Course

WEEK 14: Thursday, April 24th 12-2+
Jack McMahan
Ethan Kennerly
Andrea Rodriguez
Andre Clark
Maya Churi

Week 15: Thursday, May 1st 12-2+
Jamie Antonisse
Diana Hughes
John Brennan
RJ Layton
Al Yang
Mike Rossmassler

Here are some notes on my thesis - the idea and the experience. Special thanks to Mike, Ethan and Al for their creative input...

The goal of my thesis is to create a multi-sensory experience in which the participant can understand/percieve/feel what it is to be another living thing. Essentially becoming/transforming into the other.

Through the Storied Experience participants can learn, sense and eventually come to understand what it feels like to perceive the world from the other’s perspective. In the simplest terms, I would like to explore how we can use advanced technology as well as simple science to create a layered experience that gives us the impression that we, as well as our senses, have changed.

The participant will be given visual, auditory and tactile cues based on the cognitive understanding and instinct of the chosen entity. Perhaps gesture can play a part as well. (Scope - TBD).

Thoughts...we can't change our mass but we do have materials at our disposal that can give the perception that our mass has changed. Oobleck, for example, can easily give the perception of walking on water - much like the Basilisk Lizard can.

How does story work its way into this understanding?
How can story enhance perception? And, when working in tandem can story and perception create a uniquely rich and profound experience.

In the case of this thesis the perspective will be of either a crow or a tree. Why a crow and why a tree? They are both characters in the children's story I am writing - which is an integral part of the project. But, my goal is to create a format or structure by which the methods used to create the experience could be used for any living thing.

Some questions:
How does affordance work its way into this?
How do I articulate the affordances of a crow or a tree?
How do I differentiate between anthropomorphism and science in this context?
Do I have to differentiate?
Does the integration of story lend itself solely to anthropomorphism?

American Heritage Dictionary – Anthropomorphism – Attribution of human motivation, charactersitcs, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals or natural phenomena.

Does the project have to be untainted by anthropmorphism…can anthropmorphism be attributed on some level to human instinct – why is it given so little voice?

A bird ascribed human charactersitcs or a human ascribed bird characteristics…maybe we just have similar characteristics.

Give yourself a break and come play with us! Enjoy some fun games out in the grass just like the old days.

When: 6:00pm, Thursday, April 17, 2008

Who: Anyone and everyone

Where: Grass area near Doheny Library (we will be walking from the ZML, so if you want to meet there first, you are welcome to walk with the group.)

Duration: 20 minutes

Some things to keep in mind:

This is for your oral presentation, not to be confused with the written proposal.
Thesis Prep Presentation Outline

Download file

In a recent entry, I described the events that led me to re-evaluate the underlying gameplay mechanics of The Cache.

After this soul-searching, I went back to the drawing board, looking for new fundamental game paradigms that could bring out the strengths of the Cache. Strategy? No. Rhythm? No. Action? Clearly, no. Puzzle? That had always held the most immediate possibilities for this form. I dug a little deeper this time, however, and found another paradigm, a cousin (nephew? son?) of the puzzle that I thought held some rich possibilities.

I started looking at The Maze.

Following is my planned schedule for the remainder of the semester.

3/27 Week 10 Workshop 1
4/3 Week 11 Workshop 2
4/10 Week 12 Workshop 3
4/17 Week 13 OPEN: Proposal Drafts DUE
4/24 Week 14 Presentation 1
5/1 Week 15 13Presentation 2
TUESDAY MAY 6th: Final Proposals Due

Download file

Per Peggy's assignment here is a posted schedule:

At this time I have prepared for my thesis such that I need: a second IMD advisor, a proposal document, and a polished presentation. This week I did:
3/26/2008 Present work-in-progress to first potential IMD advisor. Construct alphabet prototype. Build installer.

Next week I am speaking at AISB in Scotland on simulation and story analysis in game design.
4/3/2008 N/A (present simulation and story analysis)

The following weeks, for the proposal I am doing the following:

4/10/2008 Present work-in-progress to second potential IMD advisor.
4/17/2008 Draft proposal. Submit to Advanced Game Project.
4/25/2008 Revise proposal. Prepare proposal presentation.

This is Part 3 of a series of posts dedicated to covering topics of interest to me in videogames, and will be instrumental in the foundation of my thesis project. As always, comments are appreciated.

Part 3 covers some economic concepts, mostly focusing on rarity of commodities and items and how they impact the narrative of a massively-multiplayer online game.

First off, apologies are in order re: the blog and my schedule... I got some unexpected (good) news early this week, and it's taken up a bunch of my mental real estate. All the entries I mentioned (with the possible exception of the Charles Barkley... does ANYONE know anything about running RPG Maker games???) will be up soon.

I haven't talked much about The Cache in this space recently, but that's not because nothing's been going on. In fact, I'd say it's quite the opposite... TOO MUCH has happened in the last month, and I haven't really had time to process it, much less force it into sentences. I'm going to try to rectify that now.

I was born in the hospital in Princeton. From my youngest age, I can remember the town, from the YMCA where i learned to swim, to the Nature Company where i used to marvel endlessly at the fossils they had for sale. But the thing i remember most is the university. I remember the lacrosse games, the places my parents worked, and the wonder i felt when i saw that the university museum and art gallery were always crowd-less. I remember when they (the shapeless they) rebuilt one of the classrooms to use in some horrid Einstein-related romance movie. The point of this rather rambling line of memories is this: no matter how badly i butcher the science, it can't be any worse than what they did to Einstein in IQ.

i've been doing research for my thesis recently, and have been wrestling with the concept of time. In my efforts to maintain scientific validity, i've investigated a number of different fields, with the hopes that i could form a better mental model of a concept that has befuddled the greatest minds for centuries. In the end, the most sage advice i received was "Just Michael Crichton it..."

Due (posted) Tuesday 3/25:
for Entire Class (not just those presenting that week)
Look at your mid-term presentation and proposal outline.
Analyze tasks to complete for your final proposal and schedule yourself for
Weeks 10, 11, 12, 13
These are individual tasks pertaining to your proposal and are over and above presentation schedules, i.e. even if you are not presenting during a particular week, you are still occupied, working actively on your thesis proposal for this class during that week.

A posted draft of your thesis proposal is due 4/17. (Earlier if possible.)You should alert potential advisors to it and give them time to offer feedback in time for your formal presentation. The final presentations will occur 4/25 and 5/1.

These are 25 - 30 minute presentations: You will be presenting the next stage prototype (including or incorporating your individual assignment) including ample time for discussion as the class will already be familiar with your progress. Presenters must post the Tuesday prior to the presentation date; the entire class is responsible for reading the posts prior to each presentation.

3/27 Week 10:
(post by Tuesday 3/25)
Ethan, Mike, Maya

4/3 Week 11
(post by Tuesday 4/1)
Jamie, Al, RJ, Andre

4/10 Week 12
(post by Tuesday 4/8)
Andrea, John, Diana, Jack

Here is a timeline that I presented on the panorama in ZML.

And here are the notes that informed that presentation.

Here is the website for Runesinger.

Thank you for your comments!

Presenters: 2nd Year MFA students in CTIN 542, 544, 548
Time: Wednesday, March 12, 6pm-8pm
Location: USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC),
Room 201 Zemeckis Media Lab (ZML)

Title: "Flying Off The Handle - CTIN 542, 544, 548 Second Year MFA Combined One-Week Interactive Design Project, Spring 2008"

Instructors/Jurors: Mark Bolas, Perry Hoberman, Michael Naimark, Peggy Weil

Project Description:
"In the center of the table in front of you is a pile of handles, knobs and pulls. These objects, specifically shaped for the human hand, can be attached to other objects or surfaces, allowing them to be pushed, pulled, grabbed, closed, opened, turned, twisted, switched, lifted, shifted, operated, poured, tossed, etc. Handles can be attached to either movable and immobile objects. Handles can have both symbolic and/or practical functions - a handle is a kind of affordance. Affordances provide clues to how an object can or should be used (clues that can be useful, but also misleading). Your assignment is to conceive of, design, and produce an interactive experience in which the operation of one or more of these handles by a human user is a central component. This experience should be one or more of the following: surprising, shocking, bewildering, addictive, amazing, exquisite, subtle, provocative."

In preparation for the upcoming thesis presentation, i figured i'd post some of my own musings on my work thus far, and the direction that i intend to take the project in...

I was going to comment on each person's blog/thesis site individually, but as I scrolled through the entries on the Thesis Preparation blog, this became a daunting and intractable task. Noone (not me either) has a recent post whereat comments may be posted. So, I'll just make a post here based on the 5-10 minute presentation from yesterday's class before the weekend erases my impressions.

These are short impressions for short presentations. To start off with, I personally would benefit from studying each in detail, rather than making a short-attention span traversal of 11 projects in 110 minutes. In my personal opinion, such rapid fire presentation and comments leads to hasty and shallow feedback, low investment by both the presenter and the audience.*** I apologize if I criticize something that you already have, but just didn't have time to delve into within the 5-10 minute constraint.

Here they are, not with the title given by their presenter, but with a word that I remember about the project; I mean all of them respectfully as feedback on what echoed in the mind of one listener. Roughly in the order of what I remember of the presentations.

Jamie Antonisse - "Story collector"

+ The prototype is fully interactive and testable.

+ The mechanics combined adventure game key/lock mechanics and set collection.

- In the current incarnation, I'm intimidated by the time investment-to-emotional payoff ratio of playing.

- I'm not yet associating the mechanics with any story.

RJ Layton - "Walk to the death chamber"

+ You evoked a psychoanalytical experience that reminds me of Timothy Leary's Book of the Dead audio recording, or one of the death pseudo-rituals of Carlos Casteneda, or shamanistic traditions from ancient times to modern LSD trips.

+ The prototype was rehearsable.

- Partly, because of the identical user interface for each decision (yet disregarding the paper prototype's construction), the consequence of the decisions felt like one of those folded paper flowers, capricious.

- As presented, I suspect that you'll face a combinatorial explosion of assets that plague branching narratives.

Andrea Rodriguez - "Cardinal poses"

+ The cardinal colors, symmetrical architecture, ritualistic compass, and mysterious user expectation evoked a mystical, almost religious, mood.

+ The prototype clearly indicated a space and an artifact.

- If dance is essential to your thesis, I did not associate this with dance.

- As presented, the technology of interaction seems nebulously defined.

Maya Churi - "Face/displace"

+ Familiar faces are visually and socially engaging.

+ The prototype clearly showed an example configuration.

- As presented, I wasn't sure what my motivation as a user would be to interact with the piece. Many ideas were brought up, but nothing stuck in my mind.

Mike Rossmassler - "Time sink"

+ Novel mechanics of space-time.

+ The visual cue helped me correlate avatar time-rate to virtual environment interaction.

- The presented prototype did not evoke the visual cue.

Andre Clark - "Panorama stick figure war"

+ The stick figures provided entertainment in their own form. I had fun with a shadow puppet play.

- The mechanics of flag capture felt ill-defined. Overall, I wasn't convinced what depth of tactics the simulation would support.

Al Yang - "Casual MMO team alchemy"

+ The focus on casual MMOs made sense.

+ Research was authoritative.

- I didn't understand what the mechanics were, so I wasn't confident they'd be more fun than the mainstream class models.

Jack McMahan - "Sound sniper"

- There's no protype in the core modality: audition, so if someone asked, I wouldn't be able to say what the audial experience is. Even a manual rehearsal or recorded sound would provide a low-fidelity aural experience.

Diana Hughes - "T-shirt display"

+ The diagram of the t-shirt drew my eyes in to its technically-motivated grid.

- I haven't heard what emotional or social problem the t-shirt solves better than an alternative portable device in a way that motivates me to wear one.

- I can't currently imagine an example of the user experience.

*** Looking forward, I've had positive experience with a class that focused on each project for at least half an hour each and required the presenter to have submitted documentation 3 days before class, which the was class was required to read before discussion. Taking turns, only three works were due each class.

Thursday March 6th
Maya
Ethan
John
Andrea
Andre

Thursday March 13th
Jack
Dian
Al
Mike
RJ
Jamie

My slides from recent CTIN 548 presentation are posted on the class wiki.

This is Part 2 of a series of posts dedicated to covering topics of interest to me in videogames, and will be instrumental in the foundation of my thesis project. As always, comments are appreciated.

In this post, I'll be covering massively-multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs or simply MMOs). More specifically, I'll be looking at the immensely popular World of Warcraft and the less popular and arguably more "hardcore" EVE Online.

(now crossposted at Peggy's request)

This is the Part 1 of a series of posts I will be making, called my "Thesis Philosophy Series." In these posts I will be covering various aspects of game design and philosophy in efforts to define my upcoming thesis project. Comments are not only welcome but encouraged!

(now crossposted at Peggy's request)

Inspired by the Chinese proverb “If you hear you forget, if you see you remember, if you do you understand.”

I AM DESIGNING storied experiences that immerse the doer into a world from which they will walk away with the resonant feeling that they were part of something bigger than themselves…

BECAUSE I want to explore the extent to which these experiences can be appropriated and applied to life…

IN ORDER TO enhance human understanding
AND
DEVELOP a lexicon for the methods, mechanisms and approaches to creating effective storied experiences.

i am interested to discover how the physical body interacts with technology. I would like demonstrate how the body can motivate technology versus technology motivating the body. My goal is to understand how physical body movement can provide an experience for self expression with the use of technology, sound, and movement.

Too wordy, but its broad enough to describe something i am interested in

And out it comes...

Usual disclaimer: This is what I'm feeling at the moment, and will likely change depending on mood swings, formative experiences in the near future, or a lack of inspiration regarding the topics described.

I AM CHALLENGING modern social games' requirement that all players sit and face a screen, rather than each other…

BECAUSE social/party games should be about person-to-person interaction, not person-to-screen interaction…

IN ORDER TO develop a technology-aided social gaming experience that is more reminiscent of board and card games than of single-player video game experiences.

AS A SUB-INQUIRY, I AM INVESTIGATING the role of the producer in video game development...

BECAUSE the responsibilities of such individuals vary widely across the video games industry, with every studio having a different take on what the job description of a producer is…

IN ORDER TO develop a metric for what makes a good producer, so that the necessary skills can be taught in a relevant/useful way in a classroom setting, just as programming and art production are in most programs.

Taking a stab at this... literally.

I too am straddling a Jello-fence.

These answers only represent the current state of my work, and are subject to change on a whim...

Part 2

1. Post questions for Scott (possibly Anne) on the class WIKI about thesis for session next week.
2. (ongoing - not due next week, but soon after) Start to look at papers, both from within the department and from conferences, other schools, etc that may be relevant to your topic/project. This research isn't about your topic per se, it is about the structure/quality and language of papers in digital media. Get a sense of community standards.
3. Think about your topic/project within spectrum of pure and applied research, art and design. Keep in mind that representative or descriptive art shows us something about the world, but not necessarily something literal or concrete, and, in the history of art, new media has the potential to add to what can be portrayed/experienced. You can start from your topic of interest OR your media. In either case, what are the opportunities of your chosen media to convey something heretofore unknown about your chosen topic?
4. Look at your list of questions from class (questions about your area of interest: its parts, context, value, etc) and begin to combine them into fewer, more significant questions. Start to distill a claim or an idea or an area of inquiry, or a project from them.
Take a stab at the MAD LIB exercise (it may not reflect your final project yet) and
POST at least one, or perhaps several (showing process) of your MADLIB by class time on Thursday.


State your topic:
I am exploring/investigating/making/developing/inventing/researching_______________

Question it:
I am investigating __________BECAUSE I am trying to find out who/what/where/whether/why/how_________

Motivate your question:
I am developing ________
because I want to demonstrate how_________
in order to help my reader understand/afford my viewer the opportunity to/enable users/ offer the experience of________________

Peggy asked us to post our areas of interest in regards to our thesis. I had analyzed my area of interest in Spring 2007. The answer goes back to then.

In Spring 2007, I was leading an advanced game project for a procedural musical shooter (Euphonics), a maze game about the horror of factory chicken farming (Free Ranger), an epic action-adventure game, Tree of Life, a 70's pizza driving game, a notion for a public policy simulator with mechanics of ethical calculus, and had just revisited a notion I've had for since 2002, a game that teaches the Korean language through casual mini-games.

My life is limited and I recognize that everything I want to do before I die, even when I force myself to choose, will not get done. My time in grad school is even more limited. I recognized that each of the ideas had issues. Procedural graphics is cool, and is my curiosity, but others have already done it much better than I can. Free Ranger garnered no interest. Tree of Life and Pizza Driver are conventional; I'm not interested in a portfolio piece. The public policy simulator is important, but no one would play it. The Korean language game is the most difficult and academic of the concepts.

Because of my multi-disciplinary interests in embodied cognitive psychology, my experience in autodidactic learning, and my experience in crafting games, edutainment is a field I believe I have a chance push the envelope on. Although it's risky and difficult, and the project is likely to fail, the experiment would teach me more about aesthetics of play and other forms of cognitive interaction than any of the dozen or so projects that I've considered for this thesis. And when I die, if I have contributed to the advancement of enjoyable methods for mastery of a necessary skill, then I believe the world is better off. Anyone who has been around kids, knows humans must learn; and anyone who is learning wishes the process to be enjoyable.

This was a glimpse of my thoughts in Spring 2007. That summer I created four typing prototypes. Only one was fun. But my summer's research into neurolinguistics and cognitive science of vision uncovered new possibilities and a deep coupling between learning in general, language in particular, and the cognition of playing videogames.

My foundational hypothesis is: A videogame teaches skills, so can a videogame teach a skill that is transferable to high-level tasks in an academic, business, or artistic setting? If a videogame can teach a language whose basic phonemes are foreign, then all easier skills can also be taught through edutainment. Therefore, if I can solve a subset of the hard problem, then we can solve many cases of the intrinsic motivation barrier to education.

Last summer I began employing agile software development methodology and tools in Python. It improved progress, which being computer-based, is dreadfully slow, yet still better than any of the other methods and tools I've tried (C++, Flash, Processing, Ogre, custom scripting languages for PS3 and MMORPGs).

For the story of my thesis, Runesinger, see the pitch: http://runesinger.com/pitch.doc For other information, see the site. http://runesinger.com

I have investigated and been enriched by multiple disciplines, so when referring to a user of this edutainment software, I use the term that invokes the discipline that the listener ought to consider. When discussing gameplay, I say "player"; when discussing graphic or cinematic design, I say "viewer"; when discussing sound design or public presentation, I say "audience." When discussing overall human-computer interaction, I say "user." If I am referring to the story in preproduction or design document or any literature, then I say "reader." If I am referring to a psychological test (such as of educational value), then I say "participant." I do so out of respect for each tradition that has advanced my understanding, and to invoke in the listener that same tradition's treasure of insight.

====

Peggy requested:

This is Part 2, the final phase of this assignment, please post your answers, as well as emailing them to me
Look over your analysis, let it sit long enough to answer:
1. An area of interest you've identified.

2. A couple of questions (stated in the form of a question) and opportunities suggested by your area of interest. What do you (or a potential viewer) want or need to know about this area?

3. Identify a method or process that can be used to explore your question.

4. One to three actual topics or subjects that address your interests/questions. (Not ‘a game’ or ‘experience’ or ‘interactive film,’ find a subject/setting/character/narrative.

5. Pair your topics with a genre and an audience: Not just "a game" but the type of game and the type of player you envision. (Expert? General? Student? Adult? Child? Casual? Obsessed? Fan? Animal, Mineral, Vegetable?)

6. Commit to a term (participant, viewer, player, reader, user, audience) that you will use throughout the project. (If you feel this is restrictive, or want more than one term, this is the place to state your view, the important part is to begin to define, and address, your reader.)

3 objects, part 2

This is the follow-up to my "three things" assignment for Thesis Prep. It's been a little difficult because the notion of the follow up is synthesis, and I chose my three items precisely because they are so individually different from each other. I think they do have a collective meaning, but it's difficult to define as a feature of EACH object... it's more a meaning that grows out of the choice of the three together... I... well...

...huh...

...aha! Yahtzee!

1. An area of interest you've identified.
Creating unexpected intersections. Engaging people at the personal level.

2. A couple of questions (stated in the form of a question) and opportunities suggested by your area of interest. What do you (or a potential viewer) want or need to know about this area?
-What types of content make for interesting intersections/combinations?
-What methods are there for creating inside jokes between the designer/game and the player?
-How does one create an environment where players are creating their own stories without quickly spiraling out of control?

3. Identify a method or process that can be used to explore your question.
Lots and lots of prior art research, especially in games.

4. One to three actual topics or subjects that address your interests/questions. (Not ‘a game’ or ‘experience’ or ‘interactive film,’ find a subject/setting/character/narrative.
-History
-Chemistry
-Multiplayer gaming (video games, but also board, card, and party games)

5. Pair your topics with a genre and an audience: Not just "a game" but the type of game and the type of player you envision. (Expert? General? Student? Adult? Child? Casual? Obsessed? Fan? Animal, Mineral, Vegetable?)
Social player, preferably already part of a group who would want to play together.

6. Commit to a term (participant, viewer, player, reader, user, audience) that you will use throughout the project. (If you feel this is restrictive, or want more than one term, this is the place to state your view, the important part is to begin to define, and address, your reader.)
Player, though there could at some point be viewers as well (depending on if the game evolves into something which tends to attract an audience)

Part two of the analysis...

1. An area of interest you've identified.

Cybernetics.

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the IMD thesis paper. As the second years start thinking about our theses, and the third years begin actually writing said paper, we start to ask: what should the format of the paper be? what should the paper be about? do we even need to write one? It seems as though the faculty are asking themselves the same types of questions, not just about the paper, but about the thesis project as well. I've been around the thesis process a couple of times now, and I'm starting my own thesis this semester, so I thought I'd weigh in on the paper and see what people think. I'm probably not right, but I'm hoping we can at least argue about it for awhile and see what we can figure out.

1. butterfly jewlery box
2. inspiration-one of my nieces Veh
3. Senior Project - "Hermanas y Manos"

Part 1: My 3 Objects

a) Sticker - "Weepies, the Breakfast of failures"

b) Book - "The function of Orgasm

c) My Santa Barbara (post undergrad) sketchbook

Part 1: Pick 3 objects
a) Something significant from your childhood, something important to you - a toy, a talisman a memento.

Noah’s Arc wooden toy.

b) An inspiration - a quote, a song, a book, a lyric, a piece of art, an experience, a philosopher, a scientist, just ONE.

Jeanne d' Arc painting and transcripts of her trial.

c) Something you've done or pursued on your own initiative (scholarly or otherwise) that is deeply interesting/satisfying to you.

My Changing Planet

Part 1 :: Three Items
1) Favorite things as a kid – Goosebumps book collection
2) Inspiration – Shadow of the Colossus
3) Personal Work I am proud of –Poetry notebook

Peggy: "Pick for me these objects three..."

This, my friends, is homework. The semester thus far has been a sharp left turn... first I had to write my own obituary (it took me a week), then I had to list all the things I regretted missing out on as a kid (D.C. hardcore, teenage sex, etc), and now this, an analysis of the things we carry. I am getting (more importantly, EARNING) an MFA in Wistfulness.

Lift Off

Part 1: Pick 3 objects

a) Something significant from your childhood, something important to you - a toy, a talisman a momento.

I chose a poison ring that belonged to my grandfather, Ben.

b) An inspiration - a quote, a song, a book, a lyric, a piece of art, an experience, a philosopher, a scientist, just ONE.

For this, I chose Firefly, a science fiction television series that enjoyed a short run a few years back on Fox.

c) Something you've done or pursued on your own initiative (scholarly or otherwise) that is deeply interesting/satisfying to you.

I chose Multimedia YumYum Takeout, an utterly ridiculous compositing project I worked on my senior year in undergrad. The piece consisted of short skits that were edited into a larger reel of work from my undergrad program, and was exhibited and distributed as part of the program's marketing and recruitment efforts.

This is in response to the assigment (appended below).

Like: Psion Revo
Inspired by: The Illustrated Primer in the The Diamond Age
Proud of: HeroCard Nightmare



Psion Revo

This is a PDA, designed and manufactured by Psion, which was a pioneer of PDAs. The Revo is a clamshell design, and folds to fit in the pocket. The keyboard, until recently, was large enough for me to type 20 words per minute. I got through analysis of algorithms, taking notes that served the whole class on it. The device turns on when you open it. It easily switches between open applications. Even though it only has 16MB of RAM for operating system, files, and applications, the file formats are compact. The features were just enough and optimized for use. The outline allows quick searching of word documents.

I used to write my ideas down and notes I needed to remember in highschool on a pocket notebook, but it got to be a hassle to retype notes and find them, after generating so many words a year.

Although they stopped making Revo in 2000, I kept using it until only a couple months ago when with age my fingers began cramping. I miss it though everytime my Palm keyboard freezes up, and every time I have to assemble the keyboard rather than simply open the clam shell.

I'm curious about the conflict of usability and presentation, which Donald Norman brought to my attention in Design of Everyday Things. He noticed that appliances received confusing and unnecessary features or less usable control maps, because they looked better, and it wasn't until using the object for a while that the usability became an issue. Palm PDA and cellphone/PDA have caught on but a better solution to my use cases, and probably to many wired writers is presented by Psion Revo. I can't find a PDA that meets my needs, at any price. It's not a tech limitation; Revo hit it in 2000. It's a design decision. Why? Can the niche I belong to be served?




Diamond Age, Or The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

A tycoon commissions an artificially-intelligent educational computer book for his granddaughter. A copy of the book falls into the hands of a street urchin. The book adapts to her story and raises her from pauper to princess.

This book teaches the child through interactive fairy tales and games. It teaches the finest quality material in an entertaining format, adapted to its user's personality and environs.
This was a part of my personal statement. If I can craft software that both entertains and educates in the direction of the Illustrated Primer, then my life has been meaningful.



HeroCard Nightmare

Players and developers praised the scary artwork of HeroCard Nightmare. But the simulation and story channels of its design were not that consonant with the art. The project was cancelled. I didn't want to see Gregor's chthonic art be buried forever. So I offered to redesign the simulation and story while preserving the look and feel. I designed the simulation as inverse Clue, you start knowing where you will die and who will kill you. The story of a cursed camera that takes prophetic photographs and a nightmare from which only one, the murderer of all the others, wakes up raised eyebrows.

Out of the three published boardgames and a few unpublished ones, Nightmare is my best design. Everyone I've played more than one game of mine with agrees, including my most brutal critic, my son.

Confluence

Together these items form an odd triangle. The Psion Revo and the Illustrated Primer have obvious connections: A PDA is a predecessor to the fantastical Primer. Nightmare is a game whose simulation and story are consonant; in fact all of its channels of game design (simulation, user interface, story, and look and feel) are consonant. They all contribute to the "Nightmare".

My area of interest is making an edifying videogame. This requires a well-designed game with consonant channels of simulation, user interface, story, and look and feel. Additionally it requires each channel is consonant with learning a skill or principle useful in an artistic, business, or academic pursuit.

Having written that, I can't help feel I've cooked my conclusion. Those are honest articles and the motives are pure, but because I've been prototyping and designing my thesis for the past six months, I can't disentangle my current direction from this conclusion.

---
This is in response to the assigment:

Part 1: Pick 3 objects (You've done this already)

a) Something significant from your childhood, something important to you - a toy, a talisman a momento.

(don't think too hard, just pick something)

b) An inspiration - a quote, a song, a book, a lyric, a piece of art, an experience, a philosopher, a scientist, just ONE.

c) Something you've done or pursued on your own initiative (scholarly or otherwise) that is deeply interesting/satisfying to you.

Part 2: Questions (Take some time to do this properly, post it.)

a) Why this item is interesting/meaningful/important to you (or universally)?

b) What are the issues, concerns, principles, processes or attributes that surround each item?

c) How is each item relevant: socially, technically, politically, phenomenologically?

d) What do you not know about the item, and would like to investigate?

Part 3) Step Back (Post this as well.)

a) Look at your three items as a whole and see if you can discover similarities (literal or abstract), are there intersections?

b) Does your analysis suggest an area of interest, or (series of) questions?

Download file

Part 1: Pick 3 objects (You've done this already)

a) Something significant from your childhood, something important to you - a toy, a talisman a momento.

xevoz action figures

b) An inspiration - a quote, a song, a book, a lyric, a piece of art, an experience, a philosopher, a scientist, just ONE.

i picked the book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar

c) Something you've done or pursued on your own initiative (scholarly or otherwise) that is deeply interesting/satisfying to you.

my work on the night journey

But not the last.

This is just a test to see if the aggregator slug for CTIN 548 is working.

If you don't know what this means, friends, I envy you!