Month: March 2008

Not Social Networking… but Social Gaming

I came across this article about a new multiplayer online game that involves the territorial conquest of colleges and universities. Students make teams and recruit people in the real world, in order to play in the virtual world. It is a new way for networking between students around campus and is apparently going to grow into a huge phenomenon around every campus… maybe even Middlebury.

A quote from the article about social networking:
“No one is claiming this is the next Facebook, the social networking phenomenon that began on the Harvard campus. But GoCrossCampus represents the new kind of online games that unite the participants of real-world communities in a common online cause.”

Here’s the link to the article:

“Storming the Campuses”

Meta Media

Hey Guys, I was directed to this online and I watched nearly every single one of them. They are really cool “text” pieces that transcribe the dialogue from famous movies. It’s really interesting to see how they are each put together. Check a few out. You’ll notice it starts with the dialogue Robyn and I used for our Pulp Fiction remix. Enjoy. I’ll embed the first one, but click the link to see a whole bunch more.
[youtube syf8olcM0z4&eurl=http://www.alwayswatching.org/features/great-scenes-television-and-film-told-using-only-typography]

http://www.alwayswatching.org/features/great-scenes-television-and-film-told-using-only-typography

AI

Hey guys,

I posted this link on one of my comments to the readings, but didn’t think anyone would find it there, so I’m reposting it here out in the open. It’s a really interesting online simulation experience, rather than a game. Check it out:

A.L.I.C.E.

Oh, and by the way, feel free to write or ask her anything, because you get really funny and/or interesting responses that will either make sense, or will seem  a little ridiculous…

Speaking of Interface…

In light of our interface discussion\testing, I thought I’d post this clip from Apple’s press conference a few weeks ago unveiling the iPhone SDK (software development kit). They demonstrate simple game (they wrote it in two weeks) that takes advantage of the iPhone’s graphics capabilities, touch screen, and Wiimote-esque accelerometer…

[youtube jn83wizEMAw]

Predator Rap

I stumbled across this a week ago and I think it’s a nice example of combining “found” media with artistic creativity. It goes beyond combining multiple forms of media—it combines the creative (the rap) with the lines from the film. I’m very impressed by this, and if I had more time I would like to attempt this with another movie. (I know the clip is a little long, but you’ll get the gist of it after about a minute or two so don’t fee like you need to watch the entire clip).
[youtube ovi-djkUgd0]

Sally and Melissa’s Remix Video

[youtube VdXIg0BNm84]

A parody of a parody?
“Patrolling Borders” examines the tropes of the Hollywood narrative — examining which tropes are mocked, questioning why we feel to desire to criticize them while they apparently provide us with pleasure on some level. Also, does “Super Troopers” work as a parody in and of itself — and if yes, why was it not marketed as one?

They have a T-Rex!

We are Elliot Gay and Laria Hambleton, and this is our remix video.

Creator’s Note:
The idea behind this was to show how within the realms of the remix video, people can alter the meanings of not only entire movies, but specific moments within the movie. For instance, Muldoon’s use of his phrase “Clever Girl” is used as a way of acknowledging the raptor’s intelligence in the actual movie. Here, it’s used to acknowledge the young girl and her hacking abilities.

In anycase, enough rambling. Enjoy!

[youtube 6OuOe3l5MMM]

Facebook is invading your mental/emotional space.

I spotted this while I was doing a brief morning browse through Facebook and I had to stop and laugh… even though I hadn’t yet had a needed dose of caffeine. I haven’t followed the link because I want to be able to continue pretending that the site you come to tries to sell you discount pharmaceuticals from El Salvador, and possibly strange, illegal aphrodisiacs poached from the wilds of Southeast Asia. Even the possibility of some kind of “love doctor” making money through snail-mail kits and tips is amusing, I suppose.

Anyway, it goes to show the breadth of small-time con artists trying to make a buck who are discovering the relatively cheap and presumably very effective form ad advertising available on everyone’s favorite social networking tool. Watch where you click.
Facebook Fixes Your Break-Up

The Truth

As videos are being disseminated at an accelerating pace, we are exposed to various conflicting subjective views pertaining to the same topic.This video attempts to express the way that media can effect one’s perception of foreign countries or ideals. We chose Argentina simply because Mica is from Argentina and questions the way that it is framed by both popular culture and academia within the US. We decided to call the video The Truth since we derived much of our inspiration for it from a clever political advertisement in which two conflicting points of view are presented. We do not claim that our video is the only truth, it presents just two of many truths. We tried to juxtapose a very happy view of the country with one tinged by revolt, corruption, violence and Argentinean Nazi propaganda. We set out to make people question the factual robustness of the information that they acquire through various mediums.

[youtube PGE4eZ5q2xw]

After watching the video ask yourself this question. Do you know Argentina?

Ernest and Mica
3/18/08

My Virtual War: A Disturbing Stroll Through a Simulated Battlefield

Hey, here’s another from Scientific American. I think that we might have talked about less immersing virtual training environments in class but the Office of Naval Research’s new $40 million research program is on a different level. The program, Virtual Technologies and Environments, has developed a sort of hamster ball for a Marine to stand in that monitors his/her movement and propels them through an urban combat sim. The journalist who tested it complained that he actually was afraid and nauseous while playing. When he finished, he was sweating since he actually had to walk around himself. The ball might be sold commercially for $20,000 USD. Here’s the article.

e-out