Blank (Media) Slate

OK, I’m not usually one who plays the meme game… but this is hil-bloody-arious. They could have played up the departmental rivalry angle a bit more, but the production value alone makes this worth a viewing.

I had no idea what the guys at the office were up to when they camped out in the conference room one evening with their video gear. I figured it was just one of those things you just shouldn’t ask any questions about, and quietly move on. Well, here’s what they were doing:

… and I have to admit I think their take on collaborative filtering is pretty funny.

I’ve known this project was in the works for a couple years now. It started as a “wouldn’t it be fun” kind of idea, and slowly became more real as my brother began compiling the necessary schematics and “how-to” docs to make the dream a reality. Imagine the grin on my face, then, when Flickr notified me this morning that a photo of the completed project was ready for my viewing pleasure.

Those of us old enough to remember a time when you could only play video games at an arcade will appreciate this. Mark built a cabinet that’s nearly identical to the ones we used to feed with quarters at the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade. The primary difference, of course, is that rather than playing only one game, his runs a MAME emulator under Linux so you can jam to all of your old favorites.

Ahhh… for the hours spent with the posse amidst the din of the outdoor arcade on a breezy summer night. Nicely done, BlackRazor.

This morning (Monday, April 21, 2008) at 10:55am EDT, we’re in the back yard getting the garden ready for the season when my phone rings. After answering it, I’m greeted with heavy breathing, and a question about where I am. It takes a beat for me to recognize the breathy voice, but as soon as it clicks I realize it’s my friend Sunita Williams… and I guessed the reason for her being out of breath is that she’s running the Boston Marathon (again).

For those of you who followed her exploits, you’ll remember it was exactly one year ago that she was orbiting 500 miles above the planet in the ISS when she last ran this particular race. So, it’s quite an accomplishment to have her feet back on the ground and running another 26 miles (this time with the pull of 1G rather than the simulated effects of the straps holding her to the treadmill).

Anyway, she tells me she and her sister have just crossed into Framingham and wondered if we were along the route somewhere. I told her we hadn’t planned on it, but that I’d bundle up the family and we’d intercept her somewhere to cheer them on. I shout to the kids to drop the shovels and that we’re going on a mission, to which my daughter starts singing the theme to her favorite show:

We’re going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship, flying through the sky, Little Einsteins.

Climb aboard and get ready to explore, there’s so much to find, Little Einsteins.

We’re going on a mission, start the count down: FIVE-FOUR-THREE-TWO-ONE

Mission Time: 11:05am EDT: Fortunately, my wife’s a marathon runner and could roughly gauge their speed. Assuming Suni called when she first entered Framingham, she calculated where she’d be in about 30 minutes.

Mission Time: 11:20am EDT: We find a parking spot near Natick center, and deploy the troops. Since I used to live with my brother in the area, I had a good sense for where we could park close to the route.

Mission Time: 11:30am EDT: We arrive at the corner of Routes 135 and 27 where I take and upload a snapshot to Twitxr - Twitter - Flickr.

Mission Time: 11:35am EDT: Success! Dina and Suni run by as the Adams Clan hoot as loud as we can, hoping to be heard over the noise of the crowd, cheering them on.

Mission Time: 11:45am EDT: Return trip to resume the previous gardening activity.

I’m not entirely sure everyone else will find this as amusing as I did… but I find it hilarious that (a) Suni called while running, (b) she thought we’d be able to get somewhere to see her run by, (c) we were able to calculate the intercept trajectory, and (d) be accurate within 10 minutes.

Then again… Suni’s used to much greater odds in a successful rendezvous.

It might come as a surprise to the folk around the office… but I’m not actually what I’d consider to be a video gamer. Even though I like to jam on San Francisco Rush 2049 with the crew at the end of the day (ya’ gotta’ love the mindless drive around and blow things up game play on a giant plasma screen), that’s the sum total of my current interest in gaming. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t pick up a controller when I get home.

That being said, I do periodically become enamored with a particular game and have a brief affair with the pastime. It started when I loaded the floppies (before personal computers had hard drives, and data was stored on 5.25″ plastic disks in square sheaths that actually bent) of Zork. That game is what got me into programming… I just had to write my own text-based adventures. Many hours in college playing Prince of Persia exposed me to the fluid character animation driven by motion-capturing (encouraging my initial career as CGI designer for TV).

After that, I fell in love with Myst, prompting me to buy my first CD-ROM drive (when they were optional). Then, it was Tomb Raider for which I had to buy a PlayStation. Next, I had to upgrade to a PS2 when Sly Cooper came out (which enabled me to rekindle my affair with the new Prince of Persia: Sands of Time).

Those are the only games I’ve ever spent enough time with to actually complete. I have purchased a few other games, but not many. And none of the the others struck the same chord (or captured as many lost hours of enraptured entertainment).

And now… it’s Heavenly Sword that has my jaw hitting the floor as I drool for a new PS3:

I saw this advertised on TV, and was intrigued. With my CGI background, I get how trailers like this (along with most in-game cut scenes) are made. I’m generally disappointed when the render engine of the platform can’t recreate the same level of detail. So I was literally shocked into stunned disbelief when I saw a running version of the game at Best Buy. The video above is a recording of the exact sequence I was playing in the store. It was awe-inspiringly gorgeous. The background atmospherics, character interaction and overall animation rendering was… unbelievably believable.

The question, of course, is this affair worth $500? If you toss the Blu-Ray DVD player in as a bonus, it gets closer to being reasonable… but then I’d have to upgrade my TV, DVR, and cable service just to keep up with the boost from analog to HD (because I’m sure I’d be sad to see the rest of my visual media consumption diet pale in comparison). Add it up, and this $60 game could be the tipping point that sucks $5k out of my pocket (plus increased monthly cable bills).

BTW - This post started out as an intro for me to lay out a discussion I had with some CTOs at last night’s Boston Technology Leadership Council (about a render-driven TV series). But I’m sure no one’s read this far… if you’re still with me, though, check out the other video clips of the Heavenly Sword at Game Spot. And let me know if you get it… I’ll bring the snacks.