We posted an article one month ago that invited readers to do a little thought exercise. Here's what we said: "On the 5th of November we're going to post an article or two about video games, gadgets, technology, and general geekness ... the things about video gaming and technology that ought not be forgotten."

So here's our list of some video gaming and technology moments worth remembering. Hope this gets you thinking (and feeling nostalgic too!). And we look forward to your comments (and arguments). What do you remember and wish that the world will never forget?

Penny Arcade's Child's Play, a five-year-old fundraising outfit that started out dedicated only to the Seattle Children's Hospital, has now evolved into a full-time charity drive.

Child's Play is now extending its reach throughout North America and five countries. Major online retailer Amazon is also giving Child's Play a boost-up by letting participating hospitals create wishlists of items to give to children.

Read more about Child's Play at the full article link below!

Soundtracks designed for video games have evolved a lot since the first synthesized beep was created years ago. Indeed, music in the interactive gaming industry has gone a long way. Now you can hear entire musical scores dedicated for a single game.

EMI Classics has pushed this concept further as they, Video Games Live and IMG Artist, are planning to release an album filled with some of the best known and most popular video game music of all time.

Entitled Video Games Live: Greatest Hits - Volume One includes medleys from various well-known games such as Zelda, Mario, Halo, Warcraft, Sonic, Tron, Myst, Civilization IV and Final Fantasy. The album was compiled by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, reknowned video game composers and Video Games Live co-creators. Included as well are the Slovak National Orchestra and the Crouch End Chorus and the "Video Game Pianist," Martin Leung.

The album will be released on October 19, coinciding with this year's Video Games Live event on the same day at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and on October 22 at London's Royal Festival Hall, performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

2K Games' BioShock is still riding waves of success, being top pick for various gamers around the world. The Swedish are no exception either, for the first-person shooter from 2K Games Boston and Australia steals number one spot for their all platforms chart - well the Xbox 360 version, that is.

It also managed to squeeze through four popular PC, MMO games in the region, which include NCSoft's Guild Wars expansion Eye of the North, Creative Assembly's Medieval II: Total War expansion Kingdoms, and Blizzard Entertainment's two-hit combo - World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade - in that order from second to fifth.

BioShock's Games for Windows version settled into sixth place, while Insomniac Games' Resistance: Fall of Man and Revolution Studios' Motorstorm also found a place in the top ten titles, having grabbed a solid seventh and eighth respectively. 

Counter-Strike 1: Anthology from Valve Software at ninth closed the PC game count to six in PC-dominated charts, while PS2 title Guitar Hero 2: Rock the 80's from RedOctane concluded the top ten games. In essence, Guild Wars: Eye of the North topped the PC list, Resistance: Fall of Man trumped the PS3 list, BioShock rocked the Xbox 360 chart, and Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess was king of the Wii mountain.

In the handheld scene, Nintendo's Pokemon Diamond was favored in the DS list, while WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2007 from THQ crushed competition in the PSP chart. Here's the top ten in the Swedish multi-format charts:

1. Bioshock (360)
2. Guild Wars Eye of the North (PC)
3. Medieval II Total War Kingdoms (PC)
4. World of Warcraft (PC)
5. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)
6. Bioshock (PC)
7. Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
8. Motorstorm (PS3)
9. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology (PC)
10. Guitar Hero 2 Rock the 80´s (PS2)

Buy: [Bioshock (Games for Windows)]
Buy: [Bioshock (Xbox 360)]

People who are lucky enough to live near the Royal Festival Hall in Southbank Centre, London should take heed: Video Games Live is coming up, and Philharmonia Orchestra will perform various memorable video game music ranging from Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Space Invaders, Tetris and yes, even Halo 3. The event is scheduled on October 22, 7:30 p.m.

The variety of video games to be covered, from retro-classic gaming to next-gen, will ensure that everyone who watches the event will leave the venue satisfied. We ourselves will be way over our heads with glee after hearing an orchestra play our beloved Space Invaders tune.

Those who are interested better get their tickets as soon as possible. The ticket prices (depending on the seating) range from GB£ 32.50 (US$ 65.25) to GB£ 19.50 (US$ 39.15), with additional booking fees worth GB£ 1.50 or US$ 3 (no booking fee for Southbank Centre members).

Funcom World Designer, Thomas Wolbekk, who is currently dabbling on the MMORPG, Age of Conan, got up close and personal with MMORPG.com as he gamely talked about his childhood, his first video game, and his influences. Wolbekk admitted that he never really liked school and he spends most of his free time playing games, pretending to do his homework. He also said that his father was his biggest influence in his life.

So on to the gaming-related tidbits. He mentioned that the first video game he played was Bubble Bobble, but he cites Super Mario World, Zelda (A Link to the Past), Rise of the Triad as his big influences among many others. His first video-game related job is making simple games and working on a couple of modifications for Half-Life and Unreal. He says that AoC is the first real game he has worked on. Good start for him!

When asked on what a typical day at Funcom was like, this is what he had to say:

I work as a 3D Environment Artist World Designer. I usually do a lot of polish work and put the final pieces together in Age of Conan’s environments.

I usually arrive at 10 am and go through my task list. I have a small chat with Dag, one of our talented gameplay world designers and we plan out what to work on. After a couple of hours with tweaking the lighting, cleaning up textures, planting trees, placing objects, painting and modeling the ground it’s time for Chris...Then it’s back to work where I usually spend a couple of hours in meetings and continue to brush up on our outdoor areas until I go home at 6 pm. Except when our Game Director Gaute Godager comes running and shouts I have to remove the two people having intercourse with a barrel or something like that before I go home.

The full interview could be read via the Read link below.

Although a Google search for "girls gaming" will bring up over six million hits, a great many girls' gaming experience is limited to My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears and Barbie. Some even went on to the Mario and Zelda series...but let's face it. Most boys want hard-hitting, fact-action games where things go BOOM! And how wonderful it would be for a boy to have that "special girl" sharing his greatest joy...

Well, Ms. Shipwreck from CheapAss Gamer - a "Gamer Wife" - has some good tips for you. Read on...

Point 1 - Control: Men are infamous for their need to be "in control," but (as Condi and Hillary have shown) women crave power and control as well. The best way to allow this to happen is to limit initial frustration. Let's face it, if her character keeps dying, or she can't orient herself in the game's world, she will feel powerless - and will likely throw her hands up at the whole thing. Be a patient, yet thorough teacher - make sure she understands the controls, concept and rules before going in. When all else fails (and we guys are infamous on this point), Read The Instructions!!

Point 2 - Start Out Light: Begin with a "lighter" game that embraces more of the feminine "Yin" (but don't assume that she won't want to go on to more testosterone-fueled games). This doesn't mean you need to go with things like Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing or  Super Princess Peach. She might enjoy some shooters like Goldeneye, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter or  Metal Gear Solid, however.

Point 3 - Play Together, Stay Together: Hopefully, your relationship is based on more than just "love" or sexual passion - she's your "pal" as well, someone you just like to "hang out" with. Find games you can play together. Suggestions: Baldur's Gate, Champions of Norath, Kameo, X-Men Legends, or Lego Star Wars. These games allows one to have a character that complements their innate skills. If she's not a great marksman, she might do well as a wizard/mage, whereas a Xena Warrior Princess-type may enjoy being a warrior. Taking turns at single player games like Paper Mario, Kingdom Hearts, Sphinx, Futurama and Psychonauts can be fun - but make sure your relationship is on solid footing before competing against each other.

Point 4 - Find a Genre You Both Like: Nostalgia (Mario, Zelda, Tetris), puzzles (Devil Dice, Bust-A-Move, Pokemon Puzzle Challenge) or games that allow players to create their own elements (Zoo Tycoon, Harvest Moon) are good places to start. Take her to the game store and find out what interests her. And if it's not all you hoped for, don't be afraid to dump it before she gets frustrated.

Bottom line: gaming needs to be as fun for her as it is for you. And just because there aren't many "woman-specific" games out there (yet), don't assume she won't enjoy slaying monsters and making things go BOOM! as much as you do.