Thoughts and ideas of a dyslexic designer/developer
It was during a slack conversation with colleagues, that the concept of a kind of advent calendar came to mind. A diabolo advent calendar, 1 trick per day mentioned on my blog with a brief description.
I will try and record something new everyday but I doubt it will be possible with the winter season. I have recorded some bits in advance just in-case.
So look out for them…
We have come a long long way…
I was very impressed by the graphics from unreal 5…
I didn’t get to Japan for good reason (Covid19) but I found this video to remind me of what I love and miss about Steel Dragon 2000.
There’s been a rash of reviews about Google Stadia but I found Android Authority one of the best video reviews. The verge have good coverage if you prefer to read.
I found data usage quite surprising…
When playing Stadia on my Windows PC through the Chrome browser at 720p, Stadia used between 12 and 20Mbps. In contrast, a Netflix stream used about the same amount, but Netflix can buffer content to stop streaming constantly. Because Stadia is always pulling data and can’t buffer, it will use a lot more data.
You could technically use Stadia connected to a mobile hotspot, but I’d strongly advise against it if you have a limited data plan. Playing Stadia at 720p used about 7GB per hour.
Don’t expect to be playing Stadia at your local coffee shop without some comments or a lot of lag. I wonder if most of the cheap routers can sustain bandwidth like that anyway?
I thoughts it was about time I formalised this challenge a bit.
For a long while people have asked what is a cubicgarden? I have smiled and never let on. Then it got to a point years ago while in London when I said if someone can work it out I would buy them dinner (not anywhere stupidly expensive but a nice dinner in a good restaurant). However, if they lose the challenge they have to buy me dinner.
People have a year to work it out or forfeit a dinner with me.
I give out a couple clues which are…
If someone can name the game (not even find the actual cubicgarden) I would finally post the solution on my blog for all. I won’t accept auto-generated lists of games from the 80’s and 90’s, just in-case you were thinking being smart.
Its interesting that no search engine can find it or work out what it may be… Machine learning wouldn’t have a chance without intimate knowledge of me and my background.
So far a few people have taken up the challenge including Jon but failed to name that game. Maybe it should be something to put in my will?
I do find the whole escape room thing a little odd, mainly because when I first heard about it I thought of something more like the movie Cube (less cube 2 and cube 0) . The reality is far less dangerous of course, but they also lack the lateral thinking which more excites me. Maybe this is why I find The Cube (how ironic) a little more interesting in this regards?
The Crystal maze is pretty much a series of escape rooms dressed up – let’s be honest! Due to the cult popularity and the mad rush for escape room experiences; its back without Richard O’Brian of course.
Someone at ARGnet has wrote a piece analysing the rise of the escape room. It doesn’t go into much detail but an interesting short read regardless. I find it interesting how big the craze of escape rooms has moved and so quickly. I was listening to some people in Tallinn, Estonia talking about an escape room in the airport which prompted me to write my thoughts.
I’d love to see something more like Exam.
The final candidates for a highly desirable corporate job are locked together in an exam room and given a test so simple and confusing that tension begins to unravel.
More lateral and freeform. I’d also like to see people given roles (like Werewolf I guess, heck you could pay more to be the stodge?) to make things really interesting. Yes you could include stooges too.
Escape rooms currently feel too formulaic and logical, a bit like some of the less interesting Alternative Reality games which drag you from task to task rather than responding and giving you lots of space to think. I think there is a lot to learn from ARGs and maybe, who knows I’ll be raving about one…
Alton Towers seems to be refitting Air with Virtual Reality glasses and calling it Galactica?
Alton Towers is to open what it claims is the world’s first rollercoaster that combines a physical ride with virtual reality, giving passengers a “customised journey into space” via headsets that use groundbreaking technology.
The ride, called Galactica, will launch in April and is the first major new ride at the Staffordshire theme park since 16 people were injured, including five seriously, in a rollercoaster crash last June.
Its a nice idea but I’m still unsure if this warrants a yearly pass. I mean I like Air but adding VR doesn’t really justify the yearly price?
I feel if they had added another coaster I might have been more interested but right now, it feels like a compromise. Heck if they had added VR to one time Th13teen, that would have made more sense.
Guess my Alton Towers pass still sits waiting for me to pick it up.
I played this game yesterday night at a party and thought it was worth writing up because I couldn’t find it anywhere. I’ll have to credit either Mike, Karolina, Steve or Sharon for the party game.
The game works like this…
Other rules…
Variations…
Martin tweeted about a pilot show based around Werewolf, a game I love and we play monthly in Manchester.
I had thought the same thing when I setup Epic Werewolf in 2013. Actually it would be great to set that up again sometime.
Since I made werewolf cards way back when… I kept meaning to finish the set by ordering the rest of the pack.
Well finally after about a year, I ordered the rest and made them on Moo.com again. I got the feeling Moo might actually be phasing out their make your own feature, but thanks to Moo’s help and some URL hacking, I got it up again.
The complete pack splits down to two packs of…
So in any game each pack can hold roughly (based on 1 werewolf per 4-6 villagers) 40 villagers and a whole bunch of special roles. To be fair the biggest game I’ve ever moderated has been 48 people in BarCampBlackpool and that was insane. One pack should give plenty of scope for interesting games and fun times.
Some of you may ask, wheres the little girl? I say to hell with the little girl… (smile)
I know the art work on the cards isn’t beautiful or creative as other werewolf projects such as Leeds Werewolf master Martyn. But there small simple to understand and easily carry-able in my laptop bag.
Goo – Instant Play from Goo Technologies on Vimeo.
Short video clip exemplifying the power of browser based games for virality and instant play. Oh, and yes the game is on HTML5 with no plug-ins or download. Powered by the Goo Engine.
To be honest first time I saw the Goo technologies experiment, I thought it was Google trying to one up Mozilla. Right as the Mozilla Fest is on in London (which I couldn’t attend due to a family funeral).
Goo Engine® is the HTML5 and WebGL based 3D engine capable of powering the next generation of interactive web content. Using Goo Engine enables you to incorporate rich 3D content into your existing website without the need for special browser plugins or software downloads.
It looks impressive and if the editor is as simple to make this stuff, well who knows? Could be great in the right hands, specially hands with lots of time like young people
I had the pleasure of going to Thorpe Park on the weekend as I gatecrashed Kate’s Birthday.
A number of things got me thinking as I queued 18 times for Stealth, 10 times for the Swarm (forward and backwards), 3 times for Nemesis Inferno and once on Saw the ride (don’t think my head could hand the banging nature – not impressed! Gerstelauer could learn something from Bolliger & Mabillard). I adored Stealth even though I had butterflies in my gut about the height of the top beforehand. I remember seeing a board years ago when I last went to Thorpe Park talking about a new ride, shows how long ago since I had returned.
Although I fell in love with Stealth, I was also very impressed with the swarm.
Not only was it a great ride but flexible enough to have a number of options including riding it backwards! Which I did 5 times and I can only describe it as being dragged by a tentacle monster attached to your waist backwards. You can hardly feel the over shoulder constraint and it just feels amazing being dragged along with your arms and legs naturally dragging along.
The swarm is one of the modern coasters which has been properly thought out. Ironically (ironic because Alton Towers has bags of land but seems to always tightly pack rides and London land is expensive) because Thorpe park have loads of empty space it could build a complete site with waterways, over turned police vans, busted fire engines, etc. The whole thing is really well themed. Nemesis and Oblivion were early on this front but in Swarm has given it a super modern and very London overview.
While waiting in the queue theres a news report about a national emergency spawning from Thorpe Park. After spending much time in the queue waiting for my forward and backwards adventures in space. I started to notice the same video parts coming up again and again. Don’t get me wrong I expect there might be about 30mins of footage on a loop, which is much more than any other theme park I’ve been to.
But I started thinking what a great chance to do something Perceptive. The ride should react and change to the people waiting, how long their waiting, whos waiting, etc.
Can you imagine what would happen if you conversations were used in the queue experience? Tweets, photos, the lot were included and manipulated to fit the theme. Now thats an idea I may have to take forward…
I was also interested in Thorpe parks teaming up with Ministry of Sound, which seems to bring it closer to the concept of a Rave than you can make up. The whole site was blasting out dance music and I got to say I quite liked it. Not only that, in the line for the Swarm, they were handing out wireless headsets for the queuing. The headsets had volume and a switch for off, channel a and channel b. Channel A was generally MoS dance music and channel b more 60s and 70s disco. Each headset seemed to have a number of sponsors including O2.
Although I thought it was a nice idea, I was a little miffed with having to wear one in a queue of 2mins later in the day. I was literally walking to the entrance being handed a headset and walking through the queue system and then giving them back up before getting on the ride. I imagine in a much larger queue it could be rife for abuse/fun with Perceptive Media…
So who do I need to get in touch with about this idea?
Manchester Werewolf went monthly at the start of this year, we had some great games in Feb… where were you?
Werewolf cards are expensive and so I decided I could make my own on Moo.com.
The results I’d say are pretty good for 15mins of work and a nice large discount for using Moo.
Today I’ll get to try it out for the first time at the Epic Powwow… Hopefully it will go down well in Newcastle.