almightyorange's blog

For my final project, I originally wanted to create an IF or ARG or even a combination of the two. However when I thought about it, I did not think that I could get my whole point across with either or both. That is when I decided to write a short story. The story focuses on what reality is and when, if ever it is fake. I created a concept for a futuristic video game and one of the people who indulges in it. Throughout the story, I try to establish the fine line between what is "fake" and what is "False."

ARGs in my opinion, are a revolutionary idea. Just the concept of bringing games and puzzles into the real world is astounding to say the least. It's like those little train murder mystery games wanna-be actors and people with nothing else to do with their time put on minus really bad fake accents plus REAL mystery and limitless possibilities. Or like a Zelda game without the really cool animations.  read more »

Second life to me is a very interesting concept, however at the same time not very appealing as a way to spend my time. Before this class I have never heard of anything quite like this. World of Warcraft would be the the only second life I have ever seen. I had decided not to get into this game not only because of the monthly fee that goes along with it, but also the fact that I was worried that WOW would very easily become my first life as I have seen with so many people in the last few years. I personally would not use second life for really anything but for the purposes of this class. However I understand that some people might find this concept of being in a virtual world where one can fly back and forth between huge blocks of color and converse with random people around the world appealing. I also understand that this could be means of learning and sharing information. But I on the other hand much rather read information out of a book or get taught in real life. It is in the same way that I enjoy real cheese more than easy cheese. In addition, second life is a lot like Star Trek: The Next Generation. In many ways it's superior but will never be as recognized as the original.  read more »

Inform. This is like being a kid in a candy store that ironically has locks on all of the candy barrels but still has an array of free, tasty goodness: with all the possibilities, your never going to be able to do everything you would like to. I spent hours and hours on my game and still had not figured out how to do many of the cool, puzzles I had origionally wanted to use. Let's be honest, creating an entire interactive fiction game was very bluntly put, a bitch and a half. Even after many hours of working on this "game", I still have what I believe to be a relatively simple game.

Anyways my game is about you, a C.I.A. agent(whose name for the purpose of this blog is Agent Piccolo Paine), who is sent off by the American government to Infiltrate yet another evil tyrant's lair as well as assassinate the opressive dictator and take over his territory for the United States to "fix." I do not want to give any more information about the story because I do not want to ruin it for people who actually want to play it. So here it is, and I hope everyone enjoys it.

Inform is quite a revolutionary program in my opinion. It is up there with the tablet and the pointy rock used to engrave it. Not in the sense of which effected the world more. But in the sense that inform is a new, more interesting way of story-telling.

People have been able to write down their stories for thousands of years for others to read and ponder. However, reading any old story takes no thought at all. One can even be thinking about something completely different than the story they are reading, and they will still understand what is going on in the text. This is what is so amazing about Inform and interactive fiction in general. In order to "read" one of these stories, one has to completely emerge themselves into the given situation, build a map of the scene in their head as well as REALLY think about how the story is progressing and what to do in order for advancement in their exiting, new world. With today's technology, I am honestly surprised there aren't more interactive fiction stories in "book" form at libraries and bookstores so that everyone can explore the possibilities of this medium of writing.

Wow. Though this project made my sleep schedule more messed up than seeing a cycloptic frog inside a huge plastic bubble with the arms of Arnold Schwarzenegger, sipping tea with one pinky sticking out, it actually turned out to be a very enjoyable experience. When I first saw the html code, I was honestly afraid. I thought, I cant do this. Doesn't someone ELSE get paid to do this for a reason?  read more »

The Aleph could be considered a number of different things. One might call it things from simply a piece of prose to an astonishing piece of art. While reading this "short story" a few different issues arise. One of them being, that if there were an "Aleph" in real life, what would it be? The Aleph is explained as being a point in space that all other points in space are visible from. This concept is oddly familiar to that of God. According to what was taught in childhood, God is all around us and can see everything in all of existance. What is this story insisting? That god is in a corner of a basement in an old victorian home? Actually, most likely yes. I believe that the concept of The Aleph is a metaphor for the concept of God itself. God has always been, in short, described as the life giver. This, logically speaking, not faithfully speaking is the self-containing earth. In the story, the Aleph only shows the protagonist earthly visions. Where or what is the only place that all of the earth can be seen from? Yes, all of the earth is the only answer to that question.