Fresh, Hot Wastes of Time

My history class brought up early feminism this week. I think I’m relatively lucky in some ways that, although I may have bumped heads from time to time with a few old coots who just don’t believe that chicks can do stuff, too, I haven’t really run into anything major career-wise. In fact, I’d venture to say that the ARG industry in general seems to be run almost by a majority of women. Truly, there is no feeling that guys run better ARGs, or make better puzzles. I don’t think I’ve ever been paid less because of my gender (or age or religion or number of pets or anything else).

On the internet, nobody knows what color you are, or whether you’re an innie or an outie, or if you have teeth. Could it be the great equalizer?

I blogged about the Stardust Hotel implosion a few months ago. Thinking back on it, it’s amazing what Las Vegas can get away with. To implode a building with fireworks and spotlights would be completely unheard of anywhere but there. It’s a completely unique American city, full of glitz and neon and sequins and money. And its character is slowly – or maybe not-so-slowly – changing from the hip, cool Rat Pack and Elvis getaway to a “family” vacation destination. What does that mean, in terms of American society? Why is Sin City now being pushed as a place to take the kids over Spring Break? Would parents of the 1950s have been scandalized to think that today’s kids would meet up with free drinks, gambling, and legalized prostitution? Of course. Am I stuck in the 1950s to think that anyone who takes their children to Vegas for a family vacation at the casino is delusional? Perhaps. In general, I think we’ve seen a drift from “wholesomeness” to “anything goes,” and I’m not so sure it’s an improvement. Not that I think it would have been an improvement going the other way either, exactly. It’s a lot easier to pretend you know what the answers are if you’re not responsible for actually enacting the solutions, right?

Dear Student,

Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a New College Merit Scholarship for the 2007-2008 scholastic year!

Woo!

Got my grades today, just in time to start the summer semester.

I got a 100 on my paper that discussed Fight Club in terms of classical mythology. Here it is in all its glory if you’re interested.

TO: St. Edward’s University Students
FROM: Dean of Students
Re: Classes Cancelled

Due to a non-specific bomb threat, all classes are cancelled through noon today to allow buildings to be searched. Please check your University email and/or University Web Site for further updates. Do not come to campus if you are not already on University grounds.

Students who are on campus are evacuated to the soccer and softball fields immediately until further notice.

They extended the closure to 5 pm so far. The students seem annoyed.

1) I have scored not one, but two Bags of Crap in the last week. So has Hub.

2) I register for my last two semesters of college tomorrow.

3) Just a few hours after I posted my resume the other day, I got a job offer for something very big, cool, and exciting. It’s also very intense, so I may be updating here even less frequently than normal, if that’s possible. Be happy for me, because I am.

I’m supposed to write a 100 word review of one of the SXSW events I attended for my Pop Culture class. How the hell can I smoosh down Will Wright’s astounding keynote into 100 little words?

Will Wright Wows SXSWi

Hundreds of SXSW Interactive convention-goers braved a thunderstorm and strong winds to duck into the downtown Hilton on March 13 for a keynote speech from computer game pioneer Will Wright. Wright, who is best-known for his “Sim City” and “The Sims” series, delivered a high-intensity, fast-paced, and thought-provoking talk about the nature and future of gaming narrative.

Wright also demonstrated his upcoming game, “Spore.” “Spore” will allow players to evolve from single-celled organism to spaceship-building civilizations, and embodies Wright’s gaming philosophy of allowing players to tell stories to the computer rather than vice versa. Game play will also be collaborative, allowing players to share creatures and planets with each other.

“Spore” is rumored to be on store shelves by the end of 2007.

If you’re interested in the Wright talk, you can see it on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7. There’s also a partial transcript over at Wonderland.

He has some concepts that really gave me a lot of food for thought, especially in terms of ARG design. Let the players tell the story – we see this all the time, to some extent. PMs often adjust the plot in response to the players. Could it turn ugly quickly? Sure. But I think there is such a trend towards collaboration these days, where the audience wants to feel invested, that it’s very much worth exploring.