no more band-aids
Oh, man does this take me back! I spent hour after hour playing the original handheld LED football game – working on my offensive fake-out and hammering the arrow keys into dust.
Now, I can play the game on my iPod Touch. Sure hope I don’t put my finger through the touch screen…
I’ve been following Spore since I saw the first demo at TED. I remember playing SimCity back in the day (on my Amiga 1000!), and SimEarth, and the other variants, and have really been looking forward to Spore.
It’s really a universe simulator, where players interact at various scales separated by orders of magnitude. The full game starts at the single cell stage, evolving up through multicellular life, eventually up to group and society, and finally planetary and galactic scales. What a great way to show interconnections between the various disciplines? Biochemistry through cellular biology through zoology through ecology through sociology through planetary biology and astrophysics. In a format that can be jumped into by anyone, including kids. Especially kids. What would happen if kids are able to develop a sense of these interactions and interdependencies at various scales?
I downloaded (and purchased) the full Spore Creature Creator – it’s the demo app to showcase some of the technology that will be in the final game. It lets you create creatures using a set of biological widgets, and the behaviour and charactistics of the creature are developed based on the properties of the components selected.
I put together a quick creature to see what the full demo would do, and it’s really pretty cool just how detailed the creature is. Based on the limbs and body size, the thing as a believable gate and stance. Based on the head, jaw, and body shape, it has a realistic voice – able to call and roar.
I’m REALLY looking forward to the full game.
I’ve been completely addicted to the Sharkrunners game hosted by The Discovery Channel. It’s a promotional/educational tool, aligned with their “Shark Week” sweeps week ratings booster. It uses real shark data to position 6 sharks off the southwest coast of California. You are given a boat (not quite a ship) and a few crew members. You have to plot your course to meet up with the sharks, and decide how to collect data. You get dollars for collecting good research data, which can be used to improve the boat, acquire better gear, or to hire new crew members.
It’s quite well done, with a few very minor nits. I’m just about to finish collecting full sets of data on all 6 sharks, and have gathered over $300,000 US in the process. I’ve been reinvesting every penny back into the research team, and now have an improved boat and almost all the gear I can buy.
It’s not a very challenging game, but it’s extremely compelling because it forces you to think about the geospatial data as well as trajectories, fuel consumption, state of crew fatigue, and strategies for collecting data to minimize risk. It awards you with various “accomplishments” – like collecting a full set of data for a shark, or increasing the skill level of a crew member. Some awards come with hefty cash prizes, too.
The game is also addictive because of the constant feedback you get. It runs in “real” time – it doesn’t pause when you log out. So, you set a series of waypoints for your research vessel to travel, then come back to check in on things. When a shark is in range (detected by sonar) you’ll get an email, or SMS message. I guarantee you’ll respond to those. Very cool way to keep people coming back in. There are also rewards for responding quickly. Pavlov’s dogs are slobbering all over the place.
This is an excellent game, and one that I’d definitely be using if I was teaching biology.
I’m pretty hooked on the new games for the iPod. I’ve already bought 4 of them, and am trying to hold back from buying the rest. (I know – I should have bought the bundle, but I didn’t think I’d want them all…)
They’re really great implementations, most are likely better than their desktop counterparts due to being better suited to a circular controller. I’m addicted to Zuma. Like a junkie.
But… The games seem to suck the soul out of the battery even faster than playing a video does. I played a game on the bus ride home tonight (it was raining, and I wussed out and left the bike at home) and it killed about half of the battery. That makes about an hour of gameplay on a fully charged battery? That can’t be right.
I’m hoping it’s just a battery life calibration issue, rather than an actual drain. I can always pack an extra long extension cord so I can get my fix of Zuma…
I’m pretty hooked on the new games for the iPod. I’ve already bought 4 of them, and am trying to hold back from buying the rest. (I know – I should have bought the bundle, but I didn’t think I’d want them all…)
They’re really great implementations, most are likely better than their desktop counterparts due to being better suited to a circular controller. I’m addicted to Zuma. Like a junkie.
But… The games seem to suck the soul out of the battery even faster than playing a video does. I played a game on the bus ride home tonight (it was raining, and I wussed out and left the bike at home) and it killed about half of the battery. That makes about an hour of gameplay on a fully charged battery? That can’t be right.
I’m hoping it’s just a battery life calibration issue, rather than an actual drain. I can always pack an extra long extension cord so I can get my fix of Zuma…
I’ve already bought three games for my iPod: Bejeweled, Vortex and Zuma. I’m installing the update now so I can copy them over to the iPod to play.
BUT… there are some glaring omissions from the iPod-friendly game list. How about:
I’ve already bought three games for my iPod: Bejeweled, Vortex and Zuma. I’m installing the update now so I can copy them over to the iPod to play.
BUT… there are some glaring omissions from the iPod-friendly game list. How about:
Man, does THIS take me back. C64 Games Online – a collection of old games from the Commodore 64, ported to java as applets. I have no idea how many hours I wastedspent playing these games as a kid.
My faves:
It’s odd, because I was remembering the graphics as not totally sucking. I guess it’s not bad for a 2MHz processor and 64KB of RAM though…
Man, does THIS take me back. C64 Games Online – a collection of old games from the Commodore 64, ported to java as applets. I have no idea how many hours I wastedspent playing these games as a kid.
My faves:
It’s odd, because I was remembering the graphics as not totally sucking. I guess it’s not bad for a 2MHz processor and 64KB of RAM though…
I just needed to do something different while avoiding eating lunch at my desk. I had downloaded FlightGear this morning, after mentioning it to Gord, Julian and Patrick. Fired it up, and although it’s a bit quirky, the price is right. I eventually figured out how to take off. The default plane is a Cessna, and the default field is just south of San Francisco (I didn’t know that before I took off, but recognized the landmarks pretty quickly).
One of the cooler things about this flight sim is that it’s open source – running on Windows, Linux, or MacOSX. It also downloads scenery as you fly, and is extensible by adding other locations and planes.
I turned off all of the bells and whistles, as my G4 was creaking under the load of rendering this at 1600×1200, but here’s a shot of my approach to the Golden Gate:
I just needed to do something different while avoiding eating lunch at my desk. I had downloaded FlightGear this morning, after mentioning it to Gord, Julian and Patrick. Fired it up, and although it’s a bit quirky, the price is right. I eventually figured out how to take off. The default plane is a Cessna, and the default field is just south of San Francisco (I didn’t know that before I took off, but recognized the landmarks pretty quickly).
One of the cooler things about this flight sim is that it’s open source – running on Windows, Linux, or MacOSX. It also downloads scenery as you fly, and is extensible by adding other locations and planes.
I turned off all of the bells and whistles, as my G4 was creaking under the load of rendering this at 1600×1200, but here’s a shot of my approach to the Golden Gate:
Well, iDoom, anyway. Finally got around to installing iDoom on my 3G iPod, and man, it plays nice. Surprisingly, it’s about as snappy as the original game was on the smoking fast 486 DX 66 I played it on back at the Alberta Science Centre…
I was surprised that it doesn’t use the scrollwheel to control movement – seems like it would be perfect for steering the little Doomer…
I just checked out the videos of iDoom on various iPods, and man, I need to upgrade to a colour screen version 🙂
Well, iDoom, anyway. Finally got around to installing iDoom on my 3G iPod, and man, it plays nice. Surprisingly, it’s about as snappy as the original game was on the smoking fast 486 DX 66 I played it on back at the Alberta Science Centre…
I was surprised that it doesn’t use the scrollwheel to control movement – seems like it would be perfect for steering the little Doomer…
I just checked out the videos of iDoom on various iPods, and man, I need to upgrade to a colour screen version 🙂
I just did a very dangerous thing. I downloaded the latest version of Second Life – one of those immersive massively multiplayer doowackies that I never really got into. I just threw an hour away twiddling bits to make my Second Life character kinda sorta look like me, then starting to wander around Tutorial Island. The environment is really quite cool, and I had a lot of “hey, this would be cool for a blended learning thing…” moments.
Here’s what my character looks like now:
There appear to be some rendering artifacts – in close-up view, my character has hair (but not much more than I do) and his pockets don’t contain inter-dimensional rifts. Apparently, my video card isn’t quite up to snuff…
If you sign up for a Second Life account (your first “Basic” account – what I got – is free), drop my name “Darcy Malaprop” and my character will get a few fake shekels for the referral.
I just did a very dangerous thing. I downloaded the latest version of Second Life – one of those immersive massively multiplayer doowackies that I never really got into. I just threw an hour away twiddling bits to make my Second Life character kinda sorta look like me, then starting to wander around Tutorial Island. The environment is really quite cool, and I had a lot of “hey, this would be cool for a blended learning thing…” moments.
Here’s what my character looks like now:
There appear to be some rendering artifacts – in close-up view, my character has hair (but not much more than I do) and his pockets don’t contain inter-dimensional rifts. Apparently, my video card isn’t quite up to snuff…
If you sign up for a Second Life account (your first “Basic” account – what I got – is free), drop my name “Darcy Malaprop” and my character will get a few fake shekels for the referral.
Gizmodo linked to a new machinima talk show: This Spartan Life
If you’ve seen Red vs. Blue, or some of the similar movies made using “in game” videography from some games like Halo or Quake3, you’ll know what machinima is.
But This Spartan Life takes it one step further – instead of being a scripted “in-game play” being acted out, it’s a full-blown talk show. Complete with guests, interviews, cameramen and crew, perimeter security snipers, stray rocket fire from nearby newbies, and the Solid Gold Elite Dancers.
The first episode includes an entertaining interview with Bob Stein, one of the pioneers of interactive media. It somehow adds to the conversation, watching him experiment with movement in Halo, and dodging newbie enemy fire. His entrance in a flying warthog was pretty funny, too…
What I’m really curious in, though, is how could this be used to bring guests into a class in a more interactive way than just piping them in via videoconference. Imagine your students being able to walk around with, interact with, and have personal discussions with invited guests. And, recording the session for later use/review…
This is along the lines of Mike and Rob’s class project from a couple years ago, where they took a game engine, and modeled an ancient Yemeni temple for use as a setting for inquiry-based learning by groups of students. Professors and TAs could participate as well, and students were able to explore the temple and surrounding area, interacting with in-game characters and other students.
I’m not sure what ever came of their simulation, but the technology has come a LOOOONG way since then, so I’d love to see what they could do now…
Gizmodo linked to a new machinima talk show: This Spartan Life
If you’ve seen Red vs. Blue, or some of the similar movies made using “in game” videography from some games like Halo or Quake3, you’ll know what machinima is.
But This Spartan Life takes it one step further – instead of being a scripted “in-game play” being acted out, it’s a full-blown talk show. Complete with guests, interviews, cameramen and crew, perimeter security snipers, stray rocket fire from nearby newbies, and the Solid Gold Elite Dancers.
The first episode includes an entertaining interview with Bob Stein, one of the pioneers of interactive media. It somehow adds to the conversation, watching him experiment with movement in Halo, and dodging newbie enemy fire. His entrance in a flying warthog was pretty funny, too…
What I’m really curious in, though, is how could this be used to bring guests into a class in a more interactive way than just piping them in via videoconference. Imagine your students being able to walk around with, interact with, and have personal discussions with invited guests. And, recording the session for later use/review…
This is along the lines of Mike and Rob’s class project from a couple years ago, where they took a game engine, and modeled an ancient Yemeni temple for use as a setting for inquiry-based learning by groups of students. Professors and TAs could participate as well, and students were able to explore the temple and surrounding area, interacting with in-game characters and other students.
I’m not sure what ever came of their simulation, but the technology has come a LOOOONG way since then, so I’d love to see what they could do now…