Arav

Why hello, perennial Gemstone IV craving.

I have an idea for what I think would be a really neat computer game.
It is a two player game, one Spy and one Sniper.
The setting is a fancy party, random locations, with a large number of computer-controlled people.
The Spy has a set of random goals: talk to X contact, steal X item, plant X bug, etc.
The Sniper has one goal: shoot the spy. He also has only one shot.
The game is a reverse Turing test: can the Sniper pick out the human-controlled Spy in the computer-controlled crowd.

The hard part would be making the Spy controls balanced, so that a careful Spy could mimic an NPC, but give himself away. In particular you'd have to make sure there were no guaranteed tells, things an NPC never did that are hard or impossible for the Spy to avoid.

So I am in Israel, and have not seen a Grace in a few days to babble at, so you all get the benefit of a random update.

1) I am in Israel! For six months! This is eight hours ahead of most of you. My chat lists suddenly became empty.

2) I've been trying to re-learn Hebrew. This has resulted in Hebrew and French rapidly mingling into a single incoherent, inchoate psuedo-language in my head. Hopefully this will fix itself.

3) There are SO MANY CATS on the campus here. I am not even kidding. Kitties. Everywhere. Cats cats cats. I don't know if I'm allowed to pet them.

4) I got invited to submit a journal version of my first paper. Yay me.

5) I need to get a Skype thing set up.

That is all the babbling I have today.

I am increasingly annoyed at RPG's/MMO's that employ immersion-breaking 'stay far away and pull' agro mechanics. Yes, I'm looking at you, WoW. I should not be able to have a big fight in an open room and somehow not alert the guys over there, because I'm far away. Dragon Age is a bit better, but I can still pull people from a room while other guards stand there and go 'Ho, hum.' You'd think they'd notice their friends firing arrows through the door and say "Hey guys, what's going on over there?" In addition to being stupid, it also removes any sense of epicness (epicity?) from the battle.

So I just got left 4 dead. If anyone wants to play with me, friend me on steam. I think I'm just "Seth", but it is hard to tell.

So there has been some extended complaining, on the part of video gamers, about a comment Obama made.

I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that has built up over centuries, how hard it will be to fix schools, because changing our schools will require not just money, but a change in attitudes.

We're going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that's going to take some time.

Now, look. I have my doubts about politicians as much as anyone, and Obama is no exception. And I dislike the demonizing of video games. But video games are entertainment, and recreation, and saying kids are going to have to put their toys away and work is not denigrating video games, or linking them with failure, it's saying that academic success actually requires motivation, effort, and hard work on many fronts. Good lord. Video games, just like reading fiction, aren't productive. Doesn't mean they are not good, useful parts of a healthy life. This should not be a political controversy.

Post in the New York Sun.

As mentioned in my last post , I've started playing WoW again. I am glad to say that my guild seems to be a success! We have 10 or so people, usually enough on an evening for a group (sometimes two). We do a good chunk of instancing, questing, and having fun.

We have moved from Lightninghoof (RP-PVP) to Blackwater Raiders (RP). Thus we are now named Lightninghoof Exiles. The concept of keeping around an average level seems to be working pretty well. Most people have two or more characters :) Alt-itis rules. We're currently median-ing around 29 (counting only the highest for each person).

So, if you want a laid-back, casual group of people to play with... come on in! The water is fine!

World of Warcraft is a game, and as such is meant to be enjoyed. When the game is taken too seriously, it ceases to be enjoyable for many. In light of this, I want to create a circle of characters that will provide an environment where playing is fun. I want to enjoy all levels, not race to the end-game. I want to explore different dungeons and quests, not camp the ones with the best loot. I want a chance to roleplay and be silly. Towards this end I envision a circle of characters, of similar level, who can progress through the game together. By staying at like levels, it is my hope that anyone can find a like-minded person to group with when they have time to play. As an initial vision, I propose the following statements:

( Silliness continuesCollapse )

If you are interested, leave your email (and optionally an IM handle), or just go to http://groups.google.com/group/lightninghoof-circle
I'll probably start my character Monday evening.

If you can think of a better name than 'The Circle', leave that too :)
Feel free to link to this, send it around, pass it on to friend, etc, etc.

Edit:
We will try to meet at Durotar starting area. Lets make the 'initial' mean level 2, so people can go up to 5 experimenting and playing around getting there.