A response to the questions posed for week one...
1. Create an online display space for yourself (this will be part of how you become famous as a result of your work in this class)
2. Articulate a collective participation strategy (i.e., how will you take advantage of being part of a participatory culture?)
I think that the best way to take advantage of a participatory culture is to disseminate information to as wide an audience as possible, thereby maximizing the number of people who actually participate. Besides this, I feel that open sourcing a project is an excellent idea, allowing for future changes, and for a unforseen use and remix of a project.
2a. Decide on and articulate your own strategy for creating a productive tension between theory and practice in your work.
The strategy that i have found works best for creating a tension between theory and practice in my work was recommended by Peter Brinson. The practice begins reading as much as possibly from across a broad range of disciplines, and to continue to read once an area strikes my fancy; all the while taking note of interesting quotes and references. I augment this with a shotgun approach to the internet, filling a feed reader with sites that present topics that are directly or tangentially related to my interests. Furthermore, as a wikipedia junkie, i automatically query wikipedia when talking about or researching a topic, and then following links based upon whatever suits my fancy. Finally, i try to experiment with new technologies as they are presented to me. So, i currently inundate myself with theory and information, and am influenced by whatever sticks in my memory and later bubbles to the surface.
3. Define proficiency & an economy of value for the realm in which you intend to work (i.e., how do you want your work to be judged?)
As a videogame designer, i want my work to be judged in an unbiased manner by an appreciative, supporting and well-informed public. Since the internet makes this all but impossible, i would settle for a well-informed minority to identify with my goals. I would like my games to follow the phenomena of Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, appreciated for both nostalgia, and for skillful blending of different themes.
4. Post a Personal Inventory in your display space that addresses the following:
3 things you already do well
Art, be it 2D or 3D
good knowledge of history and practice of games
working knowledge of programming theory and techniques
3 things you want to learn
advanced programming
create serious games that are fun and innovative
more general history of games
3 things you want to be great at
collaboration with multi-disciplined artists
adaptability and innovation in a video game design environmental
furthering video game history and theory
5. Post a few links, names or readings that you are interested in exploring as part of the research for these projects.
Philip K Dick
Occult and the Music of the 1960s