The end of the world is near — virtual worlds will bring it upon us!

I get the feeling this piece is intended as a tongue-in-cheek dig at videogame critics who still write about computer games as if the shoot-em-up was the only type of game possible, rather than one genre.

Either that, or the author has a poor understanding of the current work being done in virtual worlds (maybe I’m wrong, but that Sl project whose aim is to spread understanding about autism possibly counts as a “less frivolous” exercise).

Ah, but the article redeems itself by mentioning Charles Stross’s Accelerando:) Which gives me the perfect excuse for the following quote from that very novel:

“Wallow in your pigsty for all I care kid. I’ve got more important things to think about. Have you looked at your primary recently?”

-Extropia DaSilva. Her primary is not convinced that exposure to certain kinds of media affects the way we think.