Holiday Cheer

Turns out I did publish it: Building a Social Future.

I'm also working at a new job: Playdom. As well as earnestly restarting finding and buying a house and that whole holiday thing too. Feeling a little under water and missing the free weekdays to trudge through the mountains looking for mushrooms.

Social Games

My game at Smule, I Am T-Pain, has been out for a few weeks now and is still going strong -it's turned into a real phenomenon.

I'm also writing a new article I'd like to publish. The topic is the Building Blocks of Social Games.

Lepidoptery

A lot has happened since I last posted here. I've begun the process of buying property, I've taught myself how to 'relax' and 'spread' dried butterflies for display, I'm continuing to write (fiction, but I also sat down one night and squeezed out:Clusterfuck Action Games & The Lego Lesson) and my job has become quite hectic lately.

Criticism

I added the criticism section to my writings. I thought I might be embarassed by some of what I wrote in the past but, in retrospect, anger is a great muse. When 'big screen defecation' is just part of the setup, you know things are headed in the right direction.

4 Layers of Design

An article I wrote was published in an online industry magazine, gamasutra. How exciting! How validating! 4 Layers of Design

The 'Other' stuff

I've been very busy lately. Haven't even been on my PC in a while. I never thought the day would come, but I might actually be turning into a Mac person. I'd like to think this is mostly due to Apple working their asses off to build a product that actually validates the sentiments of their cult.

In the world of this website, I've finally added the 'Other' section to my writitngs. There is some sad stuff mixed in with some pretty amusing stuff and even some drug use.

In other news, I turn 29 in two days. It feels like I've been bracing myself for 30 for so long that I'll be relieved when it finally happens.

New Job

I have a new job at a company called Smule, which is turning out to be a really a great place to work. The transitional period of unemployment was certainly worth the change of venue. Not only that, but it happend right in the middle of wild mushroom season, giving me plenty of time to hike through the wilderness searching out fungal treasures in the crisp winter air. It's funny how these things work out.

Artistic Style & Creative Communities in Games

I wrote two new articles today. There were a lot of little notes building up so I figured it was time to flesh a couple of them out. One is about creativity-driven communities in social games and the other is about the importance of artistic style to genius.

Asynchronous Game Design

I wrote a new article about social networked games. The focus is on the challenges of designing a multiplayer game that accomodates players not playing at the same time.

Easter Egg

I added an easter egg somewhere in plain sight, as well as another entry to the fiction section.

Treasure Quest board game

Treasure Quest: My ode to premise-driven Ameritrash gaming (while secretly using as much mechanics-simplified fundamentals as possible). Now, even the Elf can win.

Templars and Design article

I've added Knights Templar to the boardgames section. I've also created a rather decent design article on game design in the 'Four Layers of Design'; it will be added to the articles section once I determine if publishing it is a pipe-dream or not. The rest of my time has been spent trying to get a job, so I'll have to be excused for slowing down on the updates.

Salutations to Lucubrations

I've noticed a fascinating thing while writing, reading and adding content to this website; the longer I work at intense mental thought (such as on an academic article or the rubik's cube) the stronger my mind gets. The sharper my thoughts, the less I need food or sleep; ideas begin to spill out everywhere and a trail of notes follows behind me. When you're well-fed and plodding through a daily grind, your mind numbs -you forget what it is to think. But this -this is the scholar bowed over his tomes, scribbling madly under the illumination of a single candle; this is the coveted lucubration.

Rubik's cube and Writings

I've added a new page on Rubik's cube. I had one on my last website, but I've gone and solved the cube again (it's been a few years now, I think). This time my solution is much better and I described the process I used to solve it.

I've also begun adding some of my writings to the appropriate section, even though I have the feeling no one will ever read them. At least it was a little trip down memory lane for me. I didn't have time to read Vorhang again, but I'm looking forward to it.