Weekly Update: Non-Linear Trend
September 19, 2011 - Readings
Haha, I was totally kidding last week when I said I’d get a real post together for today. Fortunately there are people out there who are writing things. Go read things they write! I’ma go die.
In Case You Wondered, a Real Human Wrote This Column. This is a week late, but someone just pointed me to this interesting New York Times article on computer-generated news stories. Apparently they’re getting good enough to make money on. This may seem tangential, but I think this kind of work will be very relevant to procedural narrative in the long run.
Ludonarrative Resonance. Mattie Brice expands her thoughts on game narratives, and tries to reframe the word “emergent.” I’m skeptical about the need to redefine a perfectly cromulent word, but I’ll admit that the concept to which she’s applying it – the implicit rhythms of mechanics – probably does need to be named.
The Importance of Immersion. Over at Robot Geek, Nick Kakolowski does some reframing of his own in talking about different types of immersion. I like seeing this concept get expanded past sensory immersion, which is how it’s usually used.
To My Someday Daughter. An epic tale, much linked, of Magic: The Gathering player Geordie Tait trying to dig himself and his subculture out of a sexist mindset. He’s not quite there yet, as this reaction from When I Grow Up points out. But it’s both fascinating and heartening to see someone working through it so openly. A nice coda to the redankulous Alyssa Bereznak affair.