The Overprotected Kid A trio of boys tramps along the length of a wooden fence, back and forth, shouting like carnival barkers. “The Land! It opens in half an hour.” Down a path and across a grassy square, 5-year-old Dylan can hear them through the window of his nana’s front room. It’s still morning, but someone has already started a fire in the tin drum in the corner, perhaps because it’s late fall and wet-cold, or more likely because the kids here love to start fires. Other than some walls lit up with graffiti, there are no bright colors, or anything else that belongs to the usual playground landscape: no shiny metal slide topped by a red steering wheel or a tic-tac-toe board; no yellow seesaw with a central ballast to make sure no one falls off; no rubber bucket swing for babies. The Land is an “adventure playground,” although that term is maybe a little too reminiscent of theme parks to capture the vibe. “I’m gonna put this cardboard box in the fire,” one of the boys says. Do accidents happen anymore?
Fantasy Book Critic And That’s How You Paint Something Amazing When You Have No Drawing Skills Source: The Meta Picture Artpictures Related Posts « Chinese Ministry Newspaper: GM Soybeans Harm Health of China’s 1.3 Billion People At First I Thought This Was A Food Truck. Danish government creates entire country in Minecraft, users promptly blow it up and plant American flag The Danish Geodata Agency recently recreated the entire country of Denmark in Minecraft at a 1:1 scale. It’s one of the biggest Minecraft creations ever, made up of about 4000 billion brick and 1 terabyte of data. It was ingeniously built using the agency’s 3D elevation model and was meant to be used as a teaching tool. Of course, players almost immediately began blowing it up. They weren’t supposed to be able to. "We consider that as a nature of playing Minecraft – elements are broken down and new are being created,” Danish Geodata Agency spokesman Chris Hammeken told The Register. You can download the Denmark map in sections from the Danish Geodata Agency’s website. "We are very happy to see so many players around the world creating fancy nice things and have fun," Hammeken said. Filed under: Minecraft
The Oracle: Essays I Have No Words & I Must Design Note: This article was originally published in issue #2 of Interactive Fantasy, and also appears on the author's website. by Greg Costikyan There's a lotta different kinds of games out there. But do these things have anything at all in common? Well, we can all do the latter: "Good game, Joe," you say, as you leap the net. As game designers, we need a way to analyze games, to try to understand them, and to understand what works and what makes them interesting. We need a critical language. What Is a Game, Anyhow? It's Not a Puzzle. In The Art of Computer Game Design, Chris Crawford contrasts what he call "games" with "puzzles." Some puzzles are obviously so; no one would call a crossword a "game." To be sure, Zork is not entirely static; the character moves from setting to setting, allowable actions vary by setting, and inventory changes with action. A puzzle is static. It's Not a Toy. According to Will Wright, his Sim City is not a game at all, but a toy. Aha!
How Football Sounds To People That Don't Care. This Guy Nails It. Firstly, imagine every time within a day that football is mentioned by someone else. Secondly, replace it with something that you don't want to hear about every day. Say... Archaeology. So, you awaken to the clock radio. Time for a bite to eat over the morning TV. Even when it isn't archaeology season, the media follow noted archaeologists. Out of the car at 8:55 and into work. The drive home from work. And now the pub. Best go home and avoid anyone who might be drinking and singing. To bed. Used with permission
Bio-Sensing How to measure it: Near-infrared spectroscopy - Electroencephalography (EEG) - How it can be used: Communication Prosthetics - Cursor control - Gaming - Toys - NeuroWear - Music - Supplies Links: 1.