSASSIN'S CREED :
  
  
  
• Assassin's Creed "is a historical fantasy/science fiction action-adventure video game...
   The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, a sect known as the Secret Order of Assassins.
  The player is in reality playing as a modern-day man named Desmond Miles, who through the use of a machine named the "Animus", is allowed the viewing and controlling of the protagonist's genetic memories of his ancestors, in this case, Altair, a member of the Hashshashin.
  Through this plot device, details emerge of a struggle between two factions, the  Knights Templar and the Assassins, over an artifact known as a "Piece of Eden" and the game primarily takes place during theThird Crusade  in the Holy Land in 1191." 
  (Wikipedia)
  
  
• Assassin's Creed: Lineage
  (englishcentral.com)

  

  
  
  
• Counter-Strike 
  "is a first-person shooter in which players join either the terrorist or counter-terrorist team (or become a spectator). Each team attempts to complete their mission objective and/or eliminate the opposing team.
  Each round starts with the two teams spawning simultaneously...
  On January 25, 2003, a world wide competition was held by Valve and hosted by Dell. Numerous Dell desktops and laptops were awarded in the competition which attracted over 10,000 participants. The competition was held over a two week period."
  (Wikipedia)
  
  
  
  
  
• Medal of Honor game goes on sale amid controversy - with a VIDEO
  "The game follows the exploits of Special Forces troops battling insurgents in Afghanistan in 2002.
  In August, Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox called for the game to be banned after it emerged that users could fight as The Taliban."
  (BBC)

• HALO :
  
  
  
• Halo: Reach  "is a first person shooter. Players assume the role of a supersoldier, Noble 6, engaged in combat with an alien collective known as the Covenant."
  (Wikipedia)
  
  
  

  Watch the TRAILER
  (YouTube)
  
  

• Halo " is a science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and owned and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The main trilogy of games center on the experiences of the Master Chief, acybernetically-enhanced human super-soldier, and his artificial intelligence (AI) companion, Cortana. The Master Chief aids future humanity in battling the Covenant, a theocratic alliance of alien races that worship an ancient civilization known as the Forerunners, and a parasitic organism known as the Flood. In this science fiction setting, the term "Halo" refers to Halo megastructures: large, habitable ringed structures..."
  (Wikipedia)

• Brink 
  "is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Splash Damage...
  It offers team-based multiplayer missions with authored narratives, persistent player characters and an approachable nature. "
  (Wikipedia)

Brink : les développeurs vous parlent du scénario - Video sous-titrée
" Bethesda et Splash Damage viennent de sortir un premier developer diary pour Brink.
Celui-ci est destiné à poser le décor du jeu et à vous expliquer en détail comment une guerre civile a pu éclater sur l'Arche, une ile artificielle bâtie dans le cadre d'un projet écolo."
(nofrag.com)
Video également sur Dailymotion

• Microsoft Kinect gets into motion as E3 confab kicks off
  "There's a growing movement in video games — motion control.
  And Microsoft's latest twist: Its new system for the Xbox 360, dubbed Kinect and being unveiled this week, requires no controller at all."
  (usatoday.com)

Watch a video (YouTube) - UPDATED

• Free speech versus kids and violent video games
  "The Supreme Court will decide whether free speech rights are more important than helping parents keep violent material away from children.
  The justices agreed Monday to consider reinstating California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors."
  (scpr.org)
  + a VIDEO (YouTube)
  

• To play with your PS3 - GAME PADS
  (gamesandgeeks.com)

• Battlefield Bad Company 2 Impressions: The Tougher Battle
  "I was impressed with the enemy's ability to tear through my cover and pleased with the unpredictability with which it occurred...
  The snow level, Crack The Sky, offered more tactical variety than the jungle level.
  I had to fight through some buildings, with the option to run between them, over their roofs or, my favorite, punch enough holes in them and knock
  enough of them down that I could forge my own varied path. " 
  (kotaku.com)

• Millions spent on casual gaming
  "British gamers spent £280m playing online casual games in 2009 says the UK National Gamers Survey Report.
  Similar studies carried out in other countries revealed that French players spent £220m and Germans £440m over the same period."
  (BBC)

• L'évolution graphique des FPS de 1992 à 2009
  (nofrag.com)

F.P.S. = First Person Shooter
"is a video game genre which centers the gameplay around gun- and projectile weapon-based combat through the first person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist."
(Wikipedia)

• Video game success may be in the mind, study finds
  "If you find video games a struggle, it could be to do with the size of certain parts of your brain, a study suggests...
  No matter what your brain size is, it's what you do with it that counts. Just remember the hare and the tortoise." "
  (BBC)

• PC Gaming Piracy - a poster
  (theangrypixel.com)

• Modern Warfare sales are soaring
  "Thousands of people queued outside games stores worldwide for the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2...
  It is the sixth instalment in the Call of Duty series and gives players the chance to be a member of a military strike force that takes on a Russian ultra-nationalist terrorist group.
  Itt sees the combat team travelling to Russia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Brazil and into orbit, in an attempt to thwart the terrorists."
  + a VIDEO
  (BBC)
  
  

• Gaming milestone for Elite game
  - an article and a video
  "The classic computer space-trading game Elite has celebrated its 25th anniversary... (it) was one of the first games to use 3D graphics...
  In Elite, you can do lots of different roles, but it is driven by your actions within the game."
  (BBC)

  

  Elite is a seminal space trading computer game
  "Elite was a hugely influential game, serving as a model for more recent games such as Eve Online, Freelancer, Jumpgate,
  Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Wing Commander: Privateer, the Escape Velocity series and the X series of space trading games."
  (Wikipedia)

   

• Serious gaming
  "A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment.
  The "serious" adjective is generally appended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion, and politics...
  These games have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purpose."
  See Edutainment and Game based learning
  (Wikipedia)

• ENGAGE Learning Portal Launch
  "ENGAGE is a European Network for GrowingActivity in Game-based learning in Education."
  (engagelearning.eu)

• Teens and Computer Games
  Read the paragraph - middle of the page
  "Most games still provide the player with consequences to their actions...
  The gamer will often begin to think morally about the situations when they take on the mantle of a particular character.
  Furthermore, many games present teens with a positive influence."
  (BBC)

• Raising a healthy gamer: seven tips for parents
  "In this article, we'll take a look at some of the issues that surround video games and the family, and we'll give you some real-world advice on what
  to look for, what the dangers are, and what you can do to have gaming be a safe and fun part of your household."
  (arstechnica.com)
  
  

• 10 Most Bizarre Gaming Incidents
  (oddee.com)

  

• Computer risk
  "Is too much time online bad for your health?...
  A number of reports have recently linked online networking and computer games to a host of health risks."
  (BBC)

• World of Warcraft (commonly acronymed as WoW) "is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)."
  It "holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG."
  (Wikipedia)

  

• Web worlds 'useful' for children
  "Virtual worlds can be valuable places where children rehearse what they will do in real life, reveals research...
  Virtual worlds can be a powerful, engaging and interactive alternative to more passive media."
  ROLES ADOPTED DURING PLAY :
  Explorer-investigators / Self-stampers / Social climbers / Fighters / Collector consumers / Power users / Nurturers / Life system builders
  (BBC)

  
  
  Adventure Rock - interactive game
  (BBC)

• Video games make history in 2007
  "The last 12 months have been one of the best years in video game history, both critically and commercially."
  (BBC)

  

• State of Play: A wide world of games
  "The gaming industry may span the globe but attempts to homogenise what it produces may end up killing creativity."
  (BBC)
  
  

• State of Play: Why I play games
  "In the first of a series of columns, Margaret Robertson, videogame writer and consultant, and the former editor of Edge magazine, gives a personal view of why she plays games."
  (BBC)

• In pictures: Evolution of racing - Racing games
  (BBC)

  

• Video games: the next generation
  "The video games industry is obsessed with the phrase "next generation", but what does it actually mean?
  What can gamers expect from any game given that name?"
  - with Clips from video games of the future
  (BBC)

  

• Wii (Wikipedia)

• Factfile: The Wii (BBC)
  " All you need to know about Nintendo's latest games console."

  

• Games making waves at E3 (BBC)
  "Games ranging from fantasy adventures to intense shooters have been tempting fans at the E3 games expo
  in Los Angeles."
  THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWIIGHT PRINCESS (WII)
  GEARS OF WAR (XBOX 360)
  HEAVENLY SWORD (PLAYSTATION 3)
  WORLD OF WARCRAFT: THE BURNING CRUSADE (PC)
  HALO 3 (XBOX 360)

  

• New analysis reasserts video games' link to violence
  - "a statistical analysis of studies on more than 130,000 gamers from elementary school age to college in the USA, Europe and Japan."
  (usatoday.com)

  

  
  

• Violence in video games (whyfiles.org)

  

• Computer and video games (Wikipedia)

• Tokyo Game Show (Wikipedia)
  
  

• Negative views and censorship (Wikipedia)

• Timeline: Video Games (infoplease.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Timeline of Toys and Games (historychannel.com)
  
  
  
  
  

• Pokémon in America (infoplease.com)
  
  

Vocabulary :

• Lexique du jeu video (Wikipedia)

• Personnages de jeux video (laboiteverte.fr)

  

• The Gamer’s Alphabet (geeksaresexy.net)

  

• GAME PADS - To play with your PS3
  (gamesandgeeks.com)

  

• F.P.S. = First Person Shooter
  "is a video game genre which centers the gameplay around gun- and projectile weapon-based combat through the first person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist."
  (Wikipedia)

• Talk Like a Gamer
  ex : "To bunny hop is to leap rapidly about the game world to make yourself a more difficult target."
  (costik.com)
  
  

• A guide to a gamer’s vocabulary
  ex : "Noob: Traditionally, someone new to gaming"
  (whitworthian.com)

  

• Social gaming (Wikipedia) 
  "commonly refers to playing games as a way of social interaction, as opposed to playing games in solitude, like some card games (solitaire)
  and the single-player mode of many video games.
  
  
  
  
  It may refer to:
  

  Board games Multiplayer MMO (as well as MMORPG and MMORTS) LAN party Live action role-playing games Miniature wargaming Role-playing games Alternate Reality Games"

• Videogame Vocabulary - Lists
  People / Beast / Places / Transportation / Item / Equipment / Menu / Story / Status / Spells / Battle
  (en.wikibooks.org)

• “ANARCHY ONLINE” - MMORPG - Words, Phrases, Abbreviations and Emoticons found in forums

• What exactly is a next generation game?
  "The term next-generation is used a lot in the video games industry but what does it actually mean?
  How are developers taking advantage of new gaming hardware and what are the challenges and next steps for the industry?"
  (BBC)
  
  

• Computer and video games (Wikipedia)
  1 Game
  2 Gameplay
  3 Genres
  4 Gaming platforms
  4.1 Personal computer games
  4.2 Console games
  4.3 The near future of console gaming
  4.4 Arcade games
  4.5 Internet games
  5 History
  6 Popularity
  6.1 Sales
  6.2 Computer and video games in the broader culture
  7 Development
  7.1 Game modifications
  8 Naming...

INTERACTIVE exercises :

• Online Gaming Vocabulary - interactive
  "The world of gaming online has really changed the way people play computer games. But it's come with a whole new kind of vocabulary.
  This quiz tests your knowledge of that vocabulary. Look at the terms and then enter or choose the correct definition."
  (quia.com)

• Video Game Genres (visualesl.com)
  
  

• Video Games - a text with interactive activities (cdlponline.org)

• History of Video Games - an interactive quiz (infoplease.com)

Exercises TO PRINT :

• Virtual Worlds - a worksheet
  (essentiellement axée sur le lexique et HAVE TO.)
  sent by Philippe Soleilhet (Ac. Versailles)
  
  

Debates :

• Do violent video games contribute to youth violence?
  (videogames.procon.org)

  Overview	Pro & Con Arguments	Did You Know?
  Background	Images & Videos	Take the Survey

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Lesson plans :

• 'Gamer' & 'Tron Legacy': Video Games - a lesson plan with movie segments
  (warmupsfollowups.blogspot.com)

• Batman Wins Major UK Video Game Award - a lesson plan
  WARM-UPS : VIDEO GAMES / MY GAME / GAMING / GAMES / GAMER
  (breakingnewsenglish.com)

  Batman takes best game at Baftas
  "Batman: Arkham Asylum has been crowned best game at the Bafta 2010 awards."
  - with videos
  (BBC)

  

• New warnings for video games - a lesson plan
  WARM-UPS : Video games / Games symbols / Ratings
  (breakingnewsenglish.com)
  
  

• Children learn social skills in Web worlds - a lesson plan
  (Breaking News English)
  
  See : History and Facts (Web worlds 'useful' for children from BBC)

• Grand Theft Auto IV to smash sales records - a lesson plan
  (Breaking News English)

  
  
  

  GTA game 'to break sales records'
  - with a video
  (BBC)

• Computer games
  "Have a look at the issue of UK Culture, the article, cartoon, stories and poems, games, trivia and links."
  (British Council)

  

• Korean gamer dies after 50 hours online (Breaking News English)
  - a lesson with "a news article, listening (MP3 file), communication activities, pair work, discussion, reading and vocabulary exercises."

• VIDEO GAMES - Activités Multimédia (Académie de Dijon)
  "Différents types d'activités sur le thème des jeux vidéo sont proposés, à partir d'enregistrements provenant de Voanews :
  QCM, textes à trous, questions ouvertes, expression écrite et orale, discrimination auditive, lien phonie/graphie, accent tonique etc..."

Poems :

• ROOTED - A Love Poem - written by Michelle Henry 2009
  using words found on Anarchy Online, a video game

• NOBODY LOVES ME - a poem using a situation on Anarchy Online, a video game
  written by Michelle Henry 2009

Cartoons :

Videos :

• Ultimate Battlefield 3 Simulator - The Gadget Show
  "A unique FPS simulator that turns gaming into reality as you move, aim, fire and get shot within a 360-degree immersive environment..."
  (YouTube)

• The gamified world - Level: Medium (englishcentral.com)

  

• Microsoft WGX Internal Video Windows Gaming Experience and Xbox Live
  "This is an internal Microsoft team video showing concepts and principles of what the WGX (Windows Gaming Experience) team hopes to accomplish. Ubiquity of games on Windows, on Xbox, and on their mobile platform is what we see as a goal here."
  (YouTube)

  

• Operation Flashpoint: Red River 
  It is a video game. It is a sequel to Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.
  The plot is about a fictional conflict in 2013 Tajikistan.
  (Wikipedia)

  
  
  

  Watch the trailer. (dailymotion.com)

  

• Sony Playstation - Victor (YouTube)
  "This commercial made for Playstation is called “Victor”.
  An outgrown baby, which enjoys different states such as joy, crying, celebration…
  Playstation connects to what they call a “state of play”."
  (creativecriminals.com)

  

• Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam TGS Trailer
  (dailymotion.com)

  

• Brink : les développeurs vous parlent du scénario - Video sous-titrée
  " Bethesda et Splash Damage viennent de sortir un premier developer diary pour Brink.
  Celui-ci est destiné à poser le décor du jeu et à vous expliquer en détail comment une guerre civile a pu éclater sur l'Arche, une ile artificielle bâtie dans le cadre d'un projet écolo."
  (nofrag.com)
  Video également sur Dailymotion

  
  
  See Brink
  

   

• Gnarcade
  "A video game invasion has hit Mt Hood and High Cascade! Check out Scott Stevens, Micah Hollinger, Chris Beresford, Tim Eddy, Ben Bogart, and Casey Wrightsman as they live life like it's one big game." 
  (YouTube)
  Create a worksheet about this rich video and I will put it online.

  

• Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures + subtitles
  (englishcentral.com)

  

• VIDEO GAMING : VIDEOS + SUBTITLES + QUIZZES
  (englishcentral.com)
  
  
  • Civilization V - Difficulty: Medium
    
    
  • G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (The Game) - Difficulty: Medium
    
    
  • Resident Evil 5 - Difficulty: Hard
    
    
  • Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Difficulty: Medium
    
    
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Difficulty: Medium
    
    
  • Devil May Cry 4 - Difficulty: Medium
    
    
  • Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos - Difficulty: Medium
    
    
    
• Video gaming : Medal of Honor + Subtitles + Quiz
  "A group of US soldiers prepare for war in the first-person shooter video game."
  Difficulty: Medium
  (englishcentral.com)
  
  

• Classic Video Games Featuring Superheroes - A Brief History of Comic Book Arcade Games
  (io9.com)
  
  

• How To Justify Your Video Game Obsession
  (YouTube)

  

• How It's Made - Video Games
  (YouTube)

  

• How a computer game is made
  (BBC)

  

Cinema :

• 'Gamer' & 'Tron Legacy': Video Games - a lesson plan with movie segments
  (warmupsfollowups.blogspot.com)

Songs :

• Song of Skyrim - Read the lyrics below the video on YouTube.

• Tonight (D&D song) - Allie Goertz (YouTube)
  "Allie Goertz wrote and performed a touching song about how gamers escape from their mundane lives into worlds of their own creation."
  (Neatorama)

  Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D[1] or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) 
  (Wikipedia)

  

• A Song About the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual
  "“Monster Manual” is a song by the band Mixel Pixel. It tells the tale of a role-player’s struggle with a particularly brutal Dungeon Master,
  who is throwing just about every creature in the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual at him."
  (Neatorama)

  

• Dungeons & Dragons Song: "Roll a D6"
  "Connor Anderson and Zac Smith made this outstanding parody of Far East Movement’s “Like a G6.”
  Truly, contrary to the airy video of Far East Moment, this is how the good life is lived: in a basement, all night, with candles and Coke."
  (Neatorama)

  

• The girl at the video game store by Parry Gripp : lyrics + video
  (onlylyrics.com)