I just took the Brain Lifestyle Quiz over at a really awesome, recently discovered website called FitBrains.com. It has a bunch of fun online games that get you thinking in creative ways, using the different areas of your brain, and claims to provide Guilt Free Fun!
In my opinion, video games should never make you feel guilty (in a perfect world). :o)
Anyway, below are my results.
"Strongest Area: SOCIALIZATION
Explanation of Results
Your strongest domain is Socialization. People who maintain a strong social network often engage in complex social interaction that encourages creativity, critical thought and emotional expression. These aspects all serve to stimulate the brain and keep it healthy
Famous people associated with a similar lifestyle emphasis
Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Jay Leno, Hillary Clinton
Weakest Area: SPIRITUALITY
Suggested Activities: Encourage quiet time, breathe slowly, find purpose."
Oprah Winfrey and I have the same Myers Briggs personality type (ENFJ), which is a funny coincidence that makes me wonder if the this test and that one are related in any way. The results are interesting, because while I spend a lot of time thinking about spirituality, I find that it is very rare that I ever "pray" or feel spiritual. The end of last semester brought me to a point in my life where I felt like finding my spiritual path was truly important to me -- especially when I got onto an ice rink. The Secular and the Sacred class had me thinking about what I consider sacred, and one particular class got me interested in exploring creative ways of finding my spirituality, like going to a rave or meeting with a psychic. We were learning about all of these interesting ways that people express their faith, and since I feel like I'm in an grey area, I'm open to what's out there.
I wonder if there's a game out there about finding your spirituality. So often do we find that video games have a particular message within them - but what about questions? I'd imagine that a spiritually driven game wouldn't necessarily have any messages hidden within it; instead, the game would be about asking the player questions. There wouldn't be any answers.
Do designers think about what their games are asking instead of what they are telling? Does anyone make games that don't hold any answers? Would that be fulfilling enough for a player -- not having any answers?
I like the idea of creating a game that would help someone find their spirituality by asking them questions. I think I'll mull over this for a while.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Tragic Flaw
"I've decided that all game designers are masochistic." -- Max Nichols
Today, Max and I spent the majority of our 8 hour work day on creating a paper prototype to test every single AI calculation that each of the 10 players on a soccer field would go through. With 4 tabs of random number generators and about 25 sheets of paper containing each of the checks and rules for each individual player, we played until the synaptic gaps of the nerves in our brain began to grow larger as our intelligence dribbled out our ears -- it is at this time that I have reached the highest record of Tetris lines completed!
Things with the project on the whole are going really well. Max and I are beginning to work much more closely with Joel, our QA Lead, and will soon start meeting more frequently with the writers and programmers as well. The project still needs more money, and anyone interested in learning more about the project or are interested in donating, please visit the Empowering Play project website.
On another note, Ray Ortgeisen, a Champlain College student, got a very thought provoking blog post about serious games posted on Gamasutra yesterday. Since reading it, I have thought very heavily about how the language we use within the game industry affects how others perceive gaming culture and how the industry communicates with one another. The gist of his article states that separating certain games into a genre titled "serious" inherently states that all other games that are not within this genre are not serious -- which is false and rather insulting. I agree with him on this point, and I think it brings about the ever fervent issue about language within this community. Once my brains fully stop dribbling, I'll come to some conclusions about how we can change how we portray ourselves to the masses and about how we can better communicate what we aim to do as a medium. It is rather upsetting that social stigmas against video games cause the industry to respond with somewhat discriminatory acts -- just like creating a genre called "serious games". If everyone could just accept that all games have the potential to be serious, perhaps then a different term would be used when describing the characteristics that serious games have.
I do think that the Tragic Flaw of the video game industry is the business nature of it sometimes. I also think that a flaw (but not a tragic one) of video game designers is our need to create something and completely destroy it though analyzation -- hence, masochism. While Max said that in jest, it is true, and we should all just sigh, laugh, and love that we do it. Unlike a tragic flaw, our ability to do so will lead us to greatness.
Today, Max and I spent the majority of our 8 hour work day on creating a paper prototype to test every single AI calculation that each of the 10 players on a soccer field would go through. With 4 tabs of random number generators and about 25 sheets of paper containing each of the checks and rules for each individual player, we played until the synaptic gaps of the nerves in our brain began to grow larger as our intelligence dribbled out our ears -- it is at this time that I have reached the highest record of Tetris lines completed!
Things with the project on the whole are going really well. Max and I are beginning to work much more closely with Joel, our QA Lead, and will soon start meeting more frequently with the writers and programmers as well. The project still needs more money, and anyone interested in learning more about the project or are interested in donating, please visit the Empowering Play project website.
On another note, Ray Ortgeisen, a Champlain College student, got a very thought provoking blog post about serious games posted on Gamasutra yesterday. Since reading it, I have thought very heavily about how the language we use within the game industry affects how others perceive gaming culture and how the industry communicates with one another. The gist of his article states that separating certain games into a genre titled "serious" inherently states that all other games that are not within this genre are not serious -- which is false and rather insulting. I agree with him on this point, and I think it brings about the ever fervent issue about language within this community. Once my brains fully stop dribbling, I'll come to some conclusions about how we can change how we portray ourselves to the masses and about how we can better communicate what we aim to do as a medium. It is rather upsetting that social stigmas against video games cause the industry to respond with somewhat discriminatory acts -- just like creating a genre called "serious games". If everyone could just accept that all games have the potential to be serious, perhaps then a different term would be used when describing the characteristics that serious games have.
I do think that the Tragic Flaw of the video game industry is the business nature of it sometimes. I also think that a flaw (but not a tragic one) of video game designers is our need to create something and completely destroy it though analyzation -- hence, masochism. While Max said that in jest, it is true, and we should all just sigh, laugh, and love that we do it. Unlike a tragic flaw, our ability to do so will lead us to greatness.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wii Sports Resort
This might be embarassing to admit, but my arms are sore from Wii Sports Resort.
It's that good.
Enough said.
It's that good.
Enough said.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Things are back in full swing with the UN project and it feels great. Just a week away from the EMC felt like a really long time once I got back, but I'm not going to lie, I loved having a vacation. I went up to Maine for the weekend and had an amazingly relaxing time. I got to spend time reading, canoeing, and sitting around a fire. Nick's family is wonderful, and spending time with them is really rewarding.
Yesterday I started doing plyometrics. All I have to say is that I am sore. Very very sore.
Yesterday I started doing plyometrics. All I have to say is that I am sore. Very very sore.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Being Green and Caring About it
Last night Ann DeMarle invited the whole EMC to her gorgeous house for a good-bye party for Heather Kelley and the UN project. It was a lot of fun; there was great food, great people, and relaxation in the air. The clouds even went away for a few hours so we could spend some time in the sun.
On the way home, Ken, Lauren, Nick and I got into a discussion about consumerism, recycling and waste, and I told them about something I witnessed earlier that day.
A woman was sitting at a bus stop banging her new box of ciggaretts on her hand before opening them up. The sound made a loud "slap slap slap" against her flesh, and it was difficult to ignore. She tore off the plastic and threw it on the ground, opened up the box and lit one up. The plastic covering sat there in a static pile, waiting for the wind to blow and take it out of sight, out of mind. -- I was immediately infuriated. She was far away from me (luckily), but I said out loud to myself "Are you kidding me?!".
This story sparked a discussion about how to approach someone about this kind of issue. It's difficult to determine how exactly one person would react to anothe person's cares, but you cannot force someone to change out of guilt. They must want to change in order to actually change their habits. Going up to them and telling you why this is important to you might work, right?
It seems possible, but then I brought up something that I think about a lot. At GIV we did an exercise where we wrote down what we thought was a major problem in the world today. I wrote down "Apathy". I truly think that apathy is one of the largest problems with people all over the world. Somehow along the way people just stoped caring.
So let's say I went up to that woman and I said to her like, "I noticed that you threw your trash on the ground. " She could just respond "I don't care." Her saying that would be saying "I don't care what you think. I don't care about where this plastic came from, where it's going, what it could do to the earth." And that infuriates me.
It's not the fact that she's littering that really bothers me here, it's the fact that she (potentially) doesn't care.
I got into an email discussion with a friend a long time about about morality. He discussed how it really bothers him that a government decides what is right and wrong and what those punishments are. In an ideal society, each person would decide those things for themselves. And I brought up how in an ideal society, emotion could be that moral compass for us all.
But what about those who don't care?
On the way home, Ken, Lauren, Nick and I got into a discussion about consumerism, recycling and waste, and I told them about something I witnessed earlier that day.
A woman was sitting at a bus stop banging her new box of ciggaretts on her hand before opening them up. The sound made a loud "slap slap slap" against her flesh, and it was difficult to ignore. She tore off the plastic and threw it on the ground, opened up the box and lit one up. The plastic covering sat there in a static pile, waiting for the wind to blow and take it out of sight, out of mind. -- I was immediately infuriated. She was far away from me (luckily), but I said out loud to myself "Are you kidding me?!".
This story sparked a discussion about how to approach someone about this kind of issue. It's difficult to determine how exactly one person would react to anothe person's cares, but you cannot force someone to change out of guilt. They must want to change in order to actually change their habits. Going up to them and telling you why this is important to you might work, right?
It seems possible, but then I brought up something that I think about a lot. At GIV we did an exercise where we wrote down what we thought was a major problem in the world today. I wrote down "Apathy". I truly think that apathy is one of the largest problems with people all over the world. Somehow along the way people just stoped caring.
So let's say I went up to that woman and I said to her like, "I noticed that you threw your trash on the ground. " She could just respond "I don't care." Her saying that would be saying "I don't care what you think. I don't care about where this plastic came from, where it's going, what it could do to the earth." And that infuriates me.
It's not the fact that she's littering that really bothers me here, it's the fact that she (potentially) doesn't care.
I got into an email discussion with a friend a long time about about morality. He discussed how it really bothers him that a government decides what is right and wrong and what those punishments are. In an ideal society, each person would decide those things for themselves. And I brought up how in an ideal society, emotion could be that moral compass for us all.
But what about those who don't care?
Monday, July 6, 2009
Since a few days ago, I am no longer a teenager. It doesn't feel very different, though.
My cat died yesterday. He was 16 years old. He just curled up on the porch and passed, as far as my parents know. He wasn't eating for the past 4 months, and when I went home for my birthday, he looked like a kitten again.... he was so small and skinny. It was horrible to see. He's the only cat I've ever had, and I don't remember not having him. I couldn't even pet him when I saw him. I didn't want to remember him like he was when I saw him a few days ago.
My dad buried him somewhere on our property.
My cat died yesterday. He was 16 years old. He just curled up on the porch and passed, as far as my parents know. He wasn't eating for the past 4 months, and when I went home for my birthday, he looked like a kitten again.... he was so small and skinny. It was horrible to see. He's the only cat I've ever had, and I don't remember not having him. I couldn't even pet him when I saw him. I didn't want to remember him like he was when I saw him a few days ago.
My dad buried him somewhere on our property.
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