Game Architects, Get Going! We can help people produce amazing results!

I used to feel uncomfortable when I heard the quote, "those who don't stand for something will fall for anything," because I always felt like the one who would fall for anything. 

The cool thing about getting older and having more and more experiences, you gain a conviction sometimes lacking in youth. Sometimes experiences can create warped, negative beliefs that will not produce great outcomes.  I think I have been quite lucky with my experiences, because I love my forming convictions and think that the more clarity I have with these beliefs, the more amazing the results could be. 

1.  Games can bring fun and laughter, but they can also produce more outcomes if designed carefully and results are studied and analyzed.

2. Adults are like kids, most need support and scaffolding. 

3.  So many people are underemployed and mismatched in jobs

3.  People can be super effective when they are in a flow and are interested in what they're doing

4.  We have so much unused human capitol

Inspiration for using these ideas in future game design: The Game starring Michael Douglas.

Zorro's corner,
Ahhhhh I'm kicking myself because I wasn't prepared.   My dad was going on one of his usual rants and I didn't have paper and pencil or a voice recorder, so I can't remember all that was said and know I'm not going to do it justice.  Let's just say there were lofty claims of his ipad design plans thirty years ago and references to books such as "How to Make Phone Accecories," (Not to be confused with "How to Make More Phone Accessories.") I vow to be more on top of it and get actual quotes (although I think he's on to me, when I asked him to rehash his thoughts, he laughed and said he wasn't going to be bated.  Soooo I'll have to step off and be patient.

Good advice from Skipper, one wise penguin "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave."

Geo Popper Even Fun in Crazy Cold Weather/Introducing Leg Logger

Woooooooooohoooooo!!!! More convinced than ever before that Geo Popper is going to be huge. Just played Geo Popper on a 1 degree day (yes 1 degree, I don't even get to add an s to degree:() and I had fun.  I wasn't even wearing snowpants or my big gloves!

Although it was just delightful running around and having it work so well, I was also considering how it can progress.  Definitely has potential as a learning tool:  spatial reasoning, map reading,  exercise...

Karen's Corner
Walking to my car the other day and there on the under the windshield wiper was a $50 bill.  I exclaimed "What the what!?!" and then just stared at it for a moment, thinking someone was paying it forward.  And then something happened, I thought about a man I had just overheard who was unemployed and having a really difficult time getting a job.  He was older and was without reliable transportation.  I was thinking he could use the money more than I could and decided I should give him the money.

I went to pick up the bill and noticed it was a bit yellowish.  Upon further inspection, it was an advertisement for tax prep cleverly disguised as a fifty dollar bill.  Lessons twofold:
1.  I'm a bit of an idiot
2.  I'm not a completely selfish idiot

Leg logger
Now the moment you've all been waiting for!  I had discussed the boob blogger in previous posts and considered how I could match this brilliant  display of wit. Drumroll please...

In the words of Kramer in the reverse peep hole,  "We're comfortable with our bodies, you know if someone wants to help themselves to an eyeful, we say, 'enjoy the show.'"

Check out foldit!!! Playing Tetris for science and health!

Squandering humans
When did it become okay to be such wasters?  Humans throw out an insane amount of garbage, buy an insane amount of things they will never use, and forget to be grateful for their time on earth and instead of going all in everyday, let days, weeks, years pass without making the enormous contributions possible.  Again, not trying to sound preachy, I am really pointing the finger at myself, but I am really interested in how so much human capitol is left untapped. Why are so many people underemployed, why is there such a focus on problems rather than putting all the effort into solutions?  Lack of vision, unyielding circumstances, chaotic world, not enough games designed to allow people to produce amazing results?

Support and design
I am convinced we need scaffolding.   A structure for people to to reach their potential, a design, a plan. Maybe this blog will sound like a broken record, but the more I put it out there, I hope to spark questions in other people's minds

• How can work become like play? (I'm convinced we can do more in play/flow/engagement...)
• How can we design games to solve problems?
• What problems could be solved by games?
• ...

So many times, it is having the right questions floating around in opposed to questions that aren't going to produce excitement and results.

I mentioned Foldit in an earlier blog post.  It is kind of like Tetris, but unlike Tetris, the data is collected and used to see and imagine possible ways proteins can be folded.  Because so many diseases are partially proteins, and so many cures are proteins, players can give protein designs that have the potential to treat or cure diseases. Check it out and be a part of finding a cure for HIV/Aids. http://fold.it/portal/info/science#whatpf.  It's super fun too!

Zorro's corner (not for those with delicate constitutions)
Zorro has picked up quite a disturbing habit.  I believe my mother is to blame.  She picked up leggings from Eddie Bauer to wear under her jeans/pants during the winter.  She picked up a pair for Zorro as well.  The problem is he is not using them as a 2nd layer.  They have become his only layer. 

For all your gaming needs, check out:
http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802463809&pubid=21000000000614520
Think about how we can modify games and toys to make them produce more?

Ingress not available on IPhone IOS operating system?!

Ingress for Droids
I was going to attempt to get Ingress today, but didn't realize it was only available for Droids! This is just days after I turned in my trusty Evo (it took many a fall and hung in there, the worst being while I was walking Maizy (she might one day get her own corner on here, but until she does, just picture the dog in Up, because that is pretty much her) and she saw a squirrel and forgot she had me on the leash) for an Iphone. 

Geo Popper for Iphones
Although I am disappointed I can't join the battle for world energy domination, I'm excited that our upcoming Geo Popper will be available to Iphone users.  Even though it is very different than Ingress, it has some similar characteristics and is going to be soooo fun!

More than just a game?
Heard talk that the game was more than just a game for game's sake, that they would likely have higher purposes.  If this is the case, that could be super exciting.  See: Extra Extra: World of Warcraft to End Hunger Games
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.gblogID=2673006893000763586#editor/target=post;postID=6727228881277704571Is Is the Ted talk I mentioned already coming to fruition???   There are some people in this world that are just ridiculously smart and ahead of the pack, looking way beyond the immediate.  I wonder what types of information they might be gathering and for what purpose.  I so hope that there are some higher level humans that are planning on using whatever they gather to solve problems and make the world a better place.

Better Blogs?
I've been reading ProBlogger and have been way off  in many of my blogging aspects, so in the future look for:

• pictures
• headings (note todays article, don't worry I'll improve)
• clearer titles (maybe, I still really like Billy L and the Kleenex (sounds like a children's story) and Mr. Rogers, Coco, and more! (just because Mr. Rogers and Coco are amazing)
• lists
• more blogs: "Those who can't teach blog: my educational philosophy: a catalysyt for the next golden age" and "How not to Blog" and perhaps Karen's how to do the important stuff

And only because I spent way to much time on this to quite dismal results, I will share a box and me thinking outside of it.  I am really enjoying playing around with inkscape, but my status remains at super beginner (I watched a "simple" tutorial on how to make a box and let's just say, mine did not turn out like the video, arrrrggg!)

Slanket wearers beware! Snuggy wearers take caution and MMMMOARG

I know this blog is about games, but I feel if I have knowledge that could one day save someone's life, I must share it with the public.  This is a warning to all you slanket wearers.  I received a slanket a few Christmas's ago (like a snuggy, but a bit more hotsy totsy).  Now sleeping in the slanket is wonderful, like being a swaddled baby (check out Andy being swaddled on According to Jim, delightful!:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDHftCY7mBw ).  However, one has the potential of having such a lovely sleep and waking up a bit disoriented, perhaps forgetting one is wearing a slanket.  One may wake up and have to use the restroom and so jump out of bed quickly and attempt to take long strides to the bathroom.  Now if that person is wearing a slanket, it almost certainly will not end well.  I'm not saying give up the slanket, by all means, NEVER! However, I do believe perhaps leaving a large note on the ground or somewhere that will catch you're eye before you take any steps may be wise.  REMEMBER YOU ARE WEARING A SLANKET!

I adore Google, their logo (I get so much pleasure out of the colors and the different themes to celebrate different days, lego Google and Dr. Suess google were my favorite!) They keep bees at their main office in CA.  They let employees have one day a week to work on independent projects (with spectacular results), their ingenuity (providing services to get invaluable information on voice recognition, people's patterns, traffic...).  They are just so on.  I feel like Google is like Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory, and us normal putzers are like Penny.  When reading Sheldon's extremely complex journals from when he was an extremely young kid,  Penny observred, "I'm just a blond monkey to you, aren't I?" (Sheldon, "You said it, not me."

So of course when they design a game, I have a feeling it will be awesome.  Ingress  is a MMMMOARG,  a massively multiplayer map-based mobile online augmented reality game.  It sounds really amazing, people pick sides and  try to dominate the world by winning areas and then connecting them.  Like Risk, it is a game of world domination.  I think it has a ton of potential and am excited to try it!  It reminds me a lot of what we are doing with Geo Popper, "draping the world of the game onto the real world." http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2012/11/15/ingress-the-new-mobile-game-from-googles-niantic-labs/.  I also am more convinced than ever of the possibilities of using games to transform jobs and the world in an insanely positive way.

There have been huge revolutions that have drastically shaped the world as we know it, Industrial Agricultural, Information...  I really believe the next big revolution could be the gaming revolution, and I think that it could have the most surprising and lovely outcomes.

Everythings Going to Be Alright does not cover all I want it to, so I am changing it to Karen's Corner to provide a broader umbrella for all the lovely topics I want  to discuss.  I love this clip about attention! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo Watch it and count how many times the players wearing white pass the basketball.  How'd you do?  Any surpises?

Design for Apps, Way to go Waze!

Check out Waze, an extremely helpful app for traffic and navigation.  I love its icons and simple, intuitive layout.  Great job!!!    

Boob blogger spin-off idea: surpsisingly thought of by my very religious mother.  Pictures of legs, wearing skirts that get shorter and shorter.   Although it has potential, that will not be happening on this blog, unless our guest bloggers would be interested in that sort of thing. 

Speaking of guest bloggers, my brother-in-law, Derek has agreed to write an article. 

He wanted to some guidance.
I asked him to write about games that inspired him or that he really enjoyed.   I also mentioned I have a weekly Zorro's corner.   For his feature, I am going to ask him to write about the first time he met  my dad.  Let's just say it involved an inflatable shark and leave it to Derek to tell the rest.  It was such a hilarious first meeting that I was able to use it in my toast at my sister's wedding, and I was told by many that it was the best speech they've heard.  However that might have been because it also contained a killer rendition of the priest from Princess Bride,  I nailed the marwidge, and I swear I saw tears in guests eyes when I talked about love, twue love.  My Michael Scot impersonation from Phylis's wedding did not go over nearly as well:/

Billy L and the Kleenex

I had the pleasure of attending middle school and elementary school with a lovely boy named Billy L.  Whether he was dancing with his head in his shirt, saying "There's a party in my shirt and everyone's invited or politely informing others that he should be addressed as Dr. Bill, he always brought a smile to my face.

One of my favorite Billy antics was the kleenex on the back trick.  I believe he just did this over a few month stint in the 7th grade. I don't know how it started, but  under the guise of patting someone's back, he would sneakily place a kleenex with tape on it to their back.  Something about walking around unsuspectingly with a kleenex on your back is comical whereas a kick me sign seems way too harsh.  There were several times I didn't catch the kleenex on my back until changing for sports or into pajamas.  Sometimes Bill would even pull a double or triple kleenex combo. Starting with one and then adding as the day went on. (I have a memory of 5 kleenexes almost a kleenex cape taped to someones back, but I may be imagining that).

I don't know why this was so funny to me always.  If you think it's amusing, try it (especially if the people you work with or are friends with contain a mixture of immaturity and silliness and are not easily upset or if they are in the 7th grade.)

The reason I tell this story is threefold. 
1. It makes me happy
2. It reminds me how quirky, simple things can bring laughter and if you are on the lookout for things like that, you can make the world a lighter, more whimsical place
3. It is partial inspiration for an app under current development.

Everythings going to be alright
"The chief enemy of creativity is "good" sense." Pablo Picasso
Phew, at least I don't have the chief enemy of creativity to be worried about!  Let the imagining begin!


Next Week:
Discussion on Google's Mobile Location Game Ingress: What is it? How do you play it? Is it awesome???
Games to save the world
Hopefully some Zorro's corners (been pretty quiet, no cases of being mistaken as a lady or being reported for suspicious behavior)

Well played boob blogger, well played!

So I have a bit of a habit of checking my blogger stats, eagerly watching the graphs spike when people click on the page .  I've been extremely excited to see a few clicks per day and super excited to have $3.84 in unpaid earnings from adsense (unfortunately, a check is not sent until you surpass $100, I have high hopes, but feel I may have to pull some drastic measures to reach that mark, see next paragraph).

All that excitement changed this morning.  My sister left a message about the boob blogger.  This "blogger" takes a daily picture of her cleavage and posts it.  The pictures are just partial pictures of her cleavage and each day is a different.   She has millions of hits and tons of followers.

How can talk of awesome games that can save the world, Zorro's corner and Everythings going to be alright compete with that? Now while I am not willing to take that extreme of a measure to reacher b.b.'s status, I am considering other tactics:
partial pictures of my hands (allowing my hand modeling dreams to become a quasi reality, spoiler alert these hands have none of the creamy white satiny skin of George Costanza's)
partial pictures of my nose ( with a contest spinoff of guessing the number of freckles for prizes)
contests ( with prizes including but not limited to: Tongan lessons, signed artwork, coupons for hugs, stock in playcadia...)

Now on to Game talk:
There is a running group called Hash House Harriers.  I haven't particpated in any of their events, but am very tempted too! One group of runners starts off running and leaves a trail of flour behind them.   The other group waits a certain amount of time and then chases after them, following the flour like Hansel and Gretal.  Nike has a racing app, I haven't tried yet.  It sounded cool, but not as cool as it could be.  You set a course and then invite friends to compete with you.  I like the idea,  but I think this idea could be built upon.   I think an awesome app would allow people to mark locations while they run on their phone rather than using flour and to be chased by other players.

Assassins, curtsying on rafts, fanny pack wearing +

I love this game and think it has so many delightful aspects.  The premise is each player is given a target.  They are also given a location and an item.  They "kill" their target by getting their target to the proper location with the proper item.  So for instance, the location could be the library and the item could be an umbrella.  Once a player "kills" their target, the player takes the target's target.  Play continues until eventually there is only one player left.

I think kill and assasins may be a little harsh/violent, but the idea itself has so much promise. 

I set this up at my cottage this year with only a few people.  I made up cottage/family relevant actions and locations.  Then I had everyone draw a person card, an action card, and a location card. 

Actions
curtsying on the raft
eating a vegetable for breakfast
wearing a fanny pack
singing little bunny foo foo (lovely song, will gladly write lyrics if there is any interest)
reading a People magazine

Locations
on the raft
Sand dunes
in the lake
kitchen
on the paddleboat

Now I thought I should be at an advantage because I made up all of the actions and locations, but I came so close to wearing a fanny pack at the beach (and no I do not usually wear fanny packs, there was serious cunning involved!).   This game was so simple, but we had so many good laughs over the weekend, it added an air of excitement and fun.  It was so funny because it seemed like it would be quite difficult to get someone to curtsy on a rafy, but an innocent, "Mom, you never taught me how to curtsy," was all it took to get the job done.  It also matters who you get.  My mom would gladly eat a vegetable any time of the day, but then you ask my sister to do that, that's going to be tricky.

Now although this game is so fun to do in a small group, doing it with larger groups poses more of an organizational problem.  However, it could be awesome.  Imagine playing a ginormous game of assasins with people around the world.  Maybe the game would even last a year.  Maybe there could be prizes.  Oooh I'm getting chills, it could be so fun!

Playgrounds for adults!!!! Where are they? Why aren't there more??

If I had a nickle for everytime I've said adults need playgrounds, I would be making way more than my blogging earnings.  My sister and brother in law take my nephew to gymnastics and  sure they have a great time watching him , but I just know that they would love to do those things to.  They only get to jump in the balls or swing from the ropes under the premise that they are going in to rescue their little guy from an onslaught of older kids.  Why aren't adult playgrounds more common? Am I alone in my thoughts of how awesome they would be?  I saw an article on playgrounds for the elderly in England, and they had machines that .  But they had a gymy/physical therapyness feel ahhh the fun.  Imagine of instead of going to the gym and, you went and raced people in obstacles, leaping over things, climbing, swinging and being a kid

The adult playground idea started me thinking about the awesome games I've had a chance to play as an adult and a kid and games I've heard about and want to one day play.  This week I will discuss games that are stewing around in my head and I hope to eventually transform some of these into apps or give them a way to make them more accessible and common, again to bring more engagement to everyday life.  If you think any of these have potential and you have the vision to transform them into apps, please do, I want to play!!!

Halloween Costume Road Rally (found through meetup.com, an awesome site, check it out if you haven't yet and are looking for active people with tons of hobbies)
Ah it was the absolute best.  We met at a library on a normal day.  We were wondering if we were in the right place because the clue to the start location was in symbols. Fortunately we spotted a person in a full out cow costume, adorable, and were more convinced we were at the right location (although you never know).   We saw more costumed contestants streaming into the library and followed them to a large room.  Everyone was seated at tables, rules were gone over and teams were given an envelope.  With a ready set go, the envelopes were opened and puzzle pieces fell out.  Although the puzzle was simple, I could not believe how much my hands were shaking as we put it together.  We got it together and read the clue on the back and dashed to the mall, where our task was to find the carrying capacities or various department store elevators.

There was such excitment in these clues that were not extremely complicated, but definitely required some brain power and physical prowess.  Other highlights of the race included:

a race using various sized shoes (flippers, heels, clown shoes...)
figuring out a clue that appeared to be in Chinese script but was actually in English, decipherable when flipped on the side (they sneakily sent us to a Chinese restaurant and so everyone assumed you were supposed to ask the workers to help translate it, that really caused some tense moments with my team)

Blog schedule for this week
Wednedsay: Assassins
Thursday: Hash house harriers
Friday: Billy L. and kleenex
Saturday: Cottage version of amazing race

Be sure to catch this weeks articles! In the words of Kenny Bania, "Why do they call it ovaltine? The mug is round, the jar is round. They should call it roundtine." Actually, I think Bania's "that's gold Jerry gold!" is more appropriate.

On the game front, I am continuing to read Tapworthy and really trying to hone in on a simple design that brings all the necessary aspects of Geopopper in a simple, concise way.

Zorro's corner and Everything is going to be alright will appear in blogs later this week,

Metal detecting v. game development, tough choice!

Ahhh back to Tapworthy.  I have the tendency to go to the library, get super excited about the wealth of information, load my arms with books, and then get huge fines(huge only in library standards, like Jerry Seinfeld aptly observed, the library is like a desperate friend eager to ??) without doing more than percursory scans of all the amazing books.   Fortunately I have Tapworthy on my ipad, so I have had the opportunity to go back to it and have gleaned many key ideas that are according to our programmer lacking in our current game.

The author believes that great apps can provide moments of delight and distraction, where the user can lose themselves.  

I am so excited about developing games with a story behind them, that will unfold with untold possibilities.  Where people are connected and have exciting missions that are dependent on other places and environmental factors.  Games that are complex and intertwined.  Right now the ideas for these games are just abstract seeds floating around.   But like Mendeleyev and the periodic table, sometimes you have to just allow ideas to simmer and wait until you're in certain mindset or dreaming and let them come together.  More discussion on lucid dreaming in the future.

Whenever, I go hiking I am so disappointed when I come to the end of the trail.  For me it is usually a letdown and a signal that the adventure is over.  I want to create games with no easy end in site, labryinths with surprises and potential.  

Everything's going to be okay
“If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society.” -Jean Piaget

Zorro's corner
White's Metal Detectors are currently running a commercial about a man who pays for a trip to South Africa as well as buying his wife her own metal detector with the treasures he found.  Ahhh I'm glad poor Zorro did not see this commercial, it may have been a slap in the face after countless time spent metal detecting and never finding enough to afford a White's metal detector for his wife.

In tribute to a heck of a hobby, here are the lyrics to Real Men of Genius Mr. Beach Metal Detector Guy:
Today we salute you Mr. Beach Metal Detector Guy
 Some seek their fortune on the stock market, others in real estate, but you look for loose change in the sand
(I'm hitting the jackpot)
Armed with a 5 foot geiger counter, and the worlds largest set of earphones,
You live your life with a simple code of honor: Finders keepers, losers weepers
(Finders Keepers)
Sure people mock you, but he who holds 92 cents, a gold plated earring, and a stealed toed boot gets the last laugh
(Whos's laughing now)
So crack open a ice cold Bud Light O Sultan of the Sand, we'd give you a medal, but you've probably already found one.
(Mr. Beach Metal Protector Guy)

Happy New Years, Upcoming Contests, Guest Blogger +++

Happy New Years! as well as Happy Geo Popper Year!

Game on! blog  resolutions:
Up the blog posts to 2 or 3 week (I'd say daily, but that's just crazy talk)
Monthly contests with fabulous prizes/coupons
More talk about the potential of games

Instead of the normal gifts this Christmas, I gave Christmas coupons.  My nephew received a share in Playcadia.  Another less fortunate nephew received a coupon entitling him to a personalized message from mwah on his answering machine.   He was really, really unimpressed. There was the usual donation to the Human Fund as well as a donation to an actual charity (is this evidence of maturity?)  Perhaps the most exciting coupon was a feature guest post in my blog, won by my brother Stevo.  With a sharp sense of humor and an interest in games, sports, Coco..., the readers are in for a treat! (I just hope he redeems it!)

Everything's going to be alright
Something disturbing happened the other day, that makes me thing sometimes not everything is going to be alright.  While playing a lovely Sports mix on Kinect, my sister was attempting a world record discus throw.  A young nephew walked by, so she paused ensuring she didn't hit him.  After he passed, she wound up and swung, just as her 1-1/2 year old son walked by, completely knocking him to the ground.  The crying eventually stopped, but how traumatizing for the little guy:(  The only redeeming thing was that he was not seriously hurt and Kinect shows the replay.  It was horrible and hilarious at the same time:/


Zorro's corner
Zorro's been pretty quiet lately, maybe he's letting his clothes make the noise.  On Christmas, he wore a tie that played Christmas music (purchased at the dollar store).  When he left, he forgot the tie.  When my brother was leaving, a relative said she didn't know who the tie belonged too, but correctly assumed it belonged to my dad.