How Legal is DotA 2?

One of my favorite games is Defense of the Ancients ("DotA"), a WarCraft III mod which has enraptured the attention of millions of gamers.  Prior to college, I played a lot of games, sure - my brothers and I had a N64, GameCube, and Xbox - but I had never really been into PC games (aside from SC and CS).

In college, I was so annoyed with my bf (at the time) because he was always playing this silly game called DotA.  Day and night, I would hear the constant clicking of the mouse, lots of curses, and occasional cheers.

All your base are belong to us!

One day, my bf showed me a character that he was using.  "This is Tiny," he said.  I looked at the character on the screen.  It was a small giant made out of rock.  He was SOOOO cute.  My attention was captured.  I watched Tiny stomp around, gleefully squishing creeps unfortunate enough to be in his path.  All of a sudden, he began to grow.  And grow.  And grow until he was the biggest character on the screen.

RAWR I'm Tiny!  The Stone Giant!

That was how I fell in love with DotA.  A tiny rock monster named "Tiny," the Stone Giant, who could grow and become a lumbering rock monster.  How adorable.

The Cost of Piracy

Games these days are expensive.  Most console games start with a retail price of $60 and PC games at $50, and that isn't counting all the costs of add-ons and DLC.

With the barrage of games released every year, and the uncertainty as to whether gamers will actually enjoy a game enough to pay retail price, it is no wonder that people have resorted to pirating games.

Mind-Boggling Questions

So here are two things I have been contemplating lately.  They are mind-boggling questions that may forever be unanswered, but I will raise them nonetheless.


[SPOILER ALERT]  For those of you who haven't read the Harry Potter series, please skip this post or just don't read the second half (SORRY!)

PREDATORS

So yesterday I came across a great article: CLICK HERE 

For some reason, the media really likes to bash on video games.  I've already discussed violence and video games and hopefully successfully demonstrated that there is little correlation between the two.  But in addition, the media loves to criticize XBox Live or PlayStation Home for encouraging children to use profane language and accusing these online forums of providing a medium for predators to find helpless victims.

Marrying a Doctor?

*Disclaimer:  This post is a product of my overactive imagination.  Except for the stalking med students part.

Parents are SO WEIRD about dating.  They yelled at me for dating in high school, and throughout college they didn't want me to date because I was supposed to focus on school and get good grades.  However, now that I'm almost done with law school, the question is WHY DON'T I HAVE A BOYFRIEND?  WHERE WILL I MEET SOMEONE AFTER I GRADUATE?! I don't understand how my parents expect me to not date at all and then BOOM! have a boyfriend the next day.

Recently, my mom has been getting a little worried that I'm going to be an old maid and never find a suitable husband.  Of course, he has to be a doctor.  No, not a lawyer.  A doctor.

Week of Epic Fail

Most of you know that I am a vampire. I stay up all night and sleep in until the afternoon. This semester, I specifically arranged my classes so the earliest I would ever have to get up is 1:00. The weird thing is that I'm always sleepy when I wake up, even though I get around 9 hours of sleep a night. My friend says it's because of a lack of vitamin D from the sun - but vampires don't ever see sunlight and they are never sleepy, so it must be something else.

Anyway, so Monday night I'm all.. yes! I'm going to sleep so early tonight so I can wake up at 7 and be ready for my FIRST EXAM. I was all pumped to go to bed early. But since Boston is SO historic, my apartment is also historic - meaning no AC. So I opened my windows because I was frying to death, only to hear the undergrads outside partying and threatening to get into fights. I eventually tossed and turned and screamed at them to shut up until I fell asleep at 3:30 and woke up at 8:00. Not bad.

Microsoft's Project FATAL!

Motion-sensored controllers are the new big thing in the gaming industry.


First, the Wii introduced the Wiimote, a controller which can be used either by pressing buttons like a traditional controller or by interacting with the game through motion sensor technology.    Sony also came out with a motion control wand, which also provides the option of using buttons on the controller.

Last year at E3, Microsoft unveiled Project Natal. It is revolutionary in that there is no controller that needs to be held - unlike the Wiimote and Sony's wand, the only thing Project Natal requires is the human body, which acts as the controller.

Natal wowed everyone at E3.  It was ground-breaking, the first of its kind!  Imagine, people playing games without a controller!  THEY are the controller! 

Check out this awesome demo:  CLICK HERE

Video Games on Trial

What you are about to read may seem ridiculous, ludicrous, and even fake.  But let me assure you, the witnesses and cases cited are all real.  Don't believe me?  Click the links!  And no, I'm not joking.  I'm being serious.  Honestly.  Seriously - click the links.  No way could I fake all that!

The State v. Video Games

Transcript of case against Video Games - accomplice liability for crimes of violence.

I. A Gamer's Perspective

Most of you know that I am an avid gamer. I play all sorts of games - first person shooters, real-time strategy games, role-playing games, etc. I've been gaming since I was young - the first game I remember playing was Ski-Free on Windows 95.  My first console was the N64, complete with Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. Curiously, my Dad [who bought us the game] decided we were too "young" to play and instead played the entire game by himself. Coincidence? I think not!

In my experience, (1) games are beneficial and (2) not a waste of time.

Some of you might think that this is sad: I have played games since I was a kid and continue to do so now, even through law school. On the contrary, I think that growing up gaming has been a great experience for me. Gaming has been an integral part of my life - I love games for many reasons [aside from the fact that they're ridiculously awesome!].

More after the jump!  Warning: very long - I apologize in advance.

Introduction

This is my first blog, and I admit I'm kind of excited! I would never have gotten the idea to even begin a blog but for a conversation I just had with an attorney. He asked me to send him a writing sample, but not a legal one. Here's how the conversation went (I took some liberties with the specific words but the basic idea is still there):

Him: So, I'd like you to send me a writing sample. Send me something you like, something that shows me your voice.
Me: Oh sure, I can get that to you a little later.
Him: I don't want a brief or a law review article, because those aren't written in your voice. Those are written for judges and your journal.
Me: [Umm.. the only things I've written are briefs, memos, and law review articles..] So, you mean.. you want a non-legal writing sample?
Him: Yeah, something like a blog or something that you're really proud of! I want to read your voice because that's the voice you'll be using when, for example, entering into negotiations, and that is the most powerful voice you have.
Me: Oh. Okay. I can do that [No I can't, what am I saying? I don't have a blog, I haven't written anything for fun in the last four years]
Him: If you're having trouble thinking of something, just let me know.
Me: Okay, to be honest, I haven't really written anything aside from academic work in the last few years. When I'm not writing papers for school, I'm playing video games.
Him: Oh. Well, in that case... I guess you can send me an academic sample. Just make sure it's not more than 5 pages because I really don't want to have to read through more legal papers, and make sure it expresses you!
Me: Great, I can do that!

And now, after hanging up the phone, I'm looking through folders of academic papers and I've realized that not one of them really expresses me. Great.

So I figure that the purpose of this blog will be to express myself, for myself. I suppose I'll just write whenever I think of something interesting, or if I come across something interesting. In any case, I'm off to find my voice