Thoughtful edition.
This one made the rounds last week, but just in case you missed it, here’s Leigh Alexander’s Industry Apologetics: It’s Not Just A Game.
Former Pandemic designer Matt Harding’s Dancing 2008.
What’s wrong with the game industry (this hour). Brian Green rants a bit about the ridiculous level of secrecy pervasive in the game industry. I agree with him.
And to end it on a lighter note, Cory does thirty days of zombie movies.
This is the Telectroscope, an art installation designed by Paul St George and produced by Artichoke, the same folks responsible for the absolutely amazing Little Girl Giant a couple years back. We were (obviously) at the Brooklyn end; the connecting end was set up in London, giving visitors at each location the opportunity to view and wave hello to the other side.
The Telectroscope installation ran from May 22 to June 15, 2008.
Today’s the day we celebrate our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Take that, redcoats. For the locals, it’s also First Friday!
Too many games? Michael Zenke thinks so, Sean Hollister disagrees.
Neat, a NES in a NES cartridge. [via MAKE]
Can you believe that Anarchy Online has been around for seven years? To celebrate the longevity, Konami and FunCom have released a retrospective vid.
Throughout 2001 and early 2002 there ran a narrative experiment on Kuro5hin.org, a series of diaries by a user purporting to be Captain Alan Ledford, a run-of-the-mill starship freighter pilot who would drop in and publish the occasional account of his life and experiences as he hopped about space.
Totaling thirteen diaries over the year and a half (plus a final entry a couple years later, revealing the author and leading to a now-dead website), these sporadic stories were a highlight of K5 during that time, weaving a compelling tale within the everyday cacophony and discord of the diary section.
With apologies to K5 user tiamet whose 2003 article I’m paraphrasing, here are the Diaries of Captain Ledford:
Entry 1: How the hell do you figure the stardate, anyway?
I never did get the hang of keeping track of time out here. I suppose it’s because I never have to meet anyone, and nothing I ship is important enough to qualify as a rush delivery.
Things I have on board right now, for those interested:
Entry 2: Letter-opening
So my holo broke down today. There I was, talking to the first sentient being I’d seen in days, and the damn thing just stops working. I had to rush over to the old-fasioned viewscreen-type communicator before she left – the alternative being waiting around until the next ship happens to float by.
Entry 3: Finally got in
Got into station the day before yesterday, but I hardly had any time to relax then; deliveries are always a pain. I’d say it has something to do with the Tannanti tendency toward being completely meticulous about every little thing, only it isn’t because every Tannanti I’ve ever met is just as lazy as I am. It’s more to do with the fact that Outward Station, like nearly every sane station that I know of, has contracted out Receiving to some nameless corporation whose job it is to be completely meticulous about every little thing.
Entry 4: Will Work For Pay
Someone, get me off this station.
Entry 5: Got my travel on
My current run is from Outward Station to Poln, a tiny little planet just colonized whose people have decided they want a space station (they’ll probably call it something like ‘Outward Station’.) As my ship, great and powerful though it may be, is in no way capable of towing all the equipment which will be used to build the station, I’m doing escort work for the Hugeass Construction Corporation fleet of tugs.
Entry 6: Yotian Anomoly
Okay, I’m not famous, but I am old. And in this business, if you’ve survived this long, you automatically earn a certain amount of respect.