I play therefore I learn: fun with internet

Showing posts with label fun with internet. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 August 2013

Summer Spam Harvest (from my bookmark folders)

While still working on the posts that would feature my current setting and adventures, I found my bookmark folders flooded with bits and pieces saved with the earnest intention to add a witty (of course!) comment or two on my part, linking them into some proverbial bigger picture I'm presumably piling together around a bunch of Weirdo Attractors. Oh well, at least I managed to line them up into somewhat neat-looking stacks.

Friday, 22 March 2013

Because he's a flippin' ninja!

This is dedicated to all those tiny plasticine ninjas that my cousin and I once made just to methodically stab them with dozens of elegant bone swords salvaged from the lunch fish soup. (And to all those ninja movies I had not seen but could vividly visualize by my cousin's narrations.)

I happened to watch this today. The creators request spreading the word. I'm absolutely delighted to!

P.S.
I don't know how they do it but every time I ponder on something ninja-related, I find out that IO9 has just posted something relevant: like this.

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Poop on the Moon!

Minute Physics and Smarter Every Day join forces to communicate the crucial aspects of space travel.

Teeheheheheee...

Friday, 8 March 2013

Winterlude (2). Prague, psycho puzzles and preferences.

[semi-standard copy-paste intro]
Between hibernation and game-testing responsibilities, I have still managed to involve myself in some other games to provide the change-of scenery and offer a road-stop for the mind's retreat. More than that, these games have given me the itch to share some stories again and let the commentary sprawl. Let's see if I can carve that itch into a somewhat readable series - here goes, in no particular order. (Cyber Ninjas landed in the first slot.)

At quite young age, when I still had very limited access to the world of "electronic games", I made a curious discovery about myself. While being very enthusiastic about all games in general and taking great joy in watching others play whatever, I found it difficult to delve into just any game myself. Partly it was due to controls mechanics - mashing a correct sequence of correct keys in exact correct combination while running against time was the synonym of "utterly stressful", for example. Still, the elusive to-play-or-not-sense extended beyond that. And so, growing into a gamer meant a sort of ever-active quest to find those select "my games" that I would dare to dig thoroughly into. Over the years I developed some semi-articulate preferences to guide my what-to-play-next choices. They function as a sort of mental flowchart or safety net to prevent investing my time and resources into games I'd probably not enjoy. In other words, steering the way to familiarity and comfort, they can also act as unnecessarily rigid standards and thus lead to stagnation. Then Good old Games came along and remedied the situation: the ease of access and affordability effectively eliminate such "wrong choice anxiety". As a result I have accumulated a number of titles to "try out, out of curiosity, and it would be okay if I didn't like them".

So, Still life. I was looking for something different (and not too time-consuming) to try out inbetween my "usual universes". After drudging through the inevitable how-the-fuck-do-I-get-this-thingie-to-do-that-thing-I-need-it-to-do-phase, I found myself quite hooked. The story grew more compelling with each step further in. The scenery was stylish. I wasn't overly keen on the navigation logic (nor the shifting 3rd person view) but with some practice I was able to work with it. And the soundtrack was pretty cool.

I also learned that apparently I've been carrying some great loathing towards certain kinds of mechanical puzzles. (That idea itself puzzled me - after all, I had quite thoroughly enjoyed Myst ... perhaps not every last bit of it but still.)

Anyway, there was this chest in the attic - the gateway to the game's next stage. Once you roll those cylinders into the correct position, that is. After wiggling them a little, I (proverbially) stomped my foot: "I'm not going along with this! Oh, I know that with a wee bit of effort I'd be able to move these things into the required configuration. But you know what, Game? I'm not willing to give you that effort! Family fetish or not, I don't care for this puzzle, all I want is to go on with the game!"

As I was looking up the right amount and order of clicks and applying them ingame with no remorse or hesitation, it occurred to me that I had either heard or read a similar sentiment somewhere.

You apathetically poke the sliders around, knowing you could solve this, but this is like overly complicated math, it -
Wait a minute.
This is a wooden door, and you have an axe in your inventory. It ought to be possible ... if this was real, it would be absolutely possible.

Yes, that was it! I found it buried deep in my "good point" bookmarks (no mystical symbol combination required for access). It was an Escapist article where game designer Jonas Kyratzes passionately explains why puzzles-within-another-game do anything but improve the user experience. (And I passionately agreed.) The part that interested me the most (and that had stuck to my brain) was the fundamental difference he points out between puzzles (boo!) and obstacles (yay!).

The difference is in integration: A puzzle is a purpose unto itself and follows its own rules, but an obstacle is part of the game world and the gameplay. An obstacle, while still created by a designer as a gameplay element, is organically derived from the world that the game presents. A slider puzzle on the kitchen door is just a puzzle; needing to get the key from the cook is an obstacle.

In my terms, what he's discussing is the difference between "getting the answer right" and "solving the situation". Or - to go even more abstract - the divide between "accumulating knowledge" and "learning". I'm also connecting many dots related to instructional design here. The puzzle vs. obstacle situation is very similar to what Cathy Moore explains in terms of "what they must know" vs. "what they need to do" (a point I've taken to heart and tried to keep mindful of ever since).

Speaking of my "gamer sense" and preferences, I have no clue how to define the border between "challenging" and "frustrating" - though I can always tell which end of that continuum I'm dealing with. In Still Life, I found it curious how some puzzle-things would come off as pleasantly stimulating while others (virtually identical in function and form) would become a blatant chore. Furthermore, often the "frustrating chore" kind of situations would seem very "organic to the given world" - in theory at least. A few examples.

Fitting the symbolic objects to statues in sequence taught in a poem was more time-consuming than solving many other ... er situations. However, those trips to the other end of town were filled with suspense and purpose; and when the silent ladies finally snapped into their places, it felt genuinely rewarding.

In contrast, figuring out which numbered buttons to press based on artwork clues in the kinky-house was theoretically fitting but felt just kind of tedious.

For some reason I found "lockpicking" task the most frustrating of them all. (Even more frustrating than the slide-around-an-image-of-the-key-to-make-it-a-real-key just before Prague finale. There I simply didn't give a crap.) It seemed so natural and sensible at first - until I found myself grumbling into the noise of excessive Alt+Tabbing and the Sequence of Correct Clicks.

At the same time, maneuvering the crane levers into their designated positions earlier in the game didn't bother me at all. Go figure.

To sum up. Lining up symbols in mechanical combination lock - "Boo!" Navigating a brave little bomb robot across the laser field - "Wheeeee!"

Sliding puzzle to "open" secret-covering paintings? Oh no, you didn't! Where is that axe! (And where did I put that article link again?)

Thursday, 7 February 2013

"I want to believe" vs. "I want to learn more"

The other day Extra Credits posted this wonderful piece contemplating the relation between beliefs, knowledge, learning - and how they don't actually contradict each other. I could relate to what they were saying a lot - for me personally, these have always been aspects of the same process.

Indeed, many a times when my conclusions finally land on the the "hmmmmh, that's a bunch of bullshit alright" spot, the starting point has not been "this must be wrong and I shall vocalize it over and over to demonstrate how wrong it is," but rather: "what a curious construct/ ingenious idea/ mind-blowing theory/ elegant explanation this is! I want to believe! I wish to know it better, learn more about it, understand how it works".

Among other things I've observed my attitude shift that way (from fascination to "...eh ...") about various horoscope-y categorization systems (like "personality measuring"or clear-cut learning styles), technologies and practices with "earth-friendly intentions" (like bike generators or a bunch of other stuff) and - last but not least - various motivation'n'productivity theories (like how creative process should work and what self esteem means).

I haven't figured out how to embed videos from Penny Arcade (if they allow it at all), so I'll spam a pretty picture instead.

Sunday, 3 February 2013

Winterlude (1). The power, the calling and cyber ninjas.

Between hibernation and game-testing responsibilities, I have still managed to involve myself in some other games to provide the change-of scenery and offer a road-stop for the mind's retreat. More than that, these games have given me the itch to share some stories again and let the commentary sprawl. Let's see if I can carve that itch into a somewhat readable series - here goes, in no particular order.

The last time I had played Call to Power II must have been over 10 years ago (while procrastinating over the unfinished academic papers and fantasizing about such game format being applied to the historical data of my region - I had inevitably noticed that often the game-given information had an easier way of sticking in my brain than the stuff I worked hard to memorize in archaeology classes). I must have played its predecessor as well but the two experiences have melded into one in my mind. Call to Power is (at least during the slow-smooth-flow phases) incredibly meditative and calming, almost hypnotic to play. With its subtle-yet-clever map animations and its soundtrack, it makes an excellent what-to-play-when-stoned candidate.

Entering that familiar world now, I am noticing how my play-logic has changed a little over the years. Sure, I still have some pet moves and preferred strategies (such as: sending out plenty of scouts to search the ruins early on; prolonging sieges until I can seize the town without casualties; skipping over immediate upgrades to finance the next-next generation properly; etc.). But while in the old days the essence of each game tended to be simply racing against the AI (for map domination, for grabbing all the land, claiming all the science) and oftentimes trying to eradicate those pesky others who obstructed *my* chosen game course, I now seemed more able to grasp the game as a whole. Sure, I still have direct control over just one empire - but suddenly I recognized the other buggers, randomly thrown together onto the same map, as parts of the game that the player still interacts with.

While still sorting out what other aspects of the game I wanted to bring up and how, I saw io9 post this. My first reaction was: "Whee!" (The second being: "Whee hee!"). I figured the Pulp-o-Mizer was providing the perfect medium for some CtP commentary. And here it is - first the headlines and then the game situations they correspond to.

In the future, my empire is technically not at war with anyone (unlike everyone else). At the same time, I still want to meddle with the ingame balance and power distribution. Enter the Cyber Ninja unit. I send them poking the cities of the less-agreeable rival. (I also keep some Hover Infantry units nearby in case they succeed and the defecting towns require protection from barbarians.)

I have managed to mostly skip the city and terrain improvements that pollute a lot. Instead I improve commerce and then use the extra gold to speed up building stuff. That's not the way for the AI though - I see all the other empires gleefully mining up the mountains. This Phoenician region in particular seems to suffer from Copious Mega Mine Infestation. I also see those two cities revolt often - the extra pollution a likely source for unrest.

I have entered the final(ish) stage in my game where you get to build all these facilities and satellites to serve the Gaia Controlloer project. CtP does not actually show or mention the folks working on these (it doesn't show the actual people at all, only numbers). But I would like to imagine an army of engineers and techs that gets unleashed in this process.

When my Cyber Ninjas succeed, the target city revolts. A world wonder called Egalitarian Act lures these cities to its host empire. Without it, though, the revolting cities seek glory as barbarians. As far as I've seen, such new-barbarians immediately start generating the Hoplite units who will then roam around and attack stronger units (like the Hover Infantry) with no shame.

And finally. After I had spent quite some quality time at the Pulp-O-Mizer controls, copywriting my game experience highlights, the process deftly ascended to meta-level and spawned this:

Friday, 25 January 2013

From the hibernation chamber

As the winter was settling in, I took a hard blow to my creativity, ability to focus, ability write or do ... well, anything really. Dedicating all my remaining shards of strength into performing the simple tasks like getting out of bed, going for walks and bringing in firewood to heat the woodstove, there wasn't much left for developing the writing habit. Now that the days are once again getting longer, I am discovering how my intense focus on managing the mundane has been secretly awarded by improved anxiety-coping skills, better deliberate attention-directing ability and increased resilience. I am also discovering that the bookmark folder for stuff that I've meant to spam on is overflowing with links. Since I've mostly forgotten the smartass comments or insightful generalizations intended to accompany these, I'm just going to dump the links themselves. (The advances in gaming front deserve their own post - or a few. I'm working on it.)

So, here goes. The random info-dump organized in somewhat topical bunches.

On work habits, productivity and the importance of allowing the idle time to happen.

http://positivesharing.com/2006/03/my-lazy-life/
http://lifehacker.com/5901013/in-defense-of-procrastination-when-to-prioritize-doing-nothing
http://lifehacker.com/5943923/living-without-time
http://lifehacker.com/5927330/the-holy-trinity-of-inactivity-how-boredom-distraction-and-procrastination-are-vital-to-healthy-living
http://lifehacker.com/5949900/wonderful-things-happen-when-your-brain-is-empty
http://io9.com/5933423/the-right-way-and-wrong-way-to-let-your-mind-wander
http://lifehacker.com/5965826/seven-productivity-myths-debunked-by-science-and-common-sense

See also:

---

On the ease of accepting stuff as "real" and "norm" and "traditional" when it's just arbitrary.

(I have a special fondness for origin stories that demonstrate how and when random things and beliefs have come to be - and how their "marketing" as something inherent or self-evident is being debunked in the process.)

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-ways-to-get-anyone-to-believe-clearly-fake-news-story/
http://www.cracked.com/article_19780_5-gender-stereotypes-that-used-to-be-exact-opposite.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_18510_6-supposedly-ancient-traditions-that-totally-arent_p2.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_19283_7-ancient-forms-mysticism-that-are-recent-inventions.html
http://www.historynet.com/the-fox-sisters-spiritualisms-unlikely-founders.htm

http://lifehacker.com/5867049/nine-stubborn-brain-myths-that-just-wont-die-debunked-by-science
http://io9.com/5959058/further-evidence-that-iq-does-not-measure-intelligence

See also: Faux Symbolism

---

On work habits, tinkering and skill improvement

http://lifehacker.com/5974442/dont-be-an-expert-diy-is-all-about-the-end-product
http://lifehacker.com/5957937/give-yourself-permission-to-suck-its-the-only-way-to-learn
http://lifehacker.com/5946883/five-realizations-that-helped-me-write-regularly

http://positivesharing.com/2007/06/find-your-quitting-point/
http://sugru.com/manifesto?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=manifesto

---

On the ever-important player-game-world relations.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/08/op-ed-why-photorealism-isnt-the-key-to-emotional-gaming-experiences/
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/mechanics-as-metaphor-part-2
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6117-Photorealistic-Sociopathy
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6718-Only-The-Lonely

---

On the learning process in general, how the mind works and develops, how education works and how it doesn't - and the elusive overlaps of all this.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-ways-high-school-makes-you-hate-reading/
http://www.cracked.com/article_18611_the-10-most-important-things-they-didnt-teach-you-in-school.html
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/09/if-you-spank-dont-console/
http://io9.com/5974256/overlyhonestmethods-is-the-postsecret-of-the-science-world-and-it-is-amazing
http://lifehacker.com/5943362/the-secret-to-being-self+taught-curiosity
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/08/at-what-point-can-i-say-ive-learned-a-language/
http://www.buzzfeed.com/virginmobilelive/20-students-that-totally-nailed-it-5l87?b=1?=crack

---

The miscellaneous interesting stuff.

http://lifehacker.com/5953755/what-exactly-is-freedom-of-speech-and-how-does-it-apply-to-the-internet
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-b.html#5
http://io9.com/5971342/the-uncomfortably-common-practice-of-medicinal-cannibalism
http://io9.com/5966703/how-genitals-got-their-names-or-why-a-penis-is-called-a-prick
http://io9.com/5947818/the-power-of-armadillo-penises-why-more-scientists-should-tell-stories
http://www.shortpacked.com/2011/comic/book-13/05-the-death-of-snkrs/falseequivalence/
http://io9.com/5975489/a-chart-of-emotions-that-have-no-name-in-the-english-language

Thursday, 13 December 2012

The power of visualization goes methodical

I'm a sucker for imagery that grasps complex, sizable information and expresses it with minimalism and clarity while keeping the core point. So, I'll be all too glad to add this item (titled How theories get formed) into my obscure archives:

P.S.: While getting all razored up, there's also this glorious bit for required reading.

Thursday, 6 December 2012

Trees, fractals, colours & connections

Lately I have been quite engaged in the journeys and struggles inside the game called Void (as seen here and here). It is as therapeutic as it is frustrating; it is as gorgeous as it is ripe with symbolic potential. It provokes thought and triggers a tide of references and parallels in life as well as art.

Then I happened to watch these two Folding Ideas episodes today:
foldablehuman.com/foldingideas/folding-ideas-enter-the-void/
foldablehuman.com/foldingideas/folding-ideas-the-fountain/

And my already over-titillated-with-connections mind went "Ding! Ding-Dinga-fucking-Ding!" I am not aware whether these connection points in the visuals and symbols are intentional or known from the game creators' part but they are sure there from the recipient's point of view. (Also, I have me some movies to watch now.)

And then, riding on the heavy wave of reference and connotation, I thought of yet another piece of art that (while having a strong chant/prayer/meditative quality to it already) strongly resonates with the game, this time more specifically with its ultimate goal of "breakthrough" or "crossing" that cannot be done alone. (I hope they don't take down this fan-made video any time soon.)

Thursday, 15 November 2012

The power of pimples (well explained).

TED-Ed delivers another good one.

My personal favourite is 1:53-2:06 showing one hormone triggering the next and so on. I wish I'd written that!

Saturday, 10 November 2012

The power of pee meets the power of smart kids

I'm supposed to an adult. Yet I involuntarily respond with pure giggly joy when meeting dribble and doodoo jokes (not to mention dongs scribbled on the wall, boobs that don't belong and random flying penises).
I while ago I even made this little spiritual reminder (a reference to a bunch of inside jokes with too much obscurity and extra background to repeat or even remember).

At the same time, I've discovered that I can harness this "inappropriate" glee in the learning process (for myself at least) - dull or hard to grasp information finds its way into the this-makes-sense-circles when some jolly bodily functions bring it along to the perception party and help it mingle.

And then I read news like this: io9.com/5958887/oh-this-just-some-teenage-girls-from-africa-who-invented-a-urine-powered-generator - and want to applaud. First out of the sheer immature glee, and second to celebrate the curiosity and smarts and the dash of mad science these girls have.
I don't know how well the generator works, I don't know the amount of giggling gone into the invention process - but the fact that they came up with the idea makes the world seem a better place.

Monday, 5 November 2012

Electric dreams in action

The general idea that dreams often work as a sort of simulation to figure out and try out solutions has a lot of appeal to me. I frequently experience such dreams myself, repeatedly running the simulations of coping with physical threats, navigating inescapable situations, practicing difficult roles and relationships. So, the post about "Teteris dream research" in IO9 immediately caught my eye. Mind you, I wasn't all that wooed by the Tetris aspect there (as a kid I didn't have immediate access to it and once I was able to borrow the game and try it out, I learned an important lesson about myself: "shapes and fitting - good, running against time - bad") but rather that they got around to study "the fact that gamers tend to have dreams that involve repetitively playing the same games that they do when they’re awake."

And when Esther confesses to having Tetris dreams herself and further inquires: "does this work for every game? Are drivers Mario Karting? And what about those people playing first person shooters?" I can safely say "Yes" about the games I play on regular basis. Although I've noticed that my dreaming mind can assign different purposes to these simulations. Sure, there are the "figure how to solve this difficult task" game dreams when I've got stuck and decided to sleep on it. Then there are the "safe haven" game dreams where the familiar gamescape works as home ground for whatever is going on (with the ability to reload if things go awry). And then there are the game-life crossover dreams where the game universes lend the stage for solving situations of real life origin. It's these last ones that I cherish the most.

Thursday, 11 October 2012

What were they supposed to be measuring again?

I have always found certain guilty pleasure in the experiments on human behaviour. So much so that I have gleefully had fun in the various virtual test chambers ranging from moral dilemmas to measuring facial attraction to optical illusions. (Incidentally, it was taking the BBC's "brain sex" quiz repeatedly that made me notice how picking up my first first-person-view computer game and playing it extensively had "unlocked the ability" to do well in those imaginary 3D rotation tasks.) In my excitement to have more and more experiment exposure I also developed the grumbl-y little voice inside my mind that pouted at the "for fun" and at the "serious" testing alike. "Oh, puh-lease, they've posed the problem completely wrong," it said. And: "how can you pick a course of action from outside the situation". And: "none of these options describes how I'd choose to act and yet they assess me based on that choice?" And: "come on, it's so obvious from these answers what you're after; if I'd be biased in favour of a certain outcome - which I am - I'd immediately know which to stick to!"

I was becoming just as disgruntled about the behavioural testing as I had already become towards "testing knowledge" (and the people who did well in those tests). So, taking cues from that little voice, I've developed an even stronger taste for other kind of studies. The ones that demonstrate how things aren't quite as simple as you'd assume. (Or that things don't even work quite the way you assume.) The ones that demonstrate that your answers depend just as much from how you set up the test as they do from the subject's reaction. Which brings me to The Marshmallow Study Revisited. My favorite point from the authors is this:

"Being able to delay gratification—in this case to wait 15 difficult minutes to earn a second marshmallow—not only reflects a child's capacity for self-control, it also reflects their belief about the practicality of waiting," says Kidd. "Delaying gratification is only the rational choice if the child believes a second marshmallow is likely to be delivered after a reasonably short delay."

I wish I could project the ability to quote studies and meta-studies to my toddler self who often knew very well the background of her choices (and sensed when countering adult argument wouldn't add up or hold up) but somehow couldn't get most of those pesky grown ups to see reason. Though, come to think of it, some of those pesky grownups became only more motivated to enforce their flawed stance once presented with evidence to the contrary.

Here's a word to IO9 rounding up a few more cases of mismeasuring: http://io9.com/5893107/the-many-ways-science-has-incorrectly-assessed-your-personality.

And here's a photo of me, pretending to play with sand. There was a photographer at the kindergarten that day. He was moving around, proably trying to catch the little ones in their most natural and at some point he threw a general request in the air: "would you be so kind and play a little?" At which point I promptly quit my exploration attempts, sat in the sanbox (filled with stranger-kids, away from my group), picked up a little sand and rolled it from one palm to another while maintaining this tense, focused (or so I thought) gaze. All natural!

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Information stepping stones (3). Doom vs innovation.

When it comes to possibly-problematic-in-a-long-term kind of phenomena and processes, there's nothing I loathe more than the foggy fearmongering, especially if built on ignorance. (Reminds me of an old forum conversation when discussing the ins and outs of climate change, I - feeling as though being on the same page with a then-friend - asked if he'd take the turn to "explain about the important role of ocean acidification". He did, blasting all those culprits left and right... - and from what he wrote it became painfully evident that with all the finger-pointing he wasn't actually familiar what the term stands for. One conversation lead to another and I soon managed to flee from the friendship that in hindsight looked more and more like a narcissist's quest to "recruit" minions and milk their admiration. But that's another story. (Which I'm obviously still bitter about :P)) Kind of like this:

The positive bit of that loathing is that it makes me appreciate well-structured, well-balanced explanations so much more. Add references to the original sources and you've got a semi-literate bugger that I am, reading with gusto.
In other words, IO9 does it again:
http://io9.com/5950630/7-signs-we-are-heading-for-a-mass-extinction.

ED:
The same appreciate-the-well-explained-basics-principle applies to their whole "Secret History" section, especially the stories of stuff past that fulfils similar purposes as the stuff present:
http://io9.com/5950353/the-incredible-devices-that-made-motion-pictures-before-there-were-cameras

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

So I have been playing ... (9). Peace and quiet in the Zone

In the middle of all my Wasteland inquiries and the real-life tasks and explorations, I took some time to hop around the (mostly) familiar pastures. (Peppering the in-game journeys with my personal noticings and nostalgia-rides as usual.)

Here's the first video and here's the rest of the playlist.

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Pantsuits meet blue pens

Today's random nugget of wisdom comes from the coffee-stained conference rooms and it goes like this:
"the intricate logic of bad production cycles might very well be a cultural universal."

Read the whole story here at the Mmm... by Morna (she's got a link to the Russian original-original as well).
This bit, however, sums up the whole AND brings on an unnerving tingle of recognition.

Tired, Smith went for a compromise: “Very well. I will draw you two red lines. They will be definitely perpendicular. I will draw the rest of the lines transparently. They will be transparent and you won’t be able to see them, but I will draw them. Will you be satisfied then?”“Will we be?” Mrs. Redroot turned to Lily. “Yes, we will be.”“But please, a couple of them must be green,” Lily added. “And, can I ask you one more question?”“Yes,” Smith allowed her in a dead voice.“Can you depict one of the straight lines as a kitten?”

Saturday, 29 September 2012

When information stepping stones high-five

Yesterday I happened to watch this rather interesting TED-talk about defining the boundaries of "sane" and "normal" (or perception of it) - and categorizing what's "beyond normal". I immediately took a liking to the story and the questions it posed.

And then there was this Mind Hacks post showing up in their updates. I'd been glancing over the headline for a day or two until taking time to read it this morning. I felt my brain pass through this delay when I could almost heat the click-click-click! of the gears snap into the place and the Brain Maintenance Crew rejoicing in the cheer of recognition: "waiddaminnute, that's the same place, the other guy was talking about! Haha, high five!"

I so enjoy when that happens.

ED:
Bonus moment. I was trying to come up with an excuse to tie in more of my morning reading to this bundle. I couldn't. So I'll simply spam it for the sake of the great sense of camaraderie.

Thursday, 6 September 2012

Girl power meets (kicks) whiny reviews

Here's the thing: I absolutely loved the movie "Sucker Punch". I would also like to think that I'm one of those who "got it" the moment i saw it. (Let's just say, the multi-layered puzzle-y, metaphor-y stuff kinda is my thing. And I tend to not dismiss a rising-from-the-ashes heroine just because I can see her panties when she kicks.)
Here's another thing: I semi-regularly check out Movie Bob's reviews and weekly Big Picture musings at the Escapist. And it was his "don't-miss-this-movie-folks" review that got me interested in Sucker Punch in the first place. So, when I saw that this week's (and the next) episode is addressing just that, I felt that I'd like to do my part spreading the word. (Here's his original review as well.)

Tuesday, 4 September 2012

So I have been playing ... (4). Lessons in pandemic (with zombies)

A little while ago I ran into an ad promoting the beta of a browser-based zombie-strategy game. (That's one thing I enjoy about most of the webcomics - the advertisements showing up in their pages often lead to next undiscovered webcomics or other intriguing stuff.) So, I have been playing the Zombie Pandemic a little every day.

I decided to skip the tutorial right away and just see what I could find out about the game's logic and mechanics on my own.

At first the game didn't seem like something I'd want to invest my time into - I decided to keep on trying out stuff and goof off as much as I could with no real goal in mind. But having advanced a tiny bit here and there, I'd say that the simplicity is very deceptive here. Indeed, the game doesn't deliver much on the instant gratification front. But the closer I looked, the more I started to appreciate the game's structure, the depth of detail beyond plain sight and all sorts of other subtleties.

As far as the learning curve goes, I'd say the most substantial step is becoming aware of your limitations: you've only got so much stamina to spare each day while each activity uses some of it; you can only improve so much, only achieve so much, only loot so much. I think it was the third day of playing when I found myself pondering over the best uses for the next day's "stamina points", setting myself rules about what to pick up and what to leave behind, making choices about locations to discover. In the meantime I've learned to navigate the game's interface, picked up new skills and found out about the interactive content beyond the game itself (example).

I know I'll be returning for some more for a while. But not today. I've already used up my stamina for today.

Monday, 27 August 2012

The delicate beauty of universal language

Oldie-goodie. I could not bear myself if I didn't spam it on.

(Otherwise - Estonians and their inside jokes. Aitäh, Surematu.)