Tell the story - live the dream?

"Mass Effect was the most grandiose while Rock Band had the most subtle. The difference in the three games, he noted, was embodied by the different ways in which each approaches its narrative". [Dice discuss]

Games span from huge sandboxes, via story-oriented with a potential for sandbox (like the module editor for NWN - the narrative can both be made and used outside the confines of the basics of the game itselg), to more linear bite-sized levels and tasks. And then back again to the endless tasks of something like tetris or zuma.

So why do we play - most likely for a different reason at different times, and for a quite varied set of reasons compared to someone else's list. Games and gaming is no longer one thing, any more than 'music' is a single activity and direction. It is high and low. Easy and complex. Loud and quiet. And so on. Games are starting to truly reach that same level - of breadth of offering, of quality of selection and most certainly of scope of users. It is just something you do.


"If you want to read books that tackle profound philosophical questions, then the best — and perhaps only — place to turn these days is sci-fi" Clive Thompson over at Wired sings the gospel of Cory Doctorow (mostly well deserved) and ponders the challenge of dealing with 'issues' in writing. One oversight is possibly the ethical side of philosophy, having migrated quite a bit into the crime section - notably in works along the lines of American Pshyco.

He also mentions various authors on the edge, like Susanna Clarke (of Norrel fame) - whom I personally found rather long winded and a bit dull compared to a proper novel by Dickens, since his work was serialized and had to keep the tempo at all times. So, a better place to start looking is in the games section - and then nip over to the media section in general, and have a look at the 'universes' still expanding and finding their multiple shapes. Be it the Buffyverse in comic form for Season 8, Discworld branching into stories for older, younger and on tv - or the many faces of Star Wars in printed, drawn, animated and game form. Neither of the three sit comfortably inside a 'sci-fi' cordon, yet all take their fans on journeys of the mind as well as the dreams.

(on a side-note, Bioware has recently put a date for the first mini-expansion for Mass Effect - a sidequest on a different planet, with some 90 minutes of playtime. Look for it on XBL)

Did YOU watch it?

Delving into the numbers today, first off a piece on NewTeeVee on the "season" concept applied to web based series.
Regarding Quarterlife: "it seems to consistently pull in around 100,000 viewers per episode on MySpace"
The once so dominant LonelyGirl is also living up to the name, with viewership for the second season (on Youtube) of around 100k - sans one episode of 4 million plays, called "girl tied up"

Compare that to the new Yahoo Live with ~2600 concurrent users. Or perhaps to the Superbowl - with over 90 million viewers (link via C3 post)

Web-tv and video online? Great idea, superb for niche content and quick supplements to news stories. But still a ways to go before becoming a consistent distribution channel for new'ish content and ideas

...and the sun is shaded by the fog...

Contrasting authors and life

Two non-related authors popped up in my assorted reading over the weekend;

first off Upton Sinclair, and his work The Jungle [Wikip 1 and 2, including a link to the free e-verison] - presenting a grim view of what lie hidden behind the doors that society would rather not peek at. And certainly would rather not have burst open. But they did, and in time it became better.
Now, a hundred years later? Well, as the world turns, so does the sins of the fathers. Still there are sweatshops, child labour and limited options for some, while others have too much of everything but time and happiness.

Then there is the author known as Yukio Mishima and mainly the book Spring Snow, part of the Sea of Fertility quartet [Wikip 1, 2 and 3]. Here it was certainly the man and not the books who had the most apparent impact, in terms of his rather public ritualized suicide and apparent attempted coup.
But it is the writings that live on, telling of a time gone by but bringing up issues and problems that are as eternal as the duality of man (good and evil, love and hate). So, another book to read and another perspective to consider or just enjoy.


One a sidenote, I just got around to finishing Slaughterhouse-Five( from 1969, the year after Spring Snow) during the week. So it goes. Somewhere in time they are all alive, and Dresden is beautiful. So it goes.

Hidden in plain sight

A pretty good article in Wired this issue on "ARG" or alternate reality games, focusing mainly on the NIN and Trent Reznor game around Year Zero. The article itself included several pretty obvious clues and mini-games, but it is the online edition that really shines - including links to special video and a bit more background. Among them a clip that ends with a link to the Open Source Resistance.

One minor gripe, having the same question online makes sense - but that makes the magazine redundant, so perhaps there should have been a more direct pointer to the 'hidden' link and the content (or perhaps there was? In a hex transformation of the text, or as the first letter of each word of the hidden message? The possibilities are almost endless, considering the complexity of some of the the other "hints")

...and the sun shone brightly on the new snow...

Holiday stories - assorted notes

First off it was really interesting to have a look at the total Scandinavian sales for the X360, PS3 and Wii from Video Game Chartz - very similar starting curves, up to around 10k, despite vastly different settings and price points. Then for the last few weeks it is easy to see the combined effects of pre-xmas sales push, new versions and increased availability. With 350k units the X360 has a good lead, but the Wii has passed 300k and the PS3 is actually up to 200k (due in large part to the new cheaper version sans PS2 compatibility - not that big an issue since a lot of homes have one already, estimated total sales of 3m units, compared to some 600k for the original XBox)

The site was part of an article on the Wii and StumbleUpon for viewing videos easily - which could be another roadblock for paid IP services, be it TV or VOD. Which might help explain part of the reasoning behind MS latest re-org on their assorted TV/media/video services, which has apparently been an unknown fact for close to two months. Almost an feat in and of itself in this digital age. Or perhaps mostly an indication of the role of Microsoft in the TV related world?

And then, speaking of knowledge of the World - and all the strange things in it, a Pew report on knowledge of current affairs got some coverage over at RI; " Building the News Habit in the Digital Age" - with Daily Show and Colbert Report out-pacing the national average by 20%-points in getting a "high" level (15 or more of 23 correct). So, either they are up to speed before they watch, or laughter helps with fixing facts. You figure it out!

On that note (most likely); here's to a bright new 2008 and another set of irregular posts!

...and the sun is nice today, time to get out and enjoy it right now...

measure or count? (Update)

FoE2 Podcast: Metrics and Measurement

"the metrics and measurement panel from FoE2 available for download in audio and video forms.

information here, can be accessed in audio, 320x240 video, and 640x480 video. "

(more comments when I get around to watching the whole piece -note that the small video is a 600 mb download)

Top line: some interesting points and case discussion, a bit of numbers on dvr and online use - especially interesting putting it in context of total time spent and multiplying up the numbers. In short: Yes, there is a lot going on, but "most people" are still watching television - a lot.

What do YOU want?

Article over at Poynter - "Customized Print Papers: Possible Today" - on the advances in printing technology making the old dream of getting "your own" newspaper delivered, with relevant ads, without the sports and with an extra helping of reviews. Just like Google reader - only in print...

"SRDP presses are now economical to purchase and operate only for daily newspapers of less than about 10,000 circulation" - so in other words they would be perfect for small, nimble ultra local start-ups, serving a high-paying niche. Or perhaps for company news in large factories or cube-farms. And that makes the leap into resorts and leisure only a small step away. Consider having one in Jamaica, delivering up localized versions adjusted for each cruise line as the ships come in every day during the season.


on a sidenote, it looks like the xbox live is expanding in (parts of) Europe as well this coming week - as reported by Last 100 in a remark, whilst really covering the update allowing for divX playback

...and the sun will soon turn around, from our point of view - xmas is around the corner...

Adorable fwoosh

Looking For Group - Page 95
the Mini-Richard is just too much... "or Ye Be Adorable" as it is said - truly a great comic, mixing in adventure, comedy and some sombre themes. And sometime next year i'll be the joyful recipient of a figurine. (Listening to Live - Night of nights, of the Songs from Black Mountain album)

Look at the time

Another nice new discovery - the SIMILE Timeline - looks like a really good tool for making a timeline, be it for a real-life historical event, for a planned conference or for a more "virtual" use. It is licensed under BSD license, and the code is available - so read the tutorial and get playing!

...and the sun only shines for a few hours during the workday this time of year - no need to pull the drapes ...