Combatting obesity

So, I'm fat. Pretty fat, but not crazy fat, I think. And I shouldn't be. I know (intellectually) how not to be. I should go vegan -- eating two salads and five fruits per day and also swim for an hour. And obesity is a chronic epidemic -- spreading as the American diet spreads. I guess at some point I'll care enough about my failing health to get serious. Hopefully it won't be too late. But anyway, enough of my background regarding obesity -- I really want to talk about public policy.

Slashdot just cited new Japanese policy that will require employers to inspect waist size of employees and be fined if they are too big. My first thought was that this was a horrible invasion of privacy and personal liberty and yadda, yadda. You know what, though? Screw that! Sometimes the greater good has a cost to be paid and sometimes, a bit of personal liberty is a worthwhile expense. So, I think this would be a really stupid thing for the US to do, not because it's unjust but because it is pointless.

It would cause hostility and discrimination and enhance low self-esteem issues and further marginalize fat folks. Which isn't necessarily all bad if it would motivate people to effect positive change. But it wouldn't. See, most Americans have no clue. There are thirty popular diets at any given time -- all of them telling you (at least a little) different stuff. Not only that, but 95% of the food in the American supermarket is junk. Not just Chef Boy-R-Dee and the candy isle. Rice-a-Roni, Hamburger Helper, canned soup, all breakfast cereal, 99% of the bread, cow's milk and all meat. Everything. And, I hope it goes without saying, it is almost *literally* impossible to eat right eating out. (OK, go to Subway and get a salad -- none of the bread if nutritive and don't get any of the dressings (maybe a fat-free dressing is also devoid of carcinogenic chemicals, but I wouldn't count on it) and that's reasonably nutritive, but not particularly exciting -- it'll do in a pinch, for sure.) If you buy normal flour from the grocer and bake your own bread, it's still garbage. What if you get whole wheat flour? It's rancid and has lost much of the grain's native value. You have to grind your own and bake right then or freeze it (for not too long!).

I don't know what life is like in Japan. Are they living like this now too? It would be dumb to institute workplace fat-checks and maintain the way of life that we have built around e.g. corn syrup. It's a stupid band-aid which entirely fails to address the problem.

If the government wants to address obesity, there are things to remediate. Craft a sensible farm bill. Incentivize small family farms, (the good, permaculturish) organic methods and local farmers markets. For God's sake, how about requiring that schools stop poisoning our children! Tax fast food and give tax breaks to genuinely healthy restaurants. I'm sure there's lots of stuff.

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Buttons!: a software toy

So I've been messing around with an idea that was nagging at me for a game that I could write. Only it's not really a game. I remember one of the early Maxis Sim-* games calling itself a software toy. That's what Buttons is. It's kind of a puzzle and kind of a toy. It may turn out that it was more fun for me to make than for you to play with. And I'd kind of like to make it more of a game. If you have any thoughts on how I'd do that, I'd love to read them.

You'll see things change on the screen as you interact with it. Also note that right now there are two menu options to alter the environment.

Download the Buttons installer (for Windows) here.

MMO class design: reaching balance

I just read the article at Gamasutra, MMO Class Design: Up With Hybrids! An Economic Argument in which the author analogizes the ecology of classes and player-competition within that to several economic factors. It was a good read. And it struck me that it would be really, really easy to provide one kind of balance to the class ecology by simply applying a reward multiplier (maybe just on XP if that's how your game rolls) based on nothing but the popularity of the class. If everyone detects that the fire/fire tank in CoH is uber and picks that, they might choose something else when they realize that the invul/mace tank earns xp at a rate 1.5 times as fast as the fire/fire. Right? And you could have that dynamically tuned as a weighted average based on the previous week on in-game play time or something. Then, barring stupendous gaffes in design which you've hopefully caught in testing, you can just completely avoid pissing people off when you nerf their class.

Is any game doing this? Why not?

Home Game: map generation

Right, so I've been working on a map generator between other stuff at work -- like when I have to copy 90 zips from DVDs and then unzip them and deal with the 5% that are either bad media or corrupt zip files. I get a bunch of unproductive time that allows light coding and if I don't have any work-related light coding, at least I'm doing vaguely vocational research. Anyway, I think I've got the map generator to a point where it's playable. I might just build out a map with LEGO to help me visualize. (I guess I should be able to plug my output into LDRAW or something and render it on the PC, but I don't think I'll look into that in the next few days.)

Here's a sample map with a key at the bottom: (Well, grr! So it's only the right quarter or third of the map -- you get the idea.)

+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|....|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|^01^|.00.|~00~|~00~|^00^|~00~|^04^|~00~|~00~|.00.|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|....|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|..1.|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~2~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|....|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|....|wwww|TTTT|....|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|....|TTTT|^^^^|....|wwww|wwww|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|.00.|.01.|w02w|T00T|.00.|T04T|T01T|^02^|.03.|T00T|^05^|.02.|w04w|w00w|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|....|wwww|TTTT|....|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|....|TTTT|^^^^|....|wwww|wwww|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~2~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|....|wwww|TTTT|....|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|....|TTTT|^^^^|....|wwww|wwww|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|wwww|TTTT|^^^^|....|TTTT|wwww|wwww|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|.02.|w01w|T02T|^05^|.07.|T06T|w02w|w02w|w06w|T01T|~00~|T03T|^00^|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|.00.|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|wwww|TTTT|^^^^|....|TTTT|wwww|wwww|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~2~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|wwww|TTTT|^^^^|....|TTTT|wwww|wwww|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|....|TTTT|....|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|....|....|^^^^|wwww|....|....|~~~~|wwww|~~~~|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|^00^|~00~|~00~|.01.|T05T|.00.|^03^|T08T|~02~|T06T|T04T|^06^|T06T|.02.|.04.|^03^|w00w|.02.|.00.|~00~|w00w|~00~|.01.|.00.|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|....|TTTT|....|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|T1TT|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|....|....|^1^^|wwww|....|....|~~~~|wwww|~~~~|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|....|TTTT|....|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|....|....|^^^^|wwww|....|....|~~~~|wwww|~~~~|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|....|@@@@|....|....|TTTT|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|,,,,|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|w00w|.00.|@03@|.01.|.00.|T06T|^06^|w06w|^08^|^06^|^06^|^05^|,04,|T06T|^04^|^02^|.04.|.01.|~00~|~00~|w00w|T04T|~00~|~00~|^01^|T01T|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|....|@@@@|....|....|TTTT|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|,,,,|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|.2..|....|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~1~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|....|@@@@|....|....|TTTT|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|,,,,|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|....|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|~~~~|wwww|,,,,|^^^^|TTTT|FFFF|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|.03.|.03.|~00~|^06^|^04^|F08F|~05~|w10w|,13,|^12^|T10T|F07F|^10^|T08T|^04^|T02T|T06T|^06^|T05T|^03^|w05w|~02~|^03^|^03^|^03^|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|....|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|~2~~|wwww|,,,,|^^^^|TTTT|FFFF|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|....|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|~~~~|wwww|,,,,|^^^^|TTTT|FFFF|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|TTTT|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|@@@@|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|,,,,|wwww|FFFF|wwww|TTTT|wwww|FFFF|~~~~|....|@@@@|wwww|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|@01@|~00~|~00~|^01^|T06T|^04^|^07^|w08w|^11^|^11^|^13^|^12^|w10w|,12,|w09w|F06F|w06w|T04T|w04w|F08F|~04~|.08.|@06@|w08w|^04^|T02T|^01^|~00~|.00.|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|@@@@|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|,,,,|wwww|FFFF|wwww|TTTT|wwww|FFFF|~~~~|....|@@@@|wwww|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|@@@@|~~~~|~~~~|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|,,,,|wwww|FFFF|wwww|TTTT|wwww|FFFF|~~~~|....|@@@@|wwww|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|@@@@|wwww|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|TTTT|FFFF|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|wwww|FFFF|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|^^^^|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|....|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|@00@|w06w|~00~|w03w|^04^|T08T|F12F|w12w|^12^|^14^|w10w|^10^|w10w|F13F|^08^|w08w|^10^|^07^|w09w|T08T|~04~|^08^|w08w|~00~|^06^|^03^|.01.|T00T|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|@@@@|wwww|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|TTTT|FFFF|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|wwww|FFFF|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|^^^^|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|....|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|@@@@|wwww|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|TTTT|FFFF|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|wwww|FFFF|^^^^|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|^^^^|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|....|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|....|wwww|@@@@|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|~~~~|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|FFFF|TTTT|TTTT|FFFF|FFFF|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|.02.|~00~|.00.|w04w|@04@|^05^|^13^|T11T|~09~|w10w|^13^|^13^|F11F|~08~|^10^|w12w|T13T|~04~|T07T|F11F|T09T|T09T|F08F|F08F|T08T|~04~|T07T|^01^|^00^|~00~|~00~|~00~|w01w|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|....|wwww|@@@@|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|~~~~|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|FFFF|TTTT|TTTT|FFFF|FFFF|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|....|wwww|@@@@|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|~~~~|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|FFFF|TTTT|TTTT|FFFF|FFFF|TTTT|~~~~|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|....|TTTT|wwww|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|TTTT|wwww|FFFF|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|,,,,|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|.00.|~00~|.02.|T06T|w08w|~03~|w11w|^16^|F15F|^15^|^16^|^15^|^15^|^13^|~07~|F08F|T08T|w11w|F15F|F11F|^13^|^11^|T08T|~04~|w06w|^06^|,08,|.00.|.01.|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|....|TTTT|wwww|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|TTTT|wwww|FFFF|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|,,,,|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|~~~~|....|TTTT|wwww|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|TTTT|wwww|FFFF|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|,,,,|....|....|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|^^^^|TTTT|....|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|....|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|.02.|^05^|T05T|.06.|~05~|w11w|^10^|^14^|^16^|^19^|^16^|~14~|F16F|^12^|^10^|T12T|^09^|~08~|^11^|F12F|.13.|~09~|^11^|F10F|^07^|T08T|^06^|^02^|^07^|~00~|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|^^^^|TTTT|....|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^3^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|....|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|....|^^^^|TTTT|....|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|....|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|TTTT|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|....|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|,,,,|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|FFFF|....|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|~00~|~00~|w01w|.03.|^02^|^06^|T08T|~06~|^10^|^12^|F12F|^12^|^16^|^15^|^13^|~09~|F11F|^09^|F10F|^12^|^15^|,14,|^13^|^11^|^11^|F13F|F08F|.04.|~02~|w04w|^04^|^01^|~00~|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|....|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|,,,,|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|FFFF|....|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|wwww|....|^^^^|^^^^|TTTT|~~~~|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|^^^^|,,,,|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|FFFF|....|~~~~|wwww|^^^^|^^^^|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|~~~~|^^^^|....|TTTT|wwww|....|^^^^|wwww|wwww|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|,,,,|FFFF|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|TTTT|....|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|wwww|~~~~|....|~~~~|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|
|~00~|^00^|.00.|T01T|w04w|.02.|^10^|w07w|w08w|w11w|~08~|^13^|F16F|,15,|F14F|^16^|w12w|T12T|T09T|.12.|^14^|^16^|^18^|F16F|^15^|F09F|F08F|^07^|F08F|w06w|~02~|.03.|~00~|T02T|~00~|~00~|
|~~~~|^^^^|....|TTTT|wwww|....|^^^^|wwww|wwww|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|,,,,|FFFF|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|TTTT|....|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|wwww|~~~~|....|~~~~|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|^^^^|....|TTTT|wwww|....|^^^^|wwww|wwww|wwww|~~~~|^^^^|FFFF|,,,,|FFFF|^^^^|wwww|TTTT|TTTT|....|^^^^|^^^^|^^^^|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|FFFF|^^^^|FFFF|wwww|~~~~|....|~~~~|TTTT|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
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|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~1~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~2~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+

The border all around each tile shows the terrain. In the center, the top row shows the elevation and the next row shows any special resources or occupants (if any)

LEGO color	Terrain	Symbol	Possible Special Resources
light grey	rock	^	(metal, flint, ruby)
blue	water	~	(fish, shellfish, pearl)
beige	sand	.	(salt, whitesand, diamond)
green	jungle	T	(exotic plants, exotic wood, emerald)
yellow	prarie	,	(megafauna, farmland, tar)
red	lava	!	(sulfur, hotsprings, steel)
white	ice	*	(coal, amythist, mysterious artifacts)
orange	fungal waste	@	(medicine, mana/isotopes, glowstone)
olive	swamp	w	(peat, exotic animals, methane)
brown	forest	F	(exotic wood, exotic animals, spring)

Home game

I originally came up for this idea last month as part of Thing-a-Day for a game that I'd orchestrate for/with my family. I've linked to the original context just above but I'm also going to just cut and paste the entire text here so that I have it in a location closer to under my control. So here's the concept document:

----------

A game for my family
February 23rd 6:29 :42 am by Christopher Weeks
tagged game LEGO plan RPG (Daily thing), Getting organized, Little people

This is a project plan and a design document for a game that I'm considering setting up for my family to play collaboratively over time. It is a sort of hybrid simulation/miniatures/role-playing game that will be played over time through face-to-face meetings of some or all of the players and solitaire play, all of which will be rendered in LEGO models and spoken/written narration and conflict resolution. Further, many facets of the game will be computer-assisted or facilitated. The roles taken by a traditional RPG-GM will be apportioned to the software tools and to the players on an ad-hoc basis. Models for game play that I have in mind include: Universalis (story-game, GMless play), HeroQuest (RPG, personal characterization/general abilities), Monster Island (PBM, vague theme), Evil-Stevie's Pirate Game (miniatures, rendering only), Castle World (collaborative fiction, style)

In this game, the characters will be shipwrecked and wash ashore on an island. The island will be comprised of "squares" including an elevation, a biome and features (monsters, people, mysteries, +?). These attributes will be generated by a computer before the game starts. As the island is explored, each square will be modeled as a 4×4 stud LEGO structure that grows with our game-play. A "square" should be understood to be an arbitrary large area: an acre, a square mile, something like that. On a weekly(?) basis, the family will decide what the characters are doing during that turn. We might have some in-character play or maybe just hang out and moderate one another in author-stance. The mechanical systems will be flexible enough to be useful in any kind of play that evolves. While we'll have an island model, we may also model scenes, locations etc, or write, what amounts to fan-fiction. I'm thinking that we'll set up a blog or a wiki to allow posts from all the players as well as a repository for record-keeping, etc.

There are two starting places. The first of these is behind the scenes: generation of the map, building facilitating software, etc. The other starting place is how play begins: creating characters, landing on the island, etc.

I'm imagining that the island will occupy six grey baseplates and thus be 96×144 studs or 24×36 = 864 squares. I'll write an application that generates a grid of squares with heights based on proximity to two "logical peak" locations — that is, the random elevations will tend to be higher as proximity to either of these locations grows and lower as proximity to the outside edge grows. Then it'll crawl across the land and deposit biomes based on elevation, etc. Then it will randomly distribute monsters, people and mysteries.

Regular resources — to the extent that we decide to play a resource game, will be dependent on the biomes expressed on the map. E.g. wood can be harvested from forest or jungle squares, peat from swamp, rock from rock, whatever. Monsters, people and mysteries are special, ill-defined resources independent of elevation and biome. As we play and encounter these special resources, we'll just decide what they are and how we play with them. I'm thinking that each of those should have a 1/60 chance of appearing in any square — giving about 43 special squares (on average).

Because I want knowledge of the island to be blind, the generator will output a data file that is read by an explorer application. All the explorer does is allow us to punch in a coordinate and reveal complete details about that square and elevation/biome of all surrounding squares. My default assumption is that we won't know the special resources of any place that we haven't visited (though that could change in game play — through player preference or special character abilities, etc).

I'm thinking of using either HeroQuest or a mod of a game that Mike Holmes is working on and I got to playtest for character representation and mechanical systems. So we'd start out play by creating characters with a pool of abilities from each of three categories: homeland, occupation and personal. An optional step is to have a fourth "trademark" category spring up as a result of the shipwreck or something else shortly after arrival on the island. This final thing could be entirely fantastic.

Once characters are created, we jointly decide where we're washing ashore and build up the base model to represent the water and land that we encounter. After that, the plan kind of ends. We play. Part of play will be figuring out what play looks like.

PMOG: The Passively Multiplayer Online Game

So, over at Terra Nova, one of the virtual world/MMO blogs that I read regularly, I found reference to PMOG which is a MMO of sorts that rides atop your browser (if your browser happens to be Firefox) and has you interact with the web and other PMOG players.

I really can't describe how cool I think this is. It's like a whole new technology was just born and in retrospect it seems totally obvious. And actually, I know it's not new -- the first thing like this I used was a service that served adds in the page's margins while allowing you to browse in an iframe. That's from like '98 or so and is essentially a crude version of this used for revenue instead of entertainment. Also, I haven't gotten any response from them about my request to beta, so I haven't played -- who knows if it's actually fun, but what I'm seeing looks so interesting that I'm thinking it has to be fun for a while.

It looks like you start the game as a shoat (which I only know what is from reading Lonesome Dove -- a baby pig), which is your "class" and then you develop a real class as you surf or maybe as you level up.

The comments on that Terra Nova page seem to be primarily concerened with privacy issues. I guess that makes sense -- we oldsters haven't adopted the new-millenium paradigm of a world without privacy that I'm thinking is inevitable. I guess I'd like assurances of privacy too. I don't care about people knowing what porn I check out, but I certainly don't want them to have access to my login information. I guess I want my identity/authenticity protected more than my privacy.

But really, I'm more interested in the game itself. The fun. What's to learn from it? How will it inform the art and design of future games?

Anyway, sweet stuff. Go check it out.