Peter Molyneux and the folks at Lionhead Studios take another leap with AI in games.
Makes me want to get an Xbox 360 just to try it out.
Milo the virtual boy
Published August 22, 2010 Technology , video games Leave a CommentTags: games, Kinect, Lionhead, Microsoft, Milo, Molyneux, virtual, vr
iPhone 4 first impressons
Published August 2, 2010 Technology Leave a CommentTags: antenna, apps, initial impressions, iPhone
I bought an iPhone 4 on launch day. I was pretty frustrated with my previous phone, a Samsung Omnia running Windows mobile 6.1. No disrespect to Samsung, they built some fantastic hardware for that device.
Despite the negative press that the phone got for its reception issues, I put a Gelaskin on it and have’t had an issue with reception. I’ve found the call quality is far better with the iphone 4 than my previous phone.
In fact, the only call I dropped was one made using the Skype app, from the front yard while connected through the wifi in my apartment. Honestly, I wasn’t at all shocked when that one dropped.
iPhone Apps are splendid, and work very well. The web experience is the best I’ve had on a mobile device, and oh, that beautiful Retina Display.
I could gush about this thing for at least two more paragraphs, but I won’t. I just want to say Apple employs some amazing designers, and I really enjoy this phone.
Oh, one last thing. I wrote this post on the WordPress App. Just to test it out. I really find the soft keyboard easy to type on, and didn’t have any trouble writing up a few paragraphs on it. The onscreen keyboard on my last phone was always an issue.
I can see using this phone happily for a few years.
Super Mario Bros. Crossover
Published July 25, 2010 Cool links , video games Leave a CommentTags: Contra, Crossover, Exploding Rabbit, Link, mario, Mashup, Megaman, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Ryu, Samus, Simon, Simon's Quest, Super Mario Bros., Zelda
So, I saw this video, and my first impression was that it was a video edit, not an actual game.
Then I learned that I could actually play Super Mario Bros. as Megaman or Bill.
This game’s first version went live earlier in the spring of 2010, but I’m just learning of it now… Guess I’m out of the loop.
But if you’re just learning about it now, I’m glad I was able introduce you.
Now go play, have fun, be awesome.
Love the ads, won’t buy the product
Published July 20, 2010 Random thoughts , Social Media Leave a CommentOld Spice got a lot of talk on the social web when they organized an amazing online ad campaign last week.
If you didn’t catch it, find information here, here and here! And here.
Or just watch this.
I’ve got to hand it to them. It’s one heck of a campaign, one of the best uses of social media in advertising, in fact. It really makes me want to support the brand.
But there’s one reason I won’t give them my money if I can help it. I’ve got a bit of a “hippy side”.
I try to vote with my wallet and refrain from giving my own money to brands that are tested on animals. Just a personal position.
I’ll stick with the refreshing mint scented body wash from Alba Botanica. If you’ve ever woken up to the smell of mint, it’s amazing. Plus, Alba Botanica doesn’t test on animals, their products are hypo-allergenic, made from natural ingredients. They’re typically found at health food stores and specialty shops, like The Big Carrot on Danforth, in Toronto.
Kudos to Old Spice and their ad agency for putting together an amazing campaign. They really do make me want to buy the product, but I likely won’t.
Sometimes experience is everything
Published July 11, 2010 Random thoughts , video games Leave a CommentTags: Eidos, experience, Just Cause 2, Square-Enix, video, video games
It’s been ages since I’ve posted anything about video games, and I really miss it…
A few months ago I bought a new video game called Just Cause 2. It’s an Eidos game released under Square-Enix (Square acquired Eidos in spring ’09). The game stars a secret CIA operative, code named Scorpio, tasked with destabilizing a small island dictatorship. You cause chaos by destroying government property and embarrassing the military.
The story is compelling, but short, and not very robust. The voice acting is laughable, but adds value through comedy. The character you play is absurd in his super-human capabilities. I’ve played games that had all of these features before, and they suck.
But Just Cause 2 is amazing! I’ve found it’s the ultimate game for wasting a couple of minutes here and there at home. It’s also incredibly fun to sit down with a buddy or two and pass the controller around while laughing hysterically.
What did the game do right? It’s a fantastic game experience. The physics engine is so well made that it allows you to experiment in totally ridiculous ways. As I mentioned, the story and voice acting are poor, but make the game quite funny. I’m glad they didn’t make it too serious, because it wouldn’t have been as much fun to play.
There’s so many things you can do in this game, and almost all of them end in you shouting “I can’t beleive this game lets me do this!” It’s a huge virtual playground. A physics laboratory.
And the experience is amazing if you like to muck around with physics in a game. Or if you like to share a few absurd laughs with friends.
Here’s a “Race Mission” where you have to pilot a vehicle through a series of check points. In this race, you don’t use a vehicle, but rather base jump from a skyscraper. What other game lets you do that!
I finished of the video with a little highway chaos, and then shooting some bubbles using an easter egg “weapon”.
Anyways, experience is important when making games, designing apps, writing stories, organizing events, and so much more. Have you played any games that had little going for them apart from a fantastic gaming experience? Have you used any applications that you’ve used over a similar app simply based on the UI and user experience?
Want people to talk about you?
Published June 24, 2010 Communications Strategy , Government Communications , Technology Leave a CommentTags: iPhone, iTunes, iPad, Obama, app, free, Organizing for America
Give them some tools to do it with.
That’s what Obama’s government did with the new Organizing for America app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
And talking is just the first step. It can become a powerful informative tool and serve as a platform to bring people together around current and future issues.
TED talk: Rory Sutherland on Sweating the Small Stuff
Published June 22, 2010 Cool links , Random thoughts Leave a CommentTags: creativity, ideas, marketing, TED
Watch this. It’s good.
Rory Sutherland talks about the disproportionality of the relationship between size of a project/money spent and the impact it has on people.
Things like the biggest merger of all time – AOL/Time Warner – mean almost nothing to the average citizen.
But printing “Stolen from Virgin Airlines” on the bottom of their clever salt/pepper shakers is enough to reduce theft of them.
“The problem is, the person who has the power to do anything about an issue also have very very large budgets. What we need is a class of people with immense power, but control over only small amounts of money.”
It’s this reason that a social media based PR or marketing campaign done well (a collection of very small things) can actually create a very large ripple effect by touching a lot of people in small but profound ways.
PAB 2010 Summarized in 12 Points
Published June 21, 2010 Conferences 4 CommentsTags: Conferences, Ottawa, pab2010, Podcasters Across Borders, Social Media, Speakers
I have to hand it to Mark Blevis, Bob Goyetche and everyone who helped out with, or sponsored Podcasters Across Borders 2010.
They worked together to put on a fantastic conference experience. Not only were there fantastic keynote speakers, but the participants who gave short JOLT! presentations were amazing – from Andrea Ross‘ emotional speech to Julien Smith‘s closing message “When in doubt, have cultists attack”; and everyone else in between.
My only regret was having to miss the last JOLT! and keynote to catch a train back to Toronto…
Here’s my summary of things I learned or observed at PAB 2010 – in 12 points.
Good content is about:
- Creativity – do something a little different.
- Following some rules while breaking some others – don’t think because one thing works for someone else, you need to do the same.
- Emotion & resonance – connect with your audience on an emotional level, and leave them wanting to think about what you’ve shown them.
- Allowing your audience to participate – I don’t just mean direct participation through comments. Leave some loose ends, inspire thought and discussion, make your ideas portable and let your audience remix them.
Strong communities are about:
- Shared experiences
- Common interests
- Trust
- Reliability and meeting (or exceeding) expectations
(It’s very clear by the number of people who travel to attend PAB that it’s a strong community)
Amazing conferences are about:
- Great speakers
- Great company
- Great food & drink
- A great river cruise never hurts
(PAB 2010 had all of these things)
Thanks again! I had a great time, met wonderful people, spent time with good friends and I can’t wait to do it again next year.
What’s with the App(le) Web?
Published May 23, 2010 Random thoughts , Social Media , Technology Leave a CommentTags: Android, Apple, applications, apps, iPad, iPhone, open, web
I just read the NY Times article The Death of the Open Web after it popped up in my Facebook feed from Mitch Joel. The article draws a close comparison between Apple’s app store and the romanticization of the suburb during the 20th century. It’s a good comparison too, I really see where they’re coming from.
However I think the app store is more like the rise of the urban condominium.
Like the suburban development, they have an air of exclusivity. They’re (in theory) kept in pristine order. There’s a friendly security guard at the front desk to keep out the rabble. Clean carpets to pad your stroll to the elevator. After you ascend to your 16th floor luxury condo unit, you’re isolated from the unclean city with a clear window to look down upon it. Of course, management tells you what colour drapes you need to hang in that window.
Condo neighbourhoods, like those along Toronto’s lakeshore, are another type of urbanism, just like apps are another type of web access. Apps are tailored in every way to bring the best experience possible to your iPhone or iPad. They save time, they maintain your device’s look and feel, and optimize the content of the web for your user interface.
Apps are made to be convenient. A swipe or two of your finger, a tap of the screen and you get the content you want.
I really doubt people are upset with the experience of the open web. They see the benefits of an application. While people moved to suburbs to escape from the city and the crowds, it wasn’t really more convenient (especially before the strip malls and box stores followed).
But I agree, there’s the potential for the “Open Web” to become ignored as users migrate away from accessing the web through their browser to using a variety of apps.
With the App Store, Android Market, Xbox Live, Playstation Network, etc, people are becoming accustomed to making micro-transactions. We’re being trained to accept these $1 or $2 payments for the content, or access to the content, that we want. And that used to be available for free.
On the other hand, while free, it used to only be available through our desktop PC at home or at work.
If I seem like I’m flip-flopping on my argument, I guess I am. I not for nor against applications. I don’t want to lose the freedom of the open web, but I like the service provided by apps. It hasn’t become a one-or-the-other issue to me yet. I’m far more concerned with issues like government censoring, what ISPs can get away with, and Copyright law. This “Open Web” argument around applications seem like a bit of a distraction from bigger issues, really.
Are you ready to boycott the app store to protect the web? Do you like the Android platform, with it’s open door policy for apps and their distribution better than Apple’s?
Some of the best lessons are what not to do…
Published April 22, 2010 Blogger/Media Relations , Communications Strategy , Government Communications Leave a CommentTags: David Pugaliese, Government, media, media relations, Ottawa Citizen, Public Relations, PWGSC
When I first read David Pugaliese’s article Public Works and How Not to Handle Media Relations on Defense Issues, I wasn’t sure I should comment on it here.
But to not comment, I think, is passing up an opportunity for an important conversation. There’s really two parts to this discussion, the bite of criticism but more importantly, how to deal with these sorts of media relations issues.
My job is communications for Public Works and Government Services Canada, in Ontario Region, and my initial reaction was to take this article somewhat personally. If he’s trying to make my colleagues look bad, he’s also trying to make me look bad.
After a few days of reflection on how I could address this on my blog, I decided the best thing to do is spark a discussion around how we, as PR or communications professionals should respond to these sorts of call-outs directed at our organizations and ourselves.
I think the article takes a little too much of a personal edge. Mr. Pugaliese was clearly offended by the alleged claim made by Ms. Langlois that his article was inaccurate, as he calls her out personally. Much like the trend a couple of years ago with bloggers and journalists alike blacklisting PR professionals and calling them out on their sites.
In todays world of social media and digital communications, communicators need to be extra careful about their dealings. And I don’t mean we need to be tight lipped, because that’s not true. We need to tell the truth, we need to treat people with respect, and we cannot hide.
One function of journalism is to keep corporations, governments and citizens honest, and sometimes that takes getting some hands dirty. So, I’m not fundamentally opposed to these sorts of call-outs, but I don’t consider them the pinnacle of professionalism. I’m not sure that was the case here, but as a regional communicator I’m not that close to the situation.
As a communicator working for a organization that’s been called out like this, I think there are some important steps to take, and some that shouldn’t be taken.
What you should do…
- Don’t make a public knee-jerk reaction. I consider myself a professional and I conduct myself as one. So why should I get my back up about an article like this? It’s only going to make things worse.
Really, who is going to pay attention to this type of news apart from journalists, communications professionals and other media-savvy public servants? Condo buyers don’t care, headline skimmers don’t care, and it’s certainly not font-page news. It’s hardly likely to be printed in a newspaper.
- It’s possible that a personal phone call to the journalist or editor could be in order. Perhaps to apologize for the slight that resulted in the story in the first place. This is very situationally dependent and would have to do with past dealings and existing relationship with the writer. This cannot be fuel for the flamers. You don’t want a firestorm in a teacup becoming a full fledged inferno.
- Learn from the experience. Especially if there’s truth to the article. Sit down with the media relations team, discuss what you’ve been doing wrong and what you’ve been doing well. Work on ways to improve media relations practices.
Speak to the senior executives you deal with, make sure they understand the challenges your media relations team has. Perhaps there’s confusion around roles in the top offices. Maybe approval processes can be streamlined or improved somehow.
I’m not in a position to comment on the practices in my organization, and I don’t know if there are opportunities to do this. As a regional employee I’m too far removed from it.
What you should not do…
- You should not ignore a call-out like this. Media (and social media) relations are not to be taken lightly. This is one of the primary roles of a communications unit.
- No good can come from a public rebuttal. The response should be quiet and personal if responding to the writer. And it should be internal when dealing with any possible malpractice.
What do you think? I’ve never dealt with this sort of an issue before. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
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