Worry-Wort

“My obsession with the past is not one of aspiration! I am merely contemplating my future.”

Don't even ask, I'm not sure myself...

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Jim: “What should I do? I can't stop thinking about all the bad experiences I've had.”

Doctor: “It's best not to dwell on the past, consider the future instead.”

Jim: "Great... rather than worry about what has happened to me, I'm now thinking about all the things that could."

Ah, the never ending thought cycle of the neurotic.

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I went down memory lane, not so long ago. Bored half the people around me while I was at it(an achievement for a 20 year old). “You're still not over it?”, “Stop complaining, it happened ages ago!", were just some of the responses I got. Eventually, my family & friends asked me, “Why are you so hung up on the past?”

I just told them, “Because I'm contemplating the future.”

Week 12: Speed writing

So I decided to do something completely random this week. Instead, there has been an idea circling in my head. Maybe I could turn it into something? Probably not...

Does true altruism exist?

How a person relates their actions to their motive. In other words, is there such a thing as a selfless act? Is the idea of altruism legitimate?

If the above is false, then every act is committed is with the soul purpose of benefiting oneself. For instance, holding a door open for another person requires a person to be motivated to act this out. A person is committed to the act because they wish to help another person and in turn it allows the person to feel they are a good. Even if the person is required to sacrifice their freedom or their life to help another person, they still benefit from the situation.

If the statement, that no motivated act can be selfless, were true then the only way to commit an altruistic act would be if a person were unaware that they committed it. However, if a person chose not to commit the act do they still benefit or do they loose by not doing anything? The difference between helping another person and ignoring their situation is that to act would require some self-sacrifice.

How is this any of this relevant in Creative Writing? I guess it might be useful when developing character motivations. And I have taken this into consideration with my final project.

Week 11: A lot of R's in this.

Rowan and I have decided to do something different this week and write individual scenes to the same story. Here is a quick summary of the universe:

In the year 2535, humanity is caught in a brutal civil war. Five years earlier the Terran Union outlawed using the benign Bren race as a source of slave labour in favour of sentient machines. The Union's colonies did not appreciate this move and ceded to form the The United Free Colonies.
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And here's part of the script:


Int. Space Station Shuttle-bay – CONTINUIOUS

Ryley is checking his papers and boarding a shuttle for the Alenko. He enters the shuttle and takes a seat closely followed by a woman who sits next to him. She flicks her hair and smiles at him as she looks around.

Ryley
Hi I'm Ryley Dorn

Rene

Lieutenant Rene Winter – Technical Advisor.
So what are you a communication officer?

Ryley
Well not exactly...

Rene
Your not a grunt are you?

Ryley looks noticeable uncomfortable. Rene bites her lips.

Rene
(continuing)
Sorry well it could be worse you could be
one of those muscle bound idiot pilots.

Ryley
So you advise?

Rene
Well not as much as I would have liked.
I was bought in to join the shore party
and act as technician.

Ryley
Shouldn't someone from the Alenko's
engineering team handle that?

Rene
Well you officer codes to access the mainframe
as well as technical know how and the Alenko's
Chief Engineer is a little old fashioned. He
believes an engineer should never leave his
ship and go on shore mission.

Ryley
He's not Scottish by any chance?

Rene
No Norwegian why do you ask?

Ryley
Oh someone once told me the Scottish
make the best engineers.

Rene
That's just superstition.

AI Pilot
We are within visual range of the Alenko

The shuttle approaches and lands in the Alenko's hanger. The door opens and a crewmember enters.

Crew Member #001
Are you the new CAG?

Ryley
That's me

Crew Member #001
Good we have some nuggets for you to grow

Rene buries her head.

Rene
You're a pilot

Ryley
I would invite you to the mess hall but you
know us pilots, I have to head to the gym
and wail on my pecks.

Week 10: Speed Writing

This is a bit short because it took me a while before I could write anything. Writers Block.


WILLIAM
So how did it go with Sarah? Did you two eventually work it out?

KAYNA
Yep, we finally found something we could agree upon.

WILLIAM
So you've finally stopped bickering?

KAYNA
...

WILLIAM
I thought you said you two came to an agreement?

KAYNA
Well, yes... and no. We kind of agreed to disagree.

WILLIAM
Come with me.

KAYNA
Where are we going?

WILLIAM
To talk to Sarah.

KAYNA
NO, I don't want to die! She's insane. I swear, that woman can take out the most hardened criminal with just one look! It's like she stares deep into your soul and then she curses you for all eternity!

WILLIAM
Don't you think you're overreacting?

KAYNA
Said the guy who is afraid of dolls.

WILLIAM
They're Evil!

KAYNA
Oh come on! What are they going to do? Strangle you with their tiny plastic hands!

WILLIAM
Probably, but it's their creepy little eyes that freak me out the most.

KAYNA
Yes! See, that's exactly how I feel!

WILLIAM
That's... completely different.

Week 9: Speed Writing

The following is completely random. Viewer discretion is advised.

Sleeper Cells?

They are artificially grown and brainwashed into believing they are normal. After being released from the training facility (with no memory of it) they go about living normal lives, until the day they are activated. The reason? to assassinate a set target?

How are they activated? I haven’t really thought about this maybe they have something implanted in their mouth so that they can pick up a radio signal. Kind of like the myth(?) that some people can here radio transmissions through their bridgework. An evil dentist?

"…but no one ever suspected the Dentist!"

No wonder children don’t like the dentist, they know things their parents don’t. Dentists brainwash the parents by using radio signals that are picked up by their bridgework. Ever wonder why parents tell you to eat your vegetables? It’s because the dentist has brainwashed them too. Vegetables are the real cause of cavities, not sugar. And that boys and girls, is how the dentist lures unsuspecting children into his/her lair to… umm… make money…?

Hell, they’re already money grubbing bastards as it is, so the idea isn’t too far fetched.

Week 8: Speed Writing

"One of them is a machine!", spat Simon. He wasn't about to let an inexperienced fool make him believe other wise. Matherson may have been older than him but Simon sure as hell knew a lot more when it came to unstables.

"What proof do you have? You're sentencing people before you have any evidence." Simon clenched his fist as Matherson stepped closer. Was he challenging him? No, he wouldn't be that stupid. but then the old man clearly wasn't about to let this drop. 'Fine' he thought, he'll just have to show him what happens when people don't listen. "They came here, into our community and attacked one of our very own. Completely unprovoked!"

"You mean one of 'your' citizens. That's what this is about, isn't it. Because they challenged one of your men."

The veins on his temple began to throb. Never had he met someone so frustrating. Why wouldn't he just do what everyone else did and trust him? Ever since he was first entrusted with this position, he had always protected them. It had always been for them, why would that change now?

"Don't pretend that he's innocent, Simon. We all know what Xavier truly is. He's trouble and you know it! His attitude..."

"His attitude has kept us safe from people like them. You say we should be more trusting yet when you yourself turn against us to side with strangers at the flick of a switch."

"Don't you dare question my loyalty to this community! I have always had our best intentions at heart but I'm not about to condemn two innocent strangers because it's the easy way out. You're afraid! Afraid that if they find out how truly corrupt you and your men are. Your nothing more than a small town cop who has risen well above his rank. To say you are the poison that effects this town is giving you too much credit. You are nothing more than a symptom of our downfall.

they'll loose trust in him and turn on you for backing him all these years."

Week 7: Delivering

So I checked out some of Seth Godin's presentations and they were actually very insightful.

Forget, "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

Try, "If it's not broke, then break it."

As a consumer I did have an idea as to why most of the products I bought were faulty but for some reason I just ignored it. For example, why is it you have to pay for a month's subscription to a lot of online resources and games? Why can't you pay for the number of hours you use it for, not a set time limit? My first reasoning was that the developers were just too lazy to code a payment system that allows for that. And it's probably true. The thing is, after listening to Seth Godin I actually care about this now.

Week 7: Speed Writing

Sitting here, looking through the window. How interesting the out-side seems compared to in here. Everything there has become so much more fascinating and it’s all because of the storm. Though I keep my distance from it, some how it makes me want to join in the event. Maybe it’s the persistent wind, never failing to animate the trees with each blast. They seem lifeless without it, but now, the scenery is full of movement. Branches swaying to the fierce thunder of the storm. They are not alone in their dance. With each blast of the icy wind another wave of rain pours to the ground. The droplets dapple the ground, creating a new shine, a deeper colour to each surface. Oh, how I love rainy days.

Week 5: Playing Facade

It is better to play Facade with a group of friends. It just seems too awkward otherwise, like you're barging in on someone's private conversation. But I guess that's the point of it. The only other problem I have with it is that you're character seems to have a previous history with married couple, but you(the user) are not informed of this. Although, as I said before, that's probably the point.

Actually, it's not all that bad. It is interesting to find out the hidden facts about the relationship your character has with the NPCs. Kind of like an Easter egg hunt. You don't know whether it's going to be a rock or a Cadbury creamy behind the plant pot.

Week 4: Speed Writing

It seemed as if no light could penetrate the suffocating darkness that surrounded him. Taren had just awoken to find himself restrained and blind folded. 'What's going on? Hello?', he asked as he took a deep breath. The icy air stung his throat with this intake of breath forcing him to cough. It's sound echoed throughout the room, softly fading away into silence. Where ever he was it was large. 'Where am I? Is there anybody there?' he asked his surroundings again, hoping that this time there would get a response. Once again, silence... He was alone.

Week 3: The New Tamagotchi?

MILO FAKE OR REAL?

I don't know if this will work. The size of the game would be enormous because of the amount of content involved. It might end up requiring weekly updates. It does sound interesting, though.

I wonder how much maintenance Milo will require. I remember my Tamagotchi required me to wake up early each day to feed it... It died D:

Eagle Eyed Spong has posted an in-depth analysis of the E3 Milo demo for Microsoft's Natal. Their conclusion is that it is fake. What do you think?

Week 3: “Sorry Mario, but the Princess is in another castle!"

Realistic NPCs (Active vs Reactive)
by Dan Shiovitz
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article249.asp


Ok, so this is an old post from 1995 but it got me thinking about just what is an NPCs’ roll in gamming. For most of my life all I’ve seen them as is “The place to get quests from” and while that is true, surely they provide something extra to the game. Why have them otherwise.

NPC behaviour in video games is generally automated. There are some examples where the NPC is controlled by another player or a Game Master but in this post I want to focus on the scripted ones.

An NPC is just like any other character you would insert into a story, they’re there to further the storyline. They introduce a player into a new world through the direction and information they provide.

They give information on what to do but not the motivation to do it. Most of the time they don't give their back-story or provide the emotional resonse you expect people to have in certain circumstances. If you can relate to a person you can begin to understand their circumstances. Take for instance Princess Peach, I just can’t feel for her (Seriously, I don’t understand why a giant turtle would want to kidnap her in the first place). Her personality still isn't as strongly defined as the ‘others' (not that ‘short, Italian-American plumber’ gives you much of a clue either) but then who tells complete randoms their whole life story?

I guess what dissapoints me about NPCs is that they don’t have a big enough role in the game. Why aren’t they developing with the story, as the gamer interacts with it. Fable 2 allows you to spawn children for your character… Um? What exactly do they do other than get themselves captured? And what about the Alliance in WOW. Well, they want to stop the Horde but they don’t really do anything about it. They just stand there like set peices… Come on, do something already! Well no, I’m wrong, there are AIs that do seem to run off on their own automated path. That’s fine but if you try to interact with them, they have a very brief response or none at all. NPCs are not the smartest, but I guess if they were smart the game would be too easy.

So how do you humanise a AI without it seeming too scripted? There are games that have started to deepen the NPC and Player relationship such as Mass Effect and Fable but they are still restricted to a script. The unpredictability of human nature is just to complex to replicate and I guess that is the reason why we are goning back to RPGing (ie. Dungeons and Dragons. Where the NPCs are played by the Game Master.)

Week 2: How are characters in films different to characters in games?

The main difference between game and film character is control. When we watch a good film we feel like we’re watching real people as they tackle the consequences of their actions and continue on their journey. However in games you are put in the shoes of the main character and it becomes obvious you are not truly in control. For example the game will order you to enter the next room, in a movie a character could walk in theory leave the entire building but in the games the story will not progress until you have complied. A player can stand in the first room as long as he wants but nothing will happen until he heads into this new room.

This inability to direct your control takes you out of the fantasy that this nothing than a virtual world. Films don’t usually suffer from this problem mainly because films don’t generally put you in the shoes of the protagonist; they just try to make you empathize with him or her. As long as the script gives the character a plausible reason or personality for entering the room, we do not question why. Games expect to be the character while films movies merely expect us to follow the characters. Until game give more options or more reasons beyond character yelling at you over the radio to enter the room they will lack the impact.

The simulated world, unlike a movie, as well as removing you from reality can become part of your reality so that a person is unable to distinguish between the two.

“A lawsuit claims the video game "Grand Theft Auto" led a teenager to shoot two police officers and a dispatcher to death in 2003, mirroring violent acts depicted in the popular game… At a December hearing, authorities said Devin Thompson, when he was apprehended, told officers, "Life is a video game. You've got to die sometime."[i]

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i
http://web.archive.org/web/20050307095559/http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=502424, “Suit: Video Game Sparked Police Shootings”, ABC News, Archived on 2005 – 03 – 07

Week 2: How are characters defined in Web 2.0 (eg. avatars)

A person’s comprehension of themself is not always how others see them. External perceptions of our own identity can sometimes distort how we see our selves. This is why the Internet is a popular medium of portraying and developing our identities.

Anonymity online allows a user to explore their identity in full, without the pressures of society. You can be what/who you want to be. You can change your identity completely or express it to the extent you want. A user is also not confined to a current body and can explore their own self through an avatar. They allow a person to act out what they’ve always wanted or never though of doing without repercussion.

The Internet is a form of Virtual Reality. It lets a user to escape the Real World. It allows you to forget about your troubles at work, your relationships, what bills you have to pay…it basically removes you from reality and immerses you in an alternate environment. It is ‘the experience of being inside the world of a constructed image… the experience of the user of certain new media technologies (particular VR, but also video games) in which the subject loses any sense of themselves as separate from the medium or its simulated world.’[i]

But does the Internet really separate us from society? In a sense it removes us from one community and places us into another. Community usually refers to a sociological group sharing an environment. In communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks and a number of other conditions may affect the identity of the participants and their degree of adhesion. A sense of community is important in society as it provides us with a base to grow as a race. Our relationships help guide us in decisions and remove the factors that isolate us as individuals.

Social Networking sites such, as Twitter and YouTube are just that, online communities. Our online characters still contain most of our personalities; after all we are the ones controlling them. It is just that we omit a lot of facts, that is until someone from a rival band decides to he wants to make a rude comment. All of a sudden, we drop this external façade and reveal our true emotions. BOXXY is an example of this.[ii] The repercussions can spread not only throughout the online world but into reality.

I know what's she's going through. She's made vapid, privileged egotistical friends who enjoy shallow partying and no real thought. Yet this is what she must endure, and even emulate. She can't go back to the fantasyland of the Internet. Her online friends, entertainment, and communities cannot be leaned on any more. Partly because she doesn't want to feel like a loser, but also intensely because of the brutal unending onslaught of her 'fans', who like so many rabid subject tore down the castle of her free and easy internet life. Now she hangs out with these kids, the people she's supposed to be friends with doing the things they're supposed to do - drinking, fucking, facebooking, listening to pop indie bands and rap (they think it's funny because they're so white). Before she was the girl in the corner, enjoying a world delivered through the web. Now she's been pushed into the social crowd and she doesn't like it but there's nothing else to do.

—The philosophical and eloquently introspective Anonymous

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i
Lister, Martin et al. New Media: A Critical Introduction, London and New York: Routledge, 2003, 387.

ii
BOXXY ← Ummm yeah…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcydqSpYN00&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yavx9yxTrsw&feature=channel

Week 1: Games, Trains and Movie Deals

Infamous Gets Movie Deal
by Leigh Alexander

Infamous was release earlier this year and despite being a wholly unremarkable game Hollywood has already purchased the movie rights. Before doing a little research on this article, I never knew that so many films based on games have been produced over the years. I had heard of a couple, such as Super Mario Bros. and Postal but this many...?

This bothered me. If so many movies based on games have been release, why haven't I ever heard about them? Well' the truth is they just weren't successful enough to stand out in the public eye.

^Super Marios Bros. the movie
Despite the lack of acceptance for the films the original games were popular. Most of them are still well loved classics. Maybe the reason the films were not so well received was because they tried to change something that already worked. The games have such a large fan base, who already have set perceptions on the characters and plot. The game characters have a look, and players were already familiar with voice talent portraying them. So it's easy to understand that if bad acting choices are made when recasting a loved character the fans are not going to like it.

This doesn't necessarily mean that sticking close to the original always works. If the game doesn't have a decent storyline and characters in the first place it is already going to be difficult to achieve that in the film, without alienating the loyal fan-base. I guess the only solution would be to market the movie to a wider audience and away from the gaming community.

Games today have about 10-30 hours of game-time. The majority of that is spent developing the storyline through cut-scenes, and character interaction during play. Considering the length of an average movie today, it would be difficult to fit all of that content into the required time frame. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to produce a film with the same level of depth as the original game. The amount of content you would have to strip away would mean you were left with a very disjointed plot and nobody wants that.

Week 1: It Seemed So Real..Too Real Maybe

The Necessity of Interactive Animation For Games
by Christiaan Moleman
[In this in-depth article, Arkane and Streamline Studios animator Moleman discusses why he believes that body language and facial expression are the keys to making our games feel more vibrant.]

The development of animation as a communication tool has allowed games to open up their storylines. It allows users the choice of how a particular game’s plot will progress. An example of this would be in the video game Mass Effect, where the future of the player’s race is determined by what choices they make throughout the story. Of course, this means that the player is no longer following a storyline set by a narrator but exploring different scenarios through in-game interactions and development. An important part of game interaction is how the characters respond to the user. For this reason, game developers are working on improving animation and graphics to assist in this area.

Body language is vital in portraying emotion. It aids in storyline development by communicating a line of script with a simple gesture. With out it a performance can appear silted and life less. Mimicking this in games would be a new step in the development of the virtual world.

If game developers did manage to accurately mimic human and animal visual responses, I can’t imagine some types of gamers would really care. We already miss so much of this interaction in day-to-day life. It will be even more difficult to pick up on these subtle expressions while you’re trying to fight off hordes of bloodthirsty zombies.
However, one area of gaming that would improve from this are those built on social networking. Thi include games such as Second Life, where all characters are human controlled. This would revolutionize how we would respond to online avatars and change the nature of social interactivity within games.