Katamari to you.
Someone created a Katamari Cake for their fiance. Lucky person.
Sorry I forgot to credit it. The photo of the cake was taken by someone on flickr named "The Singing Leaf." I assume that person is also the creator of the cake.
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September 28, 2005
For those with macs and into making pixel art
I've found Pixen, a freeware Mac graphics program specifically designed for pixel graphics. If you feel like making some good old retro art this maybe the ticket.
September 22, 2005
Can't wait to try this with Super Monkey Ball.
For those into immersive enviroments and controls, Virtusphere has created a spherical controller. If this catches on, then in the future we'll enjoy our immersive virtual reality with full freedom of movement, and look like human hamsters in the process.
September 16, 2005
links to teaser of Nintendo revolutions controller
September 15, 2005
More Nintendo Controller
Supposedly it works like a 3d mouse.
It looks like a deadly Mac branded Nunchaku. Prepare to feel the burning wrath of my iNunchaku, Mario. If you look really carefully it's the old 8bit Nintendo controller held sideways.
September 13, 2005
The Man/Machine Interface
The idea of DARPA seriously exploring augmented human cognition both intrigued me and disturbed me. Alex's 20 minute DARPA film reminded me too much of films like,"Minority Report," "The Matrix," and "Ghost in the Shell."
All these film are my favorite simply because they begged the philosophical question of "What is man's relationship to technology?" and "Where are the paths of man and machine destined?"
Will technology be a conspiracy of faceless overlords?
Will technology be simple extensions of our abilities and nature?
Will we merge with technology to form a new state of existence?
![ghost_in_the_shell01_800x600[1].jpg](http://interactive.usc.edu/members/kleung/ghost_in_the_shell01_800x600%5B1%5D.jpg)
Before I saw Alex's film I was really anxious to see how the film would attack these questions. After watching the film I was somewhat disappointed to see that DARPA felt that the future of man-machine interface was new window resize functions that use mental stress as input. I guess a mind-controlled UI would be somewhat better than dragging your mouse to the corner and resizing the window by hand. But, then again, this crack squad of commando nerds don't have time for such trivialities. I probably should also be relieve that DARPA doesn't have any plans to stick us with USB ports in our necks (i.e. Matrix) or above our tail bones(i.e. eXisTenz). I mean who really wants another hole to worry about.
If anyone else is interested in the destiny of man and machine check this link out:
technological singularity
September 12, 2005
"The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work." - Robert Frost
Yeah there is a strange irony in having school work that involves playing video games. Such that when I feel the urge to procrastinate I can no longer resort to playing games to avoid school work as I did in high school. No, by giving some real purpose to my play, play has degraded to work. Ironic. So now I've to resorted to doing something even less productive like house chores. Yeah nothing takes my mind off playing video games like cleaning the dishes and vacuuming the floor. But even that last for so long. So when I need to take my mind off of taking out the trash, I switch to something even more pointless. Blogging. :P
Seriously, though, the course work here has been pretty intense compared to my undergrad experience at UCSD. And I was doing a BS in Computer Science there. But all the course work at CNTV has been pretty exciting. I feel I must be in the right place if what drives me is my personal standard for excellence rather than just the letter grade. Yes, school so far has been a lot of hard work and a lot of fun. But beyond all the fun and games, I've gotten the most satisfaction learning to craft an experience and having the chance to stretch my creativity. I also feel that it is a privilege to be around people who are passionate about games, films, and innovation.
I've already finished my first exercise film. And I feel it went OK. But with my next assignment, I'm have a hard time coming up with a character. I would have thought this was easy since I always did character designs when I was a kid. However, those designs were always so superficial. I could come up with the look of a character but their personality and history was something I never really considered. Creating a character with depth isn't easy.
Anyways, (sigh) back to playing games. Well at least my apartments and clothes are clean.
September 2, 2005
Expo 2005
When I first saw the expo, I thought the theme of the project was inspiring and intriguing. However I was disappointed that I didn't feel that the exhibits didn't carried that theme out as I expected. The theme was supposed be how civilization could live in harmony with nature. Yet didn't see exhibit that showed how we could live in harmony with nature. Maybe it is because I didn't actually get to see the video content of the exhibits. I only got to see the installations. I was hoping to see exhibits that gave exemplified symbiotic relationships between nature, and human civilization. I was hoping to see things like houses that would be environmental friendly and complemented its natural surroundings. I was also hoping to see the development of eco-communities. Possibly houses that could stay cool using a waterfall that also served to water the surrounding foliage. Houses made of more recycled material. Houses that were smarter about energy and water consumption. I was hoping to see clothes and disposable technology that were environmentally friendly.
Of all the immersive installations, I was most impressed by the giant 5 screen laser HD display. And I was most amused by the giant 5 story snow monkey.