This post will compare and contrast various game engines that are currently available for developers and enthusiasts. These phenomenal tools are revolutionizing the immersive filmic game experience by facilitating the design of 4 dimensional time-based worlds containing 3-dimensional architectural capacity. So, if you ever wanted to enter a dream world, be fully lucid as a creator wishing to translate a vision, and then reproduce the dream commodity to share with others, this is about as close as you can get.
General listings -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_game_engines
Scholarly Game Publications -
http://www.gamecareerguide.com/
Specific Game Engines -
Unreal Tournament -
http://www.unrealengine.com/
Unreal Developer's Network -
http://udn.epicgames.com/Main/WebHome.html
Torque 3D -
http://www.garagegames.com/products/torque-3d
CryENGINE 3 -
http://mycryengine.com/
Miscellaneous Related Articles -
US government begins using Unreal Engine for simulations to train FBI -
http://www.gizmag.com/us-agencies-license-unreal-engine/22073/
more on use of Unreal Engine for simulation -
http://www.unrealengine.com/showcase/simulation_training/humansim/
on the future of gaming with CryENGINE 3:
http://www.bgr.com/2012/04/16/cryengine-3-gives-us-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-gaming-video/
Cultivating the Landscape of Innovation in Computational Journalism -
http://www.scribd.com/doc/87863948/Cultivating-the-Landscape-of-Innovation-in-Computational-Journalism
DARPA and Game Development -
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120402_1962.php?oref=topstory
Announcements from GameTech 2012...Virtual World Framework...etc.
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120404/TSJ01/304040005/GameTech-2012-Draws-Record-Numbers?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Monday, April 23, 2012
MMO index
This post will track articles and information on popular MMO's (Massive Multiplayer Online games) like Knights of the Old Republic and World of Warcraft, amongst others...
Knights of the Old Republic
Official Site of for Knights of the Old Republic
http://www.swtor.com/
2-01-12 - The Old Republic is the "Fastest Growing MMO in History"
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/02/01/the-old-republic-is-the-fastest-growing-subscription-mmo-in-history-has-1-7-million-subscribers/
4-12-12 - Bioware release Game Content Update 1.2: Legacy -
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bioware-releases-massive-content-update-for-star-wars-the-old-republic-game-update-12-legacy-2012-04-12
4-16-12 - Legacy Update contains plague-in-world events -
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/04/16/rakghoul-plague-strikes-star-wars-the-old-republic-in-secret-world-event/
World of Warcraft
Official Site for Worlds of Warcraft
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/
4-28-12 - updates from WOW Insider -
http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/the-lawbringer-autonomous-systems-deal-with-customer-service-pr/
Knights of the Old Republic
Official Site of for Knights of the Old Republic
http://www.swtor.com/
2-01-12 - The Old Republic is the "Fastest Growing MMO in History"
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/02/01/the-old-republic-is-the-fastest-growing-subscription-mmo-in-history-has-1-7-million-subscribers/
4-12-12 - Bioware release Game Content Update 1.2: Legacy -
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bioware-releases-massive-content-update-for-star-wars-the-old-republic-game-update-12-legacy-2012-04-12
4-16-12 - Legacy Update contains plague-in-world events -
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/04/16/rakghoul-plague-strikes-star-wars-the-old-republic-in-secret-world-event/
World of Warcraft
Official Site for Worlds of Warcraft
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/
4-28-12 - updates from WOW Insider -
http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/the-lawbringer-autonomous-systems-deal-with-customer-service-pr/
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
2nd Civil War
To win the Empire through action and to master it,
That is the way that leads to failure.
For the Empire is a divine vessel,
Which cannot be seized and acted upon.
One who desires to grasp it, does not understand it.
One who desires to take it, loses it.
He believes he is getting ahead, but falls behind.
He believes he is increasing, but he dwindles away.
He thinks himself strong, and reveals his weakness.
He thinks himself superior, and is defeated.
-from the Tao te Ching
In the reports of the successful ascent of Mount Everest,
the British members of the expedition talked of "conquering"
the mountain, but the Nepalese guide who was one of the
two to reach the summit spoke of a desire to visit the Buddha
who lives at the top.
-Richard Weaver
2nd Civil War is a big priority concern for American Dream Commodities. It might well be the first dream commodity released to the public.
2nd Civil War would involve a virtual 4D conflict based upon some of the dynamics that currently divide Red State/Blue State America, although these would not be the "teams" for a variety of reasons. Generally, this is because the surface presentation of this conflict is, in many ways, an incorrect interpretation, currently serving political interests that are agenda driven. Besides, we can't make it too close to reality! That would leave no room for the imagination.
It is called 2nd Civil War for two reasons. One, there has already been a "first" Civil War in the United States, between 1861-5. So, we don't want to confuse this war with an actual historical event, though understanding that conflict may give some accurate perspectives. Second, this would be a war fought on a secondary plane, the virtual perceptual mind space of the computer world. Wouldn't it be great if all of our future wars could be fought in this way, over the computer, rather than on an actual bloody field? Therefore, subsequent installments of the series might be iterated as follows: 2nd Civil War 2, 2nd Civil War 3, etc.
The world would be somewhat futuristic and hypothetical. Enlistment would be geared towards those who dedicate themselves to the Union versus those who dedicate themselves to the Confederation. One of the initial requirements for players is to determine which side they will fight for. Initially, players will get a presentation of the situation and some introductory information that may be useful in helping them to determine where they stand.
The primary distinction is that the Union focuses on a centripetal dynamic, involving increasing centralization of power and the Confederation focuses on the centrifugal dynamic, involving more effectively distributing and balancing power amongst regional entities. We find that these two traditions of political thought go all the way back to the beginning of our country. The Union employs a highly scientific, machine, computer-driven system aesthetic. It represents technology and its drive for dominion and the will to power. The Confederation is more organic and poetic, in that it incorporates the historical/linguistic/biological/ecological components of a water based solar planet into its evolutionary worldview. Yet it fights for control of the body politic equally as hard. In fact, the goal of each is establish hegemony over the American Empire. The Union attempts to do this through Force, the Confederation through Compromise. The Union is the establishment and it operates offensively. The Confederation formed as a response to the Union's consolidation of power and thus acts defensively.
This dream commodity could also serve as a realtime laboratory simulation model useful in studying modern America. It may thereby have an impact on promoting development in our actual civilization in previously unthought of ways.
The Story
A para-military group has seized control of the United States government and suspended the action of Congress due to a state of emergency that began with a series of electrical blackouts in major cities across the US over a two month period. This is occurring as part of the apparently unexpected fallout from a magnetic pole shift from North to South which has also set off a number of natural disasters, including radical shifts in tidal patterns resulting in tsunamis and hurricanes as well as volcanic chain reactions along major tectonic fault lines. It is a time of chaos.
Each major cosmopolitan area that has been affected has turned into a riot zone after a few days of no power from the grid. Violent crime and theft are rampant. The blackouts have also been taking place in Canada and throughout Central America. Many are fleeing the cities and seeking refuge in the countryside.
Very little is known about the security group asserting authority or the precise circumstances whereby it gained hegemony. Possibly, they are part of an elite corps of American military servicemen. Possibly, they are something else. Media reports are conflicting until a new outlet surfaces proclaiming itself the Union Broadcast Channel. It becomes clear that there is a visible leader who now speaks for a New American Union, or AMUNI. There is much pomp and fanfare, heralding the end of the chaos. This leader tells the people that it is time to consider a new approach to global relations due to recent security concerns.
From now on, the northern half of the Western Hemisphere, above the Panama Canal, will need to be totally integrated economically, socially, and politically into a new system so that such problems as the mysterious blackouts can be prevented in the future.
There are many unanswered questions and much is still shrouded in secrecy and darkness. Many believe that the Union acts in their best interests and enlist their allegiance willingly. Times are chaotic and dangerous. Central control and leadership is important in order to avoid anarchy. The new leader speaks soothingly yet boldly to those who seek reassurance in desperate times.
If individuals seek to be more than just law-abiding citizens of the Union, further advancement comes with a price. To become a soldier of the Union, an individual must surrender a portion of his humanity in order to become part machine. If he agrees, he receives nano-brain inputs that hook him directly into the mainframe system of the Union. The nano-brain provides him with amplified intelligence, photographic memory recall, and access to many sources of information and entertainment that would otherwise not be available.
The prospect signs a contract releasing the Union from liability should it need to access his memory stores without permission in case of emergency or make certain demands on the soldier in times of crisis. In the event that there is a conflict within the mind of the soldier and a command originating from the Union, the Union's Will trumps any personal mandate or concern.
For such absolute loyalty, the soldier gets to enjoy the benefits of joining an elite corps of warriors and a large degree of freedom from the law which binds normal humanity. He also attains virtual immortality because the nano-brain is able to perfectly address the nutrient requirements necessary to repair the physiological system indefinitely, unless, of course, the soldier is terminated in battle.
The nano-brain also gives access to armor/vehicle plug-in arrangements that enhance performance in many different categories, making soldiers of the Union mechanically superhuman.
Others see the Union differently. They believe that the Union represents an unconstitutional usurpation by a group that wishes to advance its own agenda at the expense of the welfare of the body politic and that it is animated more by a desire for Power than a promulgation of Truth. So, in response to the Union's centralization efforts, the Confederation, or AMCON, forms as a loose network of centrifugal resistance cells that do not accept the authority of the Union.
It is unclear where the Confederation's headquarters are located. They are everywhere and nowhere. The Confederation seeks to find out what is really going on within the central command unit and to relay that information to the populace as it becomes available. They are constantly attempting to infiltrate Washington and various Union strongholds to discover information and strengthen their own communication links to other widespread cells within the Confederation. In addition, they mount guerrilla operations intended to thwart the projects of the Union, which is liable to attack in rural areas far from its cosmopolitan networks.
For instance, the Confederation may attack a road-building crew who is trying to build a new super-highway through a heavily forested area. Generally, the Confederation attempts to utilize non-violent surgical precision in their accomplishment of tactical objectives in order that they might not be labelled terrorists.
The Union, on the contrary, begins to explore the hinterlands looking for Confederal operatives in order to put a halt to their activities. It has the full force of the Law on its side and has a much more free hand with violence, should it deem it necessary.
Actual war breaks out when the Union begins to apprehend members of the Confederation without due process. Media leaks of instances of these apprehensions cause widespread furor and confusion in the American populace. When members of the Confederation begin to more mysteriously disappear, there are retaliatory strikes or assassinations. The Confederation struggles to maintain a lawful reputation as does the Union but it is becoming increasingly difficult as violence spreads.
The Union has adopted a machine aesthetic. This is visible in the armor of its soldiers and in the computerized activities of almost all of its far-reaching surveillance capacities. It does not like moisture or intense elements. It seeks a dry vacuum atmosphere like that required for computer server farms.
The Confederation prefers to retain an organic, even old-fashioned style. It does not tamper with the human brain and considers individual privacy to be sacrosanct. Its technology is current but it has evolved its toolset, weapons, and defense towards facilitating and maintaining symbiotic relationships with planetary life forms and elements. It likes to utilize all of the classic weapons from bygone ages and enjoys the "humanness" of original creative development.
The Confederation does have a special communication network but it operates through more natural psychic or telepathic routes rather than having machine-driven networks hard-wired into the system, body, or mind. The Confederation depends on something called the Voice to reach its members.
The HUD (Human User Display) of the Confederal operatives is much simpler than that of the Union soldiers who boast of many gadgets. They lack a number of these machine perks such as radars, zooming lenses, and infrasensor night viewing lights. But they are free to use things in the world around that the soldiers of the Union cannot due to the somewhat delicate nature of their circuitry. Union soldiers must be very careful around fire and water. Confederal operatives can also move about more freely and have a wider degree of natural panoramic vision.
The Confederation demands loyalty from its soldiers but it only depends upon voluntary submission, action without coercion. Thus, it is easier to betray the Confederation and get away with it, than it is to betray the Union, once the nano-brain inputs have been fully installed.
Of course, there are flukes in the system. Occasionally, the Confederation will capture a soldier of the Union and thus gain access to a particular nano-brain's programming. So, there are problems beginning to surface with renegade Union soldiers whose nano-brains have been re-programmed to reject Union broadcasts. In response, the Union has begun to develop self-destruct triggers should their soldiers get captured or have their nano-brains tampered with in any way.
The motto of the Union is "ENERGY TO THE GOVERNMENT."
The motto of the Confederation is "INFORMATION TO THE PEOPLE."
That is the way that leads to failure.
For the Empire is a divine vessel,
Which cannot be seized and acted upon.
One who desires to grasp it, does not understand it.
One who desires to take it, loses it.
He believes he is getting ahead, but falls behind.
He believes he is increasing, but he dwindles away.
He thinks himself strong, and reveals his weakness.
He thinks himself superior, and is defeated.
-from the Tao te Ching
In the reports of the successful ascent of Mount Everest,
the British members of the expedition talked of "conquering"
the mountain, but the Nepalese guide who was one of the
two to reach the summit spoke of a desire to visit the Buddha
who lives at the top.
-Richard Weaver
2nd Civil War is a big priority concern for American Dream Commodities. It might well be the first dream commodity released to the public.
2nd Civil War would involve a virtual 4D conflict based upon some of the dynamics that currently divide Red State/Blue State America, although these would not be the "teams" for a variety of reasons. Generally, this is because the surface presentation of this conflict is, in many ways, an incorrect interpretation, currently serving political interests that are agenda driven. Besides, we can't make it too close to reality! That would leave no room for the imagination.
It is called 2nd Civil War for two reasons. One, there has already been a "first" Civil War in the United States, between 1861-5. So, we don't want to confuse this war with an actual historical event, though understanding that conflict may give some accurate perspectives. Second, this would be a war fought on a secondary plane, the virtual perceptual mind space of the computer world. Wouldn't it be great if all of our future wars could be fought in this way, over the computer, rather than on an actual bloody field? Therefore, subsequent installments of the series might be iterated as follows: 2nd Civil War 2, 2nd Civil War 3, etc.
The world would be somewhat futuristic and hypothetical. Enlistment would be geared towards those who dedicate themselves to the Union versus those who dedicate themselves to the Confederation. One of the initial requirements for players is to determine which side they will fight for. Initially, players will get a presentation of the situation and some introductory information that may be useful in helping them to determine where they stand.
The primary distinction is that the Union focuses on a centripetal dynamic, involving increasing centralization of power and the Confederation focuses on the centrifugal dynamic, involving more effectively distributing and balancing power amongst regional entities. We find that these two traditions of political thought go all the way back to the beginning of our country. The Union employs a highly scientific, machine, computer-driven system aesthetic. It represents technology and its drive for dominion and the will to power. The Confederation is more organic and poetic, in that it incorporates the historical/linguistic/biological/ecological components of a water based solar planet into its evolutionary worldview. Yet it fights for control of the body politic equally as hard. In fact, the goal of each is establish hegemony over the American Empire. The Union attempts to do this through Force, the Confederation through Compromise. The Union is the establishment and it operates offensively. The Confederation formed as a response to the Union's consolidation of power and thus acts defensively.
This dream commodity could also serve as a realtime laboratory simulation model useful in studying modern America. It may thereby have an impact on promoting development in our actual civilization in previously unthought of ways.
The Story
A para-military group has seized control of the United States government and suspended the action of Congress due to a state of emergency that began with a series of electrical blackouts in major cities across the US over a two month period. This is occurring as part of the apparently unexpected fallout from a magnetic pole shift from North to South which has also set off a number of natural disasters, including radical shifts in tidal patterns resulting in tsunamis and hurricanes as well as volcanic chain reactions along major tectonic fault lines. It is a time of chaos.
Each major cosmopolitan area that has been affected has turned into a riot zone after a few days of no power from the grid. Violent crime and theft are rampant. The blackouts have also been taking place in Canada and throughout Central America. Many are fleeing the cities and seeking refuge in the countryside.
Very little is known about the security group asserting authority or the precise circumstances whereby it gained hegemony. Possibly, they are part of an elite corps of American military servicemen. Possibly, they are something else. Media reports are conflicting until a new outlet surfaces proclaiming itself the Union Broadcast Channel. It becomes clear that there is a visible leader who now speaks for a New American Union, or AMUNI. There is much pomp and fanfare, heralding the end of the chaos. This leader tells the people that it is time to consider a new approach to global relations due to recent security concerns.
From now on, the northern half of the Western Hemisphere, above the Panama Canal, will need to be totally integrated economically, socially, and politically into a new system so that such problems as the mysterious blackouts can be prevented in the future.
There are many unanswered questions and much is still shrouded in secrecy and darkness. Many believe that the Union acts in their best interests and enlist their allegiance willingly. Times are chaotic and dangerous. Central control and leadership is important in order to avoid anarchy. The new leader speaks soothingly yet boldly to those who seek reassurance in desperate times.
If individuals seek to be more than just law-abiding citizens of the Union, further advancement comes with a price. To become a soldier of the Union, an individual must surrender a portion of his humanity in order to become part machine. If he agrees, he receives nano-brain inputs that hook him directly into the mainframe system of the Union. The nano-brain provides him with amplified intelligence, photographic memory recall, and access to many sources of information and entertainment that would otherwise not be available.
The prospect signs a contract releasing the Union from liability should it need to access his memory stores without permission in case of emergency or make certain demands on the soldier in times of crisis. In the event that there is a conflict within the mind of the soldier and a command originating from the Union, the Union's Will trumps any personal mandate or concern.
For such absolute loyalty, the soldier gets to enjoy the benefits of joining an elite corps of warriors and a large degree of freedom from the law which binds normal humanity. He also attains virtual immortality because the nano-brain is able to perfectly address the nutrient requirements necessary to repair the physiological system indefinitely, unless, of course, the soldier is terminated in battle.
The nano-brain also gives access to armor/vehicle plug-in arrangements that enhance performance in many different categories, making soldiers of the Union mechanically superhuman.
Others see the Union differently. They believe that the Union represents an unconstitutional usurpation by a group that wishes to advance its own agenda at the expense of the welfare of the body politic and that it is animated more by a desire for Power than a promulgation of Truth. So, in response to the Union's centralization efforts, the Confederation, or AMCON, forms as a loose network of centrifugal resistance cells that do not accept the authority of the Union.
It is unclear where the Confederation's headquarters are located. They are everywhere and nowhere. The Confederation seeks to find out what is really going on within the central command unit and to relay that information to the populace as it becomes available. They are constantly attempting to infiltrate Washington and various Union strongholds to discover information and strengthen their own communication links to other widespread cells within the Confederation. In addition, they mount guerrilla operations intended to thwart the projects of the Union, which is liable to attack in rural areas far from its cosmopolitan networks.
For instance, the Confederation may attack a road-building crew who is trying to build a new super-highway through a heavily forested area. Generally, the Confederation attempts to utilize non-violent surgical precision in their accomplishment of tactical objectives in order that they might not be labelled terrorists.
The Union, on the contrary, begins to explore the hinterlands looking for Confederal operatives in order to put a halt to their activities. It has the full force of the Law on its side and has a much more free hand with violence, should it deem it necessary.
Actual war breaks out when the Union begins to apprehend members of the Confederation without due process. Media leaks of instances of these apprehensions cause widespread furor and confusion in the American populace. When members of the Confederation begin to more mysteriously disappear, there are retaliatory strikes or assassinations. The Confederation struggles to maintain a lawful reputation as does the Union but it is becoming increasingly difficult as violence spreads.
The Union has adopted a machine aesthetic. This is visible in the armor of its soldiers and in the computerized activities of almost all of its far-reaching surveillance capacities. It does not like moisture or intense elements. It seeks a dry vacuum atmosphere like that required for computer server farms.
The Confederation prefers to retain an organic, even old-fashioned style. It does not tamper with the human brain and considers individual privacy to be sacrosanct. Its technology is current but it has evolved its toolset, weapons, and defense towards facilitating and maintaining symbiotic relationships with planetary life forms and elements. It likes to utilize all of the classic weapons from bygone ages and enjoys the "humanness" of original creative development.
The Confederation does have a special communication network but it operates through more natural psychic or telepathic routes rather than having machine-driven networks hard-wired into the system, body, or mind. The Confederation depends on something called the Voice to reach its members.
The HUD (Human User Display) of the Confederal operatives is much simpler than that of the Union soldiers who boast of many gadgets. They lack a number of these machine perks such as radars, zooming lenses, and infrasensor night viewing lights. But they are free to use things in the world around that the soldiers of the Union cannot due to the somewhat delicate nature of their circuitry. Union soldiers must be very careful around fire and water. Confederal operatives can also move about more freely and have a wider degree of natural panoramic vision.
The Confederation demands loyalty from its soldiers but it only depends upon voluntary submission, action without coercion. Thus, it is easier to betray the Confederation and get away with it, than it is to betray the Union, once the nano-brain inputs have been fully installed.
Of course, there are flukes in the system. Occasionally, the Confederation will capture a soldier of the Union and thus gain access to a particular nano-brain's programming. So, there are problems beginning to surface with renegade Union soldiers whose nano-brains have been re-programmed to reject Union broadcasts. In response, the Union has begun to develop self-destruct triggers should their soldiers get captured or have their nano-brains tampered with in any way.
The motto of the Union is "ENERGY TO THE GOVERNMENT."
The motto of the Confederation is "INFORMATION TO THE PEOPLE."
Thursday, April 12, 2012
American Dream Commodities
Dreams are the Commodities of the Information Age.
This project is an exploration of the American Dream. What is it? Does it still exist? Did it ever? Would you like to find out? Would you like to be a part of it? Would you like to make it your own? Is there just one version? Or are there many?
American Dream Commodities is a franchise in its germinal stage. The basic concept is the development of an online virtual world network based on the historical experience of the United States. It would provide us with a dynamic, updateable model/simulation of our culture and all of its invisible components. Obviously, this may be useful for a number of reasons beyond gaming. However, gaming represents the vanguard of technological development in this sector, therefore ADC will play.
American Dream Commodities will follow, in part, the current model for the highly successful MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) that continue to dominate the attention of computer users, young and old, all over the planet. These types of games thrive despite a difficult economic climate where many other industries are failing. While much of our manufacturing base concerns are being exported overseas in search of cheap labor while our citizenry are ignored, we continue to operate at the cutting edge of technological computer hardware and software development. We should therefore strive to keep this as a corner and encourage Americans who need the jobs here with opportunities to build up these types of commodities. This project seeks to create a large space for our domestic intelligence to employ its energy upon.
American Dream Commodities also purports to be more than just a war game, for those who seek other forms of entertainment, and will include elements comparable to SIMS-like environments, virtual real estate, and a wide variety of speculative scenarios. Second Life is another successful model. However, the focus of American Dream Commodities will remain trained on Americana, in all of its fundamental aspects.
Say, for instance, you wished that you owned a house in New Orleans in the year 1815. American Dream Commodities would give you that opportunity and would allow you to meet others who were also similarly inclined. Perhaps you would have a house front in a universal common area within the network with a portal to the other realm inside. Or perhaps your address would be completely within another timeline. The newer technology gives us the ability to construct space out of time itself.
Generally, ideas will go through a "commodities marketing analysis" to ascertain where current levels of focus might exist. Then there will be periodic patch updates containing dynamic campaigns related to corresponding elements of history - the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great West, the discovery of the continent or even American Space Colonial expansion or Subterranean Reptilian Wars in New Mexico etc. These will be the event driven episodes that will attract users seeking adventure, war, wealth, fame and fun. All those who seek the hero's quest will find adequate opportunity in the various campaigns available. Some of them may be famous battle recreations. Others may contain fictional speculative storylines - battles that never happened but could have, stories that never occurred but should have etc. All that we demand is a document or a shred of historical evidence and a popular mind that has an appetite for such fare. Then we will be free to develop the specific commodity. The common denominator will be that the narratives will have some base in our historical experience.
Perhaps the best two examples of commercially winning MMO paradigms right now are Knights of the Old Republic from EA/Bioware/LucasArts and Blizzard's World of Warcraft. These are extremely attractive and dynamically interactive spaces that have millions of subscribers who spend many hours each week plugged in. Here we will periodically post relevant data on the success of these and other similar MMOs, studying their client base and the ways it may apply conducively to ours.
Update links on popular MMOs
Knights of the Old Republic's subscription begins to taper off - 4-19-12
We would also like to pose this question. Why spend all of our time in derivative Tolkien or Lucas fantasy worlds that have no connection to our reality when we can recreate older periods and design newer simulations somewhat closer to our actual legacy in North America? American Dream Commodities offers this ideal reorientation. The dream commodity portals will extend not only into the past but into an alternative present and an unactualized future.While it will demonstrate the particular vision of the designer, the subject will be general in kind.
We are currently accepting applications and ideas for further development. Financial investments or sponsorships are also welcome.
Join us in making American Dream Commodites come true.
This project is an exploration of the American Dream. What is it? Does it still exist? Did it ever? Would you like to find out? Would you like to be a part of it? Would you like to make it your own? Is there just one version? Or are there many?
American Dream Commodities is a franchise in its germinal stage. The basic concept is the development of an online virtual world network based on the historical experience of the United States. It would provide us with a dynamic, updateable model/simulation of our culture and all of its invisible components. Obviously, this may be useful for a number of reasons beyond gaming. However, gaming represents the vanguard of technological development in this sector, therefore ADC will play.
American Dream Commodities will follow, in part, the current model for the highly successful MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) that continue to dominate the attention of computer users, young and old, all over the planet. These types of games thrive despite a difficult economic climate where many other industries are failing. While much of our manufacturing base concerns are being exported overseas in search of cheap labor while our citizenry are ignored, we continue to operate at the cutting edge of technological computer hardware and software development. We should therefore strive to keep this as a corner and encourage Americans who need the jobs here with opportunities to build up these types of commodities. This project seeks to create a large space for our domestic intelligence to employ its energy upon.
American Dream Commodities also purports to be more than just a war game, for those who seek other forms of entertainment, and will include elements comparable to SIMS-like environments, virtual real estate, and a wide variety of speculative scenarios. Second Life is another successful model. However, the focus of American Dream Commodities will remain trained on Americana, in all of its fundamental aspects.
Say, for instance, you wished that you owned a house in New Orleans in the year 1815. American Dream Commodities would give you that opportunity and would allow you to meet others who were also similarly inclined. Perhaps you would have a house front in a universal common area within the network with a portal to the other realm inside. Or perhaps your address would be completely within another timeline. The newer technology gives us the ability to construct space out of time itself.
Generally, ideas will go through a "commodities marketing analysis" to ascertain where current levels of focus might exist. Then there will be periodic patch updates containing dynamic campaigns related to corresponding elements of history - the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great West, the discovery of the continent or even American Space Colonial expansion or Subterranean Reptilian Wars in New Mexico etc. These will be the event driven episodes that will attract users seeking adventure, war, wealth, fame and fun. All those who seek the hero's quest will find adequate opportunity in the various campaigns available. Some of them may be famous battle recreations. Others may contain fictional speculative storylines - battles that never happened but could have, stories that never occurred but should have etc. All that we demand is a document or a shred of historical evidence and a popular mind that has an appetite for such fare. Then we will be free to develop the specific commodity. The common denominator will be that the narratives will have some base in our historical experience.
Perhaps the best two examples of commercially winning MMO paradigms right now are Knights of the Old Republic from EA/Bioware/LucasArts and Blizzard's World of Warcraft. These are extremely attractive and dynamically interactive spaces that have millions of subscribers who spend many hours each week plugged in. Here we will periodically post relevant data on the success of these and other similar MMOs, studying their client base and the ways it may apply conducively to ours.
Update links on popular MMOs
Knights of the Old Republic's subscription begins to taper off - 4-19-12
We would also like to pose this question. Why spend all of our time in derivative Tolkien or Lucas fantasy worlds that have no connection to our reality when we can recreate older periods and design newer simulations somewhat closer to our actual legacy in North America? American Dream Commodities offers this ideal reorientation. The dream commodity portals will extend not only into the past but into an alternative present and an unactualized future.While it will demonstrate the particular vision of the designer, the subject will be general in kind.
We are currently accepting applications and ideas for further development. Financial investments or sponsorships are also welcome.
Join us in making American Dream Commodites come true.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
REVOREACTION
There is a centripetal force from the periphery, which moves in a circular motion, clockwise, left to right, tending towards the center. This is a reaction.
There is a centrifugal force from the center, which moves in a circular motion, counter-clockwise, right to left, tending towards the periphery. This is a revolution.
There is a point where these two opposing currents meet.
This double motion involves conflict but also interactivity, and the potential for the reconciliation of opposites.
If the two currents are out of balance, the stronger will overpower the weaker, warping the movements and dissipating the entire process, leaving the energy in the dimension in which it began.
If the currents are in equilibrium, their imminent collision will produce a new force, moving at a perpendicular angle, affording the possibility of a level shift.
This third force moves either up or down, depending on a number of volatile and variable factors converging in a decisive Moment.
Herein lies a key.
SPOKEN AT A CASTLE GATE
Before you touch the bolt that locks this gate
Be warned. There's no return where you are going.
A sword is tinder at the touch of fate
And crumbles in a way beyond your knowing.
Something I've heard, but something less I tell.
An old man knows, advises - young men smile,
Blow slug-horns, chink a latch, or clank a bell.
I've watched many a one this weary while.
You can hear the nightingales, I won't deny.
They always sing for eager souls like you,
Perched on their boughs of possibility,
Most vaguely heard and only vaguely true.
And they are more, perhaps, than mere tradition.
They must exist, though none come back to say
How they are feathered, or what rare nutrition
Keeps them, piping their sad peculiar lay.
Gardens there are and Queens, no doubt, a-walking,
White blooms adrift on gold and marvelous hair.
Young men in murmurous dreams have heard them talking,
Leaped up, like you, and entered...vanished...where?
For all I know, the castle's just a dream,
A shadow piled to mask a dangerous ledge,
A fantasy blown from devils' lungs in steam,
Made permanent here, just on a chasm's edge
Where you will tremble in a swoon of falling
And yet plunge upward through the unearthly mist
To hear once more the voice that you heard calling
And win at last those lips you would have kissed,
Even as you touch the bolt that locks this gate,
Smiling, with patience such as fits old men
Who prophesy. Ah yes, what you create
You'll surely find - but never come back again.
-Donald Davidson
Be warned. There's no return where you are going.
A sword is tinder at the touch of fate
And crumbles in a way beyond your knowing.
Something I've heard, but something less I tell.
An old man knows, advises - young men smile,
Blow slug-horns, chink a latch, or clank a bell.
I've watched many a one this weary while.
You can hear the nightingales, I won't deny.
They always sing for eager souls like you,
Perched on their boughs of possibility,
Most vaguely heard and only vaguely true.
And they are more, perhaps, than mere tradition.
They must exist, though none come back to say
How they are feathered, or what rare nutrition
Keeps them, piping their sad peculiar lay.
Gardens there are and Queens, no doubt, a-walking,
White blooms adrift on gold and marvelous hair.
Young men in murmurous dreams have heard them talking,
Leaped up, like you, and entered...vanished...where?
For all I know, the castle's just a dream,
A shadow piled to mask a dangerous ledge,
A fantasy blown from devils' lungs in steam,
Made permanent here, just on a chasm's edge
Where you will tremble in a swoon of falling
And yet plunge upward through the unearthly mist
To hear once more the voice that you heard calling
And win at last those lips you would have kissed,
Even as you touch the bolt that locks this gate,
Smiling, with patience such as fits old men
Who prophesy. Ah yes, what you create
You'll surely find - but never come back again.
-Donald Davidson
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Far West Once
Aloud, I said, with a slight stir of heart,
"The last time" -and thought, years thence, to a time
When only in memory I might
Repeat this last tramp up the shadowy gorge
In the mountains, cabinward, the fall
Coming on, the aspen leaf gold, sun low
At the western end of the gun-barrel passage
Waiting, waiting the trigger-touch
And the blast of darkness - the target me.
I said, "I'll try to remember as much
As a man caught in Time cannot forget,"
For I carried a headful of summer, and knew
That I'd never again, in the gloaming, walk
Up that trail, now lulled by the stone-song of waters;
Nor again on path pebbles, noon-plain, see
The old rattler's fat belly twist and distend
As it coiled, and the rattles up from dust rise
To vibrate mica-bright, in the sun's beam;
Nor again, from below, on the cliff's over-thrust,
Catch a glimpse of the night-crouching cougar's eyes
That, in my flashlight's strong beam, had burned
Coal-bright as they swung,
Detached, contemptuous, and slow,
Into the pine woods' mounting mass
Of darkness that, eventually,
Ahead, would blot out, star by star,
The slot of the sky-slice that now I
Moved under, and on to dinner and bed.
And to sleep - and even in sleep to feel
The nag and pretensions of day dissolve
And flow away in that musical murmur
Of waters; then to wake in dark with some strange
Heart-hope, undefinable, verging to tears
Of happiness and the soul's calm.
How long ago! But in years since,
On other trails, in the shadow of
What other cliffs, in lands with names
Crank on the tongue, I have felt my boots
Crush gravel, or press the soundlessness
Of detritus of pine or fir, and heard
Movement of water, far, how far -
Or waking under nameless stars,
Have heard such redemptive music, from
Distance to distance threading starlight,
Able yet, as long ago,
Despite scum of wastage and scab of years,
To touch again the heart, as though at a dawn
Of dew-bright Edenic promise, with,
Far off, far off, in verdurous shade, first birdsong.
-Robert Penn Warren
"The last time" -and thought, years thence, to a time
When only in memory I might
Repeat this last tramp up the shadowy gorge
In the mountains, cabinward, the fall
Coming on, the aspen leaf gold, sun low
At the western end of the gun-barrel passage
Waiting, waiting the trigger-touch
And the blast of darkness - the target me.
I said, "I'll try to remember as much
As a man caught in Time cannot forget,"
For I carried a headful of summer, and knew
That I'd never again, in the gloaming, walk
Up that trail, now lulled by the stone-song of waters;
Nor again on path pebbles, noon-plain, see
The old rattler's fat belly twist and distend
As it coiled, and the rattles up from dust rise
To vibrate mica-bright, in the sun's beam;
Nor again, from below, on the cliff's over-thrust,
Catch a glimpse of the night-crouching cougar's eyes
That, in my flashlight's strong beam, had burned
Coal-bright as they swung,
Detached, contemptuous, and slow,
Into the pine woods' mounting mass
Of darkness that, eventually,
Ahead, would blot out, star by star,
The slot of the sky-slice that now I
Moved under, and on to dinner and bed.
And to sleep - and even in sleep to feel
The nag and pretensions of day dissolve
And flow away in that musical murmur
Of waters; then to wake in dark with some strange
Heart-hope, undefinable, verging to tears
Of happiness and the soul's calm.
How long ago! But in years since,
On other trails, in the shadow of
What other cliffs, in lands with names
Crank on the tongue, I have felt my boots
Crush gravel, or press the soundlessness
Of detritus of pine or fir, and heard
Movement of water, far, how far -
Or waking under nameless stars,
Have heard such redemptive music, from
Distance to distance threading starlight,
Able yet, as long ago,
Despite scum of wastage and scab of years,
To touch again the heart, as though at a dawn
Of dew-bright Edenic promise, with,
Far off, far off, in verdurous shade, first birdsong.
-Robert Penn Warren
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