Reality is Broken

Posted on by
Reply

I just finished reading “Reality is Broken” by Jane McGonigal.

The book was really quite good. I enjoyed the insight it provided into the nature of video games, why we play them, and why we play games in general. But also how to incorporate more game like activities into our everyday lives.

I learned quite a few things from this book.

First, games have a set of definable characteristics. We don’t always notice them while we play, but they are there anyway. They help to define any good game. If we apply these criteria to any activity, we can make it a game.

Second, games have really taken up our time. The stats for world of warcraft are amazing. World of Warcraft players have collectively logged 5.93 million years of playtime. That’s just over 50 billion hours, and the game only launched in 2004.

The number of hours children spend playing games before age 18 is staggering, and potentially useful in the future, since all these young children are master gamers by the time they reach adulthood.

Third, building games is hard work, yet game designers take things very seriously. Halo 3 contains 54,000 pieces of audio and 40,000 lines of dialogue. 2,700 of those audio bites are footfalls. Depending on who is stepping on what. That is impressive.

Finally, people who are against video games don’t understand the benefits that games provide. It’s not just about wasting or not wasting time. It’s not that gamers are looking for escape from the real world. These people are looking for a challenge, fulfillment, a sense of accomplishment that our day to day lives just doesn’t provide for us. It’s not that our daily lives can’t provide this, it’s just that they don’t. (Yet.)

The solutions outlined in the book are very broad and can be applied in many ways to many fields, which is exactly what we need to do. Have a lot of people start to apply these “fixes” to reality so that we can begin to have more fulfilling lives without needing to virtually enhance our existence.

If you are at all into video games, or want to look for ways to better engage people in the real world, this book comes highly recommended from me. This book might also be helpful for anyone headed into game design, though the main focus of the book is not how to design games.

You can check it out on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Broken-Games-Better-Change/dp/1594202850

I read the Kindle version.

Also, McGonigal’s TED Talk can be found here: http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

Computer Desk Update

Posted on by
1

On the most recent episode of This One Podcast, Bob and I talked about our desks and setups. So I thought it might be nice to take a look back at my desk and see how it has served me over the years and what I wish I would have done differently, if I were to ever do it again.

I really like my decision to have a draw for cords and extras. I have a USB cord that runs out of the back of my iMac over to a USB hub which is hidden behind a drawer. A half circle opening allows for all kinds of cords to run from the USB hub to any device I need, which is snuggly put away in the draw and a whole tangle of clutter disappears from eyesight.

I don’t remember if I specifically measured my stereo for inclusion in the desk, but the side corners are just right for both my stereo on one side, but also the stackable plastic drawers you can get from Target or Walmart.

I’m glad I gave myself plenty of room. I knew at the time I needed a space for my 19 inch CRT monitor, but even with that gone I have a lot of stuff for my desk and I like the workspace.

One thing I wanted was space on my desk to write or draw. Provided my desk is clean enough, I have that space, but it’s not as well lit as I originally had hoped. There is some room for improvement there, but I need to find a better source of light.

Originally, I think I had intended to stain the wood a lighter color. I think I went darker mostly due to the availability of the darker stain which we had on hand. While the lighter wood might have been nice, I have grown fond of the beautiful color of the wood.

(Side note: after I ordered my desk, I took a picture of the wood, and had snapfish.com print me a mousepad with the picture of the wood grain on it. Best mousepad ever for my desk.)

This desk was one of my first big wood projects. I gave the measurements and the layout a lot of thought. One thing I wish I would have given a bit more thought was the finishing of the desk. The screws are all visible and there are a few other mechanics which probably should be moved slightly to help hide them and make everything look pretty. In addition, I have had several modifications made and a few new holes drilled since I built it and none of these modifications have been stained or finished off the way they probably should be. Maybe my next big move?

I built this desk as a “one person, two computers” desk. Having two computers though, often times provides opportunities for two people to use computers at the same time, such as for games and such. As a result, there is a bit of an awkward sitting arrangement for anyone who wants to sit at the second computer, either in lack of room for legs space or for reaching the keyboard, or whatever. If I was to do this again, I would seriously consider making the one side longer or at least providing a better system for a second person who needed/wanted to use the desk at the same time.

Overall I think that the desk has paid off nicely. It only cost me $320 to build (not including my time, although I do enjoy woodworking projects to help expand my horizons) and so after 3 and a half years, it only cost me $8 a month… give or take. Which in my opinion, is one mighty fine investment.

Skyward Sword Soundtrack

Posted on by
1

For the most part I have been very impressed with the Skyward Sword soundtrack. While it contains many Zelda-esque sounds and themes some themes and melodies remind me of Super Smash Brothers and even Final Fantasy.

Here, listen to Ghirahim’s Theme. (Slight Spoiler Alert.)

The first time I heard his theme played I couldn’t help but think it sounded a lot like this other theme I once heard.

This second song is a bit more foreboding and arguably more epic. If you don’t recognize it, it’s from Final Fantasy 7 and it’s called “Those Chosen by the Planet”, though it might better be remembered as Sephiroth’s Theme.

While the two pieces do offer some definite similarities, Ghirahim’s theme is also reminiscent of Ganon’s Castle theme from Ocarina of Time.

Again, a side by side comparison shows the two are certainly not copies, but a lot of the same feeling and style is there.

As soon as Ghirahim’s Theme switches from the foreboding beginning to the melody at around 13 seconds in, I can’t help but hear Final Fantasy 7 there as well. It’s maybe not so much in the notes as it is in the style. I can’t find any tracks to back up my claim here, but that’s what think of when I hear it.

I really enjoy the changes that the Skyward Sword soundtrack brings. The classic House theme is still abundant and the secret unlocked jingle is (over) used. The fact that the music doesn’t sound like a midi mix down is a huge improvement over other games such as OOT.

EPILOGUE
In my small amount of research for this post I ran across a few things of interest. First is that the Zelda Overworld/Hyrule Theme has really evolved over the past 25 years. I hope to put together a side by side comparison of the songs as soon as I have a chance.

Also, the Stolen Materia theme from Final Fantasy 7 is very Pikmin-esque, at least at the beginning. I attribute it to the staccato nature of the instrumentation.

Star Trek Today

Posted on by
1

If Star Trek took place today. A short and rough example. (I would be thrilled if anyone made a short film based off this concept.)

To set the scene the star ship is closing in on the first alien vessel ever encountered. This could be first contact.

Comm Officer: Captain! We are being hailed!

Captain: Put it up on screen.

*Video goes up on screen*

Comm Officer: Coming up on screen…

Captain: Greetings!

A slight pause while the Captain waits for a response. The aliens appear to be talking but no sound is coming through.

Captain: Officer, why can’t I hear them?

Comm Officer: I don’t know Captain.

Captain: Can they hear us?

Comm Officer: I think so Captain, but the computer is only recognizing our microphone inputs… it doesn’t appear to see our cameras.

Captain: Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Comm Officer: I’m looking at the preferences, our camera doesn’t show up in the list. I’ll restart the program, but that’ll terminate our call.

Captain: Make it so.

Comm Officer: Okay, program is restarting…

Captain: Tell me when we’re up.

Comm Officer: The program appears unresponsive.

Captain: Officer, we need this system up and running RIGHT NOW.

Comm Officer: Understood sir. I think I’ll have to reboot the computer.

Captain: Make it fast.

Science Officer: Their ship has some very odd power readings sir, but then again, everything about them is… alien…

Captain: Keep me appraised.

Comm Officer: Okay, computer has rebooted, starting up the comm app…

Captain: Patch me through.

Video appears on the screen, with audio. The alien is explaining that they can neither hear nor see them on the screen.

Captain: We are having some computer problems. We apologize.

Comm Officer: Okay, it says we are sending audio and video now. We should be good.

Captain: We should be up and running now. Greetings!

Aliens: We can see your video, but we are unable to understand your audio.

Captain: Comm Officer?

Comm Officer: We’re sending out a high quality signal, sir. Everything on our end is working.

Aliens: The audio we are receiving, we cannot unenvied it. We have developed sophisticated audio, we call it MP3 format. Perhaps your audio is not compatible?

Comm Officer: MP3? Oh, sir… all our ship’s audio is encoded in OGG format! We can read everything coming in, but we only send out OGG.

Captain: BUT NOBODY USES OGG!

Comm Officer: I’m sorry Captain, if I could connect to the internet, I could possibly download an update or plugin?

Captain: Make it so!

Comm Officer: But we are not in wireless range at the moment.

Aliens (Who have been talking this whole time): You appear to be in deep conversation, but are unwilling to talk to us. Your lips are moving, but we hear no sound. You are a strange species… perhaps you are mocking us? We’d like to think you were intelligent and capable of trade…

Captain: Ensign, how close is the nearest access point?

Ensign: Just a few lightyears back sir.

Captain: Aliens! We regret that we cannot send you audio, allow us to retreat and upgrade our ship. We shall return with the information you require.

Aliens: Why do you not talk with us? Why are you leaving?

Captain: Turn us around, Ensign.

Aliens: A rude and obnoxious race! We will not tolerate TROLLING in our UNIVERSE!!

Captain: We’re not trolling, we are having computer… oh, never mind. Comm Officer, turn it off.

Aliens: We shall take this as an act of. *shut off*

Captain: We’ll I’d say we’re off to a good start. Science Officer, show me how to make my Solitaire game show up on the big screen again.

More Accurate Dialogue

Posted on by

I’m thoroughly enjoying Skyward Sword right now, though my personal dialogue and the game’s dialogue tends to be rather different. Almost need to do a riff track for the game.

Kukiel’s Mother: My daughter is missing! Can you help me find her?

Link: Good news and bad news. Good news is, I found your daughter, hiding out with the town monster. Bad news is that I may have stabbed her in the face with my sword… Only once though… And it wasn’t entirely on purpose… You know what? Actually, I’m going to tell you that the monster did it. Because now that I think about it, it’s probably better for me to tell you that someone else is responsible and I really don’t want to take blame on this one.

This One Podcast

Posted on by

A week ago my friend Bob Martens and I started up our very own podcast. You can find our episodes at This One Podcast website, or on iTunes.

Episodes are planned on a “once every two weeks” basis as we start off, with the possibility of moving to weekly as we get into the flow of things. The show plans to cover a good variety of topics, with the main focus being on technology. Episode one we talk about Zelda: Skyward Sword and gaming systems.

Being our first episode there were some issues with audio, but I’m sure the content will be engaging enough to make you forget all about it.

Welcome to the future!

Posted on by

It’s 2012. By now we are suppose to be living a a utopian society filled with flying cars… Yet the state of affairs appears to be severely lacking:

  • Cruise control is not standard issue in all new vehicles. (Neither is air conditioning.)
  • Windows 7 still requires you to paste your screenshot into an image editor to save it. (Yes, I know… Android is even worse.)
  • Cell phone companies still offer plans without text messaging.
  • POP3 not only still exists, but is frequently used.
  • People are still using roman numerals.
  • 3D is apparently still a good idea.
  • People still make lists of pet peeves and annoyances.
  • Netflix still hasn’t invented a “random movie” option, or for that matter, any easy way to sort by category or MPAA rating.
This is my short list of “daily annoyances” and I’m sure I’m leaving things out. What annoys you now that we live in the future?

What else would you add to this list?

10 Problems in Mario Kart Wii

Posted on by

I love Mario Kart. (I really love Mario Kart Double Dash.) But every time I play Mario Kart Wii I find myself severely disappointed. I yell at Nintendo. I threaten my console. I unclip the stupid safety harness from my wrist and whip my WiiMote at large plate glass windows. Here are ten reasons Mario Kart Wii can make my blood boil.

1. Poor track selection. I felt the tracks in the game were only mediocre. I liked the inclusion of tracks from older games, but they left out some of the best tracks. They also missed out on a huge opportunity to have downloadable content, where they could add more tracks.

2. No HD. Welcome to the future.

3. Restrictive item selections. You’re current race rank limits the items you are able to get, and the effectiveness of the item.

4. No chat options for multi-player. I know Nintendo want’s to be child friendly. I know Mario Kart brings out the worst in people, it’s a competitive game. But when I’m playing I really want to be able to communicate with the other people racing. “Nice trap!” “Great placement!” “Take this!” “Not this stage again!” I don’t even care if we could only use canned responses, the multiplayer needs communication.

5. Multiplayer Track Selection is terrible. Everyone votes and the selection is random. Seems fair, until you play the same track 3 times in a row. There are some tracks that never get played on. Why can’t the tracks just be cycled through so you can play on all of them? (Oh, you don’t want to play on all of them? See point #1.)

6. Multiplayer Setup is final. If you want to play multiplayer you need to choose a character and a kart before joining up. You want to change kart? You have to quit and rejoin. Want to change character? You have to quit and rejoin. Want to switch from Manual to Automatic mode? You have to quit and rejoin. Also, see point #7 & 8.

7. Character/Kart set up is timed. You have a limited time to choose your character and setup. I don’t know what the time limit is, but it’s like 30 seconds. If you don’t choose in time, it chooses what you have currently selected. What’s worse, after the setup is complete, you often have to watch the end of another race while you wait to join. I couldn’t choose my character while I wait for the other race to end?

8. The home button is disabled in multiplayer mode. You want to quit multiplayer mode? You have to finish a race and select “Quit”. At any other time there is no way for you to pause or back out. Need to leave the room for something? Don’t like the stage your on? Feel like quitting? Turn off your system.

9. Auto disconnect for AFK (AFC?) players (even if one player is playing). I understand, if a player is AFK, they don’t need to be taking up a slot on the race track. But what if I’m playing with a friend and he leaves to use the bathroom, or make a sandvich, or take a nap? Halfway through lap 1 both of us are disconnected. Why not just kick the person who is away and let me keep playing? Also, why do I have to back out to the menu to switch from one player to two player mode for online play? (Hint: see points #6 & 8.)

10. The rating system is fickle and unintuitive. I can understand that if you drive “better” you get a better rating, but isn’t that what the gold, silver and bronze trophies are for? What constitutes “better” driving? What if I get hit by lightning during a jump and fall in the lava? Does that count against me, even though I can’t control when another person uses their items? Do I get more points or less points if I hit other people? I can’t play the game if you don’t tell me the rules. (Disclaimer: I love the card game Mau, but the goal of that game is to discover the rules.) To make matters worse the rating system consists of three stars, two stars, one star and then letter grades. Why have letter grades at all? Why not just have a one-five star rating system? Or why bother with stars, why not have A-F for grades? I don’t get it!

All together my endeavor for good wholesome fun is completely thwarted by Nintendo and their poor decisions. I’ve been angry at video games before. (Donkey Kong Country, Team Fortress 2, Other M…) But I never remember being frustrated by a video game MENU, at least, not until I played Mario Kart Wii.

That’s my story. What has Nintendo done to ruin your life?

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

Posted on by

With the newly made Game of Thrones series on HBO many people, including myself are finding out about the story for the first time.

For those not in the loop, let me give you the elevator pitch. In 1996 George R. R. Martin published A Game of Thrones, the first book in the “Song of Ice and Fire” series. Over the next 14 years he published 4 more books, and has two more books planned. In 2011 HBO created a series based off the first book and presumably will continue with the next books in coming years. The rise in popularity is due in part to the publication of “A Dance with Dragons” the newest of the books and has led to all sorts of games and other merchandise.

If you haven’t read the books but enjoy fantasy like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or perhaps just like epic-ly long stories like Peter F. Hamilton writes, you might give this a shot. The story is wonderfully complex, the different characters all have their own agendas and any prediction about what the future holds is easily overturned as people make decisions and mistakes in rapid succession.

Unlike other books this story doesn’t follow a single character, or even just a group of good characters. Rather, it follows a dozen or more characters, both “good” and “bad” and is not afraid to kill them off in realistic situations. (Sorry, not trying to spoil anything, just making sure you don’t get too attached to any of the characters as you start out.)

One other thing I would say about these books (perhaps as a warning) is that there is not one single plot line. In Harry Potter there is a single character with a single goal. In A Game of Thrones there are a lot of characters and a lot of goals, and no matter who “wins” in the end, a lot of people are going to lose. One would hope that the ending will be happy, and perhaps for everyone in Westeros it will be, but the way the books are structured I have no doubt that some favorite characters will be losers in the end. The books do not guarantee that “good” will always win and the wealth of characters offer an array of “good” characters who (at least right now) appear to be on opposing sides.

[Note: These books contain enough language, violence, and sex to not be suitable for younger audiences without some editing.]

But now on to my point:

I’m on book four, A Feast for Crows, which is what many people consider to be the low point or the slow point of the books, but I disagree. It’s true, the characters in book four are a lot of secondary or tertiary characters, and to some extent I really don’t care about them, but I think that this is a necessary change for two reasons.

Reason 1: The book centralizes around two or three main families and occasionally jumps off to someone else for plot thickening reasons. When book four makes these other people the subject, it reminds the reader that there is more going on in the wide world, and even the decisions and actions of minor characters can change the outcome for the entire land.

Throughout the first three books the reader discovers a lot of information second, third, or even fourth hand. Book four turns the tables and shows you what happens from a closer look.

So while these characters feel out of place and unimportant, I can’t help but feel that the actions and decisions we see in book four will have huge consequences in the following books as things rise to ultimate battle for Westeros.

Reason 2: In the first three books Martin finds his own style of story telling which nicely jumps from one character to the next chronicling important events as they unfold. As he progresses from book two to book three he begins to adapt his style so that we leave characters right before a big event and return to them after the event, leaving the event to be described in flashback memories from each character.

This style is very efficient for such for a story of such scale, since it allows both the story of a big event without excruciating detail and also the setup for the characters next big challenge.

Overall I like that style, but by the time the reader gets to the end of book three it starts to get a little repetitious. From what I have read about book four is that Martin decided he wanted to tell the whole story for half of the characters instead of half the story for all the characters. And I think he did a really good job.

The pacing of the story is certainly slowed in book four, but it’s a welcome change to the chaotic whirlwind of action that was book three. Think of it as a respite before things start to get crazy again in the coming books. (I only assume the next books will be crazy busy, because there is a lot to happen for everything to be resolved.)

In short, A Song of Ice and Fire is an epic series that you might want to look into. And while some people have complained that A Feast for Crows is the low point of the series, I think that it is a welcome change and well met, provided it is only temporary.

*ADDENDUM*
To clarify any potential confusion:
The five books from George R. R. Martin are part of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. Song of Ice and Fire is the ‘subtitle’ for each book. Some people refer to the whole series as Game of Thrones. Also, I have seen abbreviations used in many cases as well, usually just the first letter of each word of the title.

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One
A Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Two
A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Three
A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Four
A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five
The Winds of Winter: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Six (Forthcoming)
A Dream of Spring: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Seven (Forthcoming)

A Song of Ice and Fire Wikipedia page.

User Experiences on XBox Live

Posted on by

[Begin Rant]

My Brother once had an xBox live account but let it slide due to budget restraints and wanting to buy some totally awesome things that may or may not include a seven foot long sword.

Anyway, over the holidays our foreign exchange student suggested that he, my brother, my cousin, and myself play some Halo. So we try to start up a firefight match. All of us log in and after getting everything set up, we are informed that we have too many people to play firefight. So we play some multiplayer instead. But this isn’t good enough for four gamer buddies on vacation.

Now my cousin does have xBox live, and he also happens to have a promo code for two free days of xBox live Gold. So he brings his xbox and sets it up in one room while my brother signs into his account, enters the promo code and then downloads a whole years worth of updates for his system.

Some time later we are ready to begin. My cousin sets up a match, I join as a guest on his box while my brother and exchange student try on my brother’s box. The second a guest a logged in on my brothers trial account they get kicked out of the game. For some stupid reason a two day xBox Live Gold trial doesn’t provide 100% of the functionality of a Live Gold account. (Great way to test it out and see if it’s worth your money, right?)

Having no choice but to get an actual account, the foreign exchange student offers to pay and heads upstairs to get an xBox Live account for my brother. Since he was paying he decided to add it to his profile, and after putting in all his information, he realizes that he doesn’t have a postal zip code and xBox Live won’t let him sign up.

Again denied from our gaming ambition, I offer to put my credit card in. So I put in my credentials, unknowingly, into the foreign exchange students account. Upon finishing all the entry I am told by Microsoft that his account is not eligible for xBox Live. (I’m not sure why, they didn’t say. It might have been his age.) Also, Microsoft won’t let me take my credit card info out of his account via the xBox.

You’d think. You just might think that they could have told the account wasn’t eligible before they had me enter ALL MY DATA IN. You’d think.

By this time my brother has finally grabbed a USB keyboard to help with data entry and after logging into his account I am able to put all my info into Microsofts system again and purchase three months of xBox Live for $9.99.

Overall this was one of the most time consuming and painful consumer experiences I have had in quite some time. Not to mention that I now have to get two people to log in to the Microsoft xBox Live account and remove my credit card info. (Sorry, Microsoft, it’s not that I don’t trust you (though I don’t, [You can thank Sony for that]), it’s that I don’t need my younger brother and a Chinese exchange kid to have my credit card on file.)

Would it kill these companies to make this process any less painful? It’s killing me.

Facebook Books

Posted on by

I’ve been meaning to get this in writing for some time now, because if I don’t I won’t be able to say “I told you so” when this actually happens.

With Facebook’s launch of the new Timeline feature, I think they are poised very nicely to start offering printed memorabilia. Think about it. They have photos, status updates, events, comments from friends, and more. They know what got the most attention. They have a good idea of what’s important to you.

Imagine this: you go to Facebook and click on a “Printed Book” button. Give them a starting date and a stoping date and Facebook instantly generates a 40 page book of photos, status updates, comments, and likes for your four years of college. You page through it, approving the photos, proofing the text, and swapping out the status updates or photos that are inappropriate for the type of book you are getting.

Rather than your college years, maybe you choose a vacation you took. With maps of where you “checked in” photos that you took at those places and comments from jealous friends who watched your progress from home.

Apple has been promoting books from iPhoto for years. Many photo printing places offer similar selections of printed photo books. There are a few independent companies that let you do something similar, but NONE of these options have the social element and all inclusive data stream like Facebook has.

The books certainly won’t be cheap, but they need to be terribly expensive. For $50 you could give your brother a book of photos and updates chronicling from when he met his girlfriend to the day they got married. (Depending of course on if your brother’s privacy settings allow friends to print books of his timeline or not.)

If Facebook doesn’t jump on this, a third party application will. (If one hasn’t already.)

In fact, I almost see parents setting up accounts for their newborn children to populate it with photos and updates in order to get a full life catalogue. (Facebook might even add this type of thing as a feature.)

That’s my prediction. What do you think?