This is a villanelle. You’re supposed to be able to read it as either life being the dream, or dreaming while asleep.
The Sunday Poem: Lullabye: Waking Dream
(Visited 6560 times) The Sunday Poem
Oct 112009
Oct 102009
To quote Mashable, it “transforms basic stick-figure drawings in to a photograph.”
In one example of the technology, a basic sketch, showing the rudimentary outlines of some boats, seagulls and a kissing bride and groom, is transformed in to a beautiful image showing an embracing couple against a sunset backdrop. In another, a diagram of a man throwing a Frisbee, and a dog leaping to catch it, is turned into an action-packed picture.
The video walks you through how they do it. Totally cool.
Sketch2Photo: Internet Image Montage from Tao Chen on Vimeo.
Mike Laidlaw on single-player games
(Visited 11298 times) Game talk
Oct 092009
PCWorld ran an article in three parts on Dragon Age, Bioware’s upcoming RPG, and part three leads by posing the question
Is Bioware’s Dragon Age the last of its kind? A solo-player game absent an integrated online component? Or is it actually the next step in what Spore designer Will Wright calls the “massively single player” experience?
Mike Laidlaw, the lead designer on the game (justly well-known for his writing chops) offers up some interesting and nuanced thoughts. He leads with the observation (boldface mine) that
I think the glory of stories–and I think this is something computers are only now starting to be able to participate in–is that stories are shared experiences. It’s the shaman telling the tale of whatever around the campfire, the boy scouts with the flashlight under their faces. All these things are primal ways that we as a people communicate, share experiences, and quite often, share wisdom and growth. Before written communication, before the printing press, and before computers certainly. Lore and legends were often wrapped up as fables and parables, for the purposes of sharing experiences.
So to my mind, the most valid story is one that can be experienced but also shared…
Don’t Display Negative Karma
(Visited 7668 times) Game talk
Oct 072009
Randy Farmer (he of Habitat fame, and much more besides!) and Bryce Glass have been posting excerpts from their upcoming book Building Web Reputation Systems on a blog, and today’s has a great anecdote in it that hammers home all the math behind negative reputation systems.
“Hi! I see from your hub that you’re new to the area. Give me all your Simoleans or my friends and I will make it impossible to rent a house.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m a member of the Sims Mafia, and we will all mark you as untrustworthy, turning your hub solid red (with no more room for green), and no one will play with you. You have five minutes to comply. If you think I’m kidding, look at your hub-three of us have already marked you red. Don’t worry, we’ll turn it green when you pay…”
If you think this is a fun game, think again-a typical response to this shakedown was for the user to decide that the game wasn’t worth $10 a month. Playing dollhouse doesn’t usually involve gangsters.
— Building Web Reputation Systems: The Blog: The Dollhouse Mafia, or “Don’t Display Negative Karma”.
There’s whole rough drafts of chapters on the site — totally worth reading, pondering, absorbing, and using.
Oct 052009
A friend of mine spotted a familiar name under the musical submissions. You probably know Raph Koster as the designer of Star Wars: Galaxies, the ill-fated MMO. But folks at The Sixtyone know him for his selections under “folk and instrumental”. You can listen to them here. Unfortunately, they’re pretty good, so I can’t ridicule them.
I think it is hilarious that this is news (of a sort, anyway). Blogged by the estimable Tom Chick, no less!
For the record, I wouldn’t do so well as a cantina dancer. Maybe in my younger days…
