Back to this real world stuff but still more interesting than SL! First person shooter, visual representation of the army's recruitment tool, promotes teamwork, online multi-player game.
The people interviewed and the training area look completely different from what we covered last semester. It looks like a real recruiting office! The realism and the open frankness of the heroes interested parties can interact with is fascinating. Kinda creepy, the way their eyes follow the camera angle, too.
Goal: piquing people's interest in the army
Were they successful? Well, they met their recruitment quotas soon after (although war broke out around the same time which created an urgent sense of patriotism so the data may be skewed)
The training simulations mimic real life fairly well. When you run, your aim suffers because of heavy breathing and just the movement of running. Taking too long to aim, holding your rifle out too long, tires your arm and affects your aim; the game compensates for most variables including getting a non-fatal wound. I was not prepared for such realism in a game but it does make sense.
Even in training, the drill sergeant explains that several factors affect targeting. The part that is unrealistic is the ability to turn the drill sergeant down... But killing your teammates will land you in jail and too much wind will miss a perfectly lined up target. The firing range looks generic; it could be anywhere. But it is, in 'virtu-ality' (as opposed to 're-ality') Fort Benning, GA.
Two forces: mine and the enemy. Opposing forces are always shown to be terrorists; my team is always depicted in army uniforms. Regardless of which 'side' chosen, my team is always the army and the others are always terrorists.
This is not like Halo or many other first-person shooters.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
I did it!
I figured out how to upload my page! I couldn't get the links to work, but the tech guy I spoke with said that my page names have to be identical to the links to make them work, and now that I know how to do it, I want to add some pictures to make it more interesting. So I can now tell people to check out corianderanscloves.com and I can start writing the next 20 pages of my dissertation...fortunately I made many blunders, enough to cover a lot of text!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Paper requirements
Dec. 6--final deadline for project
Presentation is IMPORTANT
10 minute in-class presentation on the 4th
DON'T FORGET THE PAPER PART OF THE PROJECT!!!!!!!
What is my project?
Not just a laundry list or prose description
Why did I choose this project?
What makes this good, what makes people notice this concept
How did I complete this project?
What were some of the obstacles, goals I've reached, things that I had to cut out
Conclusion:
Outcome of the project, was it a success, how could I improve
Once the conclusion is written, go back and adjust the introduction!! Creative processes take unforeseen turns so the intro may not adjust or be accountable for these turns unless I revise. Tie up loose ends or remove them all together.
Presentation is IMPORTANT
10 minute in-class presentation on the 4th
DON'T FORGET THE PAPER PART OF THE PROJECT!!!!!!!
What is my project?
Not just a laundry list or prose description
Why did I choose this project?
What makes this good, what makes people notice this concept
How did I complete this project?
What were some of the obstacles, goals I've reached, things that I had to cut out
Conclusion:
Outcome of the project, was it a success, how could I improve
Once the conclusion is written, go back and adjust the introduction!! Creative processes take unforeseen turns so the intro may not adjust or be accountable for these turns unless I revise. Tie up loose ends or remove them all together.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
It's crack down day!
Serious games: games that have some sort of message
Fun games are just pure entertainment
Serious entertainment however is much, much more
Games = corruption of youth
but then, excess of any one thing is not good and games are of course included
flow: the force/state of mind when time ceases to exist and you just go with it...i.e. when playing a video game and unable to stop until you beat it
No other media captures attention like games which I suppose is why there are so many educational games for children these days.
Graphic novels can tell stories that are just as deep as (real) novels but get a bad rap as being just for kids, so adults don't take it serious: it's a comic book not a book. This problem is also attributed to video games: can't possible be serious because it is, after all, a game.
September 12 game: the goal is to kill terrorists in the town. There are many civilians in the town, too, so it's impossible to take out a terrorist without "taking out" some townspeople too. Every time you kill a civilian, they turn into terrorists. The more you kill, the more terrorists you have. You cannot win this game. You just create more terrorists until there are no civilians left. After every missile you deploy hits, a group of civilians gather to cry. After the sobs, the game make a chirping noise as the criers become terrorists.
Violence breeds violence!
Madrid is the candle game; keep the flame (and the memory of the person it's lit for) burning. Message: it's impossible for one person to keep all the candles lit! The instructions say "you have to keep trying" but the player burns out and then the candles burn out and the people/candles/memories fade to black.
Now we're playing some games on powerfulrobot.com but my favorite game from last semester, Cambiemos, is no longer available to play. :( The only game that worked at this computer workstation was the Howard Dean game for canvassing. I'm kinda glad because the Powerpuff girls game looks very frustrating whereas Dean was more droll. These little games are perfect for simply killing time without any real purpose. I liked the Dexter game, too, as I recall but I couldn't load the plugins for that and many other games. I've never liked the repetitive games because there's no room for my imagination; I don't even play solitaire (on the computer or with cards). Little time killers hold no interest for me outside this class; I just don't get it. I'd rather read a book or an interesting article (or even sometimes a gossip column).
But if I've got a couple of hours to pass, I do enjoy World of Warcraft. It allows room for my imagination within the game. I can quest or explore or level or go to an arena or make stuff or just socialize. My characters can even enjoy a party and get drunk while socializing. And there are a myriad of ways to defeat enemies and those ways keep increasing as my character levels. It's not just a time killer because I'm fully engaged in the game. I guess that's why I like it. It's not just mindless tedium; I can mow the lawn or fold laundry or do dishes if I'm just looking for mindless tedium and those activities are useful!
Powerful visual messages can be acquired from video games I suppose but they're really just not for me. And no, I don't click on the mini-games within ads that flash across my screen while I'm waiting for my pictures to load on my myspace page. Games are not just entertainment; educational games are not just for learning. They blend the boundaries between fun and learning.
Fun games are just pure entertainment
Serious entertainment however is much, much more
Games = corruption of youth
but then, excess of any one thing is not good and games are of course included
flow: the force/state of mind when time ceases to exist and you just go with it...i.e. when playing a video game and unable to stop until you beat it
No other media captures attention like games which I suppose is why there are so many educational games for children these days.
Graphic novels can tell stories that are just as deep as (real) novels but get a bad rap as being just for kids, so adults don't take it serious: it's a comic book not a book. This problem is also attributed to video games: can't possible be serious because it is, after all, a game.
September 12 game: the goal is to kill terrorists in the town. There are many civilians in the town, too, so it's impossible to take out a terrorist without "taking out" some townspeople too. Every time you kill a civilian, they turn into terrorists. The more you kill, the more terrorists you have. You cannot win this game. You just create more terrorists until there are no civilians left. After every missile you deploy hits, a group of civilians gather to cry. After the sobs, the game make a chirping noise as the criers become terrorists.
Violence breeds violence!
Madrid is the candle game; keep the flame (and the memory of the person it's lit for) burning. Message: it's impossible for one person to keep all the candles lit! The instructions say "you have to keep trying" but the player burns out and then the candles burn out and the people/candles/memories fade to black.
Now we're playing some games on powerfulrobot.com but my favorite game from last semester, Cambiemos, is no longer available to play. :( The only game that worked at this computer workstation was the Howard Dean game for canvassing. I'm kinda glad because the Powerpuff girls game looks very frustrating whereas Dean was more droll. These little games are perfect for simply killing time without any real purpose. I liked the Dexter game, too, as I recall but I couldn't load the plugins for that and many other games. I've never liked the repetitive games because there's no room for my imagination; I don't even play solitaire (on the computer or with cards). Little time killers hold no interest for me outside this class; I just don't get it. I'd rather read a book or an interesting article (or even sometimes a gossip column).
But if I've got a couple of hours to pass, I do enjoy World of Warcraft. It allows room for my imagination within the game. I can quest or explore or level or go to an arena or make stuff or just socialize. My characters can even enjoy a party and get drunk while socializing. And there are a myriad of ways to defeat enemies and those ways keep increasing as my character levels. It's not just a time killer because I'm fully engaged in the game. I guess that's why I like it. It's not just mindless tedium; I can mow the lawn or fold laundry or do dishes if I'm just looking for mindless tedium and those activities are useful!
Powerful visual messages can be acquired from video games I suppose but they're really just not for me. And no, I don't click on the mini-games within ads that flash across my screen while I'm waiting for my pictures to load on my myspace page. Games are not just entertainment; educational games are not just for learning. They blend the boundaries between fun and learning.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Computer Graphics
Computer enhanced and generated film images and film
Most images today are computer generated or enhanced and are produced digitally. Even movies! (since Star Wars Episode 2 was the first completely digital movie that wasn't all animated)
Shrek and other Pixar and Dreamworks movies are all digitally animated
I think Toy Story was the first all-digital animated movie; I love the short clips at the beginning of Pixar movies!
Striving for animated photo-realism
Eragon--there are no real dragons so that one is so digital
Lord of the Rings
Narnia
300 (a superb example of digital enhancement :)
Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino
A page from history: c prompts and such from old OLD computers that didn't understand anything unless you were super specific about what you want! And then Macintosh was born in 1984 and all those old interfaces became obsolete as we all took bites out of this new fruit of knowledge, the Apple computer!
In word, all of the options are available in pull-down menus collected into category tabs at the top of the screen. That's visual communication!
The animated office assistant...everyone's favorite brown-nosing communicator! I like the wizard because he falls asleep and snores if you don't use him. I also like the bouncy ball and the robot and the dog and the kitten who chases his tail. The paperclip is rather overused, so I never use that one, but the others are friendly and not quite so annoying.
I think if you use the dog, he'll chase your cursor if you wave it around.
Google maps--I've never used it but it's kinda creepy that I can zoom in far enough to see if there are any parking spaces at the library!
I can see my house from here! I don't know if I'm fascinated or really creeped out that I can map the route I take when I walk my dogs with the neighborhood kids and see it from an aerial view!
I think I'm gonna go with creepy, but only slightly more so than fascinating.
And I can follow the roads to my parents house and up the street from them to the creek where I used to play when I was a kid and into the forest, but it doesn't zoom in close enough to see the structures hidden by the trees. OMG I just can't wait to show Max! My mother will be upset, though.
Most images today are computer generated or enhanced and are produced digitally. Even movies! (since Star Wars Episode 2 was the first completely digital movie that wasn't all animated)
Shrek and other Pixar and Dreamworks movies are all digitally animated
I think Toy Story was the first all-digital animated movie; I love the short clips at the beginning of Pixar movies!
Striving for animated photo-realism
Eragon--there are no real dragons so that one is so digital
Lord of the Rings
Narnia
300 (a superb example of digital enhancement :)
Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino
A page from history: c prompts and such from old OLD computers that didn't understand anything unless you were super specific about what you want! And then Macintosh was born in 1984 and all those old interfaces became obsolete as we all took bites out of this new fruit of knowledge, the Apple computer!
In word, all of the options are available in pull-down menus collected into category tabs at the top of the screen. That's visual communication!
The animated office assistant...everyone's favorite brown-nosing communicator! I like the wizard because he falls asleep and snores if you don't use him. I also like the bouncy ball and the robot and the dog and the kitten who chases his tail. The paperclip is rather overused, so I never use that one, but the others are friendly and not quite so annoying.
I think if you use the dog, he'll chase your cursor if you wave it around. Google maps--I've never used it but it's kinda creepy that I can zoom in far enough to see if there are any parking spaces at the library!
I can see my house from here! I don't know if I'm fascinated or really creeped out that I can map the route I take when I walk my dogs with the neighborhood kids and see it from an aerial view!
I think I'm gonna go with creepy, but only slightly more so than fascinating.
And I can follow the roads to my parents house and up the street from them to the creek where I used to play when I was a kid and into the forest, but it doesn't zoom in close enough to see the structures hidden by the trees. OMG I just can't wait to show Max! My mother will be upset, though.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
videogames
Since we're starting to cover videogames, I thought I'd share some screenshots of the only game I play. This is Celticwitch, my main character. She's a night elf priestess. I took her trick or treating and she got a ninja costume. She's in Auberdine on Dark Shore in this pic because the backdrop was the best for this costume!
On the right is Sorrie, a blood elf. She's my Horde main. I like her because she's sassy. Blood elves like pretty things and they like their magic to make things pretty. But they don't want to use their own magic; they take it from others and hoard their own magic! But I still like her. Horde is a completely different game from Alliance and much, much more difficult. For me, anyway.
This is Nucleardemon, Max's favorite character. He's a gnome warlock and he has an imp that is very rude and sometimes talks back. He went trick-or-treating too and got a night elf mask! Sometimes, when Pagyel is rude, we let him get himself killed as punishment but when we reconjure him, he's still rude. Max likes Nucleardemon best because he's little and fast just like himself.
On the right is Scrunchie, Max's main. He's a night elf rogue who has been "tricked" instead of treated! The innkeeper in Darnassus turned him into a cat! Normally he's very imposing.
project page
I made a website in Word and this is sorta what it looks like but I don't know how to upload it to the site. It's a very simple design and there are two other pages, one with the menu and one with our prices.
Here goes:
Coriander and Cloves
Contents
What we offer
Work Information
Job Title
We offer home cooked entrees delivered right to your door! It doesn’t get any better than this: we do the grocery shopping and the cooking. Many of our entrees and casseroles are stand-alone meals and you can add your own vegetables or rice to complete your healthy meals for the others.
Key responsibilities
We do all our grocery shopping in advance, so your orders must be in by
Department or workgroup
Type some text.
Favorite Links
www.myspace.com/corianderandcloves
www.preciousthyme.com our inspiration!
Contact Information
E-mail address
Web address
Office phone
864-356-0763
864-222-3437
Current Projects
Monthly menu updates
Myspace blog and pictures
logo
Soups, salads and desserts
Online ordering
Printing flyer menus for distribution
Biographical Information
Carrie is a full time student at
Jen is a full time mother to her two children and a real estate assistant. She cooks at home for friends and family with a fabulous low country flair! She has over 7 years experience in food service.
Personal Interests
We like to cook!!
Family time is important, but so is alone time. Balance in all things!!
Last revised: Date
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Progress on project
I designed a web page on word but I can't upload it to the .com for some reason. I guess word doesn't work with the software from the web host? But I've kept up my myspace page for Coriander & Cloves except we need to post a November menu. I made a slide show of several entrees, though, to illustrate our October menu.
My sister's husband is printing our flyers as time permits for him since he's doing it at cost for his sister-in-law and I'm so excited!
I've gotten a few ideas for a logo but the one I like best is still too busy so it's still back to the drawing board on that one.
My sister's husband is printing our flyers as time permits for him since he's doing it at cost for his sister-in-law and I'm so excited!
I've gotten a few ideas for a logo but the one I like best is still too busy so it's still back to the drawing board on that one.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Project milestone due!!
So I'll be turning in my project notes for my project because I've been working on it this whole time of course since it's a subject very near and dear to my heart. I have a rough draft. I haven't uploaded the page correctly yet to my .com so I'm struggling, I guess, but the MySpace page is still coming along and we've gotten several inquiries about prices and deliveries but no customers from there yet. We're still looking for a printer to print menus at a cost that will allow them to be disposable so we can inundate Anderson with our images. My sister's husband is a printer so he offered to do it for us at cost but on his own time so we're playing tag now with some modifications he suggests.
CSI in class:
Ist episode of season 3
I've never watched this show but this is rather interesting and definitely tension-inducing!
Where is the tension?
First "cliff hanger" comes just before the opening credits and likely commercial.
Tensions keep cropping up at the end of each scene so there are lots of little peaks before even the first commercial break!
And the tensions keep coming as the plot thickens...
"It's not what did happen it's what a jury believes what could have happened!" Very clever! And just before another commercial break.
Where are the resolutions?
first resolution begins once the program returns as they take the suspect away.
The next resolution doesn't even come until late in the "trial", very late in the episode, actually just prior to end credits! What a relaxing evening...tense for an entire hour without relief before a resolution occurs!
CSI in class:
Ist episode of season 3
I've never watched this show but this is rather interesting and definitely tension-inducing!
Where is the tension?
First "cliff hanger" comes just before the opening credits and likely commercial.
Tensions keep cropping up at the end of each scene so there are lots of little peaks before even the first commercial break!
And the tensions keep coming as the plot thickens...
"It's not what did happen it's what a jury believes what could have happened!" Very clever! And just before another commercial break.
Where are the resolutions?
first resolution begins once the program returns as they take the suspect away.
The next resolution doesn't even come until late in the "trial", very late in the episode, actually just prior to end credits! What a relaxing evening...tense for an entire hour without relief before a resolution occurs!
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