If you google the word wright, you will find a variant of the following definition: a worker, especially a constructive worker (used chiefly in combination): as in a wheelwright; a playwright, a barrelwright, a shipwright, etc.
A wheelwright constructs or makes wheels, a playwright makes plays, a barrelwright creates barrels, a shipwright builds ships. I hope you can see the pattern emerging. Continue reading
Saturday, Jan 8, 2000:
Thirst is a hankering or scrambling toward some temporal goal driven by an itch more often than not localized either in the belly or some place just below the belly. Thirst is earmarked by terms such as bigger, better, faster, further, prettier, fancier, etc., etc., etc., — basically different versions of how many, how much? Continue reading
Tuesday, Jan 4, 2000:
The progression from “Not Handle” to “Handle” is such an important aspect to any game. This teaches the player first that it is possible to make the transition from “Not Handle” to “Handle”. And second it demonstrates the difference in how one can be in a space once one has learned how to “handle” a particular thing. Continue reading
Monday, Jan 3, 2000:
Almost without exception everyone who has actually played Zelda agrees that it is a great game. And here we are of course talking about Zelda I. The others may be good, but Zelda I is great.
Let’s see if we can figure out part of what makes Zelda great.
Later let’s consider the elements of a game. For now let’s just take one element and look at it: Story Line. Continue reading
Sunday, December 12, 1999:
Have you ever been in the situation where you almost remembered something? It’s right there, just on the tip of the brain. You can almost get it. But not quite.
How about when you wake in the morning from a dream? You can remember that you were dreaming but you can only almost remember the dream. Then as soon as you remember one part of the dream whole segments come streaming back in. Continue reading
Tuesday, Dec 6, 1998:
Below is the letter I wrote to accompany materials advertizing a gaming workshop. Thought you might like to see it.
Once a signal makes it past the data receptors (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, etc.) into the processing network of the body the processing network can not tell whether the incoming information is from a “virtual” or “real” input source. There is no difference. This is how the subtle brain works. The “beta” brain may know that the virtual input is not “real” and discount it. This does not stop the deep processing functions from accepting the input as real and acting accordingly. Continue reading
Friday, September 18, 1998:
Doesn’t this phrase suggest a couple of other questions. For example what the heck is “formulate”? Or, more importantly what “question”?
Video games lose much of their potency for transformation when you as a player have no question you are currently working on. Continue reading
Thursday, September 17, 1998:
A lot silly.
Unless your goals as a player are to run around the edge of a cardboard square passing by a specific square marked “GO” and collecting two bright orange pieces of paper with the number $100 printed on the front then it would be real silly to ever expect your goals will match the character goals in Monopoly. Continue reading
Wednesday, September 16, 1998:
It must be a big deal. I think I used the phrase about a dozen times in the previous article.
Well, tis simple. By holding these two opposing views a reconciling element is created. This element can act as a corrosive to erode the tendency toward identification. Continue reading
Monday, September 7, 1998:
The character was there before you showed up and will be there after you leave.
Radical thought? Not really. If you take but a moment to consider the context of the character there is a context.
In the game of Zelda we are inside a character known as Link. Link obviously had parents, a childhood, friends and the rest. When we are not riding around with Link hacking and slashing our way to the inner chambers of Gannon, Link has a life. How hard can it be to respect that life? Continue reading