Just posted this on Kotaku, but it ended up a little longish, so I thought it might be worthwhile to repost it here. In response to an article about the shortcomings of Destiny, I wrote: Continue reading A comment about the collapse of the AAA games market
SHAREfactory Wish List
I wasn’t expecting SHAREfactory. Making it possible to copy captured videos to USB, sure. Uploading directly to YouTube and maybe other sites, which still hasn’t happened yet, definitely. But I didn’t expect Sony to put so much effort into making a video editing tool like SHAREfactory for the PS4. I’ve made a few videos with it now: Continue reading SHAREfactory Wish List
That’s clearer, then.
So now we know that the Kool-Aid Microsoft was drinking when it introduced the Xbox One came from Gabe Newell.
Phillip Phillips – Home: Alternate Lyrics
Hold on to me as we go,
As we roll down this unfamiliar road.
And although this wave is stringing us along,
Just thaw this heart of stone,
Cause I’ll find my feet too close to home.
Xbox 180: Thoughts (Extended Cut)
The reversion of the crappy policies announced previously is cool. I still want to get a PS4 more, and that isn’t really because of the price (though that is a great bonus).
Xbox 180: Thoughts
Cool.
I still want a PS4.
Massive Chalice: Ideas
I just finished watching the recently-posted design chat about Massive Chalice. Some of what was said gave me ideas. Now I give them to you, free of charge.
Am I the only one who found this sponsored tweet asinine?
Here it is with my response:
The wait is over. Get your tickets for #ManofSteel now: http://t.co/EU9hk8Mh0N pic.twitter.com/TAZX0U1fU1
— Batman v Superman (@BatmanvSuperman) May 21, 2013
@ManofSteelMovie @wbpictures I don't think paying is what people were waiting for. Oh, you mean YOUR wait. Gotcha.
— Ethan Elias Johnson (@SharedProphet) May 22, 2013
Xbox One: Thoughts
The new Microsoft console, Xbox One, has just been revealed, with more details to come at E3. These are my initial thoughts. I’ve already written up and retweeted a bunch of immediate reactions on Twitter:
Fiction Writing
I will seduce you.
Lure you in,
Gently
Entwine my grip with your emotions,
Like fingers in your hair.
Democracy à la mode
Suppose you want to be president of the United States. How would you get there? Well, assuming you were born into a wealthy family, you might start with law school and local politics. Make sure to practice public speaking and cultivate as much personal charisma as you can muster. Campaigns are expensive, and you wouldn’t want to squander all of your family’s wealth on them, so seek sponsors. After all, you understand that a personal investment of wealth in your own campaigns is a gamble, but for sponsors it’s an investment. Use the money donated by wealthy corporate and individual sponsors to advertise. To attain these donations, of course, you must support the interests of donors when in office. Those are the interests important to you for keeping your office; the lower classes can be influenced well enough by advertising and speeches, and you don’t even have to bother trying to earn the votes of partisans at all, as long as you purport to be a member of their party.
Contrast
There’s an interesting contrast between these two views of what it means to win a Nobel Peace Prize:
Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble.: Alternate Lyrics
Once upon time
A few mistakes ago
I was in your sights
You got me alone
You found me
You found me
You found me
Continue reading Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble.: Alternate Lyrics
Extrinsic Motivation: the Danger That Games Embody
There’s a new editorial up today on Kotaku describing a man’s struggle with the disconnect between reality and the elaborate systems of extrinsic rewards we have used as the basis of so many things in our society. As Kotaku is a gaming news website, the role of video games in this process is of course mentioned.
Continue reading Extrinsic Motivation: the Danger That Games Embody
Why do people hate the US?
Hint: it isn’t for our freedom.