radio now or later

radioShark - an usb radio-antenna with some included software, gives you the option of listening or recording from the air. Guess it could be useful if you are offline, but with most major stations in Norway doing webcasts - it seems a bit redundant. But 5 for 5 for design...

late show spoof?

Explod-o-Pop popcorn, Americas only Atomic popcorn, is one of the "gifts" given out by David Letterman on his show. Kind of funny concept - since using a microwave to make popcorn is sort of "nuking", ie using atomic level events.

Simming

So, the Sim 2 is busting out in the stores, with sales reaching 1 million copies in only 10 days. And with some 35 million copies of the original game and the various expansions out there, there is no reason to assume it will slow down this side of xmas. I guess that makes it more than "just a game" - a true phenomenon.

And with the more console-suited Urbz just around the corner, it looks like a really good fall-time for EA.

...and the sun is not as nice as it was on vacation...

Read up on games?

Final Fantasy - Tribes in Cyberspace is one of the italian books presenting and focusing on various great games over the last decades. The good thing: easily available for online shopping. The bad: only in italian so far...

Creating Emotion in Games: The Craft and Art of Emotioneering
AI Game Development
- two books truly getting mixed reviews over at Amazon... have considered both, but can't make up my mind if I'll fall into the "great concept and writing" or "self loving bloat" category. Guess there should be an easy way to mix reviews and recommendation - ie do they like the same books as me, or a totaly different type of guides?


...and the sun is hopefully shining down south - holiday time...

Academics and games

Redefining Games- How Academia Is Reshaping Games of the Future is a long article on the gaming website Gamespot - despite the rather odd split and layout it does have some interesting points; (18 sub-pages across some ten headings...)

Game Ontology - how to talk about design and parts of games, trying to create a common "base" definition of terms. Definitly an example of academia getting to grips with a new field.

Frasca suggests that players do not play games for the storytelling. "They are drawn because these games allow them to live an alternative life" This is more or less the point made in this excellent Nemi strip

translation:

1. Shouldn't you start working again soon?
2. I think people need to work...
3. ...set goals, develop, complete tasks...
4. I can do THAT as often as I want on my xbox

America's Army provides young people, who are detached from what military service is actually like, with an impression of life in the Army. "I think, from the Army's point of view, the benefit is not just recruiting but weeding out people who wouldn't benefit or thrive in that kind of environment," Lowood says.
...interesting point, not just getting those who are motivated - but also avoiding the potential recruits who might quit halfway or just cause problems down the line.

"Before digital entertainment, efforts had been made to make text more dimensional. In the 1970s, R.A. Montgomery and Edward Packard published a series of books called Choose Your Own Adventure." - so a forerunner for the Fighting Fantasy books made in the early 80-ties by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (who went on to make lots of crazy/funny games)

The "games-and-new-media blog" called Grandtextauto also offers up some good perspectives and ideas.


...and the sun is nowhere to be seen - fall is coming up north...

Creativity in Paris - using the metal shutters for more than just keeping the cafe safe.
(Technically it was in Gentilly, not Paris as such - but only by some 100 m)

...and now I'm rather satisfied with the look and position of the images - using the css commands float and clear to get it "right"

First test of adding some images

Tech on my mind

* Vote *

The Cosmopolitan Party: a good take on the top issues for the US... vote Carrie or maybe even Curry? Good fun.

bikers doing it outside

Sorry, with all the recent news stories on people enjoying themselves outside - I just couldn't resist an easy pun... but on to the point - Gunn-Rita Dahle from Norway today ended a great season with winning the x-country world cup race, just a short while after finishing in gold position during the Olympic games in Athens.

Way to go! [img link]