Plug your shit

[Brad Leclerc]

I host a weekly video game related netcast/podcast/hangout/thing (wtf do you call a thing NOT on itunes these days? hah) via G+ hangouts on Air, called Game Sammich. We just passed the 6 month mark, and while it hasn't taken off like a rocket or anything, we seem to be getting a bit of traction in the last little while in the chatroom during our live recording sessions and G+ community, and it's just too much fun to do to worry about things like "audience" and "profit". It's mostly just for shits 'n giggles. If it starts growing to the point where it's actually worth something other than laughs, awesome... if not, well, it's still a pile of laughs, so whatever.

 

My job though, is doing customer support for shopify, so if you're looking to start an online store of some kind, we should chat

[Thrik]

I published an article by one of my forum regulars about the direction of first-person shooters yesterday. I didn't foresee it being so popular, it ended up on reddit almost immediately and within hours was over 2000 views. It's about 20 hours later now and it's at 60,000+ views. Jeez.

 

Which brings me to the real point here. If anyone's ever wanting somewhere to write a good guest article (ideally with a technical slant as it's a game development forum) let me know, as the forum is pretty active and articles tend to get good readership. The most popular so far have been Making a Map: CS_Museum and Technical breakdown: Assassin's Creed II. Any kind of tutorial or article looking into the process of making something seems to go down great and I personally find them fascinating.

[Nachimir]

I've been working on something for a few months, and it was announced today:

http://www.vmgs.com/

 

It's a temporary game space in Central London. We'll also have co-working desks and I'm building this hardware library for developers.

[dibs]

Ah dang I'm planning a trip to London but I think it will be after your awesome thing closes:/

[Ben X]

Looks sweet. Fine time for me to move out of London! I'll never get a go on an Oculus Rift 

[dmarlett]

New trailer for my game, you guys!

 

Woah, I like this.  Just noticed it but voted for it on Greenlight.

[Joewintergreen]

Thanks yo'.

[clyde]

I made a video about one of my creative writing techniques. It's a bit long and I end up with very little because I'm explaining it urgently rather than concentrating, but... I at least I published it!

 

[clyde]

Here is a conversation I just had with a friend after eesaldrom watched the video. I thought it was worth sharing:

 

EESALDROM:

Calculus – visualizing smooth curves and surfaces in 3D based on numbers and letters Bike-Rides – the breeze in my face as I glide downhill is magical Perception –electrical signals turning into sensory experience is so weird.

My eye looks down—at the bike, and out—at the trees as I ride downhill. The light waves enter my eye and turn to electrical signals. Electrical signals are sent from my brain to move my legs to pedal up the hill. But gravity takes me down the hill, and requires no effort, just as my creation of a visual model—based on the electrical/sensory inputs—takes no effort. Both happen easily.

Let Q be a function of speed, exertion, and aesthetics of view such that Q(s,e,v)=s-e+2v10-s , where Q describes the quality of my ride. How does the image of Q in R4 correspond to the domain S=(x,y,z) across which I ride? Find the maximums and minimums.

The light reflected from a calculus text gets transduced into electrical signals which my brain interprets as a visual scene. The visual scene is a function V(x,y), but what happens when the same signal is interpreted by my ears, in the function E(x,y)? Let the hill down which I ride is a smooth, continuous surface in 3-space, expressed as a function S(x,y,z) of some spatial inputs x,y,z. Now let the height z of hill surface s S be a function of the quality of my ride Q. What surface do ride across if the terrain is described by the quality of my ride? As speed increases and exertion approaches zero, and view increases, the quality of my ride increases, which increases the height of the hill.

...next time I should draw more of an interactive scene, instead of just 3 sort of simple symbols sitting next to each other. It got me flexing my brain into some neat shapes though, definitely, while feeling a bikey breeze on my face. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.

 

ME:

Seeing what you (specifically you) make with the method is especially rewarding. Seems like you are already in the habit of relating various aspects through calculus equations. Your mentioning of graphing on a 3 dimensional plane allowed me to visualize it in that way for the remainder of the poem. I like that. I make landscapes, you make 3d graphs. I should try it your way sometime. I especially liked how you had to subtract speed from the quality of your ride (I assumed it was because you would pass the views of high aesthetics more quickly.

 

EESALDROM:

haha yeah you got it, the faster i go the less i can look at the views (but the formatting change from msWord dropped that it was view to the power of ten minus speed...not that I expect you to be checking my work or anything)

 

Me:

Actually I was surprised that speed was being subtracted without having a more direct association to the quality of the view. I would have imagined it would be something more like "Q = ev/s". When I read your stuff I usually stare at it until I think I get what you are saying.

I love the idea that the different equations for this type of thing can reflect very subtle differences in priority and perception

 

EESALDROM:

Once speed gets higher than 10, the exponent to which view is raised goes negative, which makes it 1/v ...and so the faster I go the smaller it gets, without actually subtracting from the net quality.

 

ME:

ok, I am starting to understand how the formatting was a problem.

[Dosed]

For anyone who still gives a shit I'm still doing this. 

 

I know no one cared. 

[Justin Leego]

Nice photos Dosed. Glad you haven't been eaten alive by the wild black bears of Bavaria.

[osmosisch]

I hope the drugs were organic. Sounds like you're having fun!

 

e: if you had headed west from Hamburg into the Netherlands you would have been in my region!

[Dosed]

Aha, I'm actually going to the Netherlands for a couple of weeks I think and then possibly to Spain... it's all unclear. I don't really have anything to return home to job wise/education wise/any other commitments in any other field whatsoever so it's all good. But, the Netherlands definitely sounds like a plan. I used to go there a lot as a kid, specifically to Delft, and I fucking loved it so if there's any Dutch Thumbs that would be happy to meet up for a drink or two and show me around their miraculously unflooded cities that'd be great.

 

Cheers, they're just on my phone. I was wanting a decent camera, but I couldn't really justify the expense as I want to spend my money on travelling. I'd also have liked a disposable camera or two and I might still pick one up. Also, the drugs thing is a goof. I just put some stupid stuff in there to mess with my parents.

[James]

I very rarely create anything, and when I do I take very special care to ensure that it's entirely pointless and in many cases quite annoying:

 

[Justin Leego]

?

[I_smell]

Hey, I made a very small game project over a few days called You Have To Eat The Other Guy's Poop.

Here's me talking all about it, and about some other stuff. As with ever game project, I could sit here and talk about it all fucking day.

 

Here's some art I scruffed out recently:

                

Remember that jet-stealing game I had? It's been on the backburner as an official project for a while. It might be our next venture as a company, or it might not be.

I drew this in pre-production to try and communicate what vibe and atmosphere I want the world to have, but it's not bright and adventurous enough!!! Must do another one!!!!

 

I drew this, she liked it.

         

[Niyeaux]

I wrote a thing about arcades, for the Australian site Unwinnable.

http://www.unwinnable.com/2013/08/22/the-arcade-and-what-we-stand-to-lose-along-with-it/

[BigJKO]

Here's a poster I did for the Reykjavík Jazz Festival this year. I would tell you all to go attend it, but I doubt any of you are in Iceland. Also, it's over today!

 

[Justin Leego]

Nice work Niyeaux!

 

Also Reyjavik rocks, you got some good landmarks on that poster JKO. I didn't see anyone playing a guitar with an e-bow so that is one Icelandic music pitfall avoided...

[BigJKO]

Haha, what? An e-bow? Never heard of that.

 

I love Reykjavík, my original home town. Was very nostalgic working on that poster.

[Justin Leego]

Oh really? Lucky fellow. I had a really good time in Iceland and also didn't die in the wilds. Would love to go back and not die in the wilds again. And the Bónus pig is surely the happiest store mascot ever.

 

e-bow as in Sigur Ros' preferred guitar tormenting device of choice. Not really jazz in the conventional sense (whatever that might mean in Icelandic terms anyway) but, you know, the go-to bunch of Icelandic musos and they have played the festival before.

 

Enjoying the way there are no cars on the roads in that poster, and your snuck-in signature. My three fave illustrated persons would have to be Exuberant Drummer, Stern and Suggestive Piano Keytar Player, and Power Pose Saxophonist. Although Woody Allen on the double bass was pretty hilarious.

 

What's the story behind the blond in the top left, the one with a kid on her shoulder, if you don't mind me asking? Some sort of jazz ventriloquism double-act?

[BigJKO]

You are the best!

 

The blonde is holding a microphone at, now it seems, shoulder height? Her and her guitar player were a last minute addition, so they're.. unclearly drawn.

 

Now I wish I could go see some sort of a jazz ventriloquism double-act.

[Justin Leego]

Aha! I probably should have put glasses on for that seeing as they are quite far in the distance. Ho ho.

[syntheticgerbil]

I wrote a thing about arcades, for the Australian site Unwinnable.

That was great. I don't think I've passed a legitimate arcade originating from the 70s and 80s in over ten years though. I've always kind of wanted my own cabinet one day if I were to have the money and space.

 

Here's a poster I did for the Reykjavík Jazz Festival this year. I would tell you all to go attend it, but I doubt any of you are in Iceland. Also, it's over today!

The colors on this poster are making me feel nostalgic, but not because I have ever been to Iceland. I like it!

 

[I Saw Dasein]

I wrote a thing about arcades, for the Australian site Unwinnable.

http://www.unwinnable.com/2013/08/22/the-arcade-and-what-we-stand-to-lose-along-with-it/

Interesting article. I pass by that place almost every day on the way to work, but I've never stopped in. That whole stretch of Granville Street seems to be slowly dying off. Here is a picture of that area from a few decades ago: