Gaming is an interactive experience. We play games — but at the same time, games play us. In this column, psychologist Nicholaus Noles explores how video games manipulate our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, all in the name of fun. Read More

The “Shayd” Virtual Reality installation is making incredible progress this semester.  With the Spring Graduate Thesis Showcase quickly approaching, we have to finish off the virtual world in Unity and begin constructing the physical set.  The overall concept is elaborate and fascinating, and I’m excited to show off what we got so far!

Concept poster for Shayd (not final). Currently this is a little too dark...

For starters, Shayd is an alien world that suffers from a unique dual-dimensional condition.  Upon arrival on the planet, participants find themselves wandering into a lifeless cave, surrounded by ancient drawings depicting an extraterrestrial history.  A red glowing artifact resides in the center of the cave (its actually the VR head mounted display), and this “alien technology” provides access to the planet’s other dimension.   After putting on the head mounted display, participants are instantly immersed in a vibrant world, and through a series of scenes they can interact with aliens, explore the foreign environment, and even fly over the surface of the planet.  Project Lead Juli Griffo has written a complete narrative for the experience, and plans on self-publishing a Shayd children’s book concurrently with the opening of the virtual installation in May.

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The agenda for today’s meeting can be found here.

Today’s biggest concerns are upcoming elections and the possibility of a large “Studio Day” event for this semester.

Food will be served. All are welcome.

Win a FULL CONFERENCE PASS to IEEE VR 2012 the premier international conference and exhibition on virtual reality.
Submit a short paragraph on why you should receive this gift to Mark Bolas, Director of the Mixed Reality Lab and Associate Professor in the Interactive Media Department at: dnelson@ict.usc.edu
Two people will receive a pass to the conference which takes place in Orange County, CA from March 4 – 8.

[cross post from my blog]

Not too long ago, a rumor hit Kotaku that the next Xbox may block the use of used games, and the internet immediately went into an uproar. While many screamed it protest, many others claimed that such a thing was inevitable due to digital distribution’s creeping domination of game sales. I’m not so convinced of this latter point, because, if the rumor is true, Microsoft would be wandering into the dangerous territory of property restriction of our physical items.

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“What is more important than money?” is the question I found myself asking. This came after having put a considerable effort into trying to fix what is currently broken with currency, only to accidentally reinvent it. To me, the problem with money came in trying to rework it in a system that was designed almost completely around it. In order to invent a truly new form of currency, it became imperative that one must rethink economic dynamics entirely, to the point of rethinking the need for the current form of economy. Friendship was the first word I wrote down, followed closely by love, trust, and respect. Social capital, as compared to economic capital, would dominate the rules of exchange and status.

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Speaker: Howard Marks
Time:      Wednesday, February 1 , 6-8pm
Location: USC’s Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC), Room 122

Howard Marks is Co-Chair of Start Engine and CEO of Gamzee.  Howard is an incredibly successful technology entrepreneur that has worked with a number of companies specializing in the video game, online gaming, social gaming and internet education industry. He is also working as the CEO of Gamzee, a company he founded in April 2011 with the stated goal of disrupting the gaming industry by making games that anyone can play anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

In 2005, Howard founded Acclaim Games. After its acquisition by Playdom, he became head of the Acclaim studio and Sr. VP, Strategic Planning at Disney Interactive Media Group.

Howard got his start in 1983 while a student at the University of Michigan.  In 1991 as a co-founder, member of the board of directors and Executive Vice-President of Activision, Howard helped turn a brand that was largely viewed as dead into the leading powerhouse of the video game industry.

Speaker:       Munehiko Sato
Time:              Wednesday, January 25 , 6-8pm
Location:       USC’s Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC), Room 122

Munehiko Sato is a Lab Associate at the Interaction Group of Disney Research Pittsburgh where he works on sensor related projects with Dr. Ivan Poupyrev. He is also a PhD candidate at the  Hirose-Tanikawa Laboratory (Cyber Interface Lab) in the Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS), Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo.   His research interests include:  Human Computer Interaction, Embodied Interface, Real World Interaction, Multi-modal Interaction/Interface, Augmented Human, Ubiquitous Computing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Entertainment Computing, and Wearable Computing.

Munehiko will discuss his  ‘Constellation of Departure’ installation at Haneda Airport in Tokyo ( recently  posted on the IMD blog ) and also present some of the projects from the Disney Research Lab.

Please join us for our first IMD Council meeting of the semester.

Agenda can be found here.

We’ll be talking about our election plans for next year and a potential Studio Day event modeled after the Animation department’s hugely successful “Studio Day” from last year.

There will be food served, so feel free to stop by before seminar and have some dinner!

Reading Assignment Week 2:

For week two please prepare the following excerpt of the first chapter of Mary Ann Doane: The Emergence of Cinematic Time.

You can download the reading materials here: The Representability of Time

Reading Assignment Week 3:

For the third week please prepare the following essay by Henry Jenkins: Game Design as Narrative Architecture.

You can download the reading materials here: Game Design as Narrative Architecture

Reading Assignment Week 4:

For week four please prepare an excerpt from Gene Youngblood: Expanded Cinema.

You can download the reading materials here: The Aesthetic Machine, Computer Films

Reading Assignment Week 5:

For week five please prepare the following essay by Gonzalo Frasca: Simulation versus Narrative.

You can download the reading materials here: Simulation versus Narrative