gewgaw

Regardless of whether or not you consider yourself a “cat person”, this site contains dangerous (potentially toxic) levels of cute. Even gamers are at risk. Beware!

How cool is this?

A lot of the early inspiration for my thesis work came from economics – the study of how people interact with complex market systems and how these systems respond to them. While I’ve focused primarily upon inventory management, the field as a whole is ripe with interesting information for game designers and developers.

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Traditionally, economics has focused on the behavior of groups – and been dominated by the idea of “rational choice”. Among others, Herbert Simon worked to show that in fact humans exercise “bounded rationality” – making decisions (especially when faced with unfamiliar choices) that sometimes work against their best interest. It’s not a stretch to say that the battle between these concepts has had long-lasting effects on the way AI researchers (or Computer Scientists, or even software engineers) design systems, system behavior and “intelligence”.

In the last 30 years or so, there’s been a growing push from within the economics community to look more closely at the behavior of individuals, and to investigate alternative (psychological) models for reasoning about how humans make choices under uncertainty. Behavioral economics, as it is called, is slowly re-shaping the dialog about choice, markets and market dynamics.

The feature article in this month’s Chicago Magazine explores the behavioral economics behind social security privatization in Sweeden. Why, when given a solid, inexpensive default fund (designed by expert economists) did an overwhelming majority of the initial participants invest in risky, expensive funds? Four year later – the default fund has outperformed most other options, and 92 percent of new participants choose it. Was it a waste of time and money to preview and advertise the 465 alternates? Should Sweden just have gone with 3 expert funds (or one?) and avoided the mess altogether?

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While the article focuses primarily on this debate (libertarian paternalism vs. rational-choice perspectives), there are some really juicy tidbits in there about new theories in behavioral economics. In particular, ideas about how people perceive gains and losses, the way they pursue new strategies for accumulating rewards, and how best to communicate with them about these strategies. Fascinating!

So: I rented a car over Valentines day weekend – to keep till I took off for GDC. Thanks to NU I get a great rate on cars from National, plus all the fancy coverage w/o extra fees. Not that I’m planning on crashing, but it can’t hurt, right?

It’s been years since I had access to a car like this – and as much as I hate to admit it, it sure is nice. I can work as late as I please, go do errands whenever I need to, and generally get around without all the hassle of waiting for trains and buses. I hate sitting there, pumping it full of gas – that makes me feel pretty creepy. But even so… I’ll miss it when I get back.

Anyhow: the car has a cd player in it – which seems funny and archaic, since I usually just listen to mp3s. When I first got it, I grabbed a stack of discs and stashed them in the glovebox. In the last week I’ve revisited Stakes is High, So Stylistic and Remedy. But I’ve had Prince’s Hits (2) on repeat for the last couple of days.

Dirty Mind – is it not one of the best songs ever written?

A week or so ago, Casey and I had a discussion about color theory. We were talking about his logo (which I love) and how different it looks in his original letterhead design versus the colorized web version. In particular, we were talking about how the color directly effects the mood of the logo (which in turn effects how you feel about the web page, etc).

Way back, when I worked as a full-time interface and web designer, I used the designer’s guide series to plan this sort of stuff. Each book presents color arrangements (first just dual and tri-blocks of color – later, complex patterns) in a series of sections – pointing out how color contributes to the mood or message of a design. Pages and pages of arrangements (plaids, prints, textiles, seasons, moods and eras) which you can flip through at your leisure. Not only are they incredibly handy (web pages, party flyers, decorating, you name it) – they are fascinating from a cognitive science/psychology perspective.

I suggested them to Casey – who in turn pointed out The Interaction of Color by Josef Albers (of Bauhaus and Black Mountain School fame) which explores the relationship between color and perception in depth. There’s only one catch: this version (1975) is a “revised” Yale University Press re-print – and only presents 10 of its 150 original color plates!!!

A color theory text robbed of examples – what a crime!

I must say, I screamed out LOUD with delight when Jay was picked as the winner of Project Runway. His collection was beautiful – really moving. Full of craft, a dreamy blend of color, attitude and outsider perspective. Honestly – I had tears in my eyes after he stepped off the runway!

Jay wasn’t the sure pick – in fact, he didn’t win a single challenge during the season. And I really did have a weakness for Austin’s neo-classic, goth stylings. But Jay (with his cigarettes and yoga talk, queer humor and kung-fu cutting table routines – not to mention his clothes) always… lightened the mood. And the geek in me couldn’t help but root for him throughout the season – watching him become more and more confident and directed in his designs. I’m so tickled that the judges agreed.

Always the bridesmaid – finally the bride! Oh honey, congratulations!!!

I tested my system all day Tuesday (and Monday – and most of Friday, too). My goal is to run 30 subjects before I leave for GDC. I’m at 15 now, and feeling optimistic. The tests are going well, and I have lots of new information to process.

At the end of the day, I gathered up the post-test evaluation forms, so that I could take them home and start logging data. I stopped in the bathroom on the way down to the car – put my bags and paperwork on the countertop between the two sinks. And as I let them rest there, I suddenly imagined the pipes bursting and soaking through all the paperwork… destroying my laptop (where the latest drafts of my chapters live) and drenching me to the bone – while I stared, helpless, into the mirror.

This was followed by a series of flashes – total, full-on, paranoid delusions about losing all this data in a bizarre accident. I get mugged and they steal my bag with all the forms and my computer too. I get in a car accident and everything is incinerated – and I become a vegetable in the process – never graduating. Would I delay emergency airplane evacuation procedures to get this data from beneath my seat? Would I run back into a burning apartment to salvage it?

I imagined myself covered in soot, gripping a pile of smoldering forms. Charred, but triumphant. Then, I went back to my office and backed up a bunch of stuff. I didn’t photocopy the evaluation forms before bringing them home – but I considered it.

Its been a long time since I cared this much about bits and pieces of paper.

• Exibit A
• Exibit B
• Exibit C
• Exibit D
• Exibit E

from Sean, who I officially declare
……………..a Katamari detective, extaordinaire!

ps: also rolling in… Ranjit!

bloggers… what is up with this craziness?

Best joke (IMHO) from Bill Maher’s commentary:

“Now I know what Bush meant when he said he had a mandate!”

Clips and get-well wishes courtesy of Kim. On doctor’s orders, I’ve indulged in liberal amounts of laughter (along with sleep, tea and a Japanese pastry) and… I think it’s actually working!

Certainly cheaper than a robotic hug!

ps: Congrats, Eugene!!!

Well – I’m still sick. I’m drinking a lot of water, eating as much as I can (starve a fever – feed a cold!) and watching the Project Runway marathon on Bravo. Earlier this week I joked with Mark that I needed a good excuse to stay home and watch it. Presto, sicko! I guess you really should be careful what you wish for, huh?

So I spent the afternoon doing productive but couch-y things: sorting the pile of medical paperwork related to my kidney stone fiasco, doing my taxes (yes – over a month early!), writing EGW correspondance, and taking care of miscellaneous Anim-Arts stuff. I caught up on a few blogs – checking out some of the reviews for Oddworld’s latest game (top of my post-graduation play list) in the process.

Of course, there’s one blog most of us have stopped reading… I finally changed Justin’s link (it now points to his school site – where he still posts, occasionally). Also here’s a story that the SF Chronicle published. Not much new material there (mostly speculative) – but it’s…. a beginning?

Happy sailing, Justin – try not to drift too far from home.

Well, I finally caught that terrible cold that’s been going around. I think the U of I trip was the final straw – I’d been feeling a bit draggy all week, and now I’m flat as a pancake.

In fact – I’m so flat I can’t even play games. Eyes too tired to stay focused on the screen – even for something as slowly paced as Fatal Frame II. You know it’s bad when I can’t play a game about taking pictures!

*sniff*

Whirlwind trip, indeed! Snow on the way down and gusts upon arrival… wind chill factor of about 20 degrees! I thought I’d *left* the windy city but apparently the flat plains of Illinois can be a bit breezy this time of year! As it turns out, I’d decided *not* to bring the Katamari hat (didn’t want to leave it by accident – I’m kind of.. attached to it, and definitely a flake!). Ended up wishing I had. My poor ears!

I had a great time. My schedule was packed full of interesting chats and tasty food. In addition to visiting with Eyal (who I met last year at the AAAI game workshop), I got to catch up with Kerrie (who visited here last year during her job search and is super cool). It sounds like they are working on some new and exciting projects at the intersection of robotics/AI/games and social computing – yay!

My talk went well – got some great questions which helped me practice defending my work/ideas/thesis. Difficulty adjustment leads to a lot of slippery design slopes – and so questions about it always come up. I think of DDA (or just DD or DC – dynamic design or dynamic content) as new tools in the design toolbox. Of course it will take us a bit of practice to use them correctly. But it’s so cheap to do small things – why not try?

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After my talk, I got to hang out a bit with Jean Ponce, a senior Vision and Robotics guy with a wonderful sense of humor. “I will show you the robots, but it will not be so interesting – as, being robots, they are always broken.”

Of course robots (and vision algorithms) don’t have to *work* to be interesting – as construction, concept and task choice say quite a lot. Indeed, he had some very cool thoughts about the sensor-free manipulation of objects, and object recognition using algorithmic “part finders”. He actually hopes to apply this vision work to a number of scientific problems including work on the path-finding dances of bees and archeological preservation!

Ponce is part of interdisciplinary group at the universtity – funded by a large grant from alum Arnold O. Beckman (of Beckman Instruments – makers of fine scientific measurment equipment). Primary groups include a nano group, a biology group, and an HCI group. I like these kinds of trends – tho it always seems like offices/floors tend to slowly isolate groups from one another (as in NU’s giant Tech facility, where despite group housing, work is relatively contained within disciplines).

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We are actually going through quite a bit of discussion here at NUCS, as we transition into a new building (*slightly* smaller than the U of I location pictured here). The original design called for an open plan – but it turned out that only the graduate students would be in the “open” part (read: non-acoustically-private cubes) and this caused quite a stir. It is a hard problem: making a building with enough collaborative space to facilitate conversation and interaction without crushing the possiblity for quiet, dark nests.

Ayman has been working with the students… helping them find good chairs, define ideal work setups and so on. The building will be kitted out by Steelcase (who I believe Don Norman suggested – he has been working on the project as well). I’m actually a bit sad I won’t get to experience the Think or Cachet chairs. But not that sad.

:)

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What does bum me out is Constantine.

I was clicking through THQ’s site because Volition (which is in Urbana) is working on the Punisher game, and I had a “wish we’d known you were in town!” email from them. The good news is I will probalby visit again, as there were plenty of people I didn’t get to see at U of I. The bad news is that Constantine’s box art totally oustrips its marketing copy.

The game (affiliated with the HellBlazer comic series and film) has a great cover… probably becasuse of said affiliations. But imagine turning it over – and reading this:

• Play as John Constantine in an intense third-person action/horror videogame that promises to have you jumping out of your seat.
• Encounter terrifying enemies that were all re-created from the movie using original source materials- plus new ones exclusive to the videogame
• Move between the planes of Earth and “Hell L.A.” where one world affects the other, creating original game play scenarios- 14 levels in all
• Unleash an arsenal of spectacular artifacts on your journey -including the Crucifier, the Holy Shotgun, and the Shroud of Moses.
• Discover enemies with unique ‘True Sight’ – ability to help you identify half-breeds and unearth demonic secrets.

Sigh.

I mean – maybe the fiction and the gameplay work together really well – creating a super scary experience (which, as I’ve already confessed, I am a sucker for) … that might be worth a $50 investment. But man – the bullets sure aren’t convincing me that it’s anything new under the horror genre sun. Or would that be moon?

Mostly, it just sounds so generic! And where they add a little pizazz – it sounds overwrought. Unleash the Holy Shotgun? I don’t know about you, but “unleash” is not a mechanic or “verb” I associate with games, generally (at least, not as something I do.. monsters are unleashed, but that usually happens on the game’s side)… and certainly not with the *weapons* in a game of this type.

Who knows? Perhaps they are going with a Final Fantasy approach: each time you “fire” the shotgun, they run a 30-second animation where spirits and holy angels fly forth and shred the evil beings that seek to destroy our fabled hero. But somehow, I doubt it. And in any case – this stuff certainly isn’t making it clear what a “Holy Shotgun” would do, once unleashed. That isn’t just… shotgun-type stuff, ya know?

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On the topic of unleashing – I had an interesting conversation with one of the new instructors at U of I – Mike Woodley (old-school game programmer who worked on flight simulations from the very beginning). He’s currently working on a firefighting game/sim with some students – and we got to chatting about simulation, the Sims, and the appeal of reality TV makeover shows (person and house).

Seriously! In chatting about the shows, we determined that it’s the “process” and “strategy” of deconstructing wardrobes, hair and makeup – or structures, lighting and decorative treatments that we love. It’s not the “emotional” content or stories that hook us – but the ways that the “experts” can systematize what seems like a really nebulous area. We enjoy them for their engineering content!

I’ve always had a problem really getting *stuck* on the Sims – and I realized talking with both Mike and Karrie that this is becasue the game only supports a certain type and depth of engineering. I can spend a ton of time dorking out in the house creator and the person creator – but once they are built, I can’t do the fun “systems engineering” stuff I want to do, on a grand scale. At least – not without hacking the game.

Disease, catastrophic weather, political corruption, terrorism, economic blight… Call me sick (or incredibly dorky) but that’s what I would like to play with. Obviously, each one would take tons of work, from a game design standpoint – just getting social interactions to a steady and predictable state is quite a feat. But even with the social dynamics, I can’t get the right feedback. For me, the game is too focused on the nuclear family or relationship. It’s also a bit too fuzzy/slow for me to feel particularly effective as an “engineer” in that space. And I think after a while, that always frustrates me.

Overall, I wonder: are RTS (Age of Mythology, for example) and “God” games the only genre where the verb “unleash” really works? When is it really appropriate to list on the back of a box?

“Unleash the hounds as you and your party of Earls navigate the lush English countryside in search of your foxen prey!”

“Unleash the forces of nature in the incredibly detailed and realistic storm simulation experience!”

“Unleash your unspeakable rage as you gun down hundreds of Christmas shoppers, in search of the ultimate prize: a Katamari Damacy hand-puppet!”

Yay yay yay – my Katamari hat is here… just in time for my trip south!

To explain: I’ll be at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign today. 3 hours down and three hours back – with a lunch, talk and dinner in between. Quite the whirlwind tour!

I’m usually good with driving to new places (traveling along straight line certainly doesn’t hurt)… but walking (especially in larger environments like campuses, malls and museums) I can have trouble. So if you are at U of I, and see me wandering around, don’t hesitate to point me in the direction of the Computer Science building. I certainly shouldn’t be to hard to spot, in this hat!

PS: Katamari fans – Xiola has been hard at work on her designs, and is now taking orders. Let me be the first to say – they look fabulous and practically guarantee compliments… or at least, stares! Hrm.. maybe I should get a rainbow one, too?

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Meanwhile, back in Chicago: the Museum of Science and Industry (just down the street from my old dorm at U of C!) is hosting the UK-native Game On exhibit. Can’t seem to find it on their web page – tho I’ve always wanted to see the Body Worlds stuff. Gross, yet… compelling – not unlike the monsters in Half Life (as my Animate Arts pal Rachel pointed out during her playtesting session the other day).

PPS: And speaking of rocking… Rachel is applying to graduate schools for computer graphics, and has already been accepted to Brown! For a while, she was thinking about doing some work in this area. How cool would it be to play a game where the characters morphed between different shapes and capabilities, but were all made of folded paper?

Well – three weeks to go and already my schedule is packed. Between sessions, parties, group gatherings (IGDA, etc) and meals – I’ve got about an hour of free time each day – and I’ll probably spend that time mentoring an IGDA scholarship winner! I have to remember to pack extra energy bars and a nalgene, for sure.

I’ve also started to plan out my session attendance and meetings – so I can avoid conflicts. Or at least, attempt to try to avoid them. So far I have at least two “choice” talks per time slot – in some cases (like Chris’s Halo Multilpayer talk) there are 4 or 5! I find myself actually wondering: is there any possible arrangement of talks where I could make everything on my hit list? Probably not.

Still… did Andrew’s “Interactive Stories” panel *have* to be slotted against the Eyetoy: Anti-Grav talk? I mean – that just seems cruel. I apologize in advance to friends and colleagues. If you don’t see me in the audience, it isn’t because I don’t love you. Most likely, I was just on the other side of the conference center, and found a same-slot option within steps of the box lunches, speaker’s lounge, group gathering, or ladies room.

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As part of my planning, I’ve been chatting with folks about various after hours options and events. Jee and Mark were kind enough to supply me with a short list of SF bars:

—– soma/convention area

• cafe mars – bar + food, been around for a long while. not too far from the convention center.
• wish bar – mellow on weekdays, nuttier on weekends. no food. close to food, though – sushi groove south and the public.
• the public – food and bar – a good time.
• xyz bar – “glam cocktail bar for an upscale crowd” – pretty much says it all!
• tj’s martini bar – upstairs at the Metreon
• annabelle’s – long time fixture, just down the street from the conference center. food, small-ish bar, old world charm!
• four seasons – fancy, maybe some food?
• thirsty bear tapas/bar (cheesey flamenco music on their homepage)
• clift – upscale and expensive, beautiful people, loud music!
• the chieftan – good beer!!

  
  —– the mission

• 12 galaxies – live music on some nights. bar, not sure about food.
• brunos – old school, vinyl booths. they have a restaurant, bar, and lounge w/live music.
• zeitgeist – lots of beer. divey, but has an outdoor area in the back. fun on a sunny afternoon. they have a great bbq, too.
• 26 mix – pretty low key. dj. ms. pacman table.
• dalva – small, dark, mellow. dj most nights. no food.
• latin american club- mellow, great margaritas. pool table. cash only. no food.
• argus – mellow, pool table. try the jean benet ramsay (ginger ale, vodka, and a crushed cherry). no food there.
• destino – primarily a resto. small bar. they have a great happy hour.


—– hayes valley

• rickshaw lounge – totally fun (they have an 80’s night). small. no food.
• place pigalle – pool tables, old couches, mellow – possibly a smoking bar.


—– western addition

• bar 821 – around the corner from tsunami sushi – good. sake and soju bar.
• fly bar – food, drink – hip, fun.


—– dog patch/potrero hill

• sublounge – low key, kind of in the middle of nowhere
• monkey club – food, dj, bar. loungey feeling.
• mighty – bar/club. music, dancing, etc.






—– south park-ish

• nova – possibly food. also a good selection of infused vodkas.


—– castro-ish/market

• lucky 13 – great beer selection, great jukebox. no food.
• cafe du nord – live music in the back area. food. bar. sometimes has a cover.

Something missing? Mail me and I’ll update the list (url and summary appreciated).

Yesterday, the IGDA announced the Developers Choice Awards nominations – looks like our favorite little green guy got some props!

I’m especially excited about the awards this year because it looks like I will be presenting! If so – it will be the largest crowd I have ever spoken in front of – even just to read a teleprompter and tear open an envelope…

Hrm. Maybe I can give the envelope to my podium partner? So many great choices – it will be hard to announce winners in any of these categories!

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PS: Little love from Fox News correspondant Brigitte Quinn to this guest, who openly criticized Bush’s 10-party inauguration plans as lavish and unnecessary. Worth watching – if you haven’t already. Thanks Paul!

That’s not very romantic!

Think of all those stranded lovers – feet soggy from canal hopping! Perfectly good, Italian leather shoes… destroyed to “fight erosion”?

Bah! The power of love can mend anything!

When I was a kid, I loved to read Shel Silverstein books. A Light In the Attic in particular – I really enjoyed the silly poems and drawings. And of those poems, Something Missing was my favorite:

I remember I put on my socks,
I remember I put on my shoes.
I remember I put on my tie
That was painted
In beautiful purples and blues.
I remember I put on my coat,
To look perfectly grand at the dance,
Yet I feel there is something
I may have forgot –
What is it? What is it?…..

Next to the poem: a picture of a silly little man in a hat, coat, shirt, tie, socks, shoes… but no pants!

Oh, it still makes me smile… as did Darius, who sent this photo of Nina Fletcher’s shoeball, saying…

“I think it’s missing a little green man.”

:P

Congrats to NU CS’s Bruce Gooch for his winning proposal (3 of 45 accepted!) in the Microsoft Research computer gaming curriculum program.

And in other news… Ubisoft takes its own step towards academia.

C’mon in, Sony! The water’s warm!

For the better part of his adult life, my dad’s been involved with quality control and management. He started with ship engines (in the Merchant Marine), migrated to GE (KAPL reactor, then the Albany campus), worked with Philip Crosby (Quality is Free!), and eventually for himself.

Over the years, dad’s spent a lot of time with manufacturing companies that experience sudden, rapid growth – one of the harshest changes a business can survive. Communication structures break down, people lose their sense of investment… waste (time, money, materials, labor) increases and budgets soar. Ad-hoc strategies (which seemed fine at the time) create huge roadblocks to profitable, repeatable progress. Culture and practice collide – and suddenly, success is a nightmare!

Yesterday’s NY Times article on World of Warcraft touches on some of these issues.

“I think it’s fair to say that we needed to restructure ourselves a bit in order to adequately support World of Warcraft’s success,” said Mike Morhaime, 36, Blizzard’s president. “Normally when we ship a game it is basically done. We have worked really hard and we might want to fix a few bugs that have cropped up, but the work is basically over. In the case of World of Warcraft, we worked really hard and we shipped the product, but in some ways the work was just beginning.”

Indeed! First, Blizzard has to grow its support system for managing customers. Then, they have to maintain the world they’ve created – adding content as they add users across the globe. And on top of it all, they must nurture the work environment that produced to the game in the first place. Godspeed, brave warriors – that’s no small quest!

And if you succeed? Well, that sure would rock the christ child!

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ps: bye bye, Ion.

Cheerful signs from today’s inbox:

1) Kellogg’s female alums speak about embracing the tension between a successful career and a full life. Would it be crazy for me to go back to school for an MBA in a few years? I’m seriously considering it.

2) EA endows its first chair at USC. Could be beginning of a longer-term infrastructure for mingling industry expertise with academic game studies and design programs. Let’s hope a few other publishers follow suit (thanks San).

3) A new player in the UK vows to spiff up game retail. If the scene there is anything like it is here… there’s plenty of room for improvement. Shelves of human height, a straightforward (genre-based?) organization scheme, and courteous (low pressure) staff… Someone pinch me before I dream of world peace!

A few months ago, hustler of culture Souris pointed me to Frontline’s recent program on the inner workings of Madison Avenue marketing campaigns. In this particular segment, they focused on a number of branding and market research techniques – including French consultant Clotaire Rapaille’s “codes” (primal referants that mass consumers associate with a product or idea).

On the show, Rapaille touches upon one of my least favorite products: the Sport Utility Vehicle. Apparently, the main code associated with this product (once you’ve finished regressing your focus group) is… “domination”. He’s advised car manufacturers to emphasize this in all advertising… to make SUV’s bigger and darker – giving them that sleek but militaristic look. And it worked! At least, for a while.

Now he can help them figure out how to duplicate the PT Cruiser phenomenon!

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Many people have complaints about SUVs. In addition to cosmetic and environmental beefs, there are some serious accident concerns. Heavy, slow to stop and difficult to handle in emergency situations – SUV rollovers have become a big problem. Now (thanks in part to a large Ford settlement regarding said rollovers) there is a a new campaign to educate SUV drivers (particularly young men) about the dangers of these vehicles.

Check it out. Let your screen idle for a minute, and wait for the animation.

Talk about a brilliant spin! Master your ESUVEE, the big, dull-witted beast that’s *almost* cute… but plenty dangerous. A cross between Mr. Snuffalufagus and a raging bull… power and chaos that YOU control. You, master, tamer… dominator. Just spooky enough to make you think twice about your braking technique (how about that music!?) without scaring away current owners and potential buyers. Smart, effective… and kinda creeeeeeepy.

Know an aspiring ESUVEE trainer? Pass it on.