Of course this means that content for this blog will be syphoned off (as this blog once did to my original blog Virtual Fools), but I’ll be sure to link to stuff I write over there from here. I do recommend you subscribe to the new blog, though. It has a lot of potential as a central location for lots of perspectives on the same topic.

My first entry there concerns the use of central lagoons as a defining piece of landscape architecture in theme park design. It contrasts the layout of Epcot’s World Showcase and Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure with the more traditional hub-and-spoke design or parks that appear to have no organization at all. Not only does this effect the arrangement of attractions and paths of travel, but having an open space gives an uncommon glimpse of a park’s totality. Give it a read and you’ll see what I mean.

I also have posted a couple of entries on the newsgames blog. We (Ian Bogost and Simon Ferrari) are wrapping up the book , but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t time to cover the hard hitting stories like environmentally-friendly celebrities and the “Balloon Boy.”

Lastly, Low Score podcast episode 31 has been posted. We brought in another guest this week to help mix things up. Low Score is not my most intellectual outlet for game thought, so if you’re expecting wisdom you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re expecting shtick and some good conversation about games, you definitely should give it a chance.

What have we been playing? Kevin’s put some time in with Icewind Dale II and Shadow Complex, while J and I have been ODSTing.

As our resident fan of Street Fighter IV, J discusses the potentials of the recently leaked Super Street Fighter IV. J and I admit they might consider playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, and all three of us talk Final Fantasy XIII.

We begin this week’s discussion topic by addressing an article that came up on Gamasutra about “fair trade games.” Follwing this, we talk retail models and the future of digital distribution. That’s right, we can see into the future.

This week’s THE LIST asks for five games that “peaked too early,” meaning they were fun right at the beginning and grew stale quickly. Our answers may (or may not) surprise you!

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Music by virt