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GameLoop afterword
Aug. 16th, 2009 01:47 pmNotes on a talk I led on game criticism, and a list of links I dropped in the middle of other peoples' talks: http://gameshelf.jmac.org/2009/08/notes-from-my-gameloop-talk-an.html
Goin' to GameLoop 2009
Aug. 13th, 2009 09:44 pmI shall be going to GameLoop on Saturday, the BarCamp-style "unconference" for game professionals. I had a great time at its inaugural event last year, and I've been especially looking forward to it since attending Boston BarCamp in April. I appreciate these sorts of nerdly social stewpots, and the combinatorial ideas that can come out of them.
Big fail, alas, on the work-goals I set for the weekend. I will have neither a finished Gameshelf episode, nor completed personal-bizcards. It's for the right reasons, I guess - I got surprised by a surge of Appleseed work this month, and have been putting in one fully billable day after another despite myself, with no desire afterwards to work on anything else. It's what I deserve to have stuffed into my gob after bitching so much about money problems. Here you go, then! Eat up. Oh well; they'll get done in the fullness of time.
And anyway, showing off one's own shit is a secondary reason to go to these things anyway. I go to meet interesting and smart people, and talk about games with them! My own status as a "game professional" status is very in-betweeny right now, but that doesn't mean I don't have a lot of stories to tell. Since last August, I've:
• Gotten serious about a commercial video game project, and then had it die in IP-licensing negotiation
• Launched an entirely new initiative in the online-gaming space, worked feverishly at it for six months, and am now (slowly but surely (but mostly slowly) ) looking for business partners
• Had more cockamamie ideas about new (as far as I know) styles of online gameplay that get me excited, and also reticent, because having some dork blather at you about their AWESOME completely unimplemented game idea is worse than someone telling you about this CRAZY dream they had last night, but anyway
• Revived Jmac's Arcade and the Gameshelf, and became filled with idears about what I'm going to do with the latter and how it will be different from what I've done so far
Yeah, so, it'll be a good time.
Big fail, alas, on the work-goals I set for the weekend. I will have neither a finished Gameshelf episode, nor completed personal-bizcards. It's for the right reasons, I guess - I got surprised by a surge of Appleseed work this month, and have been putting in one fully billable day after another despite myself, with no desire afterwards to work on anything else. It's what I deserve to have stuffed into my gob after bitching so much about money problems. Here you go, then! Eat up. Oh well; they'll get done in the fullness of time.
And anyway, showing off one's own shit is a secondary reason to go to these things anyway. I go to meet interesting and smart people, and talk about games with them! My own status as a "game professional" status is very in-betweeny right now, but that doesn't mean I don't have a lot of stories to tell. Since last August, I've:
• Gotten serious about a commercial video game project, and then had it die in IP-licensing negotiation
• Launched an entirely new initiative in the online-gaming space, worked feverishly at it for six months, and am now (slowly but surely (but mostly slowly) ) looking for business partners
• Had more cockamamie ideas about new (as far as I know) styles of online gameplay that get me excited, and also reticent, because having some dork blather at you about their AWESOME completely unimplemented game idea is worse than someone telling you about this CRAZY dream they had last night, but anyway
• Revived Jmac's Arcade and the Gameshelf, and became filled with idears about what I'm going to do with the latter and how it will be different from what I've done so far
Yeah, so, it'll be a good time.
BarCamp Boston 4
Apr. 27th, 2009 11:46 pmHighlight of the weekend was a last-minute decision to attend BarCamp Boston 4. This was the second "Unconference" I'd attended, after last year's GameLoop (which was, in turn, inspired by BarCamp Boston 3). I had a great time, learned a lot and met lots of cool people. Inspired to try proposing some talks myself, next time I attend something like this.
All attendees were asked to identify themselves with three info-tags. I chose Perl, Consulting, and DIY Television. I ended up leaning most heavily on the latter, unsurprisingly, as TV production's what currently on the upswing in my personal obsessionery. And lo, serendipity smiled upon me: I found myself talking to people who work with NPR and WGBH (Boston's PBS affiliate), just a day after deciding that public broadcasting represents a good first place to start my little research project into up-marketing The Gameshelf. Sent out a passel of followup email this morning, and have high hopes that it will lead to some interesting conversations.
Props to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dariusk for helping these introductions along; a natural facilitator, he was a force of nature Saturday morning, all but bodily dragging people around the room in order to arrange them into ideal conversational pods.
I handed out lots of Appleseed cards, but usually with a sheepish well-heh-heh-this-is-my-day-job, and the scribbled addition of "jmac.org" onto it. It's time for me to design a personal card again, something I can use when I am not introducing myself primarily as a software expert, or Volity's president. My last design, pictured here, is nine years old, drawn while I was still living in Maine. While I still have a bunch left, it's been a while since I've carried any around. It tries to bespeak creativity and cleverness while being vague and jokey about it, which describes my 2000 self to a tee. I'd like to think I've earned a little more definition since then, and need a card that suggests it.
All attendees were asked to identify themselves with three info-tags. I chose Perl, Consulting, and DIY Television. I ended up leaning most heavily on the latter, unsurprisingly, as TV production's what currently on the upswing in my personal obsessionery. And lo, serendipity smiled upon me: I found myself talking to people who work with NPR and WGBH (Boston's PBS affiliate), just a day after deciding that public broadcasting represents a good first place to start my little research project into up-marketing The Gameshelf. Sent out a passel of followup email this morning, and have high hopes that it will lead to some interesting conversations.
Props to
dariusk for helping these introductions along; a natural facilitator, he was a force of nature Saturday morning, all but bodily dragging people around the room in order to arrange them into ideal conversational pods.I handed out lots of Appleseed cards, but usually with a sheepish well-heh-heh-this-is-my-day-job, and the scribbled addition of "jmac.org" onto it. It's time for me to design a personal card again, something I can use when I am not introducing myself primarily as a software expert, or Volity's president. My last design, pictured here, is nine years old, drawn while I was still living in Maine. While I still have a bunch left, it's been a while since I've carried any around. It tries to bespeak creativity and cleverness while being vague and jokey about it, which describes my 2000 self to a tee. I'd like to think I've earned a little more definition since then, and need a card that suggests it.Ignite Boston 3
May. 26th, 2008 12:02 pmAnyone going to Ignite Boston 3, May 29 at Tommy Doyle's in Harvard Square? I probably will, and as usual would like to know if I'll recognize anyone there.
(The slideshow on that page features a photo of my talk from last year, while I'm making an odd gesture.)
Apparently they're taking over the whole pub this time so the acoustics will be better than in the second-floor space they used last year.
I just asked them if it's not too late to sneak in a dedication line about Erik into the materials somwhere. (And speaking of Erik, I recently emptied out a tote bag I picked up at the XML 2000 conference he and I attended in DC. It was full of drink tickets I totally failed to notice at the time. Too bad they're eight years past due.)
Called shot: I'll do some damn thing with the Volity web thing by the time Ignite happens. So that if anyone sez "Hey where's that thing you talked about last year?" I will have something to say.
(The slideshow on that page features a photo of my talk from last year, while I'm making an odd gesture.)
Apparently they're taking over the whole pub this time so the acoustics will be better than in the second-floor space they used last year.
I just asked them if it's not too late to sneak in a dedication line about Erik into the materials somwhere. (And speaking of Erik, I recently emptied out a tote bag I picked up at the XML 2000 conference he and I attended in DC. It was full of drink tickets I totally failed to notice at the time. Too bad they're eight years past due.)
Called shot: I'll do some damn thing with the Volity web thing by the time Ignite happens. So that if anyone sez "Hey where's that thing you talked about last year?" I will have something to say.
OK poop is coming out
May. 6th, 2008 11:48 pmBlurb to put into your conference ad if you don't want me to come:
There was so much energy in the room - with everyone taking pictures, blogging, podcasting, and twittering - it was reminiscent of SXSW.
Why yes, I have set up a twitter thing, though I update it maybe twice a week currently (I'm "jasonmcintosh"). And I might go anyway - eh, it's $50, and I could stand to punch up my local network a little. But that description just makes me blanch, still.
There was so much energy in the room - with everyone taking pictures, blogging, podcasting, and twittering - it was reminiscent of SXSW.
Why yes, I have set up a twitter thing, though I update it maybe twice a week currently (I'm "jasonmcintosh"). And I might go anyway - eh, it's $50, and I could stand to punch up my local network a little. But that description just makes me blanch, still.
