elsabartley.co.uk

GameCity Squared

Elsa — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:59:00 +0000

I’ve been attending GameCity since its creation, and before that the Broadway’s Screenplay games festival that which ran from 2000. Each year it gets bigger and raises the bar. This year was no exception, with some amazing and large scale events.

This year saw the event take place mostly in the Council House and a large tent pitched outside in Market Square, so the event had its highest public presence to date, which can only be good for the festivals future.

Highlights

The best part of a games festival for me is in exploring new games and new ways of playing, which is evident in my selection of festival highlights.

Sandpit

This was my first experience of pervasive gaming, and I’m totally hooked. I only managed to register for two games due to demand, but this wasn’t really an issue because there were lots of other people waiting too so we were able to start an impromptu game of Werewolf (http://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html) which needs 7+ players. One of the things I loved was that the people had an open attitude towards play.

I played two games, Hipsync and Moveyhouse, which were great fun and interesting experiences. There is something elevating about reclaiming a space with play and people not taking themselves too seriously. http://sandpit.hideandseekfest.co.uk/events/

Gambling Lambs

Gambling Lambs is a monthly gaming event in Nottingham, which held a special event as part of the festival. There was a great atmosphere and in the same way as Sandpit having a group of friendly strangers willing to play games together is a great experience. It takes place the first Thu of the month and I highly recommend it. http://www.gamblinglambs.com/

Indiecade

Each year Indiecade offers a selection of new games to play and explore. Each year usually holds a gem or two, last year I played the recently released http://machinarium.net/demo/ The indiecade was set up in the tent in the city centre, which means loads of lovely exposure for those games, but unfortunately there was no sound which is a big part of the experience.

This year a couple of games stood out; Papermint which is a colourful MMO had lovely art inspired by Parapa the Rapper. A surreal game based on Little Red Riding Hood called The Path that had a nice ethereal feeling about, with a dark twist. Moon Stories had some nice narrative based game play. Finally, Classic Night had a beautiful childish gothic art style, a bit like Invader Zim. To find out more any of the games from Indiecade check out their website: http://www.indiecade.com/index.php?/games

Night Blooms

Robin Hunicke played through the whole of the game Flower, to an audience in the arcade behind the council house, while the screen was projected on muslin hung from the ceiling and rose petals occasionally fell from above.

The experience was as close as I’ve seen video gaming come an art installation, and it was an amazing experience. It started off with everyone stood around, but as the performance progressed the audience became increasingly horizontal. The game is very relaxing and hypnotic, while the audio is amazing and the architecture made it all the more dramatic. It was really interesting to experience a game in a totally different context.

World of Wordcraft

This was a panel of (ex)games reviewers trying to create the perfect games review with musical interludes by Rebecca Mayes. I have to agree with one panellist who kept saying reviews were dead, although I suspect we were coming from different positions. He was looking at aggregated scoring, while I’ve replaced games reviewers with my social network. Rebecca Mayes was fun and I really hope she does play some video games too, but for niche marketing she gets bonus points.

Brickfactor

Playing Lego Rock Band in the centre of Nottingham on a Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd and murdering Katrina and Waves will be a lasting memory. Hehe.

15 Pixels

A pleasant surprise of an event, a lunchtime curry session with Alaskan Military, the guys that made the viral for GameCity and the Lego animation guys Spite Your Face – you know the ones that did Camelot , yup them. Entertaining talks about how they do what they do and their inspiration. Great fun and really creative, art and geekery combined is a sure fire win for me.

Masaya Matsuura’s Marching Band

Margaret Robertson held a brilliant interview with Masaya Matsuura, creator of Parrapa the Rapper, where we got to see some of his games that never got a UK release. This was followed by him conducting an audience rendition of Hey Jude on the Kazoo. Priceless.

The End

So when choosing how to spend Halloween, getting zombie make up complete with latex peeling skin courtesy of local make up students and trying to scare the hell out of people seemed like an excellent way to spend it. I was right and was delighted when my friend came as Zoe from L4D and kicked the hell out of the zombies.

GameCity

GamesCity festival happens every year and I’d highly recommend it to anyone with a playful soul.

Project Natal

Elsa — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:21:00 +0000

Project Natal was announced by Microsoft at E3 as new interface peripheral for the Xbox 360, which removes the need for a joypad, instead body movement, facial recognition and voice are used for interaction.

We have seen similar innovations with the EyeToy for the PS2 and the notion detection in the Wii, but both have severe limitations. The EyeToy is a single lens camera, so it is easily affected by lighting and background, while the motion detection in the Wii is built into the joypad and has limited capabilities by default.

The demo shown at E3 is jaw dropping, showing seemingly natural interaction with a character called Milo, but anyone with any experience of Microsoft demos treats them with appropriate levels of scepticism. Since they haven’t beaten the Turing test there is certainly some smoke and mirrors going on, in the words of Milo’s creator Peter Molyneux “If we had, then applying it to a computer game would be the last of the solutions we'd use it for.”

Other demos include a painting application and a dodgeball style game. They are relatively low tech examples but the dodgeball game has been demonstrated with journalists and celebrities, and has appeared to withstand their scrutiny. Interestingly Endgadget’s demo turned the lights down to see if it can cope with different lighting, and it had no problems.

Although shy on the details Microsoft have said it contains an RBG camera, an infrared camera, a multi-array microphone and a depth map. New Scientist among others suggested it is using the infrared camera technology by 3DV, an Israeli company that Microsoft purchased. This heat detection allows it to maintain a level of functionality regardless of light sources or obstacles.

Project Natal claims to have facial recognition and voice recognition, but we’ve only really seen this in the Milo demonstration, which could have been entirely scripted. So the extent of this capability is still not fully understood, although the voice recognition is based on Windows 7 functionality.

While Natal does recognise actions sitting down, a notable thing from the demos is the space of the room they were demoing in. When you use your whole body as a controller you need enough space to do so. A bit like Wii Fit, removing the traditional controller can pose logistical problems for the smaller household; for me my living room becomes more like an obstacle course.

Paradoxically playing a game with your body rather than your thumbs can be both more intuitive and harder work. I am old enough that can still remember my initial awkwardness interacting with a computer mouse or a console joypad, even though it seems like second nature now. However this hurdle is removed by Natal, making gaming and potentially all human-computer interaction much more accessible and intuitively responsive to an even wider audience, although it lacks the feedback a physical peripheral affords.

If I sat playing Burnout as it has been demonstrated with Natal my arms would ache after a while. But one thing I do know from marathon Guitar Hero sessions is that I will play through most aches for the right game. Interestingly a great many of the games we play allow us to explore far beyond our own physical limitations, so I wonder where the disparity is between simulation and escapism and what we desire from our gaming experience.

I don’t think we will be getting rid of the joystick anytime soon, but this definitely opens the door to new kinds of games and game play that we haven’t seen before. Its greatest potential is in the creative and imaginative hands of games and software designers everywhere.

Alphonse Mucha

Elsa — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:25:00 +0000

The Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939) is commonly recognised as the instigator of the Art Nouveau movement, characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. His work typically has women as his subject matter and his fame grew when he created posters for the Parisian star of the time Sarah Bernhardt.

The colours and lines remind a lot of the more contemporary artist Audrey Kawasaki. Mucha's work has a strong element of fantasy and almost feel like they were plucked out from a fairytale. I particularly like his handling of fabric and hair.

While the colours of Mucha's work are often more muted, I particularly like the colours in the much more vibrant stained glass he designed for Prague's St Vitus Cathedral.

Interestingly I can also see some parallels between another Art Nouveau artist, Aubrey Beardsley and another of my favourite contemporary artists, Lucy McLauchlan.

Sharing media on your network with your Xbox 360

Elsa — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Ok I have had some real fun with getting my XBox to see my XP desktop. It was easy enough to get it to see my Vista laptop after I set up Windows Media Centre (WMC), and although WMC sees everything on my network it has no supports for DivX, so doesn’t really meet my needs.

Diagram of XBox on wireless network, but media sharing can be on wired or wireless network.

However playing video through the XBox dashboard does have DivX support, but this way it only finds files that are local to my laptop and I wanted it to see my whole network. It wasn’t as straight forward as it should have been so here is my quick guide on how I managed to get it working. It’s not the only way, there are 3rd party tools out there.

Sharing media

Firstly you need to share the media from your XP machine. To do this you need Windows Media Player 11 (WMP11). WMP11 adds a bit of Vistas functionality into XP, so under Library>Media Sharing... click the checkbox and allow access to the XBox 360.

Problem 1
This didn’t work straight off for me, it just hung for ages and then nothing happened, no sharing and no error.
Solution 1
Check which services are running. Start>Admin tools>Services. You need to make sure UPnP and SSDP are both started and set to Manual, also check Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service is started and set to Automatic.
Problem 2
Once I’d done this I was able to share my media and allow my XBox. However my XBox still refused to see my XP machine on the network. So my PC could see the XBox but the XBox wasn’t seeing the PC. After a bit of reading around online and trying loads of stuff it became clear DRM was the issue. WMP11 DRM doesn’t work properly, it makes sense then that the XBox which is DRM’d up to it’s eyeballs would start having issues.

Solution 2
Clear out the existing DRM data. You need to set your Folder Views to include System files. Then navigate to Documents and Settings>All Users> DRM and delete all files.

Then go this link in Internet Explorer:
http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/en/indivit.asp?force=1

If ActiveX blocked you’ll need to allow it, once that’s done the greyed out Upgrade button should become clickable. Click it and what for the process to run then close the box. Reboot PC (definately) and XBox (possibly). After this the XBox detected the PC and media sharing was enabled.

All credit goes to @DocJelly and his amazing blog post for this solution.

Problem 3
This was a fairly simple problem to solve. The XBox doesn’t see folders that are shared on the networking the same way and WMC does, it only see the folders that are part of your shared WMP11 Library.

Solution 3
In WMP11 go to Library>Add to Library...

Add any folders with media that you want to share and click OK, it can take a while for your PC to catalogue the new folders and files.

Ongoing Issues
The Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service is a memory hog, so it may be worth disabling sharing if you aren’t using it frequently.

Even with WMP11 Library I’ve found it a little unpredictable about what the XBox will and won’t see. This might be because files are still being catalogued, so I’ll give it a bit longer before I investigate further.

Google Wave

Elsa — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:49:00 +0000

I loved the Google Wave demo, but probably for all the wrong reasons. I loved the fact that it was an honest demo, ok so that means it breaks, but I prefer to forgive a few bumps in the demo than see canned demos that are so slick I'm left wondering if it was all faked up.

Google Wave made a lot of noise when the demo video was released, and understandably, anyone with an ounce of geek in them keeps an eye on what the big guys are up to. I love how Chrome has changed the way I browse the web and I'm interested to see how Wave might change behaviours too.

For the most part Google Wave, while technically a huge accomplishment, is really the next generation of the web (whatever we might call it), it is a natural evolution from where we are now.

I like the concept of simultaneous conversations; I’ll often have at least two concurrent conversations with an individual via instant messaging, and being able to thread that could be really useful. However I can imagine not wanting to share everything I type straight away. I find the thinking time typing allows me to be really useful. Interestingly I might not turn off the functionality – and give the game away – but rather think more before I type. Typing becomes more transparent like talking, but still lacks the other sensory cues we use in communication.

I’m interested in the concept of collaborative working, with multiple people working on the same document at the same time. I can’t think of another example where people could work so dynamically together in a virtual space. However this level of collaborative working raises its own issues. The goal of any collaboration needs to be clear for it to be effective, but this is even more so when working in the context of Google Wave.

Enabling sharing of photos, media and information is a fundamental part of how we interact online. Wave seemed to offer some some nice tweaks to improve this experience. But the demo didn’t really explore for me the relationships between the people that are interacting. Are they all already established contacts that are part of your network? How to you grow your network? It maybe that you don’t, that you just use existing networks such as Facebook and Twitter and consolidate them in Wave, but for such an application that is fundamentally social it would be odd to not support a means of growing your network in a more direct fashion.

Overall Google Wave looks very impressive; it has certainly broken some technical barriers and shown us what the next step for the internet holds for us. But for the most part it is an evolution, rather than a paradigm shift. Although I imagine it will change the way we collaborate online and our expectation around web interactivity and responsiveness.

Girl Geek Dinners is relaunched in Nottingham

Elsa — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:09:00 +0000

Online Event Registration - Powered by www.eventbrite.com

At last the ball is rolling...

I'm really excited that at last I have managed to get the ball rolling and Girl Geek Dinners are back up and running in Nottingham. I have to say a massive and huge thank you to everyone who has been really supportive. I've never run an event like this before, but what I lack in experience I make up for in enthusiasm and a willingness to ask questions.

If you want to be kept up to date about these events then either email me or follow @NottsGirlGeeks on Twitter.

Blaine Fontana

Elsa — Fri, 22 May 2009 00:53:00 +0000

Long overdue is a post on another of my favourite artists, Blaine Fontana. His work is beautiful and mixes two of my favourite styles of art; Japaese prints and graffiti. I discovered his work at the same time as Samuel Flores in San Francisco's Upper Playground gallery: Fifty 24SF.

The Last Koi Chapter #1 • 48" x 48" acrylic on canvas

The print is also available as a Gelaskin for the geeks out there who like to customise and protect their laptops and iPhones.

Ada Lovelace Day: Molly E. Holzschlag

Elsa — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:12:00 +0000

If you are reading this then you are probably already aware of Ada Lovelace Day, but just in case; it is a day dedicated to blogging about women we admire in technology:

I'm choosing to write about Molly E. Holzschlag, and why I admire her. (Disclaimer: fangirl moments are therefore to be expected).

I've been working with the web for all of my professional career and it became very clear, very quickly that web standards were fundamental in making writing code easier, while more importantly being necessary to create an open and accessible web that was capable of what we hoped and imagined it could do. Although she doesn't know it Molly has been with me every step of my journey, writing about best practice and web standards, shaping the way I and many others work. I started way back with a HTML and CSS textbook and A List Apart and WaSP.

Molly was leader of WaSP (Web Standards Project) from early 2004 through to the end of 2006 and in that time drove real change by recognising that it is not enough to be evangelical about your subject, you need to make connections with and influence those that create the tools and the code inorder to affect the change you want. She helped build relations with Macromedia to influence the tool that web designers were using, and connections with Microsoft to help improve the browser that most people were using. Coming from a history of hacking Dreamweaver to try and force it to write valid XHTML while struggling with browser inconsistencies, it was good to know someone was talking to these corporate giants and refusing to be ignored.

In 2007 Molly worked with Microsoft to help try and improve web standards support in IE, which filled me with hope despite the mammoth task; anyone who has worked in a large organisation will know they are difficult beasts to change. But she was never afraid to ask the awkward questions even to the man at the top: http://molly.com/2006/12/14/who-questions-bill-gates-commitment-to-web-standards/

Last month she moved to Opera, which I can only imagine to be a complete change and I look forward to seeing what work comes out from that, when she can achieve so much in the face of such adversity I really have to wonder what might be done in a company that offers support for those ideals.

However the reason I admire Molly goes beyond her hard work with web standards, it is also about her ability to build connections; her openess and honesty that comes across online. She doesn't fall into the traps of just code samples (although these have their place), single-minded ranting or blindly insisting that everything worked well, but has an ability to see the bigger picture and to enlighten us in such a way that motivates us to join her in trying to make the web better. Thanks Molly.

But Molly isn't the only woman I admire working in technology although she may be among the most renowned, so I'd like to take this chance to give a bit of recognition to a few others as well:

Beatriz Stollnitz (nee Costa) - Part of Microsoft's WPF team, and the go to gal on Databinding. Also a lovely person who was kind enough to let me pick her brainss at TechEd 2006.
Sarah Blow - Founder of Girl Geek Dinners and developer. Has always been supportive and helpful in my quest to get Girl Geek Dinners in Nottingham up and running again.
Leah Culver - developer at Six Apart, but one of the few female technical speakers I've seen at a conference, thanks in part to her work on Pownce with Kevin Rose.
Jo Stray - I've worked with Jo for sometime now and her indepth understanding of usability has been a great guiding compass for me.
Susan Hallam - A fountain of knowledge about all things SEO.
Aleks Krotoski - Games journalist at the Guardian, but it was her work on Bits many moons ago that had the most impact on me personally, as I realised that girl gamers were more prolific than I knew and they were smart and entertaining too.
Jemima Kiss - Tech and media journalist at the Guardian and prolific twitterer, she has an understanding of the web and an ability to write about it coherently and convincingly.
Nichola Musgrove - The first designer I worked with, when I was just starting out, she was a great mentor.
Amanda Gaynor - One of the few women developers I've had the priveledge of working with. Her enthusasm for her subject and her compassion make me honoured to also have her as a friend.
Alice Taylor - By day she is the Commissioning Editor for Education at Channel 4, but I have followed Alice more for her fellow game girl status and her ability to blog about the way gaming influences a wider culture, especially crafty gamers. It might be niche, but it's my niche.
Leisa Reichelt - I first heard Leisa talk at FOWA about ambient intimacy which beautifully described the changing way in which we interact, but more than that her work and approach have informed my own, especially in regards to her enthusiasm for agile user centred design.
Danah Boyd - Writes about the social side of the web, particularly in regards to teenagers. Some very interesting and well informed writing.
Emma Jane - The woman to speak to about anything front end Drupal based.
Jean Baird - A photgrapher, but single-handedly responsible for getting me interested in semantics, back in 1999, way before I'd even heard of the Semantic Web.

Create your own Photosynth

Elsa — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Microsoft have released a demo of Photosynth that allows you to create your own experiences. It still only works in Internet Explorer and requires a plugin to view. But I've been waiting for ages to have a play with this technology. It is amazingly simple to use, you just add a selection of photos of your subject and you are away, there is no labourious stitching of photographs required, it works out where they all fit in the scene.

I decided for my subject I'd take the popular Flickr topic of photographing your workspace. I've always felt my desk is a bit of an adventure (mess) and one simple photograph could never allow you explore its landscape in the same way I do. So I've made a photosynth of my desk here:

Photos are so much easier to take and store, they are on almost all mobile phones and services such as TwitterPic and Flickr show how taking photographs has become a normal way to document any event. When there is such a rich source of information, new ways of using and exploring this data is really interesting. If we think about how Google have recently had cars driving around the UK to map the streets for Google Maps, this effort and expense could be made redundant through the power of crowd-sourcing the photographs/data and applying a technology such as Photosynth. While Google just captures that street at that single point in time, this technology could also allow you to manipulate the time you are viewing that moment at. For instance if we take a popular tourist spot like St Paul's Cathedral, this has been photographed millions of times, so you could choose to not only experience it from a contemporary set of photographs but also using historic data, to experience the view in the 1920's for example.

Puddnhead (Kevin Llewelyn)

Elsa — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:31:00 +0000

Puddnhead is the 'secret' identity that artist Kevin Llewelyn uses for his commercial work. But both his commercial work and his personal work are amazing and worth checking out. He is an amazing figure and creature artist and I love his use of colour. Be warned though his work is dark, offbeat and are almost exclusively NSFW.

If you want to see more of Kevin's work then take a peak at his website. If you want a walk on the weirder darker side, Puddnhead's website is offline at the moment, but he has a profile and is often found on ConceptArt.org. Gnomon Workshop also sell DVDs from Puddnhead where he walks through his process from start to finish.