The next progression after motion sensing: "Intel's Mind-Reading Chips: Replace Your Mouse With Your Brain"
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fastcompany/headlines/~3/RJTkW1hPkK8/intels-mind-reading-chips-replace-your-mouse-your-brain
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Nov 20
Nov 18
Modded Micro Terrain Titan / QSteer 1/53 scale RC buggy
I know what I want for Christmas! These things are amazing, 'specially when you "overxloxk" them like this guy has :)Comments [0]
Nov 11
Floodsim.com Review - Good gaming, Edutainment, or Both?
Educational games, sometimes referred to as "Edutainment," have the ability to take the best qualities of addictive gameplay and the most important knowledge that we need and combine them to create a genuinely meaningful, genuinely fun and enduring experience. When a team mate of mine at www.hidefweb.com tipped me off to www.floodsim.co.uk, I decided to write about it. 
www.Floodsim.co.uk, a game that "puts you in control of all flood policy decisions and spending in the UK for 3 years," aims to "raise awareness of the vast number of issues surrounding flood policy and Government expenditure and to increase citizen engagement through an accessible simulation."
The Experience
The interface for the game is straightforward, if not disinteresting. You are ushered through screens in a tutorial-with-tooltips fashion and learn that there are three factors you'll need to be aware of as you set the UK's flood policy. You then learn of the different types of policies, both regional and national, that you'll be able to choose from for the first of three years. I found that having to keep track of three map overlays selectable via icons at the top, in addition to a good number of policy decisions in a left-aligned vertical window, made for a confusing display.
In the end, though, I was able to get used to the interface. I was more bothered by the non-player-characters (NPCs). The NPCs definitely were a "great concept, bad execution" scenario: mouth movement did not sync with what they were saying, animations were unimpressive. No doubt this was not a fault of the developers, but a constraint of budget. Nevertheless, if I had been designing the game I would have advocated for a communication device metaphor and avoided the need to design and animate characters standing on the screen altogether. The rule here is, if you can't do it well, don't do it. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh, but until educational games execute the game elements as well as regular ol' games, they'll be relegated to a sub-quality level.
Did I Win?
My biggest beef with the game was how much of a game it wasn't. I never felt great pressure, never got into a flow, never felt I was winning or losing points, never felt that my reputation as the game player was on the line. I felt more like I was interacting with a cool infographic, which was neat, but not a game.
The NPC did tell me that my first take at policy resulted in a big uprising because I hadn't accounted for the needs of rural areas (and he hung his had and shook in shame--poor animation), but how many points did I win? Did I lose? Where did I stand in the scoreboard?
"So, Did I win?" Well, I made some choices and some other choices, and x, y, z, is how I compared to the other players, but never felt that I won, lost, and could try again to improve.
My second beef is that the game coached me too much during game play. There is one segment in year two that asks me to select a building policy. I selected the first, only to be told by the NPC to basically re-think that decision. Where's the trial-and-error here? Let me make a poor decision and see the cataclysmic effects it causes, for that is the essential value of play: learning lessons when they aren't costly. In this way I think the designers of the game let the education trump the gameplay when I don't think it needed to.
In short, the game didn't account for a couple of essential game elements always present in a good game: win/lose criteria and player choice. Players play a game to solve a problem, find out if their decisions are good, and try it again til they get it to the top.
Taking Action
The end goal of the game, after all, is to insight people to act. I must say, the site did a great job of connecting me to a wealth of potential resources. For instance, not only does it tell me to "put pen to paper" by writing to my MP (if I had one here in the States) but links me up to www.writetothem.com to do just that. I would have liked to see the game-like incentives to continue here in the sense that if I did 2 actions, it would add to my points and overall standing amongst all the players--after all, the end goal is to take action, not just be informed of the problem.
Overall, the site does a great job showing me how to take action.
All in All
Though the game could have been more game-y by being more social and incentivizing the player to do better in decisionmaking, I found it to be more of a success than many other takes at "edutainment" that I have come across.
For this I say "well done" to the team that built it, no doubt under huge budgetary and time constraints
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Nov 7
Mini-games for Fatherhood: Tapping the strength of gameplay mechanics for parenting
I'm currently designing an online game for kids, a project that has tapped all sorts of mental muscles I haven't exercised for quite a while. When the project started I quickly began devouring blogs, tweets, and books on the topic of game design. Of the many kernels of wisdom that have helped me design my game is the power of what's called "mini-games."
Mini-games are simple, one-time activities a game player interacts with to achieve a quick result. One example of a mini-game is from the narratively-rich game Fable 2. Players must perform an activity (such as blacksmithing) by clicking the mouse at just the right time while a pendulum swings through a target area. Click at the right time, and your hammer hits the anvil at the right time; click outside the target area and you waste some time. One to two minutes of play and you'll have yourself a nice result. Quicky. Easy. Mini-game.
These mini-games are great 'return on investment' for game designers because they can be reused in different contexts throughout the larger game and are not difficult to program. Players can quickly grow tired of them, though, which is fine since more mini-games can be designed.
This past week I realized that this mini-game concept is not only powerful for game design, but for parenthood as well. Fathers especially have to be quick on their toes and design 'one-time activities a child interacts with to achieve a quick result,' whether that result is a change in behavior, a learning opportunity, or a pre-emptive shift in focus.
There are several mini-games that I play with my son, Kenny, that have netted great 'return on investment.' Let me share those with you and then ask what mini-games you remember from bygone days or which ones you use to accomplish a goal.
1. Countdown
Countdown is simple but priceless. You need to get out the door or into the car quickly and you don't have time to mess around, but you don't want to ruin the good day you're having with your kiddo, either. The trick is to suddenly pretend that X must be done in 10 seconds or the world is going to explode, the game is going to be lost, or some similar consequence.
I use Countdown most often when getting Kenny into his car seat. He tends to--shall we say--get easily distracted during this essential step in the ordeal, so I suddenly put on my urgent-heroic voice and say something like, "Oh man, we haaaave to get in the seat in 5, 4, 3, 2...." He always gets in the seat in about three seconds.
2. Fill in the blank
Many a times hath this mini-game diffused frustration that could quickly turn into outburst. The game is to begin a statement we often use when something spills or an accident happens, and then wait for Kenny to finish the sentence. Our two most oft-cited phrases are, "That's O[K], we can clean it [UP]," and "Accidents [HAPPEN]."
Kenny will almost always provide the 'K' and 'Up' for the first, and 'happen' for the second, and when he does it triggers a memory that, hey, we've done this before, and it really IS okay to spill, to miss something, to lose a game I was playing. Tragedy averted.
Kenny likes to initiate this mini-game, too, though his blanks are sometimes hard to fill. Case in point: We were discussing whether he'd a get a treat soon and said, "I'll get one if you w__ __." I just looked at him puzzled. What starts with a "w" here? Finally he finished it off himself: "If you wet me"--but he meant "let me". Poor guy hasn't quite got his L's yet :)
3. What movie?
You're at the dinner table and conversation has turned to something that your kiddo need not harp on. Not wanting to eat, wanting dessert but not deserving it, wanting to go play. A quick distraction I often employ is to quote a funny part of a movie and then ask, "What movie is that from?" Though this is not as fail safe as some other mini-games, Kenny will generally shift focus to this funny thing he remembered and produce the movie title.
He also likes to initiate this mini-game himself (he asks, "What is that movie from?" but I just smile inside and understand). Once again, his versions are tough, and methinks some of his quotes are from movies that apparently don't exist yet.
The game is fun to play "standalone" as well, when there isn't pressure on and a quick outcome needed. I find it helps grow memory and recall, drawing on movies that we haven't seen in some time or parts of a film that aren't standouts. Good stuff.
4. Sword, shield, rope, cage, key
When Kenny's in a sensitive, touchy mood in the morning, my leaving for work can be a tough situation. I mean, I have to go provide for the family but I'm leaving said family with kid screaming tears and wife having to deal with him.
Yes, there's an app--err, mini-game--for that. Kenny and I created on a whim one morning: I pretend that I'm going out to battle all the dragons and evil in the world (which I like to think I really am doing) and he provides me all the tools I need for the job as I get on my bike. He throws the sword, I catch it and strap it on. He throws the shield and it's quickly synched to my arm. Rope gets tied around the bike, cage (?) in my pocket, key in the other pocket.
Rather than being mad at my leaving, Kenny is put into a helper state of mind as he sees me gear up for this momentous battle. He's sharing an experience with me rather than watching me leave. As I pedal away he's happy and goes about his merry way. Priceless.
5. "Funny things" while reading
My in-laws bought Kenny a hardback volume of the original Curious George stories last Christmas. God bless 'em. No, really. I'd wager that in the past 42 weeks, 3 to 4 nights a week we've read one of the seven stories from that weighty tome. Doing a little math, that comes to roughly 120 to 160 readings of an original Curious George story. Man alive. I needed a way to spice things up. Thus, "funny things."
This mini-game is for daddy's sake as much as Kenny's. I'll simply replace words that ought to be uttered with either their opposites or something completely obsurd. Take the following: "This is George. He lived with his friend, the man in the yellow hat." When Kenny asks, "Do the funny things!" this becomes, "This is Henry. He lived with his enemy, the man in the blue hat." And Kenny will quickly and smilingly say, "Naaaaa," and provide the correct version.
I only do "funny things" for a few pages because, honey, 80 pages of un-funnied George is long, but funny things makes it longer. I feel it is teaching Kenny opposites, listening skills, and all sorts of other mental goodies.
So, those are five of our favorites. I'm curious to hear about mini-games you play with you little ones. At the dinner table? Bed time? Bath? Let the mini-games begin!
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Oct 31
How to use ustream.tv to broadcast your birthing experience to distant family
My daughter's birth two days ago was a singular experience. I'm sure any other proud father out there will attest to wonder of the miraculous process God created.
Before the day of the Big Dance, I knew I would miss having my folks and my wife's folks there in the hospital with us. When my son was born four years ago we lived in the same city and enjoyed them all being able to see the new little guy right away. I began to think of ways to bring that sense of intimacy back even though we're a day's drive away, and streaming video over the Internet came to mind. First I thought of Skype but realized that only one other party would be able to participate for video--once you add another participant in the call there is no video capability. Then I considered some of the multi-video chat services out there like Tiny Chat, but knew connectivity was sure to be an issue.
I also realized that we also wanted to maintain a sense of intimacy, which meant that any solution that allowed other participants in the stream to talk or have video would be a little too much for us. That's when I happened upon uStream.tv after googling "private video broadcast" and finding an article about a new privacy feature there. uStream.tv basically provides one-way video and audio streaming with numerous interactive features added to the experience.
I already had a ustream.tv account but had to spend a few minutes reorienting myself to the user interface, which is not the most intuitive:
I then created a new show and found the settings for it. Half way down the page there's an option to require a password. Boom. All set. I went to the show's main page where there are a slew of options for letting other people know about the show. I chose the email option and sent word to both sets of parents via email.
Voila! A very memorable stage was set for the birth experience. I set my laptop on the hospital's rolling food tray and adjusted it from time to time as our little one arrived, ensuring a 'safe' angle. Our closest family members were able to share the precious moments. They were able to text chat with me and each other as part of the ustream.tv 'show', which added another layer of meaning to the experience.
I hope you consider ustream.tv as an option if you're in the same situation we were in: a little farther from home but still wanting to share the cherished moments of life in a way that maintained a sense of intimacy for everyone.
Other notes:
- Folks had to sign up for a ustream.tv account before being able to chat. A little annoying but understandable.
- Video and audio quality were great--I was using a Mac but for PC's there is a higher-quality video encoded available for free
- I let the nurses know why the laptop was set up there--they didn't seem to mind a bit and waved at whoever was watching
- uStream.tv allows you to record segments of the show at-will. Not only can you share the moment but you can save the highlights forever as well.
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