Come Sail Away
Musings on media.
Game Concept Presentations
Ribbet:
Seems like an interesting take on a classic puzzle game. An aesthetic interface would draw the player in. Simple narrative is “cute” enough to appeal to target audience.
Home Design Network:
The online network brings two different frames of mind together. Seems like a great way to bring older age groups into the interactive web. Capitilization on the popularity of home design shows hasn’t been seen enough in the interactive/gaming media. Sponsorship and advertising potential is very high.
Roomate Rumble:
This game takes certain elements of “The Sims” and fine-tunes them for a certain audience. Stereotypes, while crude, make for decent humor as long as they are clearly stated as such.
Triangles:
“Little or no instructions” is an interesting approach. Simple interface would defintely appeal to target audience. Seems like it could be online in flash.
Stampin’ Up:
Virtual scrapbooking could end in real-world results. Web interactivity also helps spread ideas. Simple GUI is a must. Corporate sponsorship brings the cost down makes the game even easier.
Bloxorz, a review.
Flash games have certainly come a long way. Altough Bloxorz was not the game that brought me to this realization, but definitely reinforces that point. In a combination of solid presentation and gameplay, this game represents what has spoiled me and other gamers by providing a retail-quality game absolutely free.
I’ll admit, I’m not a enthusiastic supporter of puzzle games. This is partially because that I have a hard time figuring them out and once I do, they consume large amounts of my time. Bloxors is no exception to this rule. When I first sat down to play, I was expecting this particular genre and began to prejudge. Then I was greeted by an aesthetic “digital” themed menu complete with ambient techno sounds, a 3D rotating brick animation, and flickering font all of which seemed to come from some sci-fi movie I can’t put my finger on. Had this been a retail puzzle game, I would have been unsurprised and even critical of the menu screen but the fact that this was a free web-based flash game had me impressed.
Many of the flash games that I am used to (even the entertaining ones) look as though they were drawn by child with very inconsistent animations. This is not the case with Bloxorz. It is presented in a fixed-camera, pseudo-3D environment with very fluid animations. The objective of the game is to navigate a rectangular brick, using the arrow keys, across a series of narrow, tiled pathways to designated endzone using only right angles. If any part of the brick hangs over the edge, the level must be restarted. A bonus I enjoyed in the gameplay is the clicking sound the brick makes against the tile. It’s a fresh slight twist on the genre that puzzle fans will greatly enjoy and anyone with time to kill on the internet can certainly appreciate.
Many of my friends are already aware of Johnny Lee. To many gamers, the video I’ve posted is old news. But the fact that nobody has made any recent strides in the technology displayed leads me to post this video once again.
Alicia Sacrimone is HAWT
But the point of the story is that those Chinese gymnast girls are way too young. Don’t get me wrong, they’re talented. But just because China is hosting the Olympics doesn’t mean they should get away with cheating.
Ping.fm
Oh and by the way, I just posted using “ping.fm”. It’s a web tool that allows one to manage many of his own blogs. It really has helped me get back in touch with my older blogs. If you want to check it out, just google it.
Hey everybody, and by “everybody” I mean anyone who follows this blog, and by “anyone who follows this blog” I mean Walter. Well, I suppose other people might watch this. Maybe Prof. Phares or other classmates from COM 155, but Walter is the only one who has given me verbal confirmation of following my tumblr.
An interesting portion of the gotham city map, part of the Dark Knight ARG.
Irony and Blogging
I had a realization today while going about my daily routine on the internet. (It consists of digg.com, pinkninjastudios, revision3, and various news feeds in no particular order) I had come across a story about a new twitter-like social network the name of which isn’t important. I was immediately compelled to register and begin posting but I held myself back. I investigated this impulse further and realized what I really wanted to do was create something and put it on the web. It would suit me better to actually design a new social network or blog site rather than join another. Not that I have any skills to actually to create a blog network from scratch, I just have overwhelming desire to use the internet to be creative. Everyday I look at podcasts like Revision3’s, which are very well-funded and successful, and Pink Ninja Studios’, which are quality productions (especially for the grassroots effort behind them) but just haven’t seemed to hit it big yet. I don’t believe “hitting it big” to be their main goal, but these guys put alot of heart into their work and I want to see them succeed.
These podcasts are all examples of the new generation of media and I want to get on that train.
As a final post, I found this video to be an interesting combination of machinima and music. Using sampled video clips of the gunshot sounds in Call of Duty 4, someone created a techno-esque music video.
What I enjoy about my newfound media literacy.
Freedom: While it may sound as though we live in a dystopian future where humans are serialized and monitored, the mainstream media attempts to do just that (to some extent). Media literacy has allowed me to be aware of the media’s attempts to control or sway public opinion. Because of this, I am more firmly resolved in my own decisions as the feel especially like my own beliefs and not what some other force is telling me to think.
Creativity: Media literacy has also allowed me to become more creative. I can now express myself through different channels such as Adobe Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator or more. Now, to some extent, I can be a force in visual culture through the use of the previously mentioned programs and the internet. (This blog, for example)
Communication Skills: With my newfound knowledge of the previous programs and my discerning eye toward visual culture, I can connect with others on a new level. Conversation with others who are media literate could draw some interesting conclusions about society and the mainstream media.
