-
Valuing Friendship over Principle
Lately, I’ve been spotting more and more cases of people valuing friendships over principle. Here’s what Quinn Norton, who was hired and then swiftly fired from the New York Times Opinion section for her offensive comments in the past, along with her friendship with neo-Nazi Andrew Auernheimer, said: I was called a Nazi because of…
-
How to Succeed in Digital Storytelling
Stop the presses: storytelling has just entered the digital age! Every month, daring authors are creating new kinds of interactive experiences that push the boundary of what’s possible, featuring such innovations as ‘branching storylines’, ‘non-linear narratives’, and ‘illustrations’ – none of which would be possible in printed books. These authors are being aided by risk-taking,…
-
A Preview of A History of The Future
Two and a half years ago, I began a Kickstarter project for A History of the Future in 100 Objects, a book that would map out the 21st century in a hundred speculative objects. I wanted to cover more than just technology; I wanted to look at the future of religion, politics, sport, food, health,…
-
The Many Meanings of The Islanders
After reading Christopher Priest’s The Islanders, I was immediately compelled to figure out exactly what was going on in the story (similar to what I tried with Iain Banks’ Transition). Of course, The Islanders is even more deliberately ambiguous and dreamlike than Transition, and so I’m acutely aware that trying to unknot the plot is…
-
Thoughts on consistency in tablet news apps
A few months ago, I finally had what I’d been dreaming of for years – digital delivery of every single magazine and newspaper I read. No more stacks of New Yorkers and Economists lingering on tables waiting to be given away (or more likely, recycled); no more hunting for all the bits of subscription forms…
-
A History of the Future in 100 Objects
Last year, I listened to a programme on Radio 4 called A History of the World in 100 Objects. It took 25 hours, or 1500 minutes. In the show, the BBC and the British Museum attempted to describe the entire span of human history through 100 objects – from a 2 million year-old Olduvai stone…
-
Yakuza 3: A Serious Game
I fell in love with Yakuza 3 at five different moments. Let me count them: (It goes without saying that there are spoilers below – but only for the early/mid game) 1. Nakahara’s Pride Kiryuu Kazuma, the hero of Yakuza 3, spends much of his time cooking dinner and solving petty disputes about pocket money…
-
Civilization and Storytelling
I’ve only ever written fan fiction twice in my life, and both times it’s been for Sid Meier games. Nurturing a civilization from a band of illiterate settlers to an empire that’s trading goods and blows across the world tends to make you feel rather attached to your people, and it’s hard not to be…
-
Writing Frankenstein
When Mount Tambora erupted in 1815, Europe experienced a ‘Year Without a Summer’. At the time, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (aged 18), and her lover (and later husband) Percy Bysshe Shelley, visited Lord Byron in Switzerland. With outdoor activities being unappealing due to the poor weather, they spent a lot of time indoors. It was during…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
mssv 