If you visit their animation page at http://www.hybridmedicalanimation.com/animation_p1.html then you can find extended clips and explanations of a lot of stuff in the demo reel. Very nice.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:16 PM on July 9, 2008

With all respect to Dan Hill (City of Sound), the web-based content of Lost is even more incoherent than the TV show. I like watching Lost, even though it makes little sense; it's 42 minutes of thriller/drama/mystery with occasional single-episode gems. For all that it's incoherent, at least it's quick.

However, I would never enjoy playing the Lost Experience ARG. It's just too long, too distributed, and ultimately, too inconsequential when put... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 2:20 PM on June 2, 2008

Glad you (mostly) like it, guys. It's definitely an experiment, and we (Six to Start, the designers) know there are ways we can improve on both the interface design and the story parts, but it's nice to know that we're going in the right direction.

There are five more stories coming over over the next few weeks, and their stories and designs will be all completely different. Like any good album, we're going to start strong and end strong (the last story is by Mohsin... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:31 AM on March 21, 2008

I generally don't like plugging my own stuff on Mefi, but this is an exception. In Perplex City, we held two 'live action' text adventures where we had a team of three writers 'be' the computer. While we obviously plotted the direction of the story in advance and pre-wrote things like scene descriptions, most of it was all done on the spot (including some fairly enormous plot changes). For each game, we had several hundred people watching, and people could take the 'controls' one at a time.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 8:17 AM on March 8, 2008

Well, I thought it was a nice video - thanks for posting it!
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:48 AM on September 3, 2007

Other interesting links worth reading include his essay on What if the Singularity does NOT happen? and Synthetic Serendipity, his short story (essentially an excerpt from Rainbows End) about augmented reality games and what happens to the people who can't keep up with the accelerating pace of technology.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 8:06 AM on August 24, 2007

lodurr: I agree that a lot of the Singularitarian writers get carried away, but what I've found about Vinge's stories are that they're more about the effects advanced tech will have on humans; the singularity doesn't really factor much into his most recent books. In fact, from a predictive point of view, Rainbows End is much more interesting because it's a near-future book where all the tech discussed is perfectly possible right now. Silent messaging, for one, is doable and will likely have an... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 8:42 AM on August 24, 2007

meewahl: I did check to see if anyone had posted about Vinge, and while there have been postings about Vinge-related topics such as the singularity and cyberspace, there has not been a posting about Vinge himself.

Regarding Ken's comment of the Singularity being the rapture for nerds, I think that's broadly fair enough - at least when it comes to science fiction - although it does trivialise the concept. Personally, I don't have an ironclad belief that it will definitely... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:32 PM on August 24, 2007

Meehawl: I'm not sure that I see what you mean. The AcceleratingFuture post is not perfect, but I think it addresses a lot of the criticisms people have of 'singularitarians' - and I see we've moved on from the whole 'it's just for nerds' to 'it just can't happen'.

I quite like MacLeod's stuff and I've read most of it, but I can't say that I thought it was nuanced criticism of the singularity; there was little discussion of the possible technology involved (I mean,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 2:03 AM on August 25, 2007

I had a look at the 'Let's Play' Boatmurdered link - holy crap, this sounds like a phenomenally interesting game. I'll confess that I probably won't play it since it's not quite my type, but it seems to have incredible depth and the ability to generate great stories. It actually reminds me of some of the more epic Civilization games I've played (which also have quite a bit of fanfic written on various sites).

I know it sounds heretical, but Dwarf Fortress sounds like a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:39 PM on August 12, 2007

I just realised I copied Malor's 'phenomally interesting' description - some weird psychic thing going on there. Anyway, still a wonderful-sounding game. Shame about the graphics, but that can always change.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:47 PM on August 12, 2007

Another two cents - I really don't like the NYC subway map. It's nice that you can see where you're going, but it was not at all clear to me that there were different trains working on the same line, stopping at different places. As someone who's used the London Underground for a few years, I find its map far superior. Agreed that London needs better signage.

A good rule of thumb about how long it takes to get places is that within Zone 1, stations are on average 2... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 1:17 AM on July 25, 2007

MetaMonkey: Civ4 really is a lot of fun. It's not as classic as Civ2, but miles better than Civ3. I find it a lot more fun than Civ3, with more variety than Civ2. Plus the multiplayer works pretty well.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:00 AM on February 27, 2007

Ditto on the Crick and Watson paper, alasdair. I love that sentence.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:39 AM on February 23, 2007

Bury chunk of worthless material in dirt 110 miles north of corporate hq.

Interesting factoid - the Cube cost quite a lot of money to manufacture. It was done to a very high tolerance and hand finished, meaning that it actually isn't all that less expensive than the granddaddy prize of treasure hunts, the Masquerade golden hare.

Why was it buried in 'dirt' (as opposed to what? gold?) 110 miles north of 'corporate hq' (well, we... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:07 PM on February 15, 2007

2,360. Sweet. I have to say that it gets a bit boring for parts, especially when you get the Combo Towers for the first time. But those 10,000 HP dudes... man, that's tricky.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:50 AM on January 9, 2007

Tip: don't forget to upgrade the towers. It's really worth the investment, and a good cheap way of increasing firepower in the middle of a battle.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 7:09 AM on January 9, 2007

Seconded on being thrifty. It's worth noting that in the early levels, you do not need to use up all your money. I went through the first 3-4 levels with one tower being completely unused. As Einstein said, the most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 8:55 AM on January 9, 2007

Same for me, Omie - got to 7049. I think I'd be able to get past bonus 4 if I just didn't overbuild in the later levels. However, I did fairly well in the early and middle levels by saving potloads of money at 20% interest.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:08 PM on January 9, 2007

15,235. That's it, I'm never playing this game again. Hopefully.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 2:06 PM on January 11, 2007

delmoi: It is still only a rumour that third-party apps won't be allowed on the iPhone - it hasn't been confirmed, and the source appears to be some dude on the Apple showfloor who said that it isn't open for developers at the moment (not terribly surprising, since it didn't officially exist until yesterday).

I would be frankly amazed if it didn't allow for installation of custom software in some way, since almost all new phones, smartphone or not, allow for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 2:40 AM on January 10, 2007

Fantastic show - I watched this when I was a kid, and while some of the more complicated stuff passed me by, I loved the cartoons. I'm amazed at how well it's aged, and also disappointed by the fact that there are few documentaries as good as this any more. Mythbusters is good stuff, but The Secret Life of Machines has got such a great British matter-of-factness and wry humour.

For anyone having problems viewing the videos on a Mac, here's what to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:20 AM on January 6, 2007

taosbat: How do you get the tab close buttons to do that? I'd love to get that to work.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 11:22 AM on October 24, 2006

I like the integration with Flickr - makes the cards far more personalised and valuable, and if you have interesting photos, they're a good talking point. Moo was previously known as Pleasurecards (same cards, different designs, no Flickr integration) and I definitely feel that the change was worthwhile - but such reliance on Flickr is a gamble, especially with the logo...
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 1:23 PM on September 19, 2006

Addendum to my previous comment: I know the founder, Richard Moross, so I might be biased. But I still think they're a nice idea, if needing a little improvement.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 1:28 PM on September 19, 2006

To continue the derail, it really is amazing how far the Baron-Cohens get around.

/derail
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 9:00 AM on September 17, 2006

Agreed with bclark - the reveal was very poorly done. A post on a forum? Come on. At least knock up a quick website (they had weeks of warning) or blog with a countdown.

And with the number of times that this art form has been 'born', it's enough to make me believe in reincarnation.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:21 AM on September 8, 2006

Fantastic fiction, incredible imagination. Not so hot on the characterisation, but that's really besides the point.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:45 PM on September 2, 2006

Definitely not real. From the point of view of a guy who makes alternate reality games and sees a lot of viral marketing ideas go by, the videos and writing are just too pat. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was a promo for a movie, as described in the first link.

Another possibility is that this is a 'YouTube original drama' - in other words, it's not selling anything except for YouTube itself. If I were running YouTube, I'd certainly be thinking... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:54 PM on August 27, 2006

Another thought - how the hell did this get so big? There are thousands of videos that are more interesting than this on YouTube, and as far as I can tell, most videos get popular for two different reasons.

1) They're interesting/disgusting/funny/sexy/news - this then drives up their views, which makes even more people watch them. Having seen her first blog, I cannot see why this would reach so many people. Maybe I'm just getting too old though.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:06 PM on August 27, 2006

TPS: Just watched the second one - fair enough. Although it's way too produced, in that 'pretending to be amateur by filmed by professionals' way.

I looked into Virginia Hefferton's blog about this, and she presents the following reason as one of many for why the videos might be genuine:

Her erudition — the particular level of pop crossover “genius” figures that she invokes, including Feynman, Hawking, ee cummings, Jared Diamond — seems... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:11 PM on August 27, 2006

Thinking about it, I wonder if Haxan (or the people from the company) have any involvement in this campaign. They're no stranger to online web promotions for satanic-themed films - just see what they did for Blair Witch. Plus, having seen their other work, they're perfectly capable of doing these videos and finding suitable writers.

mrnutty: funtwo's canon is indeed way cooler, and even better, completely genuine :)
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:25 PM on August 27, 2006

addlepated: Right you are, I hadn't seen that thread. But you have to admit, it could've been them :)
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:47 AM on August 28, 2006

Mr. Curmuddgeon: Big Brain Academy is pretty similar to what you're looking for. The games aren't as wacky or quick as Wario Ware, but they're still very fun and they work with up to 8 players on one cart.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 9:11 AM on July 14, 2006

Created by Adam Brandjes, a sculptor/programmer in Toronto. In case anyone hadn't yet realised, they're not actually real.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:40 PM on June 17, 2006

Good stuff - I love hearing about Feynman. It's amusing to see that this is a Horizon documentary - the BBC delivers once again! (although this is almost certainly a blatant copyright violation).
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:50 PM on April 17, 2006

I'll admit it took me about 30 seconds to figure that one out brain_drain... but it was worth it!
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 12:57 PM on March 17, 2006

Curses, the last three links don't work. You can see the videos from here though: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4770268.stm
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:27 AM on March 3, 2006

Ack - the 'made by the public' link should be the one above. Such is the downfall of having too many tabs open.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:28 AM on March 3, 2006

Fantastic post! Thank you for the translation.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:51 PM on February 27, 2006

.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 7:15 AM on February 15, 2006

It's definitely an interesting thought as to whether you could do this on the London Underground, but I suspect it would take too long to get from the station entrance down to the actual platform. Glasgow is fine (along with many North American systems) because you only have about one escalator or flight or stairs to go down to get to platform - not so with most lines on the London Underground.

Of course, if we're talking about delays well...... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:20 PM on January 22, 2006

Mijo: Yeah, when I read that disclaimer saying that it wasn't necessarily legal, I thought he was just going to vault over the ticket barrier - it would've saved him two or three seconds, at least. He could've even had a friend stand by the barrier to pay for him afterwards, if he was really worried about legality.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:22 PM on January 22, 2006

dame: Ah, no surprises there then - sounds like fun! And your link reminded me of what unconsciously prompted my comment - the man vs. horse marathon in Wales.

I wonder if you could beat Covent Garden to Leicester Square on the Piccadilly Line - it's only 250m, you could sprint that pretty quickly. Again though, really depends on getting to the platform.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 3:51 PM on January 22, 2006

tapeguy: In that case, it probably wouldn't work then :) Unsurprisingly I have never taken the tube that way.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:27 PM on January 22, 2006

Run along the tracks? I don't like the sound of that. There must be some other, safer way of doing this in London! I know that there are some stations which are easier to get in and out of (e.g. Clapham North/Common/South)...
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 4:53 PM on January 22, 2006

Seriously, I don't think you'd get shot if you tried this in London. I've seen people madly dashing for trains recently - because they were late.
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:07 AM on January 23, 2006

Having said that... don't do anything too stupid (like running away from police).
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 6:10 AM on January 23, 2006

Despite the fact the UD *should* be boring, the metagame really is fascinating. In particular, the zombie language and hordes that have been built up are very impressive. To them, I say BARHAH!
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 5:51 AM on January 17, 2006

I'm interested in the assertion here at the Core Duo is less efficient than the G4. From everything that I'd read on Anandtech and other sites, it seems that it's much more efficient than previous Pentium chips to the extent of both increasing battery life *and* performance at the same time. Of course, the G4 isn't a Pentium chip, but it's worth noting as well that during the keynote, Jobs continually reiterated the need for more performance per watt, and said that the Core Duo delivered where... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adrianhon at 2:36 AM on January 11, 2006