Brain Seeds just launched on Kickstarter.com

BIG NEWS!

We just launched our Brain Seeds project Kickstarter.com and now we have to start asking for donations and backers.

If you would like to support use with Brain Seeds you can donate through Kickstarter at

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/964679488/brain-seeds-seed-learn-win

We're shooting to raise $1000 by February 20th and I'm confident we can do it.

Brain Seeds Screen Shots

Here's some Brain Seeds screen shots to feast your eyes on

Brain Seeds is alive and kicking (at least in alpha-ish form)

Quite a while since I've posted, but quite a bit happened this past half a year.

Here's a short recap of the awesome-ness that is Gamers of Action and Brain Seeds

1) Started the project using Flash and created an ugly artless prototype that functioned.

2) Hired two awesome art/animation interns that worked with Kat, David, Sophia and I to get the game all arted up and looking good. They did an amazing job over the 2.5 month summer internship.

3) David made some cool music for the game and is still working on some more cool stuff so we can add more variety.

4) Integrated all the art/animation/music into the game and added more functionality that users usually take for granted like emailing lost passwords, emailing prize notifications, tool tips and dynamic sponsor information loading.

5) The game is now ready to be tested on a much larger scale so I can find out how our web server turned game server actually holds up. I'm hoping we don't loss too many PHP requests because if we do I might have to migrate everything over to a dedicated game server which is going to be quite costly.

Now after all that technical hype you can now check out the alpha-ish version of the game at

http://www.gamersofaction.org/Games/BrainSeeds/BrainSeeds.html

If you're reading this post and would be like to be part of the beta test please let me know at tim@gamersofaction.org or join our Gamers of Action facebook group.

Shit like this makes me really sad

Reading this article about how Obama and his administration are now backing out of releasing the latest batch of Abu Ghraib and other US detainee prisons torture photos, makes me really sad.  To think that our country has sunk to such disgusting and evil acts in OUR name.  Those photos really need to be released so the truth has a chance to come out and the perpetrators are brought to justice, both those who commited the torture and those who ordered them.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5395830/Abu-Ghraib-abuse-photos-show-rape.html

As a gamer developer, my first instinct would be to make a game (not even sure that's the right word to use anymore) about this, but I'm not sure the general public would be ready for something like that which is extremely sad.  

Games are not being used to their full potential as a medium for education and critical thinking and honest reflection.  In my mind, if you can write a book about it or make a movie about it, there is no reason a game could not be made about it.

Brains Seeds For the Win

After some friend polling and some more discussion we've finally decided to use Brain Seeds for the game.

O yeah!!!  I finally got a name that I can consistently use in my game code :)

The game tech is about 80% done at this point so we're actually interviewing interns in a couple weeks for the Flash artist position.  It's time to make our game look cool cuz right now it's totally programmer art-ed up which looks like crap.

I'm hoping the interviews go well and we'll have an artist on the team by mid June.  It's pretty weird having people take our little venture seriously because in my mind it always seems like just my pet project, but I'm happy that it's finally growing into something more serious yet more useful and concrete as well.

Factoids?

It looks like we're finally close to having a actual game title for our community quiz.

Right now the currently reigning title is Factoids and the second favorite is Brain Seeds.

Both are cool names in my opinion, each with it's own strengths.  Factoids has a catchy name that embodies the gameplay, while Brain Seeds has a more academic(some might say nerdy), yet educational vibe similar to the Brain Age series.

Once we finalize the name we'll be choosing an art direction which will be important going forward as we unveil the game and start recruiting community members.

On the tech side of things, things are progressing nicely.  I didn't realize how much database and php programming would be required to keep track of all the player data.  I've got a good handle on it now so I'm just finalizing a lot of the little database requirements that pop up when I'm implementing some new feature.

What I really need to lock down is the actual size of the game screen because right now its 800x600 but I'm running out of screen real estate especially when images and movies are used.

I'll have to figure out something...

O yeah I've been following the upcoming game Six Days In Fallejah because I'm thinking that my future company would want to do something similar except less American centric.  I think putting the player in the shoes of an Iraqi citzen during the battle would be a compelling way of showing the audience what it feels like to be a helpless citizen caught between two forces who have been instructed to conduct the battle assuming you the normal citizen is acceptable collateral damage.

Still lacking a title, but at least the tech is grinding forward.

The game is coming along nicely on the tech front. Over the past couple of months I've implemented the database connection using PHP and Flash, created the user database, created screen for users to create accounts and submit factoids and implemented sound and image support for the flash cards. I've still got to learn more about PHP to get the automated email system working properly, but I'll wait till my PHP book comes in since reliable PHP tutorials and references on the net are hard to find.

Of course everything looks like crap since there is zero art, but hey that's all stuff that can be created later by someone who has more art style and skill than I.

Also got a G1 (Google Phone) this week so after this project perhaps I'll tackle an Android app, maybe even port Keyalaga over since the G1 has a keyboard.

Juicy Updates Cometh

I've got some juicy history that I need to chronicle here because I have some updates regarding both Gamers Of Action and the Community Flash Card project.

First off, I'd like to thank David and Sophia for joining the Gamers Of Action cause and working with Kat and I on Gamers Of Action and the Community Flash Card project. I know their game, sociology, non-profit and critical thinking skills will definitely be huge asset and will definitely be tapped (you've been forewarned ^_^ ).

In terms of game progress, I've created the basic gameplay and flow and just hooked up the game to the GamerOfAction database so we have some user authentication. A lot more still has to be done in terms of further database stat tracking, but I don't anticipate that will be too hard since I've already got the connection established. David has volunteered to help with the art asset generation because I suck at that kinda stuff, hurray for programmer art! I figure that while David is learning Flash CS4, I can continue working on the nuts and bolts of the game so once he's done I can just integrate the art and we'll be good to go.

Things are progressing nicely, although we still need to come up with a real name. I'm leaning toward either Wiki-Flash or Wiki-Flashcards, since the "Wiki" word already has the web 2.0/community connotation and seems like a good fit to the spirit of our game.

Still need a title, damn I didn't think it would be this hard

So as the title suggests, we're still trying to figure out a good title for the Community Flash Card game project. The game tech itself is proceeding very nicely, I've got the majority of the game engine tech working already, but I still need to look into the database integration to handle user logins, but I digress.

So here's some of the ideas that Kat and I came up with, but none of them seem to have that special something. Ultimately the name needs to convey a few things, 1) that the game is a flash card/quiz game, 2) that the game is aimed at socially conscious players and 3) that the game involves a community aspect because fellow players provide the questions.

Here's some of the rejects (that maybe become the real title if we can't come up with something better ~_~)
1) Community Flash Cards
2) Flash Card Nation
3) Flash Card Community
4) Com-U-Flash
5) Wiki-Flash
6) Flash Card Society
7) Flash Card Colony

Top Secret Totally Revolutionary Socially Conscious Game Project FTW

So I've finally figured out what I'm going to do for my Top Secret Totally Revolutionary Socially Conscious (TSTRSC) game.

Are you ready to have your mind freaking blown?

Drum roll please.....................................................

Community Flash Cards with weekly prizes (actual title pending)

Here's the high level concept
A new "pack" of 40 Flash cards are released every week and players attempt to memorize as many questions and answers as they can. At the end of the week, 20 questions are randomly selected from the pack of the weeks Flash cards and players play a trivia game. The player that is able to answer the most questions correctly in the fastest time will win a prize, hopefully donated by sponsors or fellow players :).

What makes this game a community game is that the pack of flash cards is actually created from questions and answers provided by fellow players because the "entry fee" of playing the weekly trivia game is that you submit a question/answer for the next weeks flash card pack.

Since I want the game to be a have a positive socially conscious angle, I'll have to come up with some guidelines for the questions and answers so that players are encouraged to submit facts that they want other players to also learn.

Ultimately the point of the game is to get players to teach each other about socially conscious issues important to themselves.

Since the game concept is fairly straightforward, I'm thinking of developing the game for multiple platforms including
1) Web - Flash
2) IPhone/IPod Touch
3) G1 Phone on Android OS

Since I'm already using Flash at work, I'll probably create the main game code in Flash and then port it over once I'm done with the initial prototype.

I'm thinking the Flash version should only take about a month. My main concern is the user management system since I'll have to set up a database to keep track of members.

I'll post a more specific design later, but for now I just wanted to do a brain dump to get my ideas down on paper, so to speak.

Look for more in details in the future and please let me know if you have any suggestions for the design and game name since Community Flash Cards doesn't have much zing to it.

Giving up games...at least for two weeks

Although I'd never think I'd have to utter such a deplorable phrase, I've finally been forced to say "I'm giving up all video games for two weeks!"

After finally finishing Persona 4 which topped off at about 90 hours (frigg'n awesome game by the way), I decided to give up gaming for two weeks so I could focus my free time on my other goals mainly working on Gamers Of Action and working on a top secret totally revolutionary socially conscious game project.

Well I lied about the "totally revolutionary" part because I'm still don't have a solid game concept or design for now although I'm kicking around a few ideas that I would like to tackle.

The real question that needs to be answered though is what do I do about my gaming addiction at the end next week ( I've already been game free for 1 whole week :( ). Do I continue practicing game abstinence or do I just go back to my old habits? Ultimately I think I'll just have to decide to give up gaming on certain days of the week to force myself to get other productive things done.

Man I have to make the "Guilt Be Gone" game that has the magical ability of assuaging my guilt about gaming. It could be a game that helps you rationalize why you play video games and how they better your life and a good use of your time. Hmm now that I think about it, it sounds like the whole rationalization angle is already handled by the mainstream gaming press.

Speaking of the mainstream gaming press, check out Brian Rubinow's blog "The Select Button" for a very eloquent on going critique and reflection on the state of videogame journalism.

The Select Button blog is definitely one to watch as Brian's vision for videogame journalism and the gaming industry in general run parallel to my own goals and dreams for the industry and its gamers.