Welcome to Blur Lines, a periodic column I write here in my GameSpot journal devoted to the world of racing games.

Talk about the link between video games and violent behavior and I'll barely bat an eyelash. Oh God, it's just so boring. It's one of those polarizing subjects that has been done and redone to death by both the mainstream and gaming media. When folks start disparaging driving games, however, well... it's time for me to roll up my sleeves. Two recent studies reported here at GameSpot have identified a purported link between video games and reckless driving. The first was the result of a joint study by the Allianz Center for Technology and Munich's Ludwig-Maximillians University; the second was a study by the British driving institution BSM.

I did some brief scouring of the Internet, looking for the actual texts of the studies themselves, but couldn't come up with anything. I'd really like to give both a read, to see not only the methodology for their research but also the conclusions as stated by the researchers involved (as opposed to those reported by the media). I'm guessing the results aren't necessarily as simple as has been reported.

The first thing that comes to mind when I read about these sociological studies of the impact of video games are the difference between correlation and causality. That the two pieces of information in these studies--racing games and reckless driving--might be correlated doesn't necessarily imply that one follows the other. In other words, the same kind of people who like to drive fast might also like to play racing games, but it doesn't necessarily mean that racing games actually cause people to go out and drive like drunken stuntmen.

For instance, the Allianz study was quoted as saying, "…the racing game players 'reported more thoughts and feelings associated with risk-taking than the others.'" Thoughts and feelings, of course, are a far field from hopping in the car and going Carmageddon on the open road.

To be fair, the BSM study seems a bit more clear-cut in its findings, stating that, "A survey showed that more than a third of 1,000 subjects polled are more likely to push the gas a little harder after playing a racing game, and 27 percent of drivers aged 16 to 24 'admitted more risk-taking on the road after a gaming session.'" That reads to me like a pretty clear-cut indictment of the genre. As before, though, there's some distance to travel between "thoughts and feelings associated with risk-taking" and its gruesome consequences on the open road. A more reliable study--and one that actually might lend more credibility to the criticism of racing games--might take the next step and see how many of those subjects admitting to "risky" behavior actually got into traffic accidents or earned traffic fines.

Which, of course, is a much more ambitious kind of study. Until someone can say definitively that playing Forza 2 is going to cause players to go out and sideswipe crosswalks full of second graders, I'll err on the side of the same BSM study participants who reported that driving games actually help improve real on-the-road performance.

As with the video game violence brouhaha, we'll probably never hear the final word on this. There are too many variables and too many exceptions to make blanket "cause and effect" statements like these with any degree of accuracy. Well, except for this one: Racing games may or may not cause fast driving but fast driving almost certainly caused racing games.

Here's a suggestion: The next time you're playing whatever's in your home console, open your ears a little wider. Really listen to what's happening beneath the clang of the sword or the roar of the engine. Yes, that's music you're hearing underneath all that racket. In many cases, soundtracks are too often one of the easiest parts of a game to ignore. This is especially true in the depressing miasma that is the world of licensed music in sports games.

That said, when done right, game music can be a revelation that dramatically improves the gameplay experience. That was one of the themes of today's GDC session "Painting an Interactive Musical Landscape". The event was hosted by Koji Kondo the legendary game composer responsible for the scores Nintendo series such as Mario, Zelda, and StarFox. This was Kondo's first appearance at GDC--indeed his first public appearnace in the United States--and, as a result, the room in the north hall of Moscone Center was packed both with Kondo fans and working sound designers looking to glean some knowledge from the master.

To Kondo's way of thinking, successful in-game music has three common elements: rhythm, balance, and interactivity. How each of these three attributes work together and enhance the game experience is what separates game soundtracks from that of more traditional media like film or television. Kondo used in-game examples from some of his previous masterpieces to illustrate examples of each of the three elements.

Rhythm
"If the music doesn't reflect the rhythm of the game, it becomes background music."

When it comes to rhythm in his compositions, Kondo believes that just as game characters and events move in time to "computer clocks" so too then should the music that accompanies them. His first example was the familiar main theme from the original Super Mario Bros. Kondo pointed out the syncopated rhythms between the theme's triplet-based high hat pattern and the eighth-note-based melody which helped to establish the driving feel to the on-screen action.

Balance
"Try to think of music as one piece for the entire game, not simply as a collection of separate pieces."

Balance is at the heart of Kondo's compositional philosophy. The balance between the sound effects and the music, the volume, the pitch, the left-right balance; all of these are elements music directors must take into consideration when composing for games, Kondo said. Moreso, however, Kondo challenged the composers in the crowd to think of their work in the context of the game as a compositional whole, not just select pieces existing independently of one another.

At one point, Kondo asked for a show of hands of the number of composers who played a game composition for their game director the moment it was finished. After a decent number of hands went up in the crowd, Kondo replied by saying he never does this--as he feels that introducing individual pieces one at a time upsets the balance of the compositional whole. Instead, Kondo waits to introduce his music in larger chunks to his directors, so that they can get a feel for how the music fits together, and how themes develop and evolve.

As an example, Kondo showed clips of the famous jaunty "invincibility" theme from the original Super Mario Bros. and Mario 64, to illustrate how the familiar game themes can stay consistent throughout entries in a series while staying fresh all the while.

Interactivity
"Showcasing sound ideas that showcase interactivity is the most important work in sound work."

The biggest difference between game music and traditional "linear" soundtracks is the interactivity between the character, player, world, and soundtrack. To illustrate, Kondo had several examples in mind. To illustrate the effectiveness of changes in instrumentation, Kondo showed a clip of Super Mario 64 that showed Mario on a beach, swimming underwater, and eventually finding an underwater cave. On land, a basic electric piano played the main theme; when Mario entered the water, the theme was augmented by strings; when he found the cave, a bass and drums entered the mix to heighten the excitement of the moment--all of this without changing the main theme.

Another example from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, brought the interactivity point home even further. The "field" theme was his example, played when Link leaves town and travels through the open world map. The theme changes not only to reflect Link's condition (such as when he enters combat) but also changes at random in order to keep the listener's ear engaged. Kondo intentionally composed this theme in eight-measure chunks that could be swapped at random yet still maintain a cohesive theme and feel to them.

Other examples of interactivity cited included the ever-building tempo changes as one neared the end of levels in Super Mario Bros., or batted energy balls back and forth with monsters in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Then there were enemies in New Super Mario Bros. for DS that moved to the musical themes in the game, the interactive musicality of the castle town courtyard in Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and many others. Wrapping up, Kondo encouraged game composers to strive to work these elements into their work on videogames in order to further evolve the art of game composition.

In all, the session was a fascinating insight into an aspect of games that many of us (myself included) all too often take for granted. With Nintendo stalwarts like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time finding new life on the Wii's virtual console, it's a great time to go back and re-experience these amazing games with fresh eyes… and ears.

When it comes to EA Trax, I've been less of a fan of how EA has presented its game soundtracks than the actual music itself. Annoyingly huge pop-ups interfering with my gameplay and dragging down the frame rate just so I can do my best to ignore the name of a hip-hop artist I don't care about isn't exactly my idea of successful advertisement for a game's music.

That said, the actual tunes in the games are usually pretty good. The FIFA soundtracks have always been fun, for example, if only because they're typically so different from the traditional mixes of lame rap and aggro-rock that permeates so many sports series (give me the old-time NFL Films music any day). And the music from SSX Blur, a game I recently reviewed, is top-to-bottom fantastic. So good, in fact, that I'd buy it if it were available to me.

Well, now it is. EA is putting making a chunk of their EA Trax games available on iTunes via its Web site. It's a good idea, even if the application leaves a bit to be desired. I'd rather there was just an EA Trax space on the iTunes store where I could browse the songs, instead of having to go to the EA site and then be forwarded back to the iTunes store. Perhaps that's something they'll remedy in the future.

While there's a good mix of songs out there, the list isn't of soundtracks isn't complete. Noticeably missing is the soundtrack for Rugby 06, a game featuring bands like The Rivers and Mainline that I'd never heard of before the game. I'm sure there are more games that haven't made it in yet, and here's hoping they fill out their catalog in the future. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying that SSX Blur mix...

Which currently unavailable game soundtracks would you like to see on iTunes?

Pillow Bashing Babes Unleashed in New IP from I-play

Pillow Fight Game Emerges from Underground Craze onto Mobile

San Mateo, CA & London, UK – February 26, 2007:  I-play, the mobile entertainment company, today announced the imminent arrival of its explosive original IP title: Pillowfight. As the only game to feature gorgeous gals battling each other with pillows, the title is also the first to include I-play’s new community initiative: I-play lounge™, which enables mobile gamers to upload high scores, compete against fellow gamers and receive downloadable rewards for their gameplay. Pillowfight launches in the US and Europe at the beginning of the second quarter.

Established for many years in the bedrooms and dormitories of college students, the underground craze has started to break out onto the streets, with real life public Pillow Fights being held spontaneously in cities across both US and Europe.

I-play’s Pillowfight embodies an experience that is a ritual part of growing up and a pastime for those who prefer not to! Offering a sexy new twist on casual gameplay fun, you can slug it out as a French Maid or a Cheerleader, swap your persona, plump up your pillows and unlock downloadable wallpaper rewards of the contestants as you win matches and progress through the game.

David Gosen, CEO of I-play commented: “We’ve all done it sometime in our life - squared up to someone with only a pillow for defence. The personalization features combined with I-play lounge’s™ community element will allow pillow fighters around the world to get the most out of the game and their battles. One thumb gaming and easy to use community features is the perfect combination for Pillowfight and today’s mobile gamer looking for a compelling and original form of entertainment.”

Who will be on the cover of NCAA Football 08? EA Sports is set to unveil the choice on March 2, during the "ESPN The Weekend" event in Orlando, a weekend that promises to be notable also for the inclusion of a boiled-red Chris Berman wearing the same Hawaiian shirt for three days in a row.

As you know USC great Reggie Bush was the star of last year's game. The year before, EA went retro and gave the cover to former Michigan Wolverine Desmond Howard. So who gets the cover for 08? Here's my choice for the top five guys in the running, plus a dream pick:

Brady Quinn.
Why He Will: Probably the most recognizable name in college football. Will blog on xbox.com and make appearances in XBL's Game With Fame promo.
Why He Won't: *clap clap clapclapclap* OVER-RATED *clap clap clapclapclap*

Troy Smith
Why He Will: A fantastic season leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to one of their most dominant regular seasons in recent memory. And the Heisman Trophy doesn't hurt.
Why He Won't: Was non-existent vs. Florida in the National Championship game.

Chris Leak
Why He Will: A national championship against a heavily favored Ohio State was vindication for the consistently criticized Gator QB.
Why He Won't: His draft stock took a dive after a weak performance in the Senior Bowl.

JaMarcus Russell
Why He Will: Perhaps the most overlooked of the "Big 3" quarterbacks entering the NFL draft, Russell has size (6'6", 260 lbs.), speed (4.85 40 time), and proven winning ability.
Why He Won't: A very good chance he could be playing for the Raiders next season. Not really a reason he won't make the cover, but man that sucks for him.

Calvin Johnson.
Why He Will: The Georgia Tech wide receiver was perhaps the most physically gifted player in college football last year. An offensive coordinator's dream of size, speed, and Superglue hands.
Why He Won't: Despite his tremendous stature, and All-American stats, Johnson doesn't have the name recognition of a Smith or Quinn.

And, because it wouldn't be a college football entry from me without at least one Auburn reference, my dream pick:

Bo Jackson
Why He Will: As NCAA 06 proved, EA isn't afraid to dip into the past for their cover athletes. And let's face it, Bo's got it all over Desmond Howard any day.
Why He Won't: Bo's ironclad contract with Spike TV has him locked in for the cover of the inevitable Pros vs. Joes videogame. Okay we made that up.

My choice? Calvin Johnson FTW. We'll know for sure on March 2 when EA makes the announcement. In the meantime, who do you think will make the cover?

Like most of you, I've been asking myself one question every day since mid-2004: "Whatever happened to former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter?"

Now that Alex has begun reviewing Arena Football: Road to Glory, I have my answer: playing football in the Arena Football League 2 for the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings.

You're telling me that Quincy Carter, who's still a relatively young guy, is now playing in the minor leagues of a league that is already considered the minors by pro football standards? You're telling me Quincy Carter, a guy that played in 37 games in the NFL for the Cowboys and Jets--a guy that played under Bill Parcells--is now going to be lobbing poorly judged passes and making poorly judged option tosses in an indoor arena in Bossier-Shreveport? The mind boggles.

As an aside: Based on the picture at the bottom of the news announcement, it looks like the team held the Carter press conference at a local buffalo wings joint. This, friends, is why the Arena Football League 2 just flat-out RULES. San Francisco 49ers management should take note. I can guarantee that the Popeye's Chicken in San Bruno would totally be willing to host the announcement of the Norv Turner replacement.

Unfortunately, with the announcement coming this month, it doesn't look like Carter made it into the game. Come on EA: If anyone is worth a roster update, it's Quincy.

Away Game is a periodic on-the-road feature, bringing you behind-the-scenes coverage of some of the world's biggest sporting events. Part 1. Part 2.

So with the 2007 NBA All-Star Game in the books, I thought I'd wrap up my 2007 All-Star Weekend series with a few assorted random tidbits that occurred to me while I was in Sin City, as well as get to answering some of the questions I mentioned at the end of my last entry.

- The teams combined for a total of 285 points last night, which, coincidentally, is the exact same amount of points the Boston Celtics will manage for the second half of the season.

- You read a guy's work for a couple of years, and you begin to draw a picture of him in your head; then, when you see them in person, it's amazing how different they turn out to be. Take ESPN's Page 2 columnist Scoop Jackson, who served as emcee for the NBA Street Homecourt celebrity challenge at the EA Sports party on Thursday night. Now, I'm not going to say the guy is short but, instead of bumping chests when greeting NBA players he knew, my man Scoop was forced to run his chest into at least two NBA crotches that I saw.

- Being a celebrity athlete is awesome. Not only are you paid egregious sums of money to play a game, but companies are ready, willing, and able to toss you tons of free shwag your way. Probably the coolest example of game-related freebies I saw this weekend were these unbelievable laser-engraved, custom PS3s at Sony's PlayStation Parlor in The Palms. We did an interview with the artist that created the designs, which I hope you guys get to see soon, and he told me the actual process of painting and etching the PS3's is not nearly as expensive as you might think--I think he's got a cottage industry just waiting to be exploited.

- On the heels of this, comes this. Now I'm not one to laugh at another person's misfortune. But heh.

- Overhead in an elevator: "Man, he won $10,000. That's good gambling money right there." Only in Las Vegas on NBA All-Star Weekend is ten grand considered gambling money. Anywhere else in the country, that's a down payment.

- Non-NBA related sports note: I think this is the greatest post-Super Bowl news I've heard. Any defensive coach who can't adjust to Peyton Manning's dump-off passes to Joseph Addai deserves to never work again in the pros.

--

Now we come to the part where I fix the NBA All-Star Game. As last night illustrated, the All-Star Game is really just a collection of hoops stars running up and down the court and occasionally making a half-hearted dunk or alley-oop. What the sport needs is for the All-Star Game to mean something, for it to provide an incentive for the players on the court to actually get after it and, you know, try. Money's not going to do it, especially in a town where ten grand is pocket change. Bud Selig had it right with Major League Baseball--where the winner gets home-field advantage in the World Series for their league's team. David Stern and his boys need to borrow this idea and make it work for basketball. The question is: how?

So a few nights ago, as I was lying in bed thinking about this problem, the answer came to me in the form of retro uniforms. Now, everyone knows that retro unis are nothing new for sports. Teams have been making boatloads of cash by selling old-school versions of their gear to fans, even going so far as to have retro games where teams don the unfiorms of days gone by.

I love retro uniforms, so here's my plan for next season: The losing conference in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game will have to field their representing team during the NBA Finals in retro gear; more specifically, the lower half of retro gear. Of course, I'm speaking of nutters, the tiny, tiny shorts worn in the 70s and 80s by guys like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Bill Laimbeer, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Think about it. I look back at old footage of those guys jumping around on the hardwood in what amounts to rayon hot pants and the first question that runs through my mind is, "How did they breathe back then?" Those couldn't have been remotely comfortable. Every time I watch footage of Dr. J go up for one of his trademark dunks, I wonder how he managed to avoid landing while cupping himself in agony, his cheeks inflating like Dizzy Gillespie in mid-solo, as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

Think how much harder LeBron and Kobe would have been working last night if they thought there was even a remote possibility that they'd running up and down the court showing off lower cheek come playoffs time? Trust me, they would have been working hard. It would probably improve playoff ratings too.

So yeah, nutters. David Stern's cracked down on player attire before. I just want to see him take it all the way.

Away Game is a periodic on-the-road feature, bringing you behind-the-scenes coverage of some of the world's biggest sporting events. Read Part 1 of our 2007 NBA All-Star series here.

Having been to two All-Star Games (last year's Major League Baseball All-Star Game and this little shindig in Vegas), I can safely call myself an expert. And by "expert" I mean "lucky stiff."

Still, speaking as a professional, here's a members only, inside tip that only a grizzled veteran of the All-Star scene can give you: All-Star Games aren't really about the All-Star Game. Instead, they're about everything surrounding the game. Think about it, ten minutes into this Sunday's game everyone on the court will have had a chance to dunk, no one will be playing any defense, and everyone--and I mean each of the 18,000 on hand at the Thomas & Mack Center--will be too hung over from Saturday's Vegas debauchery to care anyway.

So, it makes no difference what happens in the game (though I have some ideas on how to improve the NBA All-Star Game that I'll get to in my next installment).  What matters is what's going on everywhere else. Take the NBA Jam Session--an open-to-the-public event held at the Mandalay Bay during all four days of the All-Star festivities. Not only are Sony, EA, and 2K Sports there showing off their latest NBA games, but there's every manner of NBA-related attraction to keep you entertained all day if you wish. There's an NBA store (where I got this close to dropping $40 on a fitted All-Star hat for my cousin, until I realized I didn't know her hat size. And also that I didn't want to spend forty bucks on a damn hat). An Intel booth where you can try being a play-by-play man for a taped game. Cheerleading exhibitions. Basketball competitions. Sports memorabilia by the truckload. And, of course, baskets everywhere. Whether you're seven foot two, or two foot seven, you can find a ball and a hoop with which to try out your best Shawn Marion jump shot impression.

But the fan-friendly stuff is just the start. The real action is with the NBA players, and the metric ton of parties happening all over the city each and every night. Head on over to the Palms Casino and you'll see a gaggle of NBA fans waiting for their favorite player to walk through the door. And most likely he will. While entering The Palms on Friday morning, I saw Yao Ming; as I was leaving later in the day, our cab ran into Scottie Pippen... almost literally.

Thursday night, EA threw a party at The Palms' Moon nightclub, celebrating the release of NBA Street Homecourt, and it was, by far, the hottest ticket of the night. At any given time, the demo room was filled with pros like Rip Hamilton, Chris Bosh, Tony Parker, Carlos Boozer, and March Madness 07 cover boy Adam Morrison. Ironically, it was NBA Street cover star Carmelo Anthony who made the briefest of all appearances at the party--stopping by long enough to take part in the celebrity game tournament, lose quickly, and then steal off into the Las Vegas night, entourage in tow. As an aside Carmelo's monstrous bodyguard reminded me of Gears of War's General RAAM, if RAAM rocked the polo shirts and $500 pairs of jeans.

Stay tuned for the next installments in my 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend report, where I'll be bringing you answers to such pressing questions as:

- Just how short is Scoop Jackson?

- How much is that customized PS3 in the window?

- Who is the best defensive basketball player alive?

Plus, as promised, my simple one-step plan for making the NBA All-Star Game relevant. Stay tuned...

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Away Game is a periodic on-the-road feature, bringing you behind-the-scenes coverage of some of the world's biggest sporting events.

In Las Vegas, luck is like a free throw shot in the NBA: sometimes you've got it, and sometimes you don't. During the first day of the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend, I saw a few people get lucky. Not in that way, you sick freaks. I'm talking about the second-best kind of lucky: going home with huge amounts of cash.

Take Marcus Smith, for example, the winner of EA Sports' NBA Live Challenge. Marcus, better known by his handle NBA Live Boss, battled his way through a grueling tournament to end up in Vegas this weekend, where he had to take on the best of the best in EA's NBA game. For Thursday's finals, his plan was simple: win three games in a row and he'd go home with $50,000. And that's just what he did, in commanding fashion.

Here, in a nutshell, was Boss' approach to winning the game: take Tracy McGrady inside and dunk the ball. Seriously, that was it. Of the more than 100 points Boss' Houston Rockets scored against his opponent's Cleveland Cavaliers, 100 percent of those were by T-Mac and the vast majority came from juking with McGrady until he got in the paint, and then dunking the ball. It looked like Kevin Garnett playing against a group of narcoleptic fifth graders.

At one point, Boss' opponent pulled within five points by triple-teaming McGrady and getting some lucky turnovers. But it didn't last for long. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Rockets were up by 30, officials enacted the mercy rule, and that was all she wrote.

I don't think Boss' "all T-Mac all the time" strategy was a ringing endorsement for NBA Live's gameplay--I'll say again: 100+ points, all by McGrady, and all in the paint--but you can't argue with his strategy of finding something that works and leaning on it all day long. And now the guy is loose in Sin City with fifty large burning a hole in his pocket. That's the kind of luck I think we can all get behind.