We chatted with Kwan about the origins and future iterations of Bad Trip. How about user-generated dreamworlds?
via Interview: Alan Kwan's interactive mementos and immersive trips – GameScenes.
Author Archives: bg
Wife’s suggestion led to bestselling series
John Verdon was 65 and retired, reading a lot of detective stories and talking about them with his wife, when one day she suggested he write one himself.
Gamify Your Life
Applications that use “gamification” to help improve some of life’s less interesting tasks.
Underground New York Public Library
The Underground New York Public Library is a visual library featuring the Reading-Riders of the NYC subways.
The Future of the Map Isn’t a Map at All—It’s Information – Rebecca J. Rosen – The Atlantic
To Parsons, maps can be so much more than maps. They can be all the information that exists in physical space, and then a layer of intelligence that can put that information to use. He says in the interview, "How can we almost predict the sorts of information that you’re going to need in your day to day life? Can I say, uh well, this morning you’ve got an extra 20 minutes to have your breakfast cereal because the train you normally take has been delayed. You haven’t asked me that, but I know because of what you do usually, and I’ve got these various feeds of data that are contextual. I can start to make those decisions for you." Of course, he notes, Google’s going to have proceed with caution as it rolls out these kinds of services because "there’s kind of a fine line that you run between this being really useful and it being creepy." That’s going to be pretty tough to get around.
via The Future of the Map Isn't a Map at All—It's Information – Rebecca J. Rosen – The Atlantic.
Steidl
This is an opportunity to celebrate all the gloriosensuality of books, at a time when many in the industry are turning against them. The idea is that is should relax you, like when you read a book, to a level of meditation and concentration. Paper Passion has evolved into something quite beautiful and unique. To wear the smell of a book is something very chic. Books are players in the intellectual world, but also in the world of luxury.
via Steidl.
Engaging with the ‘Screwmeneutical Imperative,’ or why I teach humanities students how to code
But since most of my days are spent embedded in development of “new” ways of interacting with cultural artifacts—texts, images, and even code itself—I figured I’d get a little meta in this space. I’m going to discuss why the heck I’d ever teach programming concepts (and code) to humanities students.
The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction
A good resource. The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed.
BibliOdyssey: The Bookplate Collection
The Ex Libris (bookplate) illustrations below were selected from the first half of the enormous John Starr Stewart Collection at the University of Illinois.
What ever happened to the American arcade?
In North America, gamers are now generally divided into two distinct generations: those that grew up in the midst of the vibrant video arcade culture of the ’70s and ’80s; and those born since.
via What ever happened to the American arcade? | Ars Technica.