14 January, 2008
So, this (delayed) challenge is that you need to do something clever. You can post about it if you want to show off to other people. :)
My example and a bit of explanation after the jump.
A good game designer has to have a unique way of looking at the world. This is why the most notable designers tend to be a bit, well, quirky. Will Wright, for example, learns about anything he can and tries to incorporate it into his design work if he can. He’s a great guy to talk to, but he’s someone that will “freak the mundanes” as we used to say back in the day.
So, let me give you an example. Even though I didn’t attend Project Horseshoe (yours truly in the current photo there), they did send me a neat T-shirt. It reads: “In the paperless office of the future, WHAT BEATS ROCK?” A clever little question, but I have the answer: lasers! Lasers melt rock, but scissors cut the power supply. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what hand gesture would work for this: sticking out the index finger (pewpew!) looks too much like scissors, and an unscrupulous person could change their hand sign a bit too easily. Laser also works well because it’s seen as “futuristic”, and thus answers the question nicely.
So, what’s your bit of cleverness? Post it here if you want admiration.
I find I am often inspired about game design when I’m exposed to new systems of thought (for example, what does a traffic engineer think about all day? How about a rice farmer?), so every now and then I try to attend a lecture/meeting/museum way outside my field. My wife is the same way, but she writes plays instead of games. I think a ‘production’ artist learns to cultivate exposure to the new and different.
Also, in my spare time, I make lolcats.
Comment by Bret — 14 January, 2008 @ 5:38 PM
We can has links plz?
Comment by Psychochild — 14 January, 2008 @ 11:35 PM
Regular:
http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/View.aspx?atlastiamthe128435601220731250.jpg (Mine)
Games-Related:
http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kittenprotectmn0.jpg (Classic)
http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowcat3kw7.jpg (Classic)
http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1203001pt9.jpg (Mine)
I once had the good fortune to attend a party thrown by Mr. Wright to promote his robot-reality-show-tv-pilot thing, not sure if it had a formal name. One of the funniest things I have ever seen was the sequence where a primitive-looking robot was tipped over in the street. Whenever a person would walk by, it would intone, very digitally, “Help. Help…. Help.” Hilarious and touching.
Comment by Bret — 15 January, 2008 @ 4:32 PM
Just to add a couple of my favourite gaming lolcats (not made by me):
http://www.aeropause.com/archives/2007/06/metroid_lolcat.php
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/07/28/kitteh-has-broken-an-axle/
Comment by n.n — 16 January, 2008 @ 5:34 PM
The rocks of the future reflect laser beams.
Comment by Septa Scarabae — 16 January, 2008 @ 8:13 PM