Metaplace update

 Posted by (Visited 6599 times)  Gamemaking
Nov 132007
 

I realized that it has been a while since I posted anything about how it is going — so here’s a bit about recent happenings.

The big thing first — yes, more alpha testers are getting in this week. 🙂 So if you’re not in yet, well, time to start calculating the odds again. Remember, there were 10,000 people in line alongside you.

Naturally enough, we are paying close attention to participation on the forums — lots of great discussions there, and a great pool of potential folks to let in early. Of course, the gang there is near and dear to my heart because they have embraced the sqronk (you’ll just have to visit to find out what that means…!)

We’ve also been doing a weekly blog post with info — the latest one just went up. These are pretty detailed posts, too, sometimes with code samples. Among the topics covered:

For example:

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Numb3rs on MMO-ARGs

 Posted by (Visited 11581 times)  Watching
Nov 112007
 

Just finished watching the recorded episode of Numb3rs I had on the DVR. It was about an MMO crossed with an ARG.

Two thoughts:

  1. Why is the design of the fake MMO-ARG so much more intriguing than the real ones? (Except for the world design, which really sucked).
  2. Why does there always have to be one helpless, pathetic nerd? I mean, this is a show about nerds. The show’s stars aren’t stereotypes like the kid in this episode was…

Anyway, it got surprisingly more right than it got wrong — the distinction between MMORPG and ARG for example, proper use of the term “PvP,” and even a clear distinction between fantasy violence and real life violence. And it did show the huge diversity of game players: a cute old grandma, a biker dude, a day trader, a district attorney.

Most importantly though, it said that the head of the game company making the game was named Binky. Yes, as in Chris “Binky” Launius. Possibly a scribe or consultant knows whereof they speak?

The Sunday Song: October

 Posted by (Visited 6413 times)  Music
Nov 112007
 

By sheer coincidence, two different friends sent me links to a couple of notable fingerstyle guitarists within the span of just a few hours. One of them was Andy McKee; the other was Don Ross. And of course, these two guys play together from time to time as well. You can get a good taste of what these guys can do by checking them out on YouTube — for example, McKee’s version of “Africa.”

Wait, don’t go listen yet. I’ll sound awful in comparison. 🙂

Anyway, I noticed somewhere that the tuning that McKee was using was CGCGBbC. So I figured I’d give it a whirl, and this is what popped out after a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I developed a blister on my finger pretty early into the process, and ended up with a performance I am really not very happy with. Lots and lots of timing issues. 🙁 On top of that, I don’t think I managed to capture the resonance of the guitar very well in the recording this time… a tuning like this excites harmonics all over, and should sound rich and deep, but it sounds a little harsh and tinny when I listen through my desktop speakers. But here it is anyway. (If you still want to listen after all those disclaimers!)

 

Website downtime

 Posted by (Visited 6417 times)  Open thread
Nov 112007
 

Apologies for the downtime yesterday — my host decided to move me from one machine to another, more powerful machine. But they literally gave me no notice. I got the email telling me about it after the site was already unavailable to me! As a result I wasn’t able to warn anyone or put up any redirectors or anything.

Service seems to be back to normal, so we’ll see.

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