It's always interesting to see space stuff done on a smaller scale. In some ways, it's almost more interesting. For example, while the ISS is cool, chucking a spacesuit out of the airlock to make an impromptu satellite was satisfying on some other level than I usually find, say, the latest Hubble shot.
There's probably some key insight here, but I'm too tired to actually engage my brain more fully.
Comedy is incredibly difficult to pull off well. Even if you do manage to pull it off well, comedy is so subjective that you'll doubtless leave some people stone-faced even while others are howling with laughter. The gentle humour in the Monkey Island series is probably the best that the gaming genre can hope for. Frankly, I'd like to see more along that line, especially since it would be a shot in the arm for adventure games.
Only to the extent that they regard scientists and engineers as modern-day seers and sorcerers.
But perhaps it will inspire a few would-be "seers and sorcerers" to explore the sciences. Some will doubtless turn away upon learning about real science/engineering (but at least having learned something!) while others will be further inspired. I don't see shows such as CSI as a bad thing (despite the jury-DNA complaints) but rather as an avenue to counteract the idea that science is for the special few who can handle it.
And yet, witness the stupendous popularity of such shows as CSI. Sure, the science is rather simplified (or improbably convenient) but it suggests to me that the public-at-large do indeed have both an interest and a fascination with science and scientific applications.
In Canada or the US, the constitution grants us rights.
I've always understood that the Constitution enumerated our rights, but that the rights themselves were considered God-given or innate (depending on how you prefer to phrase it). Similarly, the Bill of Rights is not the source of Freedom of Speech etc., but rather is just a specific enumeration of the rights the Founding Fathers thought deserved specific mention against possible incursions by future governments.
-PoL
Try as I might, I just couldn't really get into Guild Wars. I play WoW a fair bit, and I'm experimenting with EVE-Online, so I'm definitely open to different MMOG experiences, but there's something about GW that turns me off. I strongly suspect that it's the communication issue. For all of its other faults, WoW has a strong sense of community and communication is easy. I enjoy inpromptu pick-up groups in the low-level areas to complete quests, and I've found that many good friends can be made this way. In contrast, Guild Wars doesn't seem to really have that communal sense. Perhaps it's just me, but I find Guild Wars depressing.
...I give you the future. It used to be that heads of state met openly, whilst businessmen made deals behind the scenes. Today, we see a head of state openly meeting with arguably the most powerful businessman in the United States. In a few years, the business men will simple meet, having done away with the facade of "heads of state." We live in interesting times.
Thanks very much. I'm coming to understand that setting a schedule for writing appears to be a baseline requirement. I've often heard artists telling would-be artists to "draw, all the time, never stop!" and this advice--sans beret--seems to hold for writing.
You said that you wrote a book but didn't publish it. Are you still writing, or was it a one-off event?
Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. The urge to write is ever-present, but sometimes the project just seems so damned big. I imagine that people who develop software projects feel much the same way. Your insight into the development of the various drafts is also valuable and I shall take that advice to heart.
I'm curious: do you have a particular place that you go to write? If I recall, Neal Stephenson basically locks himself away with stern warnings to his family to bugger off for a while. In contrast, I've known a few people who need to be surrounded by "ambiance" in order to write well. For myself, a quiet room, a computer that doesn't have any games installed, and a pot of the hottest possible tea is necessary. As I said, this is simple curiousity and I understand if you've divulged all you care to of your writing habits.
You say that you worked on Just A Geek for two years, which for many of us with first-person-shooter attention spans is roughly equivalent to three generations. During that time, how did you maintain your focus? I've heard that some authors treat it like a nine-to-five job, chaining themselves to an office chair and screaming "write, dammit" at random intervals. Others, I'm told, write because it's the only way they can avoid becoming a giggling serial killer; pouring their emotions, thoughts, and fears into isn't a want, it's a need.
Do you use long-suffering friends as test-readers? Is an editor really needed for someone who wants to self-publish, or is the criticism of friends and family enough? Do you tend to write as a stream of consciousness and then edit, or are you more like P.G. Wodehouse (the greatest humourous author who ever lived, IMHO) who would paste crooked typewritten pages on the walls of his room, only straightening them when they were perfect?
Any tidbits or lessons learned would be appreciated.
I'm curious as to whether voice actors will eventually find fame and fortune as the on-screen actors now do. For myself, I've found that movies such as The Incredibles were both highly entertaining and had production values that allowed me to suspend disbelief. As the technology continues to mature and allows audiences to become truly immersed in rendered environments, the writers, animators, and voice actors become absolutely critical to a successful production (as opposed to "look, Carrot-top and the Olsen Twins did voices in this movie!").
Will we eventually see voice actors' names in big credits? Will skilled voice actors command huge sums for lending their talents? Is it obvious that I'm a geek with almost no movie knowledge who is just excited by the idea of movies not limited by real-world constraints?
Slashdot Mirror
It's always interesting to see space stuff done on a smaller scale. In some ways, it's almost more interesting. For example, while the ISS is cool, chucking a spacesuit out of the airlock to make an impromptu satellite was satisfying on some other level than I usually find, say, the latest Hubble shot. There's probably some key insight here, but I'm too tired to actually engage my brain more fully.
Comedy is incredibly difficult to pull off well. Even if you do manage to pull it off well, comedy is so subjective that you'll doubtless leave some people stone-faced even while others are howling with laughter. The gentle humour in the Monkey Island series is probably the best that the gaming genre can hope for. Frankly, I'd like to see more along that line, especially since it would be a shot in the arm for adventure games.
Only to the extent that they regard scientists and engineers as modern-day seers and sorcerers.
But perhaps it will inspire a few would-be "seers and sorcerers" to explore the sciences. Some will doubtless turn away upon learning about real science/engineering (but at least having learned something!) while others will be further inspired. I don't see shows such as CSI as a bad thing (despite the jury-DNA complaints) but rather as an avenue to counteract the idea that science is for the special few who can handle it.
And yet, witness the stupendous popularity of such shows as CSI. Sure, the science is rather simplified (or improbably convenient) but it suggests to me that the public-at-large do indeed have both an interest and a fascination with science and scientific applications.
In Canada or the US, the constitution grants us rights.
I've always understood that the Constitution enumerated our rights, but that the rights themselves were considered God-given or innate (depending on how you prefer to phrase it). Similarly, the Bill of Rights is not the source of Freedom of Speech etc., but rather is just a specific enumeration of the rights the Founding Fathers thought deserved specific mention against possible incursions by future governments. -PoL
Try as I might, I just couldn't really get into Guild Wars. I play WoW a fair bit, and I'm experimenting with EVE-Online, so I'm definitely open to different MMOG experiences, but there's something about GW that turns me off. I strongly suspect that it's the communication issue. For all of its other faults, WoW has a strong sense of community and communication is easy. I enjoy inpromptu pick-up groups in the low-level areas to complete quests, and I've found that many good friends can be made this way. In contrast, Guild Wars doesn't seem to really have that communal sense. Perhaps it's just me, but I find Guild Wars depressing.
...I give you the future. It used to be that heads of state met openly, whilst businessmen made deals behind the scenes. Today, we see a head of state openly meeting with arguably the most powerful businessman in the United States. In a few years, the business men will simple meet, having done away with the facade of "heads of state." We live in interesting times.
You've clearly been spying on me. On the bright side, I did just get a promotion in BF2. ;)
Thanks very much. I'm coming to understand that setting a schedule for writing appears to be a baseline requirement. I've often heard artists telling would-be artists to "draw, all the time, never stop!" and this advice--sans beret--seems to hold for writing. You said that you wrote a book but didn't publish it. Are you still writing, or was it a one-off event?
Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. The urge to write is ever-present, but sometimes the project just seems so damned big. I imagine that people who develop software projects feel much the same way. Your insight into the development of the various drafts is also valuable and I shall take that advice to heart.
I'm curious: do you have a particular place that you go to write? If I recall, Neal Stephenson basically locks himself away with stern warnings to his family to bugger off for a while. In contrast, I've known a few people who need to be surrounded by "ambiance" in order to write well. For myself, a quiet room, a computer that doesn't have any games installed, and a pot of the hottest possible tea is necessary. As I said, this is simple curiousity and I understand if you've divulged all you care to of your writing habits.
Thanks again.
Wil,
You say that you worked on Just A Geek for two years, which for many of us with first-person-shooter attention spans is roughly equivalent to three generations. During that time, how did you maintain your focus? I've heard that some authors treat it like a nine-to-five job, chaining themselves to an office chair and screaming "write, dammit" at random intervals. Others, I'm told, write because it's the only way they can avoid becoming a giggling serial killer; pouring their emotions, thoughts, and fears into isn't a want, it's a need.
Do you use long-suffering friends as test-readers? Is an editor really needed for someone who wants to self-publish, or is the criticism of friends and family enough? Do you tend to write as a stream of consciousness and then edit, or are you more like P.G. Wodehouse (the greatest humourous author who ever lived, IMHO) who would paste crooked typewritten pages on the walls of his room, only straightening them when they were perfect?
Any tidbits or lessons learned would be appreciated.
I'm curious as to whether voice actors will eventually find fame and fortune as the on-screen actors now do. For myself, I've found that movies such as The Incredibles were both highly entertaining and had production values that allowed me to suspend disbelief. As the technology continues to mature and allows audiences to become truly immersed in rendered environments, the writers, animators, and voice actors become absolutely critical to a successful production (as opposed to "look, Carrot-top and the Olsen Twins did voices in this movie!"). Will we eventually see voice actors' names in big credits? Will skilled voice actors command huge sums for lending their talents? Is it obvious that I'm a geek with almost no movie knowledge who is just excited by the idea of movies not limited by real-world constraints?