gewgaw

Gama posted an in-depth interview with Keita re: the Nottingham park project. It does a great job of capturing his current state of mind.. especially as it relates to his feelings about being a “game” designer.

I liked this part especially:

After the press conference, one of GameCity’s organizers drove Takahashi to the local art store where he filled his basket with crayons, stickers, pens, sheaths of paper and, of course, a coat hanger. Then they took a taxi to this room, and closed the door behind him.

It’s hard to shake the feeling its precisely this sort of largely directionless creativity, free from the constraints of financial targets, demographics and brand-building that has brought Takahashi to this unlikely nook on the other side of his world.

In answer to his deflected question about what I think makes a good playground, I suggest that I’ve always enjoyed a sense of progression, where one object leads to the next, giving the participant a sense of journey, like a playful assault course.

Takahashi doesn’t respond at first, mulling it over, perhaps masking a sneer. “If there’s a pattern embedded in the design of a park, the danger is always that all of the kids just end up doing the same stuff…” he murmurs.

It’s this sort of aimless approach to game design that frustrated some players and critics with regards to his most recent title, Nobi Nobi Boy, a game that’s difficult to articulate within the usual parameters of success and failure. And yet, this dislike of the order and rigid structure of mainstream games seems to imbue every aspect of Takahashi’s approach.

It’s hard to put a project like the park into words.

I spent most of Sunday with Keita at the park site & studio – and I still am not sure how to describe it. After exploring the grounds, reviewing his sketches, drawing, playing with clay and then discussing the whole thing over ramen… I felt like I had a strange, foggy tangle in my mind. So many things to consider! Days later, that sense of … complex hugeness, is still with me.

Over the last few years, what I’ve come to appreciate most about Keita is his enduring patience – and ability to calmly contemplate huge, tangly messes. What makes me anxious and compulsive… he can sit with, quietly. Stuff that’s chaotic and overwhelming washes over him – and is transformed into something better. In no small way, it is this patience that makes our friendship even possible.

Walking back from the studio, we talked about this: the quiet center of his style (slow burn… gradually coming to an idea) the loudness of mine (flashes & sparks… an explosion from compressed inputs). He likes to tease me about my brashness… and I, his silent brooding. But in the end – these are strengths, too.

And for the park… an open-ended, visionary task – a designer like Keita is the perfect fit. Because the inputs are overwhelming, chaotic, fuzzy, strange. And you just have to be one with the space and all of its possibilities – until the idea emerges from within.

I was genuinely touched to read this interview, which gets at the heart of Keita’s gifts – and challenges within the context of our industry and even, this project. It’s nice to see a piece describe his process (and its context) with such tenderness and respect.

Home and recovered (mostly) – to find more goodness from GameCity in my inbox! For starters, Tony has updated his blog and site to include the awesome results of the SpiteYourFace “BrickStock” animation workshop:

Also, Brandon posted a piece on the Elite paper-folding event, and BoingBoing ran a piece on the 15 pixel megamix (flOw? C’mon now, readers!)..,

And Rex posted a super cool pic from our panel – with some great additions!!

Sugoi!!!

Great post on Attract Mode about the impromptu party-game of Tuning which emerged during the post-IndieCade BBQ @ Casa Roja!

Awww – I miss you all so much! Here’s to great adventures and wonderful creations. See you @ GDC!!!

We did it! IndieCade 2009 was a resounding success, full of awesome games, laughter, clowns and balloon animals.

Ok, maybe not clowns and balloon animals – but… chalk drawing, full-contact stick figures, poetry, creative shouting (”F*** You, It’s Art!!”) and of course, miles and miles of Indie developer love. Beginning the the super-fun Micro-Talks session at our opening party, through the awards, conference and closing party – it was a blast.

And who do we thank? The amazing, talented and inspiring game creators who made our celebration possible. Without you it would just be beer and finger-darts.

Presentation coverage includes a write-up of the Fresh Perspectives for First and Third Person Shooters” session, the iPhone Art Showcase, as well as some great coverage in the Los Angeles Times.

And on top of all that? Noby Boy decided to stay with us in sunny California! Visitors to TGC will find him swimming around on my desk, amongst all the toys and to-do lists. So best!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out – and for all the fantastic support from our local friends and devs. You make it easy to love being Indie!!

Super wonderful times this week and weekend – everyone in LA for the show, and then some staying over to attend the annual “Missed My Flight” BBQ & impromptu afterparty at Casa de Roja.

In addition to a fantastic first week at TGC I was able to meet up with tons of fun Indie friends (including some quality time with team Scary Girl), rock out with our lovely Harmonix peeps, hang with Mark, Kim, big Ben – and of course, take some great photos!

Here is my favorite triple so far: from our evening with The Beatles – in which Lulu rocks her inner Joan Jett and Ross… just plain rocks!

Even better than having a whole week of seeing my leading lady and man – they will be back in town next weekend for a spectacular birthday BBQ (both she and Juli are celebrating!) that doubles as a shipping, job change and engagement celebration. I would wish for a copy of The Beatles to round out the event – but I’m pretty sure that it would cause Ross to explode in a puff of unicorns, rainbows and 3-part harmony.

Special shout-out and superthanks to our house guest Crankyuser… who not only helped Lulu clean up the whole place today, post-brunching – but also fixed the kitchen tap and front door – so that next weekend’s soiree will not include the sound of continual slamming. Should have known that our favorite UI designer & Project Natal schemer would have great ideas for improving the Casa’s user expereince. Rock on!!

Scott’s begun posting op-eds on Gama – and today’s excursion is pretty good! Ladies, look past the laddishness and man-crushing to find some really solid wisdom about managing people and teams. Snippet:

The 12 Laws of Wiener

1. Be Part of the Solution, Never a Part of the Problem. Quite simply, it’s much easier to be critical than it is to be correct. If you can’t to help solve problems, then leave so quickly that there is nothing left but a you-shaped hole in the wall.

2. First, Do No Harm. You have to treat each decision as if you are a physician: First, do no harm. Make sure that while you’re being part of the solution, you’re not causing other problems as a side-effect.

3. It’s the People, not the Products. Intellectual Property and hard assets are nice, but talent is the most valuable part of your organization – and talent should be treated as such. Ten smart people in an empty room can do more and better than a hundred dumb people charged with the care of a great product.

4. Align Utilities To get the best from people (and, to wit, the best from other organizations), their utilities must be aligned with your own. Create win/win situations and you will win, win, win some more.

5. There are No Laurels What you did yesterday doesn’t entitle you to bad office coffee: It’s what you are doing tomorrow that makes all difference to the team.

6. Execution, Execution, Execution The road to hell is paved with pretty PowerPoint slides. You have to be honest in your ability to execute on a strategy, and then you have to execute on that strategy and then execute some more.

7. Remove Obstacles A manager is there to remove obstacles to execution: Let other people run with the ball while you block for them.

8. You’ll Have to get Blood on Your Hands. If an obstacle to organizational execution is a member of the organization, you’re going to have to get blood on your hands – you’re going to have to remove or reposition that person, even if doing so causes immediate pain.

9. One-on-One Gets it Done. The best way to make a decision is to poll individuals in one-on-one conversations – where individuals are more likely to give you the straight beef. Speak to as many people as is possible, synthesize, and react.

10. Do the Due. Preparation, preparation, preparation – do your due diligence. Know what you’re talking about: If you’ve been asked for a meeting concerning a topic about which you know nothing, it’s time to hit the books like the books owe you money.

11. C.Y.A. Saves the Day. Always cover your ass – know who your attackers will be and what weapons they will use against you. Have your shields ready. My favorite corollary to this is the evidentiary hearing: Never make one complaint. If you are going to complain about something, be ready to lay down a stack of evidence supporting your concerns.

12. Mea Culpa. The three sweetest words in the English language are not, “I love you,” but, “it’s my fault.” If you’ve screwed things up, you have to bite the bullet, bite it in half.

Beyond the basic “how to’s of management” there is an interesting segment on publishers using
Scrum-like processes to manage internal process for external projects.

Scrum is lauded and applauded for its management of complexity in workflow, its leveraging of the Surowieckian Wisdom of Crowds to result in better decision making. But where the hammer really meets the nail is that Scrum does a lot to trivialize the flawed monkey in all of us.

Well, what’s good for the developer is also good for the publisher. How many times have you heard of a project put at risk because, “Our publisher wanted us to switch to an engine that didn’t suit our purposes mid-project.” Or, “Our publisher insisted that we stop everything to add a certain feature.” The stories are litany. And in the end of the stories, it’s usually the developer and/or the consumer who have suffered the most, which is probably why publishing organizations look today a lot like they looked yesterday: No pain, no change.

Also litany are the incessant comparisons of “business,” to “warfare.” General George S. Patton knew a lot about warfare, was considered one of the greatest battlefield commanders in history. In the movies, General Patton can be seen rallying his men, “When you stick your hand into a pile of goo that used to be your best friend’s face, you’ll know what to do!”

The movies have done the world a disservice: General Patton’s greatest quote is, “Don’t tell people how to do something: Tell them what you want and let them surprise you.”

I’m by no means suggesting that we crash Amazon.com with the world’s largest order for books about Scrum, but wouldn’t it be great if more organizations ran by not telling how but by telling what? Wouldn’t we achieve more great things more often if organizations observed the military doctrine of Commander’s Intent?

Scrum-like reporting has become a very strong element in my own personal production toolbox. In fact – the Commander’s Intent statement was written in huge letters on the white board above my desk for the entire course of BBBP. And it does seem like something that could transform higher level management.

Someone should figure this out on a production-managment team and publish a few articles on it. That would be very benificial to the industry.

*cough* Lulu *cough*

Race over to Jen’s 20×200 site and get Matt’s awesome version of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster.

Proceeds support Creative Commons!!!

PS: Rod, I already got you one.

:)

So – as I posted before, my sound director Brad is a super adventurous dude – and recently convinced us to take a paragliding and sea kayaking adventure down in La Jolla which was fantastic!

In the fall, he also offered to teach us all how to SCUBA dive, since he’s becoming certified as a Dive Master. I considered over the winter, and when the weather began to warm up, decided to take the plunge and started classes along with a bunch of folks from work!

Learning to dive was much really an adventure! There is a lot of equipment to learn, operate and master. It’s a little to get started, and you have to purchase some things alongside your rentals… like fins (mine are HOT PINK), a mask and snorkel. And last but not least, the idea of running out of air as you are 40 or 60 feet below the surface of the water is kind of freaky – so you need some time to adjust… and study!

Our first day was focused on education – testing our knowledge of the dive tables (tracks the nitrogen in your blood!), procedures and common problems we might encounter on a dive. Then – a pool day where we become familiar with the equipment as it functions underwater. Biggest learning: My legs are floaty! When I try to achieve “neutral bouyancy”, my legs tend to float up, keeping me from laying flat in the water (like a fish). Who knew?

After our pool day I was pretty confident that I could handle the equipment – all I had to deal with was the cold. The water here on the coast is very chilly – especially down where we were going (kelp forests off of Catalina and Anacapa islands). A heavy wet suit, hood, booties and gloves will get you most of the way to comfortable – but the feeling of cold cold water on your lips and forehead (the parts that are NOT covered by your gear) is pretty striking. Your lips actually turn a little blue!

Diving with a buddy is key – and it’s important to keep eyes on them at all times. We did have a moment where Ben got caught in an updraft and had to surface unexpectedly – just as I was enjoying the view of some starfish on a kelp bed.

It is *not* fun realizing your buddy is suddenly not where you expected! Especially when you’ve heard tales of divers drowning in kelp because they get tangled, freak out and spit out their regulators. Yikes!! Luckily, Ben is super zen – and was bobbing safely at the top when we surfaced. Our training kicked in as it should, and our instructors (Brad and Stuart) were right there to make sure everyone was ok. This is why you study and test before diving – and plan your dives thoroughly.

By far, the second ocean dive day was my favorite! We were mostly done with our training and able to focus on enjoying the beautiful, strange and ever-changing underwater environment. I was esepcially relaxed once I had successfully removed & replaced my mask underwater – which freaks me out a little because it involves breathing through your mouth only when your nose is exposed to the water.

After a nice tour of the kelp, we headed to a small inlet, to dive with young sea lions!

This was probalby one of the coolest experiences I have had with wildlife. They were at once wild and playful, close and far away. Even though they had the grace of dancers in the water, and were within an arms’ length as they came close… they were instantly teleported by their strong fins and tails such that they felt like a vision. Like smoke, running past in the water. Magic!

Luckily, Brad (who took all the underwater photos in this post) was able to capture the sea lions on video – so you can see for yourself just how graceful these funloving, diver-loving creatures can be:

As you can see from the linked videos here, the fearless beauty and playfulness of sea mammals is truly touching. And if you’ve ever kept an aquarium, you know that fish also have a strange, captivating manner as well. This experience totally transformed my perspective on what it means to dive. Not just something you do on vacation in Carribean – it is a whole new universe to explore and enjoy!

Yesterday I got notice that I am official certified for open water dives! This means I can continue to dive here in California – taking classes in bouyancy, night diving, and navigation. I can continue to explore the reefs and kelp off the coast here… and hopefully, go diving when I take my post-ship vacation. Thailand is looking likely…

Big ups to Brad, Ocean Adventures Dive Company here in Venice and our fantastic and fun instructor Stuart Tanner – who did a wonderful job teaching us how zen out, descend, and swim with the fishes. Best Bradventure yet!

Great link from Kevin Marks re: Facebook and open gardens. As I mentioned in a lecture yesterday to Jesper’s class at MIT – one approach to casual-ifying any experience is open-ness: giving access to the content, giving praise, envisioning the experience as a constent flowering of new experiences – not just an earn & burn cycle. Super excited to see how smaller games and apps can leverage this approach in the next couple of years.

Also – thanks to Edge for the shoutout in the Hot 100 – and kudos to Rod, Jenova, Jon and all y’all for getting up there! Games are the communication medium of the 21st century – let’s keep pushing to expand their reach and capacity to create joy!

Finally – yes, there will be a birthday/party at GDC! Saturday, just after the conference. Save the date and make plans to stay in SF if you can! Jane & Lulu are doing the heavy lifting on this (I’m still shipping!) but I can’t wait to see you all! Travel safe!

53 locations in 23 Countries!

A fantastic effort from so many people, worldwide!!! Here’s the last moment – captured in Los Angeles at USC:

I will post more pix in a bit – setting up the judging right now!

ONE:

I went to see Wall-E on Thursday at midnight (thanks for the invite Disney!!) with a bunch of folks from the team. I know that some people are not really into the switch mid-film to people (from straight up robot romance) but I did not find it as jarring as some. Overall, I thought the film was a triumph of expert, emotional puppeteering – and was especially intrigued by the type of romantic love it explores.

Think of the typical boy-meets-girl stuff you see in film. Rarely, if ever, does such a film feature the kind of strong maternal connection that exists between the two bots. I’m thinking specifically of the scene where Eve catches Wall-E in mid-fall, as his fire extinguisher/space rocket runs out. But the entire sequence, from first kiss to final cuddle, has a tone that resonates with motherly tenderness.

I was also struck by the sequences with Eve, where she is struggling to fulfill her duty almost mindlessly. Frustrated and angry she’s so happy to ignore the advances of her admirer. Focused to a fault, her dedication is destructive on more than one occasion. Career robot of the future meets reformed work-a-day joe with an eye for beauty. Watching that give way to a deeper understanding of what contact could bring – what kinds of unfulfilled longings might somehow blossom when acknowledged… that left me deeply moved.

It’s no secret that women’s lib has introduced complex questions about our professional, personal, romantic and reproductive drives and roles. Media, sometimes brash and alternatively bashful has attempted to address the issues. Sure, it’s a stretch to say that what I saw in Eve’s angry pouting and motherly embrace are allegories for the struggles of modern women. But the fact that I saw something that deep on the surface of this film really surprised me. Even if it was a totally personal, unique response – it speaks volumes to the success of these characters & their creators. Kudos.

TWO:

Los Angeles is spoiling me. Yesterday I woke up at 10 to breezy ocean smells and bright sun. A lazy morning with coffee and a book in the shade led to tea at Jin Patisserie (again, breezy shade & wonderful aromas)… and then to Sunfish Sushi with Team HP. Fantastic fish available in a posh, chain-potential setting… for $35. Then meeting up with Rodrigo to enjoy the karaoke stylings of LA regulars at Boardwalk 11. Strong drinks, kind local demi-celebrities… and Liz Phair in the songbook. What could be better?

I live 5 minutes from the office and have no desire to move elsewhere. But I know I cannot afford to buy a house where I live. And long-term, what ar the chances that my next awesome gig will be in this studio, so close to all that I’m beginning to love? It’s hard to imagine being spoiled like this forever, Westside style. But it’s getting harder & harder to imagine leaving.

THREE:

I miss my Lulu, so much.

Until she returns for E3, the new Death Cab record will have to do.

Souris took two of the most LA photos of us I’ve ever seen last weekend around the corner from our place, on Abbot Kinney:

Once I got over how silly they were – I started getting hungry for some tacos & “Silken Skin” – the juice specialty of our corner favorite. Viva LA!!

Kudos to friends at Motion Theory for the awesome work on Weezer’s new video “Pork and Beans” which is totally rad.

Souris’ post about the video lists some of the internt memes that are referenced… how long before a full list is made shot per shot?

Also, very memorable song – just like “Buddy Holly” which I have had stuck in my head since Sunday, when I was drumming to the track as part of the “Lets Haribo” world tour (ROCK BAND ROCKS!!).

:)

Lulu is moving to Berlin for 6 months to manage a project over there, and while I know I should be happy about it – I’m just sad.

She has been a dear, dear friend to me for so long that the thought of being even just an hour away by plane was difficult to swallow when I moved down to LA in the fall. Now – she’ll be in an entirely different city, with new people, so far away. Boo!

While I know that it’s a good move for her in so many ways – I’m selfish and bad – a terrible, horrible friend. I want her close – for hugs, tears, good food, too much booze and worse. I want her near to me for conscience and comfort… and moments like this:

I want to fast forward now, to the time when she returns, all leveled up, with kick ass leather boots and a laundry list of naughty German slang.

Oh, if I had that button, I would press it right now.

Back at work for the first time in about three weeks – almost everyone is out on refresh, so it’s quiet as a mouse! Also – I have a new desk – so it feels especially wierd… like I changed jobs completely. I’m in a corner desk now – surrounded by windows facing southwest… looking across Lincoln towards the park and the ocean. Wave if you drive by on your way to LAX…

On a sadder note: There was a package on my desk from Will Paicius, a retired developer who was teaching out at Ohlone College. I’d given a guest lecture to his class last year – and got a parking ticket! Will was hyper-apologetic, and promised to take care of it for me. Turns out he did – sending the citation rebuttal, and 2 booster ships for Pirates (El Corazon Dorado and… the Proud Tortise!!).

But before I could write and thank him – he had a heart attack and passed away.

Will was a super guy. He had attended the Game Design Workshop at GDC 5 times (!!) – and was always looking for new ways to teach. He loved games, loved his students… and will be missed.

Another interesting article on Wii software sales:

Take Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was one the most hotly anticipated video games of the year; it sold more than 1.4 million copies during the first week of its release, in early March, and broke records for Nintendo of America.

“We certainly have a built-in fan base for Smash,” said Denise Kaigler, Nintendo of America’s vice president for corporate affairs. “I’m hoping that we can continue to generate success and awareness of the game.”

But sales dropped more than 90 percent over the first four weeks, according to estimates from VG Chartz, a team of analysts who study video-game sales.

Some major retail chains — including Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us — have already begun bundling the Smash Bros. game with Wii machines for sales online, a sign that the base of hard-core gamers who went looking for the game has been depleted.

Interesting bookend to this earlier piece on the difficulties of getting over a million on the platform.

Go MySims, go!!

:)

From Le Monde…

Greetings from Geneva – and Lift 08 – which was awesome!!!

I have not organized my snaps & thoughts yet – but Souris and others have been posting to Flickr and Twitter… and videos of all the talks are posted here.

But even MORE awesome… we are going to CERN today to see the SUPERCOLLIDER!!! Geek heaven!

Super dooper cannot wait – have been up since 4:30!!!

How time flies, when you are busy having adventures! My days in Australia were fantastic – and over too soon! I will really miss it – and especially the summer weather!

I have so many ideas and impressions swimming in my head at the moment that it’s hard to really put a nice frame around this visit – but I know that if I don’t try now, the details will slip and I’ll get too busy to post much of anything. This archival pressure/communication obligation was the source of many discussions over the week, as conference guests exchanged guilty confessions about lagging digital chores. It’s a strange time we live in!

But in a nutshell, what I liked most about this trip was meeting a variety of talented artists, film, music and game makers… cultural theorists, journalists, academics and students. When you spend all your time doing one thing, it is easy to forget about all the wonderful opinions, styles and practices that exist outside your own environment. You understand that art is made, films filmed, studies studied – but until you talk to someone who about their personal experiences in these venues – these are just concepts…. like so much type on a page.

I am grateful for the conversations I had there – and would especially like to thank Kat and Yusuf for encouraging me to make the trip. It was hard to pull myself away from the studio but it was worth the effort. Ten fold!

But don’t take my word for it – see for yourself! These photo galleries are part blog, to help describe the experience, as a whole.

- – -

Things I learned about Australia on this trip:

• Australia is closer to the giant hole we have created in the Earth’s ozone – so the sun here is intensely strong. The “safe time” for being outside without sunscreen is 10-15 minutes, depending on how fair you are. My back tells me that I’m in the 10 minute or less range….
• Universities across Australia are dealing with funding cutbacks and consolidation within and across departments.This reduces differentiation/offerings across the board, and students tend to stay local for higher education. As a result, there is a lot less of the “coming of age via college move” culture here.
• Because the population of the country is so small compared to its geography, there isn’t a lot of business development in Australia *for* Australia. Many of their best and brightest leave for Asia or the US when it’s time to make a new idea profitable – which is referred to here as “brain drain”
• There is a conservative feel to the place at the moment. Whenever we discussed this, people were eager to point out that the new government here will be less conservative than the prior one. It will be intersting to see if support for conferences like the one I attended will continue
• There is a quality to the light there that makes everything magical. The food is delicious (great cafe culture in the cities I visited) and the wine is welcome. Sure – you can see kangaroos and climb rocks there – but a relaxing stay in one of the country’s costal getaways is sure to melt just about any cares away.

Things I learned about myself because of this trip:

• I enjoy travelling by myself – much more than I expected
• I sure am glad I hadn’t watched “Lost” before going!!!
• My camera generates more work for me than I can handle. I’ve barely logged half of the photos I’ve taken since Labor Day.
• It is getting quite difficult to manage my various activities – blogging, photos, cooking, life… work. I think about having a baby and wonder – what will give?
• I love espresso!!

Hrm. Maybe that last item will help with the ones directly above???

Today we went with Raph, Mark and MB to the Ghibli museum – super inspiring (see Raph’s sunday poem!) and worth a full post at a later time.

THEN… we ventured out to LaLaport (a mall south east of Tokyo, near the water) to see the on-site kiosk demos for MySims.

OMG! If you thought the game was cute – try being surrounded by adorable children as the squeal in delight while hugging and dancing with the giant-head foam-form MySims characters.

Seriously, I thought I would die.

Highlights posted here include mom photographers…

Chef Gino posing with a girl and her grandmother for a mom photographer…

Faces as kids & parents built houses & made characters…

… and saw their creations come to life…

The anticipation in the kids *waiting* to play…

… watching people play…

And the awesomness that is Gino Delicioso.

A huge giant mega godzilla thank you to the entire EAJ staff, and all EA folks who are setting up these events, worldwide. Way to make people smile!!!

Best. Day. Evar!