Collection of Me

Pennsic Photos!

rhya — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:44:25 GMT

I'm such a geek...

rhya — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:06:56 GMT

I'm loving my Warehouse 13 / Eureka crossover.

Pennsic

rhya — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:27:25 GMT

So im back from Pennsic already having only been able to go for the first week this year due to my boss' conflicting vacation. Still it was a good week. I had to spend about half my time doing camp setup. I fi ished my deck building project and my rope bed project, both came out very nicely. Here are a few photos:

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OkCupid stats...

rhya — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:51:12 GMT

That sucks! Average income for my age where I live: Male: 52k Female: 36k

A use for twitter, who knew!

rhya — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:40:12 GMT

Echo Bazaar: http://echobazaar.failbettergames.com/
Join me in Fallen London :) So far I would have to say this is GOOD game design.
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Interestingly a friend who uses twitter ranted at me about how terrible this game is because it's all she sees in her twitter feed at the moment. This is ironic as the game goes out of it's way NOT to reward players for spamming twitter. It never prompts you to tweet, and you only gain a benefit from tweeting once a day. But there is a link below all of the text in the game in case you want to share it... and it's all just so cool that people are posting it like mad.

Seriously though, the game is pretty neat. And the guys behind it are total narrative theory nerds
http://blog.failbettergames.com/post/Echo-Bazaar-Narrative-Structures-part-one.aspx

Zoom Zoom!

rhya — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:14:12 GMT

I don't know if it's real or not but...damn: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Custom-Built-Motorcycles-Pro-Street-LightCycle-Tron-Lightcycle-Light-Cycle-Bike-Full-Size-Running-/220627957724?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item335e7377dc#v4-33

I can't 'actually' afford it... and if I did have that much money there are other things I would buy first... but oh would it ever be lovely!

Skullduggery Island now live! ...and also FREE!

rhya — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:21:40 GMT

We just opened our new pirate themed island to the public, you should come check it out it's good fun! Just go to www.poptropica.com create a character and click on Skulduggery Island when you see the map!

Here is the trailer:

WTF? Seriously what the fuck?!?

rhya — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:07:04 GMT

In my ongoing Know your Enemy campeign I get these awefull conservitive newsletter emails... I have no idea how I got on their list, but I haven't canceled figuring that I really do wnat to know how they think... here's the latest:
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"The American Heritage Series - 10 DVD Set

Discover the forgotten and astonishing story of our nation’s foundation in the American Heritage Series. For centuries, Americans were taught a truthful view of history that recognized the Godly heroes and moral foundation our nation was founded upon. But in recent years, a new version of history has assaulted the moral and spiritual fiber of our nation, leaving the truth of our past eliminated and forgotten. Join historian David Barton and experience the untold story of our nation’s history in the American Heritage Series."
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Seriously... I just really don't know what to say to these people... so all that slavery, and genocide... clearly not true. We must be a perfect nation...under god...

Make ya famous....

rhya — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:11:26 GMT

So, on Tuesday I took a friend out to Not Your Average Joe's for a birthday dinner. Just after we were seated a mother and daughter walked by on their way out. The little girl was wearing a 'Happy Birthday' sash and said to her mother as she passed us 'Can I play Poptropica' when we get home!' I grinned and said to my friend something like 'Hey she said Poptropica, she plays my game!' The mom overheard and turned to look at me. I blushed and explained that I work on that game. The daughter got very excited and we chatted for a few seconds and the left.

A few minutes later they came back into the restaurant, the mom urging her daughter forward. The little girl had her birthday card and a pen in her hand and was so nervous she dropped her pen. When she had picked it back up she came up and asked me foe my autograph! Then I was really blushing! I signed her card and wished her a happy birthday.

My friend spent the rest of the meal teasing me about my 8 year old fan girl!

History of Social games: 5,000 years

rhya — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:35:08 GMT

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=131717959&gid=2210587&articleURL=http://radoff.com/blog/2010/05/24/history-social-games/&urlhash=AOSu&trk=news_discuss

This is focused on their passage into the video game state, but the diagram is good even if you are just interested in the early part. I of course think this only shows half the picture... what was happening socially on the same timeline...

How many days does it take to go for a ride!

rhya — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:15:27 GMT

Day 1
And I have a Motorcycle!

Day 2
...of course my permit expired yesterday (the irony is fantastic) so I didn't get to ride it. Back to the RMV to take the test again this afternoon...

Day 3
And I passed my permit test again, so I can go ride...

First ride is a success... that's fun... full of death, but fun.

Pictures of the Bike here in the morning.

Best Face on okCupid

rhya — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:07:58 GMT

This is fascinating, if you have an okCupid account you should totally try it :)

http://www.okcupid.com/mybestface?rid=14234119367996605939

So I finally got my Bike!

rhya — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:44:17 GMT

It's a 1986 Honda Rebel 450cc. The bike is 25 years old, but has only 4,500 miles on it. It's silver and looks brand new! Here is a picture of one just like it. Mine was sitting in a garage for 5 years so it's in the shop getting it's tune up. I should be riding by next weekend :)

This is the craigslist post with pictures... don't know how long it'll stay up...
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/mcy/1737667552.html

I also picked up my helmet, gloves, jacket boots and pants. They look good... though I went with protection over cruiser style so the jacket is a little more of a street jacket than a classic biker jacket, but it has shoulder elbow and spine pads... and it does match my bikes colors. I may end up getting armor that I can wear under my leather jackets at some point.

rhya — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:39:27 GMT

My game is homework!
http://www.stmichaelschool.org/dyna/?p=18547

There have been a number of schools using poptropica in their classrooms. Mostly as a freeplay kind of activity or for online literacy. While that is not the purpose of our game, we do aspire to be educational in a stealthy way and it's cool to see teachers pointing out the things that we have done on purpose.

Also the new trailer for our pirate themed 'Skullduggery Island' is out:

And since I'm at it here is the most recent one out to play:

I own a car!!

rhya — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:54:50 GMT

So my title came in the mail today! ...now technically this isn't my first time owning a car, but it's the first time I went to a dealer and made payments and finished. Now I feel all responsible and stuff ;)

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Location:Main St,Malden,United States

a softer world

rhya — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:34:02 GMT

http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=543
I mean, not that there is no true love, just no one true love... which of course means an infinate capacity for breaking your heart...

also:

http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=539

This comic is bitter, and sometimes crass, but these fit my view or relationships well. I'm a romantic, I like being in love... but I think we do have a will, we can choose to get over it if it is going to make us miserable... we are not in a 19th century romance novel where we have to pine and wither away in unhappiness. Seriously, suck up the pain. End it. Move on. There will be happiness again. Grieve, you loved them, but it's over. Hanging on is foolish. Sure it'll hurt for a year or so, and you'll get flippy feelings in your stomach being around them for a few more years. Deal. Take responsibility for your own happiness.

This rant is directed at no one in particular, but at most of society...

rhya — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:06:26 GMT

http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=543
I mean, not that there is no true love, just no one true love... which of course means an infinate capacity for breaking your heart...

I've become very fond of 'A Softer World' It's far darker than xkcd, and usually not as funny, but it does make me smile... some times it's a grim smile... but it is a smile.

It's good to be here now...

rhya — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:49:33 GMT

...to have the things that I care about most passionately be relivant and pivitol to who we are... and to finaly see those discussions taking center stage in my profession and culture at large:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/04/video_games_can_never_be_art.html

http://thatgamecompany.com/general/right-moving-on-my-response-to-ebert/

Take the 15 minutes to listen to Kellee's TED talk and read Ebert's response. I care about this stuff so much, it brings tears to my eyes to know that this is my job and that the things I do every day can make a difference, and to know that I'm not alone in my desire to do so.

Level Up!

rhya — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:37:17 GMT

The newest level of the game I work on is out:
http://www.poptropica.com/mythology_island.html

This one is really good! The video was the #1 gaming video on youtube the day it came out, and the user response to the island has been fantastic. I know it's a kids game but you all should check it out!

Machima for the win

rhya — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:24:44 GMT

Fantastic! http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/63109

Some people have too much time on their hands, on the other hand a demo like that gets you a job in the industry :)

Best ad ever.

rhya — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 01:18:49 GMT

GDC

rhya — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:03:23 GMT

Leaving for GDC in 3,2,1 days

Back from GDC after flight troubles... yay working in no sleep!

So this is my third year going to GDC as a Conference Associate (CA) and my first year going as a real live game developer/designer.

First the CA program is just about the best thing ever. I have never seen a professional organization that works as well as the CA's do. They have better management and better staff (myself included) than any other volunteer organization out there.

Going to GDC in any capacity is a privilege and an invaluable experience for anyone who is in or wants to be in the gaming industry. Going as a CA is so much more. Being a part of that group not only allows you to be a part of the largest developer event in the world but it gives you 400 best friends. The bond that Tim and Ian (the CA leaders) foster among the group is fantastic.

My time there in the past three years gave me the courage to keep pursuing my dream of working in the industry. Meeting so many other developers made making games real. It took it from being a foolish dream and made it a career path.

Going this year having just started my job working on www.poptropica.com was both wonderful and challenging. I was no longer attending sessions that I thought would be interesting, I was going to sessions to get knowledge that I could take back to my company and use to make our game better. I was able to encourage the CA's that are still in school or trying to break into the industry in these difficult times. Encouragement that they had been giving me for the past two years.

Even if I could go to the conference on my companies tab I would still volunteer my time as a CA. In a very real way I owe them my success and happiness.

First Code live...

rhya — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:34:35 GMT

With luck my first code will be live in game tomorrow...

That was a week or so ago, my code is now languishing on a testing server... but my part is done. If may not go live until I get a bigger chunk to deploy...

rhya — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:21:07 GMT

MassEffect2 made me cry a little :)

I don't want to give spoilers but they let you find a journal of someone who has died. You kind of thought they were a dick and you find out that over the course of the previous game they had become a good person because of you... and you never even knew it...and now they are dead. It's not a big moment, no emotional voice acting, no flashy graphics, just you alone on a frozen planet with a data tablet.

News flash: English language not helpfull!!

rhya — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:46:18 GMT

When programming multi-user flash/actionscript games have care with the word player...

Player may refer to the player that is playing the game not to the player playing the game that is playing In the player....!!!11111one

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