Bordeaux Meeting

INSCAPE Project 2nd EC Review meeting ocurred at IMMERSION in Bordeaux.

Paris meeting

INSCAPE Project meeting ocurred at C&S in Paris.

New move

In my last post I made my plans according to the end of lessons by September and taking into account the no continuity of the teaching activity at UA at least in 2007. However, life is short and keeps changing our most elaborated plans. I've been invited to teach at the University of Minho. Thus since September 2006 I've been teaching there full time.

By now, my scheduling to finish the thesis by May, 2007 seems a bit unrealistic with all the battle fronts open. Anyway I'll pursue this goal. For that, publications and other matters must slow down or even stop in order to let me focus only on the writing between lessons and family time.

may.2007

the prototyping - december.
integration of theory, data analysis and software design process - january
translation - february
final writings - may

Virtual Storytelling | 05

Conference on Virtual Storytelling on the November 30 till December 2, 2005 at Strasbourg, France.

no Time

I've never been the type of a daily writer. However since last April time is really not enough. I've a new role in the world since April, I became a father on the 18th of April. And also, since September I'm teaching at my University in full time. Beyond that I've to proceed with my PhD.

About being a father, it's a great thing, is new and it takes time. On the other side, teaching is also interesting but it takes even more time. So for the PhD it only rests a very little amount of time. I should finishing middle of next year, however by now I've already accepted that it will have to wait till the end of 2006.

In the middle of all this, it should be obvious that I couldn't have time for this Blog, at least during this period. However, I'm still publishing information and collecting Links in another page (in Portuguese) but only focused in Videogames, if interested just take a look at VIDEOJOGOS.

Science and Videogames

Three Scientific areas of researching Videogames

a) Game Design "is the process of designing the content, background and rules of a game" at wikipedia.
"...conceiving and designing rules and structures that result in an experience for players" in The Rules of Play (2003)

Big concerns, analyse and develop new forms of gameplay and interactivity.

b) Video Game studies "is the still-young field of analysing video games from a social science or humanities perspective." at wikipedia

Big concerns, analyse textual and cultural meanings present in videogames. Special approaches at the moment are ludology and narratology.

c) Game Programming deals with programming and can "include advanced physics, artificial intelligence, 3D graphics, digitized sound, a custom musical score, complex strategy and may use several input devices (such as mice, keyboards, gamepads and joysticks) and may be playable against other people via the Internet or over a LAN." at wikipedia

Big Concerns, studying new forms of programming and new harware in order to deliver always the most powerfull capacities for graphics and AI.

Gamer's Manifesto

«
. Give us A.I. that will actually outsmart us now and then
. Give us a genre of game we've never seen before.
. Give me environments that realistically react to what I do

. Ban, Loadings.
. Ban, Superimposing on the screen.
. Ban Cinematic camera angles.
. Ban, Confusing, mapless floor plans.
. Ban, Unnecessarily difficult end levels.
. Ban, Patenting
»

excerpts adapted from Gamer's Manifesto, 2005 by David Wong and Haimoimoi

Videogame Genres

. Action Adventure Game
. Adventure Game
. Driving Game
. Fighting Game
. Massively Multiplayer Game
. Platformer
. Puzzle/Rhythm Game
. Role-Playing Game
. Shooter
. Sports Game
. Strategy Game


as used by E3 Expo in 2005