Spore Study: Wadrin (2)

With the Wadrin species sprouting legs it was only a matter of time before they frolicked to land. The creature were still very much in they’re simple cell-like form with the old appendages attached and fresh pair of legs the time to become land conquerors drew near.

A pack of your fiercest survivors make the journey to land. they create a sort of nests where they begin to sing and dance and procreate to further the existence of the Wadrin. So they give you the task of the explorer.Adventuring across the lands of Gaia in search for food and other species that inhabit the planet. At first I began walking straight up a large hill. On the other side of the hill was another pack of simple creatures with at least one leg and a mosquito-like features. At first they strayed from me and backed off in fear of the new creature they have discovered. But when I approached them they began to do simple steps almost like a rhythmic dance that I could copy. After imitating them I ha gained they’re trust. They now allowed me to roost in they’re nest if necessary and would even follow me in search of other creatures on the island.

So it was me and my mosquito-like companion will call me Mcfly for short. We were wondering around the planet which stopping to much on vegetation and various fruit spread throughout the landscape. Also found scattered about were bones and fossils which could be broken down to release new abilities and “parts” for my ultimate vegetarian alien. After some wondering I stumbled upon a giant geyser omitting this gas which belched from the earth. Mcfly was eager to show his courage, being that he was the alpha of his pack so he chose to step on that geyser. With comical action Mcfly was jetted up to at least 30 feet in the air. He landed unharmed but a llittle confused. I was too curious and decided to feel the feeling of flight which thrilled me so much I went and evolved and gained wings.

Now me I glided lightly hoping from hill to hill with a small pair of wings. I also had sprouted a bit of a bird-like beak which helped in cracking fossils and eating the various fruits in the area. After some more travels Mcfly and I stumbled across a pack of four-legged trunk nosed vermin. Who in first response to are arrival began to spit and spew at us. Mcfly was injured and couldn’t traverse much farther. I happened to glide away towards a more “friendlier” nest when to my surprise Mcfly had followed me diligently instead of returning home. But behind him lay the rat-like creatures on his trail following and spitting still obviously angry at us for no apparent reason. But hey folks this is survival.
So when the Atts stumbled upon the new nest they began to attack and spew they’re venomous bile from they’re lips on my new found allies who resembled a bit of large outstretched dogs, which at least two different mouths. A great battled ensued between the Cerberus like pooches and the venomous vermin. Let’s just say me and Mcfly did not stick around for the spoils of war. We withdrew to another crevice where we were bombarded with hunger. We had to find food fast because we were both fading fast. I did not want to eat my poor friend but if it came down to it…

Finally we came across another pair of fruit trees very relatively close to Mcfly’s own nest. So I bid my ally farewell for now since it was time to return to my own mate. We parted ways with a little sadness. As he left I stumbled upon a small pack of almost complete fuzzed creatures and saw a miraculous light in the sky. On of the creatures was being sucked into what looked like a giant-disc-shaped spaceship by a tractor beam. Which made me question what the future holds for  my wadrins ?
I arrived at the nest to find it abandoned. Some large predator ,no doubt, had sent them fleeing to find another reliable nest. Damn them to leave me with nothing in my absence but they did leave a bit of a trail to follow. Now in search of my wadrin I follow the trail of their own despair. My mate I pray for her passage in this rough world. May the new found wings we sprouted bring some hope to my species.

Spore Study: Wadrin(1)

Recently I have purchased Will Wright’s revolutionary computer game Spore. But rather then break it down or review it in the traditional sense, instead of discussing things such as sound or gameplay, I will develop a story creating two very different species in this remarkable game.Will Wright of Simcity and Sim’s fame is no stranger to putting the player in control of every detail in the sense that the player is also the creator and perhaps even the writer. For the stories that emerge from the creation of an endless array of species is remarkable in itself.

You simply start by clicking on a planet, there is a wide variety of settings and landscapes from a traditional Earth to dark recesses that can only bear a resemblance to classic Startrek planets such as Vulcan or Starwars’ Tatooine for that matter. So after selecting a planet you name the planet. I named mine simply Gaia(Greek for earth) which is appropriate because they’re is lush vegetation and plenty of water on Gaia. After that you pick an evolutionary stage to start.I want to start at the begging and further stages will be explained as I progress through them. So I chose to start from the beginning at the Cell stage. After that you are prompted if you would rather be a herbivore or a carnivore. This is where you choices will significantly alter you abilities and the way you play the game. So these journals will be of the race of creatures I have created called the Wadrin( an anagram of Darwin)who are strictly on a plant diet. The race of species will be covered latter for their story is very different because they will be galactic warlords and meat eaters. The Wadrin are in fact very different but they’re evolution now rests in the hand of me.   So without further ado; a story of life, a story of creation, the story of the Wadrin evolution.

Floating spilling into the primordial liquid of life the first of the species known as the Wadrin is alive. With a quick shreek the Wadrin goes about swimming and looking in its vast primal ocean. The creature is but a simple amoeba-like specimen. The prim is flowing with life of all kinds. Some very large creatures floating and collecting krill and other vegetation in their large jaws sucking and gasping to extinguish life. Other creatures float to other large branches which contain fragments of plant life budding with algae and plankton. Being a consumer of plant-life I swim over to these patches but I must hurry, other specimen understand the importance of food and they’re existence. After eating my fill I witness the death of a unique creature which leaves behind a glowing token of some sort for a boost in the evolution. It’s time to start climbing the ladder. It’s time to collect more plant life.

After a few narrow misses I am finally killed when a pack of ravenous creatures attack a group of my own species I interfere and soon become fish food to they’re gaping jaws. But not to worry, I am quickly respawned and the evolution can commence, but now it’s time to mate! After finding a special mate, I am given opportunities to help my species by evolving and “growing” new parts. I arrange my own vertebrae and make a squid-like creature with writhing flagella to trap plant life in my mouth. I have tentacles on my back used for gripping and propulsion’s through the aquatic abyss. Cilia on the side of my head which act as rudders which help to steer this vassal of a creature. Also on my ass I have to latest in jet-propulsion to jettison me through the water to avoid the numerous predators. Let’s not forget my two button eyes. Now unleashed on this world with more to match up with the predators who are left in my trail of bubbles. But the occasional giant monstrosity can always attack and follow me for long period of time less I avert they’re attention on a pack of other helpless sea brine. With the new tools equipped and evolution in my sights.

More plankton and algae is consumed and I’m on my journey to collect more “parts” to evolve through broken masses of meteorite that crash into the pools. Sacrificing protection and an offensive attack for speed and evasiveness I kept coming back to the basic animal instinct to fight or take flight. I choose the latter when it comes to these denizen of the deep. After a period of at least 600 million years(time flies) the Wadrin can finally sprout legs and race for the surface/ But what horrors await the simply minded Wadrin on land? IS the future simply ready for the Wadrin, or is land a whole new adventure in itself. Tune in for more entries as this evolution continues and check back for the next line of galactic marauders in my Spore stories.

A study in”Good Writing” for Games

Writing for video games is diverse for the interactive nature of video games is not JUST something that informs the player of the story;it’s the proposed foundation of the process.It must enhance and compliment the gameplay. I want it to alter the story depending on my actions.The players actions must define the story, amplyfying the game mechanics and giving purpose to the player. I want control over the fate of the character in a non-linear fashion, as I am the active participant of the story. I believe a strong narrative is very important to a game, the players must interact with the narrative. Both the dialogue and cutscenes are used to help convey the story more now then ever in video games. Cutscenes and dialogue which break the game into segments coincide to shape the outcome. A video game writer must maintain strong narrative them while making changes necessary to compliment gamplay. Move away from long CG movies and cut to the freedom of conversations. Dramatic storytelling serves the need of the gamplay.

Muzzy Field: A baseball throw away (2)

Brendan Finn

Steve Ersinghaus

23, September 2008

New Media

Step outside on my front porch and you can see the athletes through the surrounding pine trees. The band has begun and the cars are piling in. This bustle of activity can be attributed to a local high school sporting event. It is the weekly games at Muzzy Field under the Friday night lights which shine through my upstairs window and into my room. Muzzy Field has always been an important structure to me growing up. Many a nights I traversed up and down the wooden benches during a football or baseball game. Just last week they set up huge projection T.V to display a grand production for the community. It’s hard to avoid the turmoil this place conjures in it’s stands. The cheering and the pounding of the drums. Like some classic Roman coliseum with it’s grandeur, the sports and the spectating is but a baseball throw away.

The field itself is located across from Bristol’s Rockwell Park.The entrance to the park is located at the end of Muzzy Street across from an Italian bar/restaurant Sabino’s.The entrance is comprised of two 12 foot stone columns which connect ingraved are the words Muzzy Field. Usually in the front there will be one police officer and two to three park admission workers to help regulate the flow of the crowd. To the left of the entrance will be a ticket booth with two separate ticket tackers waiting inside a brick hut to disperse tickets to the masses that gather in front.The new addition added to the front allows more room for the spacious crowds that gather on Thanksgiving. This is important due to Muzzy’s large seating capacity which seats around 4,900 screaming fans.

Once you make it through the columns you are greeted by Muzzy’s majestic brick-faced grandstand. At the top you will notice four large windows which support a view at the top through the mire meshing. Straight ahead parents and supporters of the teams hand out fliers and lineups. Usually behind them they’re will be a door which leads to the home teams lockers rooms.  On the left of that doorway is a ground keepers room filled with equipment to chop the grass and thin the circling pine trees. To the left of that doorway is a ramp which leads to the lower level of the stadium. Keeping to the left you will see an alley which leads down towards the stands occupied usually by the player’s parents. There is also a concession stand which sells popcorn and hot cocoa in the winter. Past the food stand is another ramp which leads to the home field stands and seating for band members. Further along the path is a stairwell which leads to the announcer’s box.

Back at the front of the entrance this time to take a right. This leads to another ramp which connects to the lower level of the stands. Next to the ramp is a an entrance to the field to be used by umpires and medical units . Another concession is located underneath a tent and is also conveniently close to the bathrooms that line the right-hand side. Right beside the bathrooms are a pump station a room used to control sprinklers and regulate flow of toilets and water fountains(hope they’re not linked). On either sides of the bathrooms are ramps which lead to another section of seating. Going past the bathrooms to your right is an opening in the fence which is opened in the 7th inning of baseball games or the 3rd quarter in football games. Emergency personal and vehicles are waiting to cart off injured players or spectators.The entire field is surrounded by large fencing at least 9-12 feet high. Probably used to keep out stragglers and non-ticket holders, but you can still scramble up-and over in the back near the loading gates, to avoid paying the $3 for admission.

The flow of the crowd moves to the ticket booth to gain admission while packed in crowds and surrounded by roped lines. The line itself is the origin and the ticket booth is the lexica or the introduction to gain admission to the hypertext or the websites homepage. The movement of people is dispersed and then concentrated through the people and admission who keep the line orderly by minimizing the space to pass through an area which is very similar to a filter. This can be the links or the paths we take by common association through the hypertext. Whether we’re craving for food or we have to use the bathroom this common association can lead trails of your preference. By sitting in the a seat you manipulate the space in a sense. But the highest interactivity comes from the players on the field. They “modify” the field by tearing and kicking up dirt and grass. Also the scoreboard in the back can be manipulated in the announcer’s box  and only the players performance can alter the display of the board.

Forms of News Part 2 (The internet)

With the tap of my finger the motion sensing mouse clicks away to the closest search engine available. I search the word USA TODAY to view and compare the sights and the experience of viewing a newspaper online that I had previously viewed in it’s materialized state on paper. The online USA TODAY is featured in full HTML format with both 1’s and 0’s coding a publication that I had recently held in my hands. With my prints still blacked and smudged I begin typing away to search for the website. It is featured at the top of the search engine with various other links which can renew your subscription or take you to various parts, like the sports page which I was so eagerly awaiting to find. So it is relatively easy how quickly you can shift your focus in this online paper. Alot quicker then just reading it backwards like I do my Bristol Press.

The tab itself displays the words News,Travel,Wealth…(this was added to the categories list along with Travel and Tech) Usually these categories would be displayed but on the website itself it would have to justify and make their own separate categories.In the upper left-hand corner as opposed to the news on the New York Yankees is a built in search engine with the words Stories,photos,graphics and more listed. Immediately I flash back to my last piece where I wanted to find out how well Matt Cassel had done the night before so I enter his name into the search engine(powered by Yahoo). And their is a picture of Matt and various articles written by AP (associated press) and dates next to each headline. A mere minute faster then the previous search which had me thumbing though the paper by page while scanning each corner for the correct path.

While clicking through various pages to return home I notice that the advertisements are brought to the foreground. With looming pictures and graphics of Dell computers almost reaching out to grab my attention as I move from page to page. Advertisements also fill into corners of the page as little eye-grabbing-animations displaying the newest Verizon plans. Next to the search engine is three links asking to subscribe to the newspaper,subscribe to the rss(web feeds), or make usatoday.com your homepage.

A similarity glaring back at me is the young starlet Keira Knightly in the upper right hand corner. How bizarre, maybe that placement of her is a mere coincidence or maybe that format really worked for both the online and materialized publication. Underneath her picture is perhaps a slide show of various other news articles that can be displayed besides hers. Will leave her up for now. Another similarity is the headline itself which discussed the stocks closing higher. And the picture displayed is that of a women sifting through her damaged goods in Texas.

There is no direct smell coming from this particular page. Perhaps smell-o-vision of the future will induce the aroma and nostalgia of a newspaper.On my laptop I have a fixed lighting which helps to view the online publication. In the materialized state it is best to view the paper next to a good source of lighting. Contextually typing is in fact similar to thumbing I believe and rather tedious, although you wont have to go typing your way through various news articles just clicking on the links will do.

One of the most significant changes is the fact that mere common subscribers can actually chime in on the comments page to discuss the various articles. Leading me to believe that the future will be driven by wiki-like news written by the common man for the common man. That’s not to say that writers aren’t common people. But what value will a doctrine in journalism get you when Joe Blow can witness and event and post it on a website before the AP? People sifting through the online news will be updated in streaming real-time or as the events happen the writer is the common man sifting through the news he/she only wants to view specific topics pertinent to his/her life. Will the media itself be swarmed by this emergence of the local newswriter who is the everyday witness to local life?

With the digital emergence come a certain responsibility to report and write about the things we are capable of with a certain understanding. Will filtering out mass media allow for a more honest reporting? Or will it bring about scrutiny and a prevailing sense that this information is in fact unreliable, similar to Wikipedia being an unreliable source information due to the fact that it could be doctored by the everyday man. Will these changes in new media help define a broader sense of grittier more hard-nosed journalism uncompromising to the mass media? Will we sit at the breakfast table with news streaming through are collective iris as we spoon-fed both relevant news  and our cornflakes? Truly that is the Breakfast of Champions in the Kurt Vonnegut sense.

Is the dawn of the digital age the death of print, or perhaps the beginning of digital printing in media? Why settle for a small scrolled logo when you can access and entire page worth of advertisements that move and pulse toward the consumer. Only in this realm of the news, digital flow of information is key to comprising the ultimate digital experience in telling the news which is unparalleled to the outdated newsprint.

Forms of News Part 1 (The newspaper)

Brendan Finn

Steve Ersinghaus

New Media

16 September 2008

Lay down three measly quarters on the counter and an abundance of news and information is at your darkened fingerprints. The USA TODAY sat folded with at least twenty to thirty other newspapers all stacked at the front of the convenience store. At the public library newspapers are usually stacked behind clear plastic boards holding up other papers and magazines. Fore a mere seventy-five cents as shown in the upper right hand corner of the publication, I took the paper home for observation.

My family and I do not usually purchase the USA TODAY.As uninformed heathens we observe the news through the local publication the Bristol Press. The first thing I had noticed was the the Press opens in a horizontal page-by-page like a large magazine. USA today opens at first glance, in a more verical sense until you actually open up to the individual articles which are displayed horizontally. Underneath is the title and a logo of the world which seems to be motion-blurred through horizontal lines, adding underneath that it is indeed NO.1 IN THE USA.

The front page is folded and a picture of the New York Yankees is seen addressing their many troubles of the season. But what’s important here is the concept that I do not have to start at the front page.But most of the important issues and relevant new items are in the front. I never read the Press like that. In fact I usually start from the back observing local high school sports and work my way to the professional sports.Then its on to the comics and puzzles. Then I check to see if anyone I grew up with was arrested that day,or if someone had committed a bizarre crime. Usually I work my way up to the front of the page, but I despise the Yankees so I moved my eyes to the upper right hand portion displaying the beautiful Keira Knightley. Something about setting a fashion statement for her upcoming movie.But in selling papers or anything for that matter, sex sells. So you can see why USA TODAY is NO. 1,because it’s got sports and sexy starlets on the first corners of the page. A date is sprawled and underlined underneath with the definitions of the various section pertaining to News,Money,Sports, and Life. Very valuable topics which should be addressed due to their pertinence in every ones daily lives. Their is a chart on various gas prices in comparison to Regular, Mid, and Premium. In American society we are taught to read left to right. But with the display of the picture certain pictorials and articles will grab your attention. Because the paper is clearly folded on my lap as I write this, the top story which is placed right below the title has in the largest font and darkest print Markets in turmoil.

Surprisingly the first placement I was looking for were the advertisements. Without them the paper does not collect on seventy-five cents a paper only. They strive on advertisements which usually bog down pages and articles. But on this first page their is relatively few. Many are hidden underneath in logos with the brand ABC or scrolling the bottom. The sports teams which receive the most attention like the Yankees must benefit from their exposure on the front page. What about the Keira Knightly movie the Duchess(product placement) which is discussed in 1D.Are Hollywood agencies paying the papers for this exposure?

Open up the front page like a nude woman pictorial and I must grip the rest of the articles before they slide between my fingers. The pages are grainy and thick, so they can better hold the ink and prevent bleeding. The pages are course and ripe with textures from the print. With a defiant thumb I can barely smudge the words on print, and leave very little stain on my finger tips.Sifting through the course pages I discover seven holes punctured through each page.Probably for the packaging the papers are strung together. The papers overall weight is relatively heaver then that of the Press due to more substantial articles.

That definitive whiff of the paper is most pleasing . The smell of a new book which spine has just been split.Or perhaps that moldy basement smell, where the ghouls hide out in the shadows to claim you as you reach for a beer in the fridge. Perhaps its the life-force of print;ink. It’s a black blood which streaks across the front page in the caption titled just below the top story Ike expands reach, havoc.The photgraph is the largest on the front page, it shows a middle-aged man carrying at least two whole boxes of water with ice stacked on top. Many other citizens are carrying boxes of supplies and are all wearing sandals as they wade out the Ike brewing in Texas.

Being an avid football fan I wish to acquire news on the performance of New England’s backup quarterback Matt Cassel and his performance against their rivals the Jets. So from observing the small picture of Derek Jeter and A-Rod in the upper left I know that all sports on page 1C. So by thumbing through the paper, in the upper right-hand corner I can see both the current date and title of the paper. Also the last bit of information is set as a directory or code to help navigate through the paper. Simple enough the code is arranged alphabetically and numerically. 3A will always come before 1C and so forth. So by thumbing though I reach past 7B and observe some faces of NFL coaches on 1C, as an indicator I’m in the right spot. In the upper left they categorize the sports with stats of previous games and games that will be played during that day. This time I open up the paper in a more horizontal fashion like my familiar Bristol Press. Inside in the bottom left hand corner I see a comparison to backup quarterback Matt Cassel and Tom Brady. Interestingly enough they have very familiar sayings in both stats and quotes at the end of their first game as starters for New England(phew).

So I folded the sports piece back into it’s place while I leaned  back into my chair next to my laptop waiting for the next discovery of news which is really only one tab away from my blog. But how can a newspaper so relatively close and accessible be in fact so radically different then the one materialized in front of me? Can the full experience of the newspaper be altered forever in the world of digital information streaming,updating and processing faster then any form of print. My children will sit and be spoon-fed digital streaming news at their fingerprints without getting a smudge a ink on their thumbs, but at what cost? Will these newspapers be but mere tomes faded from breakfast tables quietly observed sitting on our father’s lap as our society has moved on.

Hero

“He is the hero. He is everything.”

-Raymond Chandler

In an excerpt from Maxim magazine, renown geek god Frank Miller describes his search for the hero. Miller says “He is the Hero. He is everything.(Miller) I’m dedicated to figuring out what a hero is.”

He states that he is on a constant search for a hero. He brings up four great points in determining his next hero.

1.The hero sacrifices everything

-It is a person willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good.

2. The hero is fearless.

3.The hero does nothing small. “It’s all got to happen on a grand scale,”

4.”A hero does the right thing because it’s the right thing.”

So the hero believes in good and evil.

Frank Miler will have his directorial debut based on the famed Will Eisner comic strip “The Spirit”. I highly recommend Eisner’s book “A Contract with God Trilogies” which can be found in the Tunxis library.

Neil Gaiman

This summer I was fortunate enough to read and aquire some great graphic novels. Watchmen, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Batman:Long Halloween and numerous others. I began to study the great comic writers like Frank Miller, Alan Moore, and Neil Gaiman.  The Sandman Preludes & Nocturnes is a collection of the first 8 stories of Gaiman’s beloved character Dream of the Endless or Sandman. Gaiman infuses myth and the occult in his recreation of the DC character Morpheus. One of my favorite comics in the collection is titled 24 hours. Studying up on the comic, Gaiman wrote that it was a collection of essays on stories and writers. Truly a freigtning piece of work detailing the manical meeting in the All Nite Dinner(24 Hours). The opening box in the left hand corner displays the subtle message Hour 1: The Flies Walked Into the Web. It opens with Bette a waitress who aspires to become a writer. Bette and 5 other customers are forced to become puppets in control of the classic JLA nemesis Dr. Destiny. While imprisoned in Arkham Asylum Dr.D obtains the Sandman’s dreamstone allowing him to control people’s dreams and poison they’re minds.  Dr. Destiny or Dee as he proclaims, only wants to drive the world mad and make him it’s leader. He starts off simply enough by making a children’s shows host explain the proper way to slit you’re wrist. Dee grants the customers in the restaurant they’re wildest dreams and worst nightmares. They proclaim him to be a god. He reverts them to they’re most basic animistic behavior. He makes them sing while taking advantage of the women. He murders one of them in the dark and he convinces one of them to gouge they’re eyes out. In one of the most gripping panels I have seen in a long time, he licks the blood from a man’s finger. He states he does not want to appear ungracious toward a sacrifice, but he derives no satisfaction from it.