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Breakfast Topic: Relieving stress
Usually we think of WoW as a way to relieve stress that we acquire in real life. Yet sometimes stressful things happen in WoW, and we need to find ways in real life to relieve them. I find that whenever something like this happens in the game, from battleground whining and insulting, to trouble finding good roleplayers, it does me a world of good to write about it on WoW Insider in some constructive manner. Not only do I address the problem in myself this way, resolving my own attitude towards it, but I do something that, I hope, helps other people who are experiencing the same problem in their own gaming as well. Many WoW players have blogs of their own, and I presume writing there has a similar effect.What do you do in real life to relieve stress from WoW-related problems?
SGW's Chris Klug explains his storytelling philosophy
Chris Klug is Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment's Creative Director. He sets the vision for what kind of artistic and narrative experience players of Stargate Worlds will have. It's comforting for would-be SGW players, then, that Klug seems well educated in the basics of storytelling known to novelists and screenwriters.Klug describes his storytelling philosophy in an article at RPG Vault. He talks about driving the story and characterization forward with each moment of game-play, and evoking a wide variety of emotions. You'd find many of the techniques and concepts he describes in a screenwriting textbook at USC. The folks at Cheyenne have told us before that SGW will stand out for its approach to storytelling, but this is the first evidence we have that they are on the right track.Oh, and the article features two new SGW-related images.
Librarians who play World of Warcraft
Apparently the great WoW Ladies LJ community is full of librarians (who knew?), and they've pointed to this interesting article about a panel that includes a short presentation about World of Warcraft, and how libraries can benefit from providing resources about the game. Their numbers are a little off, in terms of players and how much they pay per month, but their reasoning is right on-- there are lots of reading resources online about the game (*ahem*, that's us!), and sites like WoWWiki and even GameFAQs (fine, laugh if you want) can be perfect for getting people who don't usually do much writing to try putting their thoughts into words on a page.I'm usually iffy on using games for education, because usually the people trying to do it don't have the first clue about what games really are. But something like this-- asking a beginning writer to use their game knowledge to make a guide or analyze gameplay-- seems much more well-founded and beneficial. And if all these librarians are part of the nine million people who play WoW, then this definitely seems like a great idea-- use common ground to help teach reading and learning skills.Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean WoW Insider should be bookmarked on every library computer (although, now that it's been mentioned...). But it's cool to see librarians using their knowledge of Azeroth to help teach real-world skills.
Writer's Guild of America recognizes game writing, announces award
Video game writing is a mixed bag, running the gamut from the thoughtful story and dialogue of Bioshock to "wizard needs food badly." Still, no form of writing should be without its accolades, and it's encouraging to see the Writer's Guild of America finally calling attention to the often-thankless field of writing for video games.The Guild's New Media Caucus has officially announced the Video Game Writing Award, which will first be presented in Los Angeles at the Writer's Guild Awards on February 9, 2008. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the award has been introduced to broaden the Guild's repertoire of acknowledged writing fields, as well as promote awareness of game writing as a craft, and hopefully raise the bar on the quality of game writing as well. No words yet on the nominees, but we can probably make a few guesses.[Via Gay Gamer]
Steinberg giving away video game freelancer secrets
People often ask us "How can I write for Joystiq?". It's pretty simple actually. Put yourself through months of grueling physical training, being sure to specialize in at least two IJLA-approved weapons or fighting styles. Then, travel to The Conquerdome, found in the exact geographical center of Arizona, on the second Tuesday after the summer solstice. Here's where it gets tricky. You must, then, kill one of us in, well, mortal combat. Brutal? Yes. But we kick ass in the annual blog softball tourney.If you want to go a bit more traditional though, you could do a lot worse than to read Scott Steinberg's "Video Game Freelancer's Bible". There are lots of practical tips here on how to get started, how to build a client base and how to keep the work coming. We do have to wonder about some of his feel-good maxims like "Always treat others with respect and dignity" though. Does he mean before or after you bury your bat'leth into your opponent's belly and claim their job as your own?
Author taps out 384-page book using mobile
We're usually pretty proud when we're able to crank out a few emails -- or mediate a discussion gone wrong in the comment section -- on our morning commute. Italian author Robert Burnocco has us trumped in style by actually using T9 and his mobile to cobble together a 384-page book in just 17 weeks. He was inspired to write his mobile opus, Compagni di Viaggio (Travelling companion) on the bus as apparently "In public transport, I realized that my imagination was productive and that the ideas abounded." We aren't sure what the buses are like in Italy, but we are usually just surrounded by lunatics and screaming schoolkids on our morning ride, hardly a top spot for creative endeavors.[Via textually.org]
Heads up: Game writing panel in NYC tonight
If you've got a serious interest in video game writing and live in or around New York City, we strongly encourage you to attend tonight's panel -- presented by the IGDA NYC Chapter and Writers Cabal -- titled Writing for Fantasy Game Worlds. Why do we care if you go? Because every time we play a video game, we're embarassed when loved ones ask what it's about. Panelists include Daniel Greenberg (Lord of the Rings Online), John Boomershine (Warhammer Online), Jeff Gomez (Magic: The Gathering), and Steve Balzac (Founder, Society for Interactive Literature, MIT Assassin's Guild).But that's not all! If you act now (ie: show up tonight), the panel will be followed by a networking meeting so you can add a bunch of prestigous business cards to your collection. The panel is being held from 6:30 to 8:30 on the 5th floor of New School University's Wollman Hall, at 65 West 11th St. in NYC (map). You can RSVP here. Enjoy ... and take notes.[Thanks, Sande]
Xray your code with new dev tool
A few tipsters have dropped us notes (thanks!) that on Apple's Developer Tools page, there's a new tool. Along with Xcode and Dashcode, there's a new, very pretty app called Xray. The flavor text itself says the app takes "interface cues from timeline editors such as GarageBand," so what we're looking at here seems to be a realtime application tester and analyzer.The three windows in the screenshot show stats on "Network Traffic," "CPU Load," and "Reads/Writes," and Apple also says devs will be able to track user events and even the OpenGL video driver. Looks like it will bring all the new tracking tools and analysis junk (technical term) together in a browsable, graphical interface, which means an easier time for devs, which means better apps for all of us. Groovy!
Xbox Live: Hollywood's new "Let's do lunch"?
It used to be that a producer couldn't sit down at a hip Hollywood bistro without some aspiring waiter thrusting a screenplay in his hands. Nowadays, the unsolicited pitches may be coming through an Xbox Live headset instead.Variety has an interesting piece on the rise of Xbox Live matches as networking opportunities for the young Hollywood elite. The author is part of a regular group of Hollywood insiders that gathers every Thursday night for Gears of War and Fight Night matches. The players say that Xbox Live provide a casual, fun way to make a lasting connection with a colleague. "I can't tell you how many times I have come out of a meeting, and while we're validating parking, we swap gamertags" said studio executive Jeff Katz. "But only if it was a good meeting and I want to talk to the person again."Not only that, but the untamed wilds of Xbox Live can provide some good cultural research for screenwriters. Troy writer David Benioff says the profanity-filled chat channels during his online matches provide "an easy way to research the slang that today's 14-year-olds use when they curse." Thus proving that even the chocolate milk kid can serve an important social purpose.[Via DigitalMediaWire]
LSN Global's ECOPLUS converts unwanted pens into styli
Finally, something useful to do with these heaps of ballpoint pens that either don't conform to our writing style, or worse, show up with ink that refuses to leave the cartridge. LSN Global is making sure we do something other than pick locks with our leftover pens, and furthermore, will probably save us a bit of cash by avoiding those overpriced replacement styli. The ECOPLUS can purportedly fit within the confines of a given writing instrument, clip onto one's pocket, and on a whim, can be whipped out and used to jot down notes in a lecture or throw down your digital John Hancock at a retail checkout counter. Not a lot of details beyond that, but be sure to click through for a few more shots of the creation in case you're feelin' a little DIY action rather than waiting it out.
Thompson sues Kotaku owner over comments, suit dismissed
[Update: The Kotaku suit has been dismissed by Federal District Court Judge Paul Huck, GamePolitics.com is now reporting. Apparently, Thompson "failed to follow the proper federal court procedure for amending a complaint." Thompson says he'll try it again though, so please, read on.]The smoldering battle between Florida lawyer Jack Thompson and the gaming press has been taken to a new level. In a tersely worded post yesterday on Kotaku, Brian Crecente revealed that Thompson has added a complaint against Kotaku owner Gawker Media to a March 13 suit against the Florida Bar.The childishly-worded complaint (He actually makes a "NOT!" joke on page 27) focuses on a few Kotaku commenters (which Thompson mistakenly refers to as "bloggers") that allegedly said Thompson "should be shot ... struck with a baseball bat, shot in the face by an irate gamer, [and] castrated and his testicles stuffed down his throat," among other things. To be fair, those are some strong, hateful words, and threats like these are not necessarily protected by the first amendment. Still, Gawker or Kotaku probably can't be held liable for them -- a federal judge ruled in June 2006 that "bloggers cannot be hit with libel suits on the basis of anonymous postings on their Web sites."Perhaps knowing this, Thompson goes a different route in his complaint by alleging Kotaku is part of a "civil conspiracy ... to deprive Thompson of his various basic constitutional rights" and that the site is "attempt[ing] to intimidate a citizen for the exercise of his constitutional rights." Mark Methenitis goes into detail on what exactly is legally wrong with this overreach over at his Law of the Game blog. All we'll add is that we're sickened by this obvious attempt at legal intimidation and we support our blogging brothers at Gawker all the way.
Awards to recognize best in game media
Most people with minimal literacy skills know good writing when they see it. But some people, tragically, are unable to distinguish the good from the bad in games writing. For those tragically handicapped people, help is on the way in the form of Britain's Games Media Awards.Sponsored by Intent Media (publishers of British trade mag MCV), the just-announced awards will be given out Oct. 11 in London's Soho Revue Bar (not exactly the Kodak Theatre, but you gotta start somewhere). A dozen awards will be presented for everything from print publications to podcasts with winners "voted by the industry itself" according to the press release. We can only hope this means the journalism industry and not the larger game industry as a whole. We can see the potential blackmail now: "Oh, look who gave my latest game a bad review. I guess I know who I won't be voting for at the GMAs this year."
Kanji Ken continues to confuse
The latest screenshots for Kanji Ken give us a better idea of what to expect from the game -- players translate hiragana characters, writing their kanji equivalent on the touchscreen. Scribbling out the correct Chinese symbols assists the kung-fu hero brawling on the top screen. That part of the mystery is solved!What has us befuddled, however, is the new trailer that Success Corp. is using to promote the game. The minute-long video plays out an epic, live-action duel between Kanji Ken's martial arts mascot and... a folding chair? The two opponents exchange a barrage of punches and high-flying kicks, neither of them revealing the motives behind their battle.Head past the post break for the movie clip and screenshots.
Kanji Ken commercial with a Chinese connection
We're not exactly sure about the specifics behind Kanji Ken, but we couldn't just pass on sharing this offbeat commercial with our readers! The 27-second spot has a Kung-Fu Theatre feel to it, supporting our suspicions that this is some sort of training game for learning Kanji -- Chinese characters that have been incorporated into the Japanese writing system.Developers Success Corp. (Touch Detective, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja) put up a teaser site for Kanji Ken, but there hasn't been much information posted besides this "Kanji Dragon" video. Watch the commercial after the break.
SXSW: The Inside Scoop - how to get a job in the game industry
For the most part, the "Inside Scoop" about getting a job in the gaming industry sounded like getting a job in pretty much any industry, except maybe trading decommissioned nuclear weapons on the black market. They hit the main points several times, which were as follows: Have a professional looking resume. Wear clean, washed (!) clothes to any meeting or interview. Be on time. Network. Network. Network. Like any industry you hope to break into, it's often not what you know, but who you know. Although panelist Bryan Stratton did add that he had a friend who he helped get a job in the field, and he ended up making a lot less money than he should have because of his lack of a higher education. So put down the controllers from time to time and read a book, ftw ... er, paycheck.Of particular note, one panelist mentioned that the two most important applications you can learn to help get a job in the industry are ... Microsoft Excel and email. Most of the time you are going to be coordinating assets and communicating with other people, so it's highly important that you know your way around a spreadsheet, and can organize your inbox and send/receive files and then know where they are.So if you can pwn in Excel as well as you do in Gears of War, then you're well on your way.
Scrivener - the word processor with a cork board
Scrivener is a new word processor made for the messy, non-linear and notecard-slinging writers out there. Merlin Mann has been raving about it, and I can understand why: Scrivener's entire UI and workflow is designed around managing the pieces of whatever you're working on, allowing you to organize things like thoughts, outlines, pictures and dialog snippets with folders and keywords. The most interesting organizational feature, however, is a unique cork board UI on which you rearrange virtual notecards that contain summaries of whatever is in the document they represent. Hopefully, this allows many a college student and screen writer to stop jamming real cork boards in their bags when meeting for group projects. Scrivener doesn't stop there: multiple document editing, full-featured outlining, full-screen editing and format-friendly exporting all round up quite a v1.0 debut. A 30-day demo is available, and a license runs $34.99.
WriteRoom 2.0 goes official
We reported a WriteRoom 2.0 beta from Hog Bay Software early last month, and the company has now announced an official release. Version 2.0, as you might remember, brings with it rich text editing, a live word count, saving documents wherever you please and a standard text/rich text storage format and more. In addition to an official version release, WriteRoom's price is now $24.95 (up from its previous 'free' and $14.95-while-in-beta prices).WriteRoom 2.0 is a Universal Binary, and a free demo is available.Thanks everyone who sent this in.
Journler 2.1 beta previews massive upgrade
Philip Dow has announced a significant update to Journler, his feature-packed writing/digital junk drawer app that topped my list of apps that help you get organized. As far as what's new, Philip stated in the beta download forum thread that there are simply too many changes to list (hopefully he means 'for now'), so he's taken the 'push some buttons and have fun!' route. At first glance, the app has obviously joined many others in the new realm of the Unified toolbar, and the rest of the UI has received a lot of polish. Unparalleled iLife integration is better than ever with a dedicated button for calling various media browsers in the bottom right of the window, and a new in-line resources panel on the right helps you to keep track of all the images, audio, video and documents you have linked and embedded in the present entry.I'm sure a lot more has been added to an already excellent app, and the discussion is ensuing in this Journler forum thread, where you can also download a copy of the beta. Lastly, Journler's license has also received an update. It's still donationware for personal use (and I highly encourage you to show Philip some love for all his hard work if you're using it), but a $24.95 license - a steal at that price, especially in comparison to Yojimbo or SOHO Notes - is now required for any institutions, businesses, organizations or individuals who are using Journler in their daily routines and/or simply making money with it. It's a pretty straight-forward request, and more information is available in either a Journler preference pane, or on the web here.Journler is an excellent app that I highly recommend if you're tired of leaving text files and images lying around. Check out its extensive feature list, and keep in mind it hasn't been updated for all the new goodies in the 2.1 beta.
TV and game writing compared
Reuters profiles Scott Sanford Tobis, a writer for Desperate Housewives who also penned the game based on the series. He's described as a gamer who was excited to work on the conversion.His interest relates to the similarities and differences between TV and game writing. Tobis says that games have more paths than TV shows; script details often need to be cut for TV, but they can give gamers more places to explore.We agree with most of Tobis's comments, but the article leaves us with questions about the true relation between game and TV writing. Should games make us feel like we're playing a TV show or movie? If developers try to fit games into TV conventions, do they miss the point of gaming?
Electronics-free $10 Braille writer
If you've ever needed a surefire way to impress a professor, besting his estimates by 80 percent on a project is probably a safe bet. Four mechanical engineering students at The Johns Hopkins University were tasked with developing a simple tool to write in Braille for less than $50, and no electronic components could be used; their portable writing invention checked in at around $10 apiece when mass produced. Typically, computer-assisted and typewriter-style composition is quite costly and isn't very practical for, say, busy blind professionals trying to write on-the-go. Braille letters are traditionally formed by creating up to six impressions -- better known as bumps -- into sequenced cells that form words. The students' writer has six buttons with corresponding pins that can be depressed simultaneously, which makes filling in cells substantially quicker than the traditional "one bump at a time" method. The team recently presented the device to the National Federation of the Blind where board members saw a great deal of promise for the handheld tool, and although commercialization plans have yet to be envisioned, this advancement in Braille transcription is definitely an eye-opener.[Via MedGadget]
