I ran a mile! Twice! Any by that, I mean that I ran successfully for a mile, and then was a able to replicate my results on a second occasion, not that I did anything crazy like run for two miles. Geez.
Alchemy and Assassination in ‘The Red Lily Crown’
The Red Lily Crown by Elizabeth Loupas is out today, and I’ve reviewed it over at The Absolute.
I love fiction set in this time period for all the over-the-top disregard for laws among the elite, and The Red Lily Crown has all the secret romance, murder, family backstabbing, and illegitimate children one could possibly dream up. There’s a pretty high body count (because you have to off a few rivals to make it to grand duke of Florence. Or mistress of the more info
duke, for that matter. Or cardinal. Or a Cornish miner studying alchemy at the Florentine court. There is a lot of murder, is what I’m saying).
…
Without giving away too much, The Red Lily Crown has all my favorite de Medici elements. The only way it could have been more perfect is if the characters had spent a little more time commissioning art, but it was probably hard to find the time with all the assassinations going on.
via Alchemy, Backstabbing, and Lots of Murder Abound in “The Red Lily Crown” | (The) Absolute.
Spring Jade
After barely surviving this winter, my McGovern jade plant has just decided to thrive, branch out, and take over the world. (That’s kind of how I feel about winter and spring, too.)
Hipster Shirts
One of the side effects of tech blogging and games blogging is the endless assortment of branded graphics t-shirts I own. Like everyone else in gaming, I have an extensive collection of shapeless XL black t-shirts with game logos, all from conventions. (When I was at Next Island, I tried to convince our marketer that we should make up fitted, women’s sizes of our game shirts, but he had different ideas about how to promote to women.) Almost every day I wear a women’s cut of a gaming shirt from one show or another. It’s amazing how long it can take me to get dressed when really I’m just deciding which graphic t-shirt and which pair of hipster jeans and whether to finish with Converse or ballet flats.
And, like everyone else in tech blogging, I have a pretty extensive collection of graphic tees with logos and slogans from various startups. I wasn’t exaggerating too much when I wrote about LoveMyLogo, my (fictional) new startup connecting startup t-shirts with genuine hipsters in Brooklyn, Austin, and Portland. It’s hard to walk anywhere at SXSW without someone handing you a branded t-shirt or offering to trade a hashtagged tweet for a t-shirt. I’ve been writing about tech for a few years now, so some of these have actually outlasted the start-up they’re promoting. Should probably pack them up in an archival box until they become collectors’ items.
In my industry, these funny graphic tees can be ice breakers or conversation starters. A lot of the startup ones have attention-grabbing slogans. I have one with a “clusterduck” on it that usually gets a second glance (although I do not wear it around my middle schoolers, for obvious reasons) and one advertising stock art that announces that prints not dead (Get it? Prints?).
And that is why a branded graphic t, skinny jeans, and Converse (or ballet flats) is totally a work outfit.
I was asked to write about graphic t-shirts by ThePhobiaShop because I am an extreme hipster.
Polygon on the Changes at Epic Games
From this week’s Polygon article on all the changes at Epic:
The company’s only currently announced game, Fortnite, was revealed in late 2011, and Epic has been relatively quiet about its development. Epic has released new titles since then, including entries in Chair Entertainment’s Infinity Blade series and Gears of War: Judgment, which was developed by People Can Fly, now known as Epic Games Poland.
But coupled with some high level employee departures, the closure of its short-lived Impossible Studios and an investment from Chinese Internet company Tencent, it seemed indicative of a shift in priority at Epic. Tencent’s minority stake in Epic — it owns 40 percent of the company and League of Legends maker Riot Games — could be most reflective of its new direction.
Posted in Chapel Hill, Gaming Culture
Tagged Chair, Epic Games, Fortnite, games, Gears of War, Infinity Blade, League of Legends, polygon, Riot Games, Tencent
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Spoiler: Aristotle
My boss, in the midst of explaining why teaching is so important and how far teaching can reach, said sarcastically to my colleague, “Look how important Plato is. Everyone knows the teacher, but who’s ever heard of Plato’s students?”
I mean, he was joking, but it’s been hours and hours, and I’m still laughing about it.
As Seen In My Office.
My work in games has included teams with nasty office politics, cognitive dissonance between internal and external communications, and rapidly shifting company priorities. So I’m particularly grateful for my work now and my wonderful team at Youth Digital.
Reviewing School
A few months ago, I reviewed the novel School over at The Absolute, and the book is now out, with a quote on the back from my review!
For some reason, they went with my summary and not with my snark about North Carolina for the pullquote.
A little while ago, I applied for a freelance fiction reviewing position with Kirkus. As part of the application process, I was asked to review a book using Kirkus’ review standards, and as I read over the guidelines, I knew in my heart I wasn’t going to get hired.
Some of the guidelines were standard practice — reviews are different from PR, a positive critical review should not read like a press release, the most negative review is still not a personal attack — but some of it showed real artistry in book reviewing. It was great to see critique as an actual craft. For language lovers, the guidelines themselves are a delight to read, especially the note that a solid critique is “nearly as formulaic—though as expressive—as a sonnet.” I often struggle to describe the style and feel of a novel without giving away the plot, or find myself using meaninglessly positive words like “readable” and “engaging”, and it’s been a helpful challenge to apply these guidelines and suggestions to improve my work.
The Kirkus review guidelines have been really great in helping me find a voice that is critical, professional, and authentic, and if the format lends itself well to shareable pullquotes, I won’t complain at all.
Video Game Industry Rant — luckysipe’s old man blog
Harold has a good post up about monetizing in games, and I wanted to share it here:
So, I was at a game demo event a couple of years ago in NYC. This sort of thing was mostly attended by indie folks and folks in the industry but there was also a number of people from various VC firms there as well.
A developer went through a pretty successful demo, he had the room, he a sour-faced VC stood up and asked, “This is all fine but how does it monetize?”
The developer was quick to answer that he was focused on making a fun game and that concern was secondary to him, The room cheered.
I have a BFA and can safely attest to the disdain that most all of modern culture has for the visual arts. That said, there are many avenues for funding artistic projects. Creative Capital being one.
Where does one try and secure funding for gaming projects? VCs. You don’t go into a gaming venture with a creative mission statement but with a strong P&L and business plan.
Maybe this is a bit of the problem with the overall direction of games and the glut of F2P mobile offerings? Where is the support for innovative design takes and risk-takers? There isn’t one. Just live in your parent’s basement and work for nothing to produce an indie game or hit Kickstarter and good luck.
I am happy that there is more discussion about video games as art but until there is actual funding for these endeavors it is hard to see where it is going.
I am not saying MBAs don’t have a place in the industry, I just think that place shouldn’t be the only place in the industry.
via Video Game Industry Rant – 2/6/2014 | luckysipe’s old man blog.
I was at the same gaming demo, a few years ago, and also wrote about the moment when the game dev said he had no plans to monetize.
Local Search Terms
Harold and I are in the car, when I notice a familiar name on a sign.
Meg: Oh, that’s what *local business* is! I’ve been wondering who they are because they follow me on Twitter. I wonder how they found me.
Harold: Does your Twitter bio say Chapel Hill?
Meg: No, of course not.
Harold: Do you tweet about living here?
Meg: Probably, but I don’t imagine I said anything nice.
