Skeckulous

Phil Rosenberg is going to talk in John Hight's Production Class (CTIN 463) tonight at 7:30pmish in the ZML.

Feel free to stop by and check it out.

Bio:
Philip Rosenberg brings to his position more than 25 years of experience working directly within the games and entertainment industry. In his role as senior vice president, Phil concentrates on developing new opportunities for growth, building strategic partnership initiatives and driving the company forward in its four-platform strategy. He reports to Sony Computer Entertainment America’s President and CEO, Jack Tretton.

Continue reading "Phil Rosenberg - Sony's Senior Vice President of Sales in ZML" »

(Recieved this from Getty Event e-mails)

Works in Progress
The Potential of Play:
Digital Game Innovation

Thursday, April 3, 2:00 p.m.
The Getty Center
Getty Research Institute Lecture Hall

Digital game designer Tracy Fullerton explores questions about the future of games and the potential of this playful medium to address serious subject matter, inspire activism, promote learning, reinforce values, and transmit ideas and concepts. In this presentation, Fullerton uses examples from recent projects, including the award-winning games Cloud, flOw, and Hush, as well as The Night Journey, an experimental game being created with media artist Bill Viola.

Steve Anderson, director of the Ph.D. program in media arts and practice at the University of Southern California, offers a response, followed by roundtable discussion with the audience.

Continue reading "Tracy Fullerton and Steve Anderson at the Getty!" »

I still have a working title but it's the same concept that I've been working with (A vault break-in).

Here's a preliminary layout of the room:

I'm sure the dimensions will change and I will probably mix the lasers with the pressure plates but here's for shooting for the moon.

Over my winter break I decided to do some research in Boston. Took the train up there for a day and stopped by The Tomb.

Continue reading "The Tomb Visit" »

Stein and I played the Go Game this past weekend and our team won the whole shebang!

I'll post a bit more on how it all went down soon.

All I know is I don't see any Go Game championship at CMU...

With current work on Trapped in a Room with a Killer Robot, I felt that the concept might be a bit too confused for most audiences. So I thought it might be wise to narrow it down with a simpler concept.
A few options that I have been looking into are:

Smart Home controlled by a robot - broken up into 4 quadrants that are themed for each type of room (kitchen, living room, artist room, etc.) The robot can be trying to learn about human values and each area would have different objects that could be used for a trading game. The robot could set the values by speaking about them and have the different players grab different objects from their area. RIFD and could track each item with sensors on the center table where each 4 areas would connect.

4 guys who installed this robot - unraveling story/lockbox mystery. Robot still lives in this moment. Each of the guys used to watch each other with the robot because they did not trust each other. Robot made sure they got their work done. Starts out with simple invitation when players enter... "Oh that phone just rang... do you think you could get that for me? Things have been so hard since my workers left..." Eventually it goes from invitation to expectation and then forced into work by the robot.
The game play would have various phone messages that could define current objectives and be passed on from one table/player, to another. It would have a variable amount of busy work that would keep players from getting objectives done (juggling mechanic).

Vault/Heist - 3-4 players are "hired" to break into an impenetrable vault (think of all the various heist movies - ala Ocean's 11, . They are given plans and are allowed to choose from different character types from the acrobat/greaseman, demo-man, safe cracker, and hacker. Each will have different tools in their portfolio that will help them do their job. The acrobat will work his way in through the air ducts and climb in. Demoman will blow through a wall to get the team in and the acrobat will unlock the safe from inside. The hacker will take care of the various trap system when inside and the vault and the safe cracker will open up the main safe (either listen for tumblers to drop or see the tumblers with a special device to turn the dial properly). Once the safe is open then the robot security controller will be set off and the group will have to escape. Here is where it will become more hectic and will require quick puzzle solving.

Right now the vault idea is where I am focusing on.

Just FYI some of the pics can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skeckulous/sets/72157603464196225/

Interesting learning points in 482.

Continue reading "Learning 482" »

Last week, Robert Reid, an expert in diorama paintings, showed us his work at the Natural History Museum. He explained the old and current techniques of creating dioramas and brought us through the workshop.

See Anthony's photo stream starting here: Here

Continue reading "Natural History Museum & Robert Reid" »

An interesting story about avatar identity theft and virtual property.

There has been some research about this over at Annenberg and Douglas Thomas has been talking about the legal problems that will arise as this becomes more of an issue.

http://www.jackmyers.com/commentary/media-business-report/11193066.html

Avatar Identity Theft Prompts Review of Gaia and Virtual World Rules

A week passes. During that time an increasingly and palpably depressed Clementine attempts logging on at least once a day. Alas, Bluebird is still banned, in oblivion, or both. After a few weeks pass, Mom re-contacts Gaia. They indicate that Clementine -- despite Terms of Service indicating never to give out one's password across Gaia –- has provided her password to a scammer. There is no recourse suggested.

The month grinds on for mother and daughter and it becomes clear this will not be resolved through available channels. Intervention by this journalist with Gaia public relations results in Clementine regaining access to Gaia with the user name left to her by the hacker, but her original avatar name is lost, she is unrecognizable in-world to her friends, she has none of her possessions that were accumulated through active in-world effort and all but a small amount of her Gaia gold is gone. "My watermeat is here," Clementine tearfully finds. "That's good." (Watermeat is her virtual pet; visualize a fish on a leash.).

Clementine, dejected, unenthusiastically searches all of the areas of the site she once frequented, feeling a shadow of her former self. When she looks in her account at the marketplace (like an eBay exchange) she realizes that while she was banned someone had traded her possessions for $134,508 in Gaian gold. Her identity lost, her valuable possessions stolen and sold, for the first time she now knows what it feels like to be the victim of a serious crime.