Spread One -
Left side -
#newMedia
Right side -
Sometimes I feel silly trying to be eloquent, yet concise in a limited number of characters. Sometimes, 140 is too little, others, too much.
Spread Two -
Left side -
The Internet[1]
Right side -
[1] For more information, log on to the Internet.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Game Narrative
As a medium, games have the unique power to grant their user ownership over many levels of the game's narrative. By allowing the user to shape the course of the story, whether implicitly or explicitly, the narrative crafted int he player's mind will always be more meaningful than anything crafted by the game's creators. The level of ownership granted to the user caries from game to game, all with different effects on the user. This can range from minor emergent or randomly-generated events, to a carefully crafted network of cause and effect the gives the player the illusion of ownership, with no explicit narrative laying somewhere far to the outside.
Randomly-generated events, ones that come about through a complex series of computations and probability tables, may take the form of random accidents of physics, through to the plethora of results emergent from a system comprised of a few simple, synergistic components. I could, for instance, be making a map in the CryEngine and mistakenly create a bunch of trees the wrong way, and, through a random act of physics, the trees start stabbing the ground wildly, as if forced into service by an angry god. While not of particular narrative weight, still something that I can own as a unique experience.
Most scripted endeavors could take the form of perhaps the guards in Elderscrolls IV: Oblivion, and their reactions to violence in the city. I had one instance wherein a character from whom I received a quest asked me to kill someone I liked. I refused, and the character struck me in plain view of one of the city's guards. Because the guards' AI system tells them that "violence bad, kill violent offenders", and the character simply has "avoid law enforcement", later that game-day I walked through the city to see him chased down and killed by guards. A unique occurrence as the result of the interaction of a few simply components.
Other narrative takes the form of a complex series of cause/effect relationships in a story-driven game. Knights of the Old Republic, MassEffect, and Heavy Rain, are excellent examples of this form of multi-branched narrative structure. Given a high volume of choices, each player's experience is a unique result of how they chose to progress through the game. Perhaps someone didn't gain as much insight into one character's backstory and I did. This creates "water-cooler" moments where players talk about the unique experiences they had playing the game. To each person, the narrative they crafted through their choices is incredibly powerful, and sometimes the player will think of their narrative-track as the "right" one.
Other games still eschew narrative altogether in favor of providing unique worlds and problem-solving situations. Limbo, a game solely focused on getting from Point A to Point B, with simple puzzle obstacles in the way, gives the player the opportunity to read the work as they choose based on evidence given to them. The title of the game is "Limbo", the world is dark and desaturated, I have to save someone, there's evil creatures in my way. From there player's craft their own story. Minecraft, another example of this narrative structure, drops the player onto a beach and says nothing. From there, and the complex arrangement and combination of a few simple components, the player can craft their own wildly fantastical narrative for the game, which is, as I said, more powerful than anything anyone could ever write for Minecraft.
Randomly-generated events, ones that come about through a complex series of computations and probability tables, may take the form of random accidents of physics, through to the plethora of results emergent from a system comprised of a few simple, synergistic components. I could, for instance, be making a map in the CryEngine and mistakenly create a bunch of trees the wrong way, and, through a random act of physics, the trees start stabbing the ground wildly, as if forced into service by an angry god. While not of particular narrative weight, still something that I can own as a unique experience.
Most scripted endeavors could take the form of perhaps the guards in Elderscrolls IV: Oblivion, and their reactions to violence in the city. I had one instance wherein a character from whom I received a quest asked me to kill someone I liked. I refused, and the character struck me in plain view of one of the city's guards. Because the guards' AI system tells them that "violence bad, kill violent offenders", and the character simply has "avoid law enforcement", later that game-day I walked through the city to see him chased down and killed by guards. A unique occurrence as the result of the interaction of a few simply components.
Other narrative takes the form of a complex series of cause/effect relationships in a story-driven game. Knights of the Old Republic, MassEffect, and Heavy Rain, are excellent examples of this form of multi-branched narrative structure. Given a high volume of choices, each player's experience is a unique result of how they chose to progress through the game. Perhaps someone didn't gain as much insight into one character's backstory and I did. This creates "water-cooler" moments where players talk about the unique experiences they had playing the game. To each person, the narrative they crafted through their choices is incredibly powerful, and sometimes the player will think of their narrative-track as the "right" one.
Other games still eschew narrative altogether in favor of providing unique worlds and problem-solving situations. Limbo, a game solely focused on getting from Point A to Point B, with simple puzzle obstacles in the way, gives the player the opportunity to read the work as they choose based on evidence given to them. The title of the game is "Limbo", the world is dark and desaturated, I have to save someone, there's evil creatures in my way. From there player's craft their own story. Minecraft, another example of this narrative structure, drops the player onto a beach and says nothing. From there, and the complex arrangement and combination of a few simple components, the player can craft their own wildly fantastical narrative for the game, which is, as I said, more powerful than anything anyone could ever write for Minecraft.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Director's Notes
Assignment from 15 Feb 2011
For the purpose of this assignment, I chose to read the script of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Having seen tidbits of the film here and there, I know much emphasis was placed on truly representing the psychedelics the pair experienced. So much emphasis was placed on showcasing what they were seeing that no one else could see. Certainly the script describes the madness they see around them, whether one or both are seeing it.
The film is based on Thompson's experiences, on a trip he took, and the notes from that trip. For him, this is a personal experience and the director of the film took it as such. I would be interested, however, in finding ways to have no main character to the story, almost to shoot it as an Altman film. How does the other react to Thompson's in-film antics? The events depicted are so apart from what most people experience in every day life, I would be interested in trying to portray their perspective on the story.
For the key cast I'd like to see:
Raoul Duke - Robert Downey Jr.
I've seen him do enough of a variety of fairly eccentric roles that I think he could succeed in the role of a drug-addled reporter. I have every confidence he can play high-strung exceedingly well.
Dr. Gonzo - Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Needs to play the laid-back foil to Duke's high-strung nature. PSH reminds me of a more refined and versatile Jack Black, especially after seeing him in Pirate Radio, so I'd want him in this role.
Hitchhiker - Andy Samberg
A young up and comer in film, enough boyish charm and could put on enough of an innocent air that this role would be amusing for the bit part he plays.
Highway Patrolman - Tommy Lee Jones
I need a severity for this role to contrast the zaniness all around, but I need it a little snarky. TLJ can pull that off, I've seen him do it a million times.
Lucy - Anne Hathaway
She needs to be a corrupted innocent. Someone who isn't immediately associated as an icon of vice so she can be duly corrupted.
Desk Clerk at Mint Hotel - Helen Mirren
This role requires enough of a straight-laced delivery, I think either her or Meryl Streep can pull that off. I want someone big-name in the role for the audience to have a brief flash of recognition.
Lacerda - Russell Brand
Someone who can be completely oblivious tot he plight of those around him, and flippantly attend to his task at hand.
For the purpose of this assignment, I chose to read the script of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Having seen tidbits of the film here and there, I know much emphasis was placed on truly representing the psychedelics the pair experienced. So much emphasis was placed on showcasing what they were seeing that no one else could see. Certainly the script describes the madness they see around them, whether one or both are seeing it.
The film is based on Thompson's experiences, on a trip he took, and the notes from that trip. For him, this is a personal experience and the director of the film took it as such. I would be interested, however, in finding ways to have no main character to the story, almost to shoot it as an Altman film. How does the other react to Thompson's in-film antics? The events depicted are so apart from what most people experience in every day life, I would be interested in trying to portray their perspective on the story.
For the key cast I'd like to see:
Raoul Duke - Robert Downey Jr.
I've seen him do enough of a variety of fairly eccentric roles that I think he could succeed in the role of a drug-addled reporter. I have every confidence he can play high-strung exceedingly well.
Dr. Gonzo - Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Needs to play the laid-back foil to Duke's high-strung nature. PSH reminds me of a more refined and versatile Jack Black, especially after seeing him in Pirate Radio, so I'd want him in this role.
Hitchhiker - Andy Samberg
A young up and comer in film, enough boyish charm and could put on enough of an innocent air that this role would be amusing for the bit part he plays.
Highway Patrolman - Tommy Lee Jones
I need a severity for this role to contrast the zaniness all around, but I need it a little snarky. TLJ can pull that off, I've seen him do it a million times.
Lucy - Anne Hathaway
She needs to be a corrupted innocent. Someone who isn't immediately associated as an icon of vice so she can be duly corrupted.
Desk Clerk at Mint Hotel - Helen Mirren
This role requires enough of a straight-laced delivery, I think either her or Meryl Streep can pull that off. I want someone big-name in the role for the audience to have a brief flash of recognition.
Lacerda - Russell Brand
Someone who can be completely oblivious tot he plight of those around him, and flippantly attend to his task at hand.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
On the Auteurship of Robert Altman
Assignment from 22 Feb 2011
For the purpose of this assignment I watched MASH, Gosford Park, and A Prairie Home Companion.
Altman's works are brilliant in that they provide a different kind of cinematic experience to the viewer, without being so "auteur" that it is obtuse and inaccessible to the average viewer. Granted, the movies require a fair bit of attention from the viewer to follow the beats of the story, though nothing is deliberately obscured.
And in that artful play between deliberated obscured information, and revealing every little detail to the viewer does Altman's auteurship lie. In all his movies he makes little circumstance of transition between story points, he simply moves from one to the next to the next. Instead of presenting a story as one might present Romeo and Juliet, in an entirely linear fashion with increasingly exciting pacing rising to the climax, Altman's films present events, things that happen. His pacing is even through each of his movies, with little pomp and circumstance is given to the climax, or traumatic events in the story, instead allowing the audience to react to that happening as they see fit. For example, when one of the singers from A Prairie Home Companion passes away in the middle of the show, Altman does not mark the occasion with tilted cameras or dramatic music. The characters react to it as they will, certainly, and from that the audience can form their opinions.
At times Altman obscures the audience's ability to pick out important information presented to them by overloading the audience with dialog and audio. Much of the dialog in his movies sounds as if it has been dubbed over, or louder than it should be based on the environment in which a scene occurs. To me it would seem as though this happens when he has no important information to reveal, and adds to the sense of the event happening than the story being told. Altman creates the sensation of being a fly on the wall, an ambivalent other who has been so privileged to observe an event unfolding before him. What I've said of Altman could be said of any filmmaker who has ever touched a Movieola. The difference is in that he pushes that experience to an extreme.
After first watching MASH and watching those events unfold before me lead me to gain an understanding of Altman's style. There his crash zooms and camera movements were somewhat rough, his lighting was fairly contrasty, his composition questionable in some instances. Then through Gosford Park and A Prairie Home Companion I saw the style established in MASH evolve to more sophisticated camerawork and lighting, though very quickly these films could be recognized as Altman's work from the feeling of overdubbing, even pacing, and omniscient point of view.
For the purpose of this assignment I watched MASH, Gosford Park, and A Prairie Home Companion.
Altman's works are brilliant in that they provide a different kind of cinematic experience to the viewer, without being so "auteur" that it is obtuse and inaccessible to the average viewer. Granted, the movies require a fair bit of attention from the viewer to follow the beats of the story, though nothing is deliberately obscured.
And in that artful play between deliberated obscured information, and revealing every little detail to the viewer does Altman's auteurship lie. In all his movies he makes little circumstance of transition between story points, he simply moves from one to the next to the next. Instead of presenting a story as one might present Romeo and Juliet, in an entirely linear fashion with increasingly exciting pacing rising to the climax, Altman's films present events, things that happen. His pacing is even through each of his movies, with little pomp and circumstance is given to the climax, or traumatic events in the story, instead allowing the audience to react to that happening as they see fit. For example, when one of the singers from A Prairie Home Companion passes away in the middle of the show, Altman does not mark the occasion with tilted cameras or dramatic music. The characters react to it as they will, certainly, and from that the audience can form their opinions.
At times Altman obscures the audience's ability to pick out important information presented to them by overloading the audience with dialog and audio. Much of the dialog in his movies sounds as if it has been dubbed over, or louder than it should be based on the environment in which a scene occurs. To me it would seem as though this happens when he has no important information to reveal, and adds to the sense of the event happening than the story being told. Altman creates the sensation of being a fly on the wall, an ambivalent other who has been so privileged to observe an event unfolding before him. What I've said of Altman could be said of any filmmaker who has ever touched a Movieola. The difference is in that he pushes that experience to an extreme.
After first watching MASH and watching those events unfold before me lead me to gain an understanding of Altman's style. There his crash zooms and camera movements were somewhat rough, his lighting was fairly contrasty, his composition questionable in some instances. Then through Gosford Park and A Prairie Home Companion I saw the style established in MASH evolve to more sophisticated camerawork and lighting, though very quickly these films could be recognized as Altman's work from the feeling of overdubbing, even pacing, and omniscient point of view.
On the Morality of Lolita
Assignment from 8 Feb 2011
This assignment asks me to discuss the morality of Lolita. This is, in effect, two questions rolled into one:
This assignment asks me to discuss the morality of Lolita. This is, in effect, two questions rolled into one:
- What are my thoughts on the morality of the actions depicted in the novel
- What are my thoughts on morality of authoring the novel
For my money, I would file Humbert Humbert under "Immoral". When I say immoral, I mean to say that his actions are reprehensible in their negative effects on others, not so much based on arbitrary rules imposed by some supernatural authority. Regardless of the actual flow of events when Humbert first attempts to engage Lolita in sexual congress, his intention was to molest her.
Sex and intimacy is not, in and of itself, immoral. Certainly, it's a wonderful byproduct of the biological rewards we have evolved to encourage reproduction. Through thousands of years of sexual evolution, humanity has developed numerous ways of pleasuring each other which have emerged through the fairly simple ruleset we were given at birth.
That said, pleasuring another is not inherently immoral. It's fun! Humbert's actions fall into the immoral territory when he attempts to impose himself upon Lolita against what he thought was her will. Further along in the novel, when he and Lolita travel the country, and later when they settle in New England, he takes upon himself to ensure she has little contact with others in the world. Her development as a human being has been so irrevocably damaged by his actions that she will forever be a changed person, rife with psychological blocks. That, to me, is immoral.
Nabokov, in authoring the work, however, was not acting immorally. In writing this book, he found a way to expose his reader to a world apart from their own. I can imagine that most people at the time he wrote the book were aware that what he depicted in the novel could happen in the real world, much less be aware of it happening. Many may level the argument against the author that his work encouraged a generation of pedophiles and child molesters. I would disagree, though, as with any work the manner in which a reader choose to react to a work is their own. Blaming Nabokov for their actions is no better than parents blaming the music industry for their child's actions.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Service Learning Project Wrap Up - Game Jamming
Something I started with the Game Design Club was the idea of a traditional game jam. In this activity, people will use a limited set of materials (a deck of cards, a set of dice, beads, etc.) to quickly generate a complete game, herein defined as having A Goal, and Something That Gets In The Way of The Goal. It's proven fairly successful in teaching GADs to rapidly iterate not only on game mechanics, but also on ideas in general. We use it to keep our design sensibilities sharp, and our brains on our toes.
For the Broach School students, I started out explaining the importance of game mechanics and goals through a simple exercise:
1) Present the students with a goal (get the card I laid down on the table)
-Students grab the card. No one has fun.
2) Ask the student to grab the card again, this time I try and keep the card away from them. Student is more interested in the activity as they enjoy the challenge.
Then, using a deck of cards, I asked the students to decide upon a goal, what must each player do in order to win? They decided on "Make sure you possess all cards of the same suit". To demonstrate the importance of clarity in rules I took three cards from the deck that were all of the same suit.
We began iterating on the game, they made observations of the game as we progressed, first realizing that three cards was too few, that the game went too quickly. So we increased that the number of cards to five. Then they realized that players had little interaction with each other, that we simply put something in the way of the goal without making an interesting choice.
Then we added the idea of a card trade. Players could trade cards with each other on their turn. This was a relatively equal choice between that and pulling a card from the deck. This gave me an opportunity to discuss imperfect information, we as players do not know what cards are possessed by the other players, nor do we know what we will draw from the deck. One of the students decided to have players reveal one or two cards from their hand to be chosen, but allowing players to take any card from a player's hand. This lead to a number of emergent strategies (if you show a card, that means its the one you want taken or the opposite thereof).
We had another mechanic that provided players with a little more information about how close one player or the other was to winning, but we dropped that mechanic as no one was using it. This taught them about streamlining rulesets to keep the player's attention focused.
The students were attentive and seemed to have fun, they learned about game mechanics, rapid iteration, and had fun. I enjoyed working with them, and was glad I could fairly quickly teach others how to game jam.
For the Broach School students, I started out explaining the importance of game mechanics and goals through a simple exercise:
1) Present the students with a goal (get the card I laid down on the table)
-Students grab the card. No one has fun.
2) Ask the student to grab the card again, this time I try and keep the card away from them. Student is more interested in the activity as they enjoy the challenge.
Then, using a deck of cards, I asked the students to decide upon a goal, what must each player do in order to win? They decided on "Make sure you possess all cards of the same suit". To demonstrate the importance of clarity in rules I took three cards from the deck that were all of the same suit.
We began iterating on the game, they made observations of the game as we progressed, first realizing that three cards was too few, that the game went too quickly. So we increased that the number of cards to five. Then they realized that players had little interaction with each other, that we simply put something in the way of the goal without making an interesting choice.
Then we added the idea of a card trade. Players could trade cards with each other on their turn. This was a relatively equal choice between that and pulling a card from the deck. This gave me an opportunity to discuss imperfect information, we as players do not know what cards are possessed by the other players, nor do we know what we will draw from the deck. One of the students decided to have players reveal one or two cards from their hand to be chosen, but allowing players to take any card from a player's hand. This lead to a number of emergent strategies (if you show a card, that means its the one you want taken or the opposite thereof).
We had another mechanic that provided players with a little more information about how close one player or the other was to winning, but we dropped that mechanic as no one was using it. This taught them about streamlining rulesets to keep the player's attention focused.
The students were attentive and seemed to have fun, they learned about game mechanics, rapid iteration, and had fun. I enjoyed working with them, and was glad I could fairly quickly teach others how to game jam.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Next Cool Thing
Assignment from 3/15/2011
2010 was foretold to be the Year of the Check-in, as 2009 was the year of the Twitter. Four months into 2011 and I can most assuredly see this as the Year of the Tablet. Though Apple sold millions of its iPads in 2010, without a doubt their prevalence is now coming into its own in 2011. Perhaps this perception is coming about because the tablet trend has trickled down into the ranks of the Ringling student that I can see its rise. Many students find it useful for content creation as well as media consumption here, opting to use their iPads to stream music instead of their desktops.
Even I am not immune to the siren call of the tablet, though I opted for a 1st Generation tablet running the Android operating system. This was a mistake, as its operating system is not designed to function on a tablet,but instead on a phone. Looking now at the 2nd generation of Android tablets (NotionInk Adam, Motorola Xoom) I see some strong contenders for Apple's throne. I fear, though, that Android tablets will find the same market situation as phones. Android has become the 2nd-most common operating system on phones while no single piece of hardware has come out a front-runner. While the Xoom is an excellent platform, its base price puts it out of reach of many consumers. The Adam, a brilliant tablet, is beset by being produced by an Indian start-up company. Production delays and testing put its real street date into the far future.
Even so, with the launch of the iPad2 and many more Android and WebOS tablets, I see tablets finding their way into more hands, slowly but surely weaving their way into our lives. As a bit of a thought experiment, I have taken to making use of my tablet when I would make use of my laptop. More often than not, though, I to type quickly on a larger keyboard, with the screen-space afforded by a larger keyboard. Sadly, my tablet collects dust, though it could just as easily be because it's simply not fun to use.
2010 was foretold to be the Year of the Check-in, as 2009 was the year of the Twitter. Four months into 2011 and I can most assuredly see this as the Year of the Tablet. Though Apple sold millions of its iPads in 2010, without a doubt their prevalence is now coming into its own in 2011. Perhaps this perception is coming about because the tablet trend has trickled down into the ranks of the Ringling student that I can see its rise. Many students find it useful for content creation as well as media consumption here, opting to use their iPads to stream music instead of their desktops.
Even I am not immune to the siren call of the tablet, though I opted for a 1st Generation tablet running the Android operating system. This was a mistake, as its operating system is not designed to function on a tablet,but instead on a phone. Looking now at the 2nd generation of Android tablets (NotionInk Adam, Motorola Xoom) I see some strong contenders for Apple's throne. I fear, though, that Android tablets will find the same market situation as phones. Android has become the 2nd-most common operating system on phones while no single piece of hardware has come out a front-runner. While the Xoom is an excellent platform, its base price puts it out of reach of many consumers. The Adam, a brilliant tablet, is beset by being produced by an Indian start-up company. Production delays and testing put its real street date into the far future.
Even so, with the launch of the iPad2 and many more Android and WebOS tablets, I see tablets finding their way into more hands, slowly but surely weaving their way into our lives. As a bit of a thought experiment, I have taken to making use of my tablet when I would make use of my laptop. More often than not, though, I to type quickly on a larger keyboard, with the screen-space afforded by a larger keyboard. Sadly, my tablet collects dust, though it could just as easily be because it's simply not fun to use.
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