mothnode

It’s happening all around you. Theyaren’t coming....

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:40:00 +0100

It’s happening all around you. They
aren’t coming. They’re already here.

There is a new kid on the geo-located ARG block and its name is Ingress. Coming directly from Google’s Niantic Labs it is currently in closed beta. You can request an invite right here and check out the fantastic visual trailer.

While I’m always very excited to see new augmented games I’m hoping Ingress is a step forward in the genre. Remember Shadow Cities? From the information we’ve received so far Ingress looks very similar to the Finnish game in terms of mechanics.

I have the same ‘scanning’ feeling when I search enemy players via smartphone and battle for and capture areas of my city.
I play through a similar resource economy and basic quest system where I gather experience to level up my character.
I experience the game through an underlying UI of the game, structures of which look the same - although as Artur Kurasiński notes, the visual side gives off a strong ‘Inception meets Matrix’ vibe and I agree. It’s fresh and vibrant.

Right now Ingress only offers me an exciting lore experience embedded in the real world, which is exactly what Shadow Cities offers as well.

There are questions that need to be answered by Niantic Labs before the official release: ‘What does this game have to offer precisely?’ and ‘What’s the game changer/the step forward?’. I’m sure we will find out soon enough.

Perhaps I’m looking for a more advanced location-based game here and I hope I find it in Ingress. I hope it won’t be a Shadow Cities clone as it has a good potential to make the real world exciting again through its seemingly immersive gameplay, enhanced quest system and well-crafted lore.

I have recently watched a film called The Lionshare. It’s freely...

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:09:00 +0200

I have recently watched a film called The Lionshare. It’s freely available to downtorrent here on vodo.net. Film touches the subjects of online dating, file sharing and general creativity of a human being living in an electronic era.

The Lionshare is the debut feature from writer/director Josh Bernhard. It was made in the spirit of the independent, do-it-yourself cinema of the Internet age, shot with consumer video cameras at the cost of a few thousand dollars. The latest in a wave of films dubbed “The New Talkies,” its kinetic style and raw performances recall the work of John Cassavetes and the DOGME 95 movement. Relying on naturalistic dialog and a barebones aesthetic to match the bare honesty of its characters, The Lionshare is a personal look at life and love in an increasingly impersonal world.

The movie is a reflection of how we are living now, as we increasingly relate to each other through the music we listen to and the media we consume; where people communicate through internet memes and pop culture references. The Lionshare demonstrates how the medium has truly become the message.

It is this type of cinema that I wish would become popular as it’s great at its core. I feel like I should relate to it through the prism of remodernist film philosophy of Jesse Richards: this is the true cinema, the cinema of forgiven error, emphasizing the emotions and torments of a day-to-day life. Back to the future from the depths of blockbusters and special effects.

However, the theme of rewiring the mind is present in this film and as the characters become aware of the technological possibilities they are drawn to them, prone to use them without restrain.

The main overwhelming issue here is that people changed, once they found out there are other ways of communicating. Easier ways. Faster ways. In our search for true connection with each other we encountered one that is perfectly impersonal and doesn’t require any effort at all.

We bought into it and this is our reality right now and that’s why the convincing speech of Josh Bernhard’s The Lionshare should be heard.

Recently I have been interested in the natural organic networks...

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Recently I have been interested in the natural organic networks created by fungi. During the TED Talk, Paul Stamets talks about the role mushrooms play in our global habitat. I’m bringing you this video because he talks extensively about mycelium, which is my primary interest.

Mycelia are the vegetative parts of fungi that branch out and form intricate systems. I think of them as bio-networks, structural predecessors of the biggest invention of the Digital Age. It’s truly fascinating to find relations between human technological developments and creations of nature.

I have an urge to start growing mushrooms. Anyone with me?