Ms. Henry discussed the importance of open-source software.
I personally believe that open-source software is going on the rise, and will only become more important in coming years. As I indicated in my entry on web radio, a looming redefinition of copyright will change how web developers will need to approach how they share their software.
Personally, I think that a common approach will become distributing an open-source, free version of software, and then offering a full, more powerful version for download. This will, I think, satisfy an online world where the definition of ownership grows hazier by the day.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Lena West video response
Lena West stressed the importance of responsibility in the use of social media like Facebook. She pointed out that employers today will often look at Facebook pages to determine if someone is of the character that the company is looking for. While that's not something I'm particularly comfortable with, it is reality.
While being selective about what images and posts you put online is a good idea, I prefer an alternative approach. I make sure not to associate with behavior that I would not be proud of displaying publicly, because in this day and age everything is public. By maintaining good private character, I ensure that I will maintain my employable status.
While being selective about what images and posts you put online is a good idea, I prefer an alternative approach. I make sure not to associate with behavior that I would not be proud of displaying publicly, because in this day and age everything is public. By maintaining good private character, I ensure that I will maintain my employable status.
Anaezi Modu video response
Ms. Modu's chat had a lot to do with visual branding, and especially with logos. Her site has a highly entertaining section examining the changes in logos over the years, and the different impressions that they impart.
This struck a particularly resonant chord with me, as the game design group I am presently involved with just designed its own logo. As we are the "Jersey Devil Design Studios," our logo consists of a lower case "j" and upper case "D" arranged in such a way as to resemble a flying dragon, with a stylized plume of red flame the only color on the logo.
We wanted to create something that was simple, clever, and showed what we believe we stand for. The logo is recognizable, and yet calls to mind the mysterious imagery of dragons, showing the mystique that we want to generate around our company.
Ms. Modu's chat about what logos tell you about a company is important for us to consider as we do graphic design for our games going forward.
This struck a particularly resonant chord with me, as the game design group I am presently involved with just designed its own logo. As we are the "Jersey Devil Design Studios," our logo consists of a lower case "j" and upper case "D" arranged in such a way as to resemble a flying dragon, with a stylized plume of red flame the only color on the logo.
We wanted to create something that was simple, clever, and showed what we believe we stand for. The logo is recognizable, and yet calls to mind the mysterious imagery of dragons, showing the mystique that we want to generate around our company.
Ms. Modu's chat about what logos tell you about a company is important for us to consider as we do graphic design for our games going forward.
Randall Rothenberg video response
Mr. Rothenberg discussed, among other things, his belief that a liberal arts education was an important aspect of any matriculation. He felt that no education was complete without the diversity that the liberal arts offer, something that is very strongly opposed among the proponents of older, more mathematically-based education.
I'm of two different thoughts on that matter. On one hand, I do feel that a diverse education is nothing but an asset to students of more artistic pursuits. As important as technical skills are to us, nothing, absolutely nothing, is as critical as inspiration, and the best way to obtain inspiration is by diversifying our interests and experiences.
However, for science students, I feel the opposite is true. For those who intend to become engineers, I think that liberal arts courses could detract their focus from more challenging material and hurt their grades.
It's an interesting position, Rothenberg's, and it's certainly one that merits consideration.
I'm of two different thoughts on that matter. On one hand, I do feel that a diverse education is nothing but an asset to students of more artistic pursuits. As important as technical skills are to us, nothing, absolutely nothing, is as critical as inspiration, and the best way to obtain inspiration is by diversifying our interests and experiences.
However, for science students, I feel the opposite is true. For those who intend to become engineers, I think that liberal arts courses could detract their focus from more challenging material and hurt their grades.
It's an interesting position, Rothenberg's, and it's certainly one that merits consideration.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Web Radio
The Recording Industry Artist's Association has continued to shoot themselves in the foot. Their stance on the debate on web radio royalties will only hurt the music industry, especially if they win.
For those not in the know, the music industry recently came knocking before Congress, looking for a way to pad revenue in difficult economic times. Their proposed solution was to impose a royalty tax on terrestrial radio, and increase the rate on web radio. The proposed rates would destroy all viable forms of the burgeoning web radio business.
It would, truthfully, mark the end of a historically successful business model: artists and labels pay the stations for airtime, not the other way around. It's essentially a form of advertising. This move, however, is going to leave the already struggling radio stations with no alternative but to either be driven into bankruptcy by this decision, or make the move to independent music, something the RIAA does not want, to be sure.
The idea that radio, even web radio stations like Pandora, hurt music revenue is laughable. Most of the music I own today, all legally purchased, I would have never even heard of were it not for Pandora. The RIAA maintains that a web radio listener could use it as a replacement for a music collection, which is frankly untrue.
Note that I don't defend music piracy. The RIAA's lawsuits are outlandish, but there is the ever present air of "Aha! I found a loophole!" in the attitudes of the music pirates.
Thankfully, Congress allowed web radio to survive, in a weakened form, but the RIAA is going to continue to harp about this until either radio, or the recording industry, is destroyed.
For those not in the know, the music industry recently came knocking before Congress, looking for a way to pad revenue in difficult economic times. Their proposed solution was to impose a royalty tax on terrestrial radio, and increase the rate on web radio. The proposed rates would destroy all viable forms of the burgeoning web radio business.
It would, truthfully, mark the end of a historically successful business model: artists and labels pay the stations for airtime, not the other way around. It's essentially a form of advertising. This move, however, is going to leave the already struggling radio stations with no alternative but to either be driven into bankruptcy by this decision, or make the move to independent music, something the RIAA does not want, to be sure.
The idea that radio, even web radio stations like Pandora, hurt music revenue is laughable. Most of the music I own today, all legally purchased, I would have never even heard of were it not for Pandora. The RIAA maintains that a web radio listener could use it as a replacement for a music collection, which is frankly untrue.
Note that I don't defend music piracy. The RIAA's lawsuits are outlandish, but there is the ever present air of "Aha! I found a loophole!" in the attitudes of the music pirates.
Thankfully, Congress allowed web radio to survive, in a weakened form, but the RIAA is going to continue to harp about this until either radio, or the recording industry, is destroyed.
Monday, November 23, 2009
A little bit on sports
Like many people in South Jersey, I follow Philadelphia sports with a perhaps unhealthy degree of loyalty. Like many people in the United States, I watched the Eagles/ Bears game on Sunday Night Football yesterday. I decided to take some space here to discuss it, because it's something I feel strongly about.
1. I'm not sure that Sav Rocca's going to pan out. An 11 yard punt just isn't going to cut it in this league, or any league, really. Rocca seems to alternate between kicking sixty yards and twenty, but I'd personally rather have one that just consistently hit 35.
2. DeSean Jackson's really found his role in the Eagle offense. Early in his rookie year, the Eagles were using him in a very slot-receiver, hooks-and-slants, Wes Welker-type role. They've learned to compensate for his size and take better advantage of his speed by turning him into a Randy Moss-style bombs-away receiver. His 48-yard touchdown reception last night was his shortest score of the year, which is really just remarkable.
2. The defense needs outside linebacker Akeem Jordan back. The defense has looked throughly mediocre against Dallas, San Diego, and now Chicago, and the depletion of the linebacking corps seems to be the only apparent cause.
3. Here's hoping that Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel are both healthy. Having Quentin Mikell and Macho Harris playing corner might work against Chicago receivers Devin Hester and Johnie Knox, but it won't work as well against Washington receivers Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El, and it really won't work against San Francisco receivers Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan.
4. It's nice to be able to run, huh? Good game by LeSean McCoy last night filling in for Brian Westbrook, who I'm not expecting to see in uniform again.
5. Speaking of which, it's good to see the league paying more attention to concussions. They're very serious injuries, and in the past players were willing to play through them. The inuries to Westbrook, et al. has finally brought some needed attention to the issue. As much as I'd love to see Brian Westbrook back, it's not remotely worth it if it means he'd be in a wheelchair the rest of his life.
6. The people on Football Night in Philly are a little annoying. I'm no fan of the Michael Vick signing, and I'm not going to pretend that he's been productive this year, but last night the talking heads on FNP were downplaying Vick's 35-yard run because "it's not the Wildcat. McNabb's not on the field." It seems to me to be a rather irrelevant distinction.
7. That's hardly a defense of Vick. The direct-snap offense has been much more potent with WR Jeremy Maclin, WR DeSean Jackson, and RB LeSean McCoy that it has been with Vick.
8. Not the Eagles game, but I never thought in a million years that I would have actually wanted to see a Cleveland Browns/ Detroit Lions game. What a wild finish.
1. I'm not sure that Sav Rocca's going to pan out. An 11 yard punt just isn't going to cut it in this league, or any league, really. Rocca seems to alternate between kicking sixty yards and twenty, but I'd personally rather have one that just consistently hit 35.
2. DeSean Jackson's really found his role in the Eagle offense. Early in his rookie year, the Eagles were using him in a very slot-receiver, hooks-and-slants, Wes Welker-type role. They've learned to compensate for his size and take better advantage of his speed by turning him into a Randy Moss-style bombs-away receiver. His 48-yard touchdown reception last night was his shortest score of the year, which is really just remarkable.
2. The defense needs outside linebacker Akeem Jordan back. The defense has looked throughly mediocre against Dallas, San Diego, and now Chicago, and the depletion of the linebacking corps seems to be the only apparent cause.
3. Here's hoping that Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel are both healthy. Having Quentin Mikell and Macho Harris playing corner might work against Chicago receivers Devin Hester and Johnie Knox, but it won't work as well against Washington receivers Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El, and it really won't work against San Francisco receivers Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan.
4. It's nice to be able to run, huh? Good game by LeSean McCoy last night filling in for Brian Westbrook, who I'm not expecting to see in uniform again.
5. Speaking of which, it's good to see the league paying more attention to concussions. They're very serious injuries, and in the past players were willing to play through them. The inuries to Westbrook, et al. has finally brought some needed attention to the issue. As much as I'd love to see Brian Westbrook back, it's not remotely worth it if it means he'd be in a wheelchair the rest of his life.
6. The people on Football Night in Philly are a little annoying. I'm no fan of the Michael Vick signing, and I'm not going to pretend that he's been productive this year, but last night the talking heads on FNP were downplaying Vick's 35-yard run because "it's not the Wildcat. McNabb's not on the field." It seems to me to be a rather irrelevant distinction.
7. That's hardly a defense of Vick. The direct-snap offense has been much more potent with WR Jeremy Maclin, WR DeSean Jackson, and RB LeSean McCoy that it has been with Vick.
8. Not the Eagles game, but I never thought in a million years that I would have actually wanted to see a Cleveland Browns/ Detroit Lions game. What a wild finish.
Monday, November 2, 2009
What is a Hero?
So, there's a new project in the wings, one that centralizes on a key question: what is a hero?
We all need heroes. Like it or not, there's always someone we try to emulate, someone we look up to; and I want to know what characteristics define that person.
What makes a little boy pick up and stick and pretend to slay dragons? Is it because his hero is a Luke Skywalker, the anointed chosen one? Or is it because his hero is simply a good man? Would someone be less of a hero if they learned that they were not, as previously supposed, preordained to save the world?
Abraham Lincoln is an icon of mine, and I feel that what gets lost in his deification (the Lincoln Memorial was designed to look like the Temple of Zeus) is that Abraham Lincoln was a good, good man. Would he be less of a good man if he'd never won the presidency? Probably not, in my view. But, at the same time, I would have never heard of him.
It's basically going to be a deconstruction of the idea of a hero, and I look forward to bringing it to you.
We all need heroes. Like it or not, there's always someone we try to emulate, someone we look up to; and I want to know what characteristics define that person.
What makes a little boy pick up and stick and pretend to slay dragons? Is it because his hero is a Luke Skywalker, the anointed chosen one? Or is it because his hero is simply a good man? Would someone be less of a hero if they learned that they were not, as previously supposed, preordained to save the world?
Abraham Lincoln is an icon of mine, and I feel that what gets lost in his deification (the Lincoln Memorial was designed to look like the Temple of Zeus) is that Abraham Lincoln was a good, good man. Would he be less of a good man if he'd never won the presidency? Probably not, in my view. But, at the same time, I would have never heard of him.
It's basically going to be a deconstruction of the idea of a hero, and I look forward to bringing it to you.
Monday, October 26, 2009
So I just got back from the Philadelphia Game Jam, a subset of the Philadelphia Game Exposition, a minor convention devoted to interactive entertainment. A few thoughts:
Congratulations to the TCNJ Yellow team, who took home the prize for "Most Loyal to the Theme." We were given a quote, and ran with it to create a game in forty-eight hours starting at noon this past Friday: "An age is not dark because there is no light in it, but because people refuse to see the light." What Yellow made is hard to do justice to in written form, but suffice it to stay that it was artistically fantastic, and if I get the chance I'll post the link to the file.
Well done to Blue and Red too, both of home made strong showings as well. Blue, it was a privelege to work with you these past two days.
Seeing how much was accomplished in two days, from scratch, gives me great hope for finishing Superduck Racing over the next six months. It'll get done, folks.
The only really major title that was on the show floor was Dante's Inferno, which looks like a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. Combat system had great flexibility and immersion from what I saw; but, like God of War before it, a lot of people are going to be turned off by the graphic aesthetic. The demo level playable at the show was based on the Circle of Hell reserved for those who lust, and quite everything was sexualized in some demented sort of way. The boss fight took place on a platform meant to symbolize the birthing process, while you fought a giant topless lady. No, seriously.
Halolz.com was there, distributing hacked Pokemon. I got a shiny Mudkip, which makes me very happy.
So, too, was the Philadelphia Union soccer team. I'm greatly anticipating their debut in April.
So, long story short, I highly recommend the Game Jam. It's a great contest, you really get to flex your creative muscle in creating something brilliant enough to succeed, but simple enough that you can get it done. It was a wonderful time, and I got to know my schoolmates a lot better in the process. Fun for all.
Congratulations to the TCNJ Yellow team, who took home the prize for "Most Loyal to the Theme." We were given a quote, and ran with it to create a game in forty-eight hours starting at noon this past Friday: "An age is not dark because there is no light in it, but because people refuse to see the light." What Yellow made is hard to do justice to in written form, but suffice it to stay that it was artistically fantastic, and if I get the chance I'll post the link to the file.
Well done to Blue and Red too, both of home made strong showings as well. Blue, it was a privelege to work with you these past two days.
Seeing how much was accomplished in two days, from scratch, gives me great hope for finishing Superduck Racing over the next six months. It'll get done, folks.
The only really major title that was on the show floor was Dante's Inferno, which looks like a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. Combat system had great flexibility and immersion from what I saw; but, like God of War before it, a lot of people are going to be turned off by the graphic aesthetic. The demo level playable at the show was based on the Circle of Hell reserved for those who lust, and quite everything was sexualized in some demented sort of way. The boss fight took place on a platform meant to symbolize the birthing process, while you fought a giant topless lady. No, seriously.
Halolz.com was there, distributing hacked Pokemon. I got a shiny Mudkip, which makes me very happy.
So, too, was the Philadelphia Union soccer team. I'm greatly anticipating their debut in April.
So, long story short, I highly recommend the Game Jam. It's a great contest, you really get to flex your creative muscle in creating something brilliant enough to succeed, but simple enough that you can get it done. It was a wonderful time, and I got to know my schoolmates a lot better in the process. Fun for all.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Making People Happy
So you might be wondering what Jersey Devil Design Studios stands for.
In short, we're an independent video games company. Currently, there are only a handful of tech demos that are posted to the site, but I assure you, it's not going to stay that way for long. We've got big dreams, and we intend to fulfill them to the best of our ability.
The big project right now, and the one that most of our site's coverage is devoted to, is Superduck Racing. Development is underway, and our present intention is for a May launch. The reason for this is twofold:
1. We're intending to submit Superduck Racing for PAX 10 at the coming Penny Arcade Expo 2010, and it's got a spring deadline.
2. All of the members of our development team are currently enrolled at The College of New Jersey, and one of the crowning accomplishments of any art student at TCNJ is to appear in the spring's Festival of the Arts. Before we stick our necks out on the national stage, we're hoping that we can generate some positive buzz in our own backyard, in the same place that was so essential to creating SDR in the first place. We feel that, seeing how supportive that the school has been to us, it's only fair that we debut Superduck Racing to its student body and faculty first.
That's not all that we're doing, either. We intend to be a comprehensive multimedia site, and our projects are going to reach beyond just video games. Initially, we currently have scheduled the release of the upcoming novel All-Thing, and more material may potentially follow, including MP3 downloads of the bittune Superduck Racing soundtrack.
We don't have much to show you right now: indeed, we're very much under construction. You might not be impressed right now, but I implore you: keep us in the back of your mind, because this website is going to become something fantastic in just a few short months.
In short, we're an independent video games company. Currently, there are only a handful of tech demos that are posted to the site, but I assure you, it's not going to stay that way for long. We've got big dreams, and we intend to fulfill them to the best of our ability.
The big project right now, and the one that most of our site's coverage is devoted to, is Superduck Racing. Development is underway, and our present intention is for a May launch. The reason for this is twofold:
1. We're intending to submit Superduck Racing for PAX 10 at the coming Penny Arcade Expo 2010, and it's got a spring deadline.
2. All of the members of our development team are currently enrolled at The College of New Jersey, and one of the crowning accomplishments of any art student at TCNJ is to appear in the spring's Festival of the Arts. Before we stick our necks out on the national stage, we're hoping that we can generate some positive buzz in our own backyard, in the same place that was so essential to creating SDR in the first place. We feel that, seeing how supportive that the school has been to us, it's only fair that we debut Superduck Racing to its student body and faculty first.
That's not all that we're doing, either. We intend to be a comprehensive multimedia site, and our projects are going to reach beyond just video games. Initially, we currently have scheduled the release of the upcoming novel All-Thing, and more material may potentially follow, including MP3 downloads of the bittune Superduck Racing soundtrack.
We don't have much to show you right now: indeed, we're very much under construction. You might not be impressed right now, but I implore you: keep us in the back of your mind, because this website is going to become something fantastic in just a few short months.
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