posted January 21, 2015 #
I saw the Kickstarter project for
Strafe making the rounds yesterday and have nothing but the
best things to say for their trailer. It is, 100%, a pitch perfect rendition of early 90's game trailers but with that slight extra twist of manic expression that comes from 20+ years of reflection. It's on par with
this gem, and that's saying a lot.
The project itself is a lofty one - $185k for a first person shooter with randomly generated levels. But, given the scope of the game, and the potential reach it needs to find its audience I don't think it's impossible. If you consider yourself a indie gamer, this certainly seems like a good idea for backing. If not, enjoy that commercial and consider backing just as payment for that joy.
posted January 21, 2015 #
I've been attempting to educate myself a bit lately on best practices for UI/UX and ran across this piece on 52 Weeks of UX -
Is UX the Key to a long-lasting business?. The answer is, of course, Yes. But there's a really nice quote from Clayton Christensen's book
The Innovator's Dilemma that I found worth sharing:
"But what if the firm was driven, not by the goal of short-term profitability, but by the goal of continuous innovation in service of finding new ways of delighting customers? The new bottom line of this kind of organization becomes whether the customer is delighted. Conventional financial measures such as maximizing shareholder value are subordinated to the new bottom line. Profit is a result, not a goal."
The lessons from the article seem fairly obvious - make a happy customer experience - but the implementation is far more nebulous. Mostly, I just like the idea that if you make something that is driven by that desire to make customers happy, monetary success can follow. Maybe that's a pipe dream but it seems like an aspiration worth having.
posted January 20, 2015 #
damn you BuzzFeed and your enjoyable lists
posted January 20, 2015 #
posted January 20, 2015 #
Over the weekend I stumbled into the works of
1767 Designs - a Nashville based furniture designed focused on using reclaimed wood from local homes for new projects. If you were unaware, Nashville is having a rather huge growth boom right now which results in a lot of near-historic homes being torn down to make room for some, subjectively, disappointing condos. It's a real bummer but it's great to see someone like Patrick Hayes doing his part to take a piece of that destruction and make something new and beautiful.
Look at these
creations! I love these tables.. awesome stuff.
posted January 20, 2015 #
Recently I've been investigating Node.JS a bit - mostly reading high level tutorials and insights like
this one. I'm mostly comfortable in frontend tech like Javascript so it seems like a good fit for me but, on the whole, it seems that it's not an appropriate tech solution for
all projects. Anyone have any experience or insights into using Node.JS that they wish to share? I'm curious if I should continue down this path or look elsewhere.
posted January 19, 2015 #
NOTE TO FUTURE SELF: Remember to not listen anytime somebody emphatically proclaims "OMG, _______ is such an amazing time-travel movie."
posted January 19, 2015 #
In 2013, I visited Guantanamo Bay twice. It is the most American place I've ever been http://t.co/fCjzKysPCh http://t.co/duWHvqNSVc
posted January 19, 2015 #
Honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. #MLK Apple http://t.co/ngqL0bym8y
posted January 18, 2015 #
Sophia Coppola and John Ratzenberger caught me by surprise.
posted January 16, 2015 #
a very #LongRead about the fluctuations of The Simpsons
posted January 16, 2015 #
excellent words to keep in your brain area
posted January 16, 2015 #
The list is short this week but, hopefully, no less amusing. In fact, if you dive a little deeper into the first offering, I think you'll find your day sufficiently filled with distraction.
- Raccoon thug - If you are unfamiliar with the term Unexpected Thug Life, prepare to do some deep diving. Enjoy this Vine account, this Subreddit or just some excellent compilations.
- Thug Life Magic - no, seriously. You gotta get into this. When there's a gem, it's real good.
- Ideas Are Scary - this GE commercial is weirding me out. I get that's the point but those first few shots of the baby idea are creeeeepy.
- Tiny Queenstown - been awhile since I've watched a relaxing tilt-shifted timelapse video, so I thought I'd indulge in this New Zealand beauty.
- Black Rivers - The Forest - I'm not overwhelmed by the new Doves project Black Rivers yet but so far all the offerings have been solid. This is yet another one.
- 7 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About The Big Lebowski - I'm a fan of trivia style fact morsels, this youtube account continues to have them in spades (without being overtly annoying like many of its ilk).
Let me know your favorite UTL video.. there are so many to enjoy.
posted January 16, 2015 #
I don't even have an iPhone 6 but this seems like a thing that should exist in the world. Backed.
posted January 16, 2015 #
Lately I've been spending a lot of my gaming time playing
A Dark Room, a text based adventure that unveils itself more and more over time. I thought it a fluke to see some text adventure making its way into the app store but
A Dreadful Start has confirmed my suspicions - text adventures are
back.
That's right, it's a
Choose Your Own Adventure read-and-click experience all through Twitter accounts. Definitely clever and surprisingly fun.
via
Will.
posted January 16, 2015 #
The folks at
CURVED/labs took it upon themselves to fuse the latest Mac designs with the Apple "Lisa" from some 30 years ago and the
results are surprisingly clever. It's an iMac with a bit more personality, without a doubt.
The
promo video is a little cheesy and the practicality of a machine that's iPad heft but immobile is questionable but that's all getting too far into the weeds.. the concept should be applauded for it's wink and a nod to the past with a nice eye on something a bit futuristic. Well done.
posted January 16, 2015 #
I'm making a concerted effort to post more content that's available via VHX here on my site as I am happy to see so much interesting stuff bubbling up. Hopefully you will as well. For instance, this
Chief Executive Artist Bundle features three short films by
Ondi Timoner (We Live in Public, Dig!) focusing on the likes of Amanda Palmer, Russell Brand and Shepard Fairey. Those three are, without question, interesting figures. Even if you don't particularly
like them, their approach to the world and how they've traversed their careers is worth having a look at. The three films together are only
$10, I imagine well worth the price.
posted January 15, 2015 #
just bought this. One new song per month promised.. hope they are all as good as this one
posted January 15, 2015 #
Very happy to officially announce that VHX now has a
Roku Channel. So, assuming you're already using the
VHX Library to see all your purchases, now you can watch all that video goodness via your Roku.
Need something to watch? How about a free copy of
Star Wars Uncut? Or
World 1-1, a history of the videogame industry? Get on it and start watching!
posted January 15, 2015 #
featuring Colin Hanks losing it
