Dishonored
GRANNY RAGS
Now, I have a rune for you, which you can use to upgrade your powers. All I ask in return is that you infect the Bottle Street Gang distillery with the plague.
CORVO ATTANO
But that will surely result in more deaths, which I can’t have.
GRANNY RAGS
Oh no, you’ll only be indirectly responsible, which is totally okay. Gotta love a mechanically quantified morality.
GRANNY RAGS
Now, I have a rune for you, which you can use to upgrade your powers. All I ask in return is that you infect the Bottle Street Gang distillery with the plague.
CORVO ATTANO
But that will surely result in more deaths, which I can’t have.
GRANNY RAGS
Oh no, you’ll only be indirectly responsible, which is totally okay. Gotta love a mechanically quantified morality.
Объявлены лауреаты Шнобелевской премии 2016.
Выяснилось, что дети лгут всё больше по мере взросления, достигая пика по вранью в подростковом возрасте. Взрослые люди лгут в среднем дважды в день, а с возрастом показатель снижается, за редкими исключениями.
Выяснилось, что дети лгут всё больше по мере взросления, достигая пика по вранью в подростковом возрасте. Взрослые люди лгут в среднем дважды в день, а с возрастом показатель снижается, за редкими исключениями.
I met a radio host in a parallel universe and he told me that when a person dies and nobody is there to mourn them, that mourning is randomly assigned to a person and that is why we sometimes feel sad.
Есть такая чудесная штука, называется crab bucket theory — «теория ведра с крабами». Если вкратце, она гласит, что крабы — настолько глупые животные, что по одиночке каждый из них легко бы выбрался из ведра, но когда один из них пытается из ведра выбраться, его же сородичи цепляются за него и затягивают обратно.
Понятие переносится с крабов и побега из ведра на людей и подъём по социальной лестнице: в некоторых человеческих обществах наблюдается нетерпимость к более успешным членам общества, которым другие люди мешают добиться большего успеха. Исследователь Джон Ройека приводит многочисленные примеры проявления данного менталитета в британской, американской, ирландской, японской, китайской, индийской и сингапурской культурах.
Понятие переносится с крабов и побега из ведра на людей и подъём по социальной лестнице: в некоторых человеческих обществах наблюдается нетерпимость к более успешным членам общества, которым другие люди мешают добиться большего успеха. Исследователь Джон Ройека приводит многочисленные примеры проявления данного менталитета в британской, американской, ирландской, японской, китайской, индийской и сингапурской культурах.
Stakes So Big They're No Stakes at All
The "Teminator" movies have always been about the imminent, and in some cases, inevitable, destruction of the human race: Sarah Connor may successfully protect the baby in her womb, but at the end of the first "Terminator," she drives off into the coming storm, with no way to prevent the imminent deaths of 3 billion people in a nuclear holocaust.
"Terminator 2" allows them a chance to stave off Judgment Day, but the basic goal is still the same: Protect John Connor.
In "Genisys," the human element has been removed: With the timeline reset, it's no longer clear that protecting John or Sarah even matters anymore. The only objective is the all-important yet strangely weightless need to Save the World, the same thing that's at the center of virtually ever superhero movie and most contemporary blockbusters. At a certain point, the stakes become so big they cease to matter: We know an expensive studio movie isn't going to end with the suggestion that the human race is doomed (unless it's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"), which means that instead of biting our nails, we're just killing time. You could, of course, say the same about "Terminator 2," except that there, the race to stop Judgment Day is wrapped inside an equally important objective: Sarah Connor's need to prove, to herself and to her son, that she is not insane. Caring about what happens in a movie begins with caring what happens to the people in it, and "Genisys" and "Jurassic World" give us no reason to.
The "Teminator" movies have always been about the imminent, and in some cases, inevitable, destruction of the human race: Sarah Connor may successfully protect the baby in her womb, but at the end of the first "Terminator," she drives off into the coming storm, with no way to prevent the imminent deaths of 3 billion people in a nuclear holocaust.
"Terminator 2" allows them a chance to stave off Judgment Day, but the basic goal is still the same: Protect John Connor.
In "Genisys," the human element has been removed: With the timeline reset, it's no longer clear that protecting John or Sarah even matters anymore. The only objective is the all-important yet strangely weightless need to Save the World, the same thing that's at the center of virtually ever superhero movie and most contemporary blockbusters. At a certain point, the stakes become so big they cease to matter: We know an expensive studio movie isn't going to end with the suggestion that the human race is doomed (unless it's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"), which means that instead of biting our nails, we're just killing time. You could, of course, say the same about "Terminator 2," except that there, the race to stop Judgment Day is wrapped inside an equally important objective: Sarah Connor's need to prove, to herself and to her son, that she is not insane. Caring about what happens in a movie begins with caring what happens to the people in it, and "Genisys" and "Jurassic World" give us no reason to.
Когда я приехал в Москву в 2006 году, то представлял местную культурную среду как небольшую гончарную мастерскую, где одни лепят сосуды, а другие наполняют их смыслами и эмоциями. Случайным образом мне посчастливилось участвовать в строительстве таких сосудов. Их размеры многократно превышали то, что можно было поместить внутрь. В этом был основной упрек зевак — мол, зачем, все напрасно.
Парадокс в том, что если построить сосуд из глины добрых намерений, то вдруг на стенках начинает конденсироваться жизнь и наполняет его по самые края. Все это происходит само, без чужого вмешательства и «помощи государства». В 2007-м таким сосудом был журнал «Афиша», в 2009-м — клуб «Солянка», в 2010-м — городская газета The Village, в 2011-м — институт «Стрелка». Все это части одной системы.
Парадокс в том, что если построить сосуд из глины добрых намерений, то вдруг на стенках начинает конденсироваться жизнь и наполняет его по самые края. Все это происходит само, без чужого вмешательства и «помощи государства». В 2007-м таким сосудом был журнал «Афиша», в 2009-м — клуб «Солянка», в 2010-м — городская газета The Village, в 2011-м — институт «Стрелка». Все это части одной системы.
The thing is, short films are to some minor and usually unstated but subliminally recognized degree a trailer for one’s own career as a filmmaker, the idea being that if a producer “picks up” that “trailer” than bigger and better movies will be created off of the support of the talents involved in creating the smaller short independent film. This is what drives these noscript sequence errors as the writerdirectorproducercinematographereditor ME wants it to be fully understood that he or she is capable of handling multiple jobs and pulling all of these various elements together, but all it really shows is the exact converse: that the director does not know how to collaborate and find resources outside of one’s own apartment, that the director does not know what all goes into the various roles that creates a film, that the director has no sense of pacing and style, and that the director, if he or she did in fact actually do the grip and lighting and makeup effects and best boy (WHY?!) work, did it very poorly and shoddily and without effectiveness or skill.
Meet the minds behind Half-Life 2
How often do you play-test these scenes? Surely, as they develop, you become immune to their charms?
ML: The cinematic stuff is difficult. Usually, these scenes are a work-in-progress, so the feedback we get can be a little off. And play-testers will like all kinds of things which aren’t necessarily the point of the scene. They don’t like stuff that’s really important to get across. At the beginning of the game, for instance, we felt a lot of the combat started too soon. Play-testers loved it, because they had a gun in their hand, and they were already breaking stuff. It was hard to say, “we shouldn’t do this, yet” because the feedback was really positive. We thought it was too early.
We wanted the combat to start after meeting the couple who are being beaten up by the metrocops. For a while there was more before that, you’d go from instantly being in the lab, to beating up cops. We wanted you to witness the cops doing something horrible, and feel like what you were doing was a response to that—not that you were just a killing machine. Of course the play-testers are going to love this, but they don’t know what notes we’re going for.
You’re fighting against their urges, to an extent?
ML: We have to be extremely clear about what we want to achieve before we go in. We’re testing it to see if they can play the game without getting stuck. Not to see if they enjoy the combat.
BVB: No one ever says “Ohh, you know what. I’d love another emotional scene right here.”
ML: Exactly. People would have been happy just to be given a crowbar in Kleiner’s lab, so they could go around smashing glassware. But they wouldn’t have had the moment where Barney drops it to you. And a lot of people love that moment. We would have had great play-tests if Alyx had given you the crowbar as you enter the lab. But holding it back, holding it back... Players won’t say “Don’t give it to me, yet.” It’s about learning to have faith in the whole arc of the thing. We’re pacing it, holding back for the payoff.
How often do you play-test these scenes? Surely, as they develop, you become immune to their charms?
ML: The cinematic stuff is difficult. Usually, these scenes are a work-in-progress, so the feedback we get can be a little off. And play-testers will like all kinds of things which aren’t necessarily the point of the scene. They don’t like stuff that’s really important to get across. At the beginning of the game, for instance, we felt a lot of the combat started too soon. Play-testers loved it, because they had a gun in their hand, and they were already breaking stuff. It was hard to say, “we shouldn’t do this, yet” because the feedback was really positive. We thought it was too early.
We wanted the combat to start after meeting the couple who are being beaten up by the metrocops. For a while there was more before that, you’d go from instantly being in the lab, to beating up cops. We wanted you to witness the cops doing something horrible, and feel like what you were doing was a response to that—not that you were just a killing machine. Of course the play-testers are going to love this, but they don’t know what notes we’re going for.
You’re fighting against their urges, to an extent?
ML: We have to be extremely clear about what we want to achieve before we go in. We’re testing it to see if they can play the game without getting stuck. Not to see if they enjoy the combat.
BVB: No one ever says “Ohh, you know what. I’d love another emotional scene right here.”
ML: Exactly. People would have been happy just to be given a crowbar in Kleiner’s lab, so they could go around smashing glassware. But they wouldn’t have had the moment where Barney drops it to you. And a lot of people love that moment. We would have had great play-tests if Alyx had given you the crowbar as you enter the lab. But holding it back, holding it back... Players won’t say “Don’t give it to me, yet.” It’s about learning to have faith in the whole arc of the thing. We’re pacing it, holding back for the payoff.
The biggest problems Kelly and Poster faced on set were lighting the large auditorium for the Sparkle Motion sequence and lighting Frank the Bunny. "We used smoke in the auditorium," Poster said. "Smoke is a great lighting trick. It allows you to light areas that you don't necessarily have to put light in-- you light the smoke and it gives you that appearance that there's light there. It's tricky to use, though, because if you get a backlight on it, it shows the smoke and it doesn't look great. That was one trick that I used to be able to see the shapes of the audience in the background without having to light too much. That also helped silhouette the girls onstage."
Motif Groups | Berezkin
01 Sun and Moon
02 Moon spots, stars, constellations
03 Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature
04 Origin of death, diseases and hard life
05 Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms
06 Origin and interpretation of culture elements, in particular related to agriculture, inadequate forms of subsistence and economic activity before the establishment of the present norms
07 Etiology of plants and animals and of their peculiar features, particular animals as protagonists of cosmological stories, metamorphoses, weather and calendar
08 Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
09 Identification of protagonists of the stories with particular animals or persons with particular qualities
10 Adventures
11 Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
01 Sun and Moon
02 Moon spots, stars, constellations
03 Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature
04 Origin of death, diseases and hard life
05 Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms
06 Origin and interpretation of culture elements, in particular related to agriculture, inadequate forms of subsistence and economic activity before the establishment of the present norms
07 Etiology of plants and animals and of their peculiar features, particular animals as protagonists of cosmological stories, metamorphoses, weather and calendar
08 Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
09 Identification of protagonists of the stories with particular animals or persons with particular qualities
10 Adventures
11 Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
Ryan Clark, Founder/Designer/Programmer at Brace Yourself Games
for debug reasons I was logging data that showed how far off the player was from the beat, each time they moved. From looking at these logs I noticed that players naturally drift away from the beat when stressed, then drift back toward it afterward. As mentioned above, they would sometimes miss a beat due to this stress and get frustrated, so I used a leaky integrator to implement an “autocalibration” system. If the player is moving a little faster or slower than the beat, the game will slowly shift the effective position of each beat to match. This can only be pushed so far, but it does help to ensure that the player doesn’t receive a “MISS” when they feel like they were indeed on the beat.
My reasoning was this: A player hits the key when they perceive the beat to be. They might be wrong, but that’s where they feel that the beat is! And if the game tells them that they’re wrong, in the heat of battle, they get frustrated. So this autocalibration system bends the rules a little (without drifting more than 1/2 beat away from the true beat position) to give the player as much benefit of the doubt as the gameplay rules can bear.
for debug reasons I was logging data that showed how far off the player was from the beat, each time they moved. From looking at these logs I noticed that players naturally drift away from the beat when stressed, then drift back toward it afterward. As mentioned above, they would sometimes miss a beat due to this stress and get frustrated, so I used a leaky integrator to implement an “autocalibration” system. If the player is moving a little faster or slower than the beat, the game will slowly shift the effective position of each beat to match. This can only be pushed so far, but it does help to ensure that the player doesn’t receive a “MISS” when they feel like they were indeed on the beat.
My reasoning was this: A player hits the key when they perceive the beat to be. They might be wrong, but that’s where they feel that the beat is! And if the game tells them that they’re wrong, in the heat of battle, they get frustrated. So this autocalibration system bends the rules a little (without drifting more than 1/2 beat away from the true beat position) to give the player as much benefit of the doubt as the gameplay rules can bear.
Тусовщики пенсионного возраста
Ольга Гилёва
— По образованию я историк, всю жизнь проработала в архивах. И я могу официально заявить — в прошлом году исполнилось 50 лет с тех пор, как я начала самостоятельно, без мамы и без класса, ходить на выставки. Я с пятнадцати лет ходила на выставки и разные встречи. Мама у меня была сиротой с десяти лет, семью отца раскулачили, каким-то чудом у нас сохранился дореволюционный альбом с художниками — он достался нам от маминых родителей, которые были учителями. И я ещё до школы этот альбом листала. Потом у нас дома покупали «Огоньки», мы выдирали вкладыши с репродукциями оттуда. Классе в пятом мы собирали макулатуру, и среди бумаг я увидела репродукцию «Земляники» Кончаловского. До сих пор она стоит у меня в стеллаже. А в 1965, если не ошибаюсь, году к нам в Пермь привезли репродукции Ван Гога. Это меня просто потрясло.
Я очень благодарна Марату Гельману за то, он открыл пермякам целый пласт того искусства, о котором мы даже не знали. Про Музей PERMM некоторые говорят: «Ноги моей там не будет!» А я открыта всему новому. Я посмотрю, попытаюсь понять.
Правда, в последние годы я отошла от живописи немного, сейчас для меня важнее музыка, это всё-таки прямые эмоции. В нашей Художественной галерее я всё знаю наизусть — конечно, она ближе и роднее всем нам. Хотя «Музей советского наива» мне тоже нравится.
Я три года назад стала следить за всем через интернет. Попросила сына меня зарегистрировать. Первый год я ничего там не умела, а сейчас утречком встаю и проверяю все группы музеев, смотрю новости.
Меня очень поразила выставка Серова в Москве. Я как раз была там проездом, но на него поехала бы и специально, это мой любимый художник с детства. Когда я слышу про ажиотаж, который тогда поднялся вокруг выставки, я думаю: ну вы гады! Я пятьдесят лет ждала, чтобы увидеть нормальную выставку Серова. Мне вообще кажется, что должен быть отдельный музей Серова, чтобы любой человек могу увидеть его картины. А то, например, в Третьяковке его отвратительно показывают.
Ольга Гилёва
— По образованию я историк, всю жизнь проработала в архивах. И я могу официально заявить — в прошлом году исполнилось 50 лет с тех пор, как я начала самостоятельно, без мамы и без класса, ходить на выставки. Я с пятнадцати лет ходила на выставки и разные встречи. Мама у меня была сиротой с десяти лет, семью отца раскулачили, каким-то чудом у нас сохранился дореволюционный альбом с художниками — он достался нам от маминых родителей, которые были учителями. И я ещё до школы этот альбом листала. Потом у нас дома покупали «Огоньки», мы выдирали вкладыши с репродукциями оттуда. Классе в пятом мы собирали макулатуру, и среди бумаг я увидела репродукцию «Земляники» Кончаловского. До сих пор она стоит у меня в стеллаже. А в 1965, если не ошибаюсь, году к нам в Пермь привезли репродукции Ван Гога. Это меня просто потрясло.
Я очень благодарна Марату Гельману за то, он открыл пермякам целый пласт того искусства, о котором мы даже не знали. Про Музей PERMM некоторые говорят: «Ноги моей там не будет!» А я открыта всему новому. Я посмотрю, попытаюсь понять.
Правда, в последние годы я отошла от живописи немного, сейчас для меня важнее музыка, это всё-таки прямые эмоции. В нашей Художественной галерее я всё знаю наизусть — конечно, она ближе и роднее всем нам. Хотя «Музей советского наива» мне тоже нравится.
Я три года назад стала следить за всем через интернет. Попросила сына меня зарегистрировать. Первый год я ничего там не умела, а сейчас утречком встаю и проверяю все группы музеев, смотрю новости.
Меня очень поразила выставка Серова в Москве. Я как раз была там проездом, но на него поехала бы и специально, это мой любимый художник с детства. Когда я слышу про ажиотаж, который тогда поднялся вокруг выставки, я думаю: ну вы гады! Я пятьдесят лет ждала, чтобы увидеть нормальную выставку Серова. Мне вообще кажется, что должен быть отдельный музей Серова, чтобы любой человек могу увидеть его картины. А то, например, в Третьяковке его отвратительно показывают.
How I Would Have Ended BioShock - a post on Tom Francis' blog
End scene: You, as a Big Daddy, standing motionless as the water rises time-lapse fast, everything zipping in motion-blur streaks around you. As soon as our view is underwater, everything goes silent and slow. The body of a little sister drifts slowly past behind you, its back to us.
When all is still, Fontaine suddenly scrambles into view, thrashing spasmically, screaming bubbles, clutching his throat, red in the face. After some violent jerks, he lies completely still.
A few seconds pass, then a light flicks on in the background. We cut to a close-up of it: the Vita Chamber doors slide open and Fontaine bursts out again, screaming bubbles louder and louder as he thrashes towards us, and his terrified face almost fills the frame before we cut to black.
Obviously this needs to be re-rendered a few different ways:
Without you, if you got in the bathysphere and escaped.
Without the Little Sister body, if you saved them all.
With your body, if you died in the final fight.
End scene: You, as a Big Daddy, standing motionless as the water rises time-lapse fast, everything zipping in motion-blur streaks around you. As soon as our view is underwater, everything goes silent and slow. The body of a little sister drifts slowly past behind you, its back to us.
When all is still, Fontaine suddenly scrambles into view, thrashing spasmically, screaming bubbles, clutching his throat, red in the face. After some violent jerks, he lies completely still.
A few seconds pass, then a light flicks on in the background. We cut to a close-up of it: the Vita Chamber doors slide open and Fontaine bursts out again, screaming bubbles louder and louder as he thrashes towards us, and his terrified face almost fills the frame before we cut to black.
Obviously this needs to be re-rendered a few different ways:
Without you, if you got in the bathysphere and escaped.
Without the Little Sister body, if you saved them all.
With your body, if you died in the final fight.
Interview with Daniil Ermakov
I must say, your visual style amazes me. Every object feels animated and un-static. There is a very coherent feeling in all your games that make them very appealing to me. How did you start playing around with all these visual effects and making good use of them?
It’s just a matter of tools that you use. Well, I guess you should have some kind of an artistic taste and shouldn't overdo with all the special effects. And don’t forget to choose right colors and so forth. When I was making “The Sun does not exist” I found that the picture is static and boring. So it's natural that I started to use various post-effects and distortions to bring some dynamics to it.
I must say, your visual style amazes me. Every object feels animated and un-static. There is a very coherent feeling in all your games that make them very appealing to me. How did you start playing around with all these visual effects and making good use of them?
It’s just a matter of tools that you use. Well, I guess you should have some kind of an artistic taste and shouldn't overdo with all the special effects. And don’t forget to choose right colors and so forth. When I was making “The Sun does not exist” I found that the picture is static and boring. So it's natural that I started to use various post-effects and distortions to bring some dynamics to it.
Nicole Markle at the Allstate Blog suggests you develop a quick "about me" noscript so you always know what to say.
Practice your noscript before you go somewhere where you know you'll meet new people. Make sure it's not just a one-liner, either. For example: instead of saying, "I work in IT," say, "I do IT work for That One Company over by Landmark. I focus mostly on solving software problems and keeping things running smoothly." Be denoscriptive about what you do, and it never hurts to mention how you help people instead. The more easy-to-understand information you can provide in a brief amount of time, the more likely they'll be able to ask follow up questions and get to know you more.
Practice your noscript before you go somewhere where you know you'll meet new people. Make sure it's not just a one-liner, either. For example: instead of saying, "I work in IT," say, "I do IT work for That One Company over by Landmark. I focus mostly on solving software problems and keeping things running smoothly." Be denoscriptive about what you do, and it never hurts to mention how you help people instead. The more easy-to-understand information you can provide in a brief amount of time, the more likely they'll be able to ask follow up questions and get to know you more.
Доктор биологических наук Дмитрий Жарков рассказал, что ещё в 1930-е годы учёные могли выращивать головастиков с тремя глазами — правда, третий глаз не был соединён с мозгом и потому не видел.
А в этом году удалось получить головастика со зрячим глазом на хвосте: это значит, что мы начинаем понимать, как работает организм на самом тонком уровне.
А в этом году удалось получить головастика со зрячим глазом на хвосте: это значит, что мы начинаем понимать, как работает организм на самом тонком уровне.
Отсутствие решения — это постоянно горящий сигнал об ошибке в орбитофронтальной коре головного мозга: он переключает на себя то внимание, которое вы могли бы потратить, например, на выполнение своих целей. Именно поэтому отсутствие определенности так тяжело переносить и вам, и тем, кто зависит от вашего решения (близкие, коллеги, подчиненные). И именно поэтому иногда лучше принять хоть какое-то решение, чем пытать себя и окружающих неизвестностью.
Есть легенда про советского конструктора Сергея Королева и запуск первого аппарата на Луну. В начале 1960-х еще не было понимания, твердая у Луны поверхность или она покрыта толстым слоем пыли — а от этой информации зависела конструкция аппарата и многие детали полета. Чтобы разрешить споры Королев, по сути, постановил, что поверхность — твердая. Часто можно услышать, что это решение было сформулировано в виде указа: «Считать Луну твердой. С. Королев». В реальности записка конструктора была не такой лаконичной, но сути это не меняет.
Есть легенда про советского конструктора Сергея Королева и запуск первого аппарата на Луну. В начале 1960-х еще не было понимания, твердая у Луны поверхность или она покрыта толстым слоем пыли — а от этой информации зависела конструкция аппарата и многие детали полета. Чтобы разрешить споры Королев, по сути, постановил, что поверхность — твердая. Часто можно услышать, что это решение было сформулировано в виде указа: «Считать Луну твердой. С. Королев». В реальности записка конструктора была не такой лаконичной, но сути это не меняет.
В своих книгах я старался сохранить магию… магической. Это нечто таинственное, тёмное и опасное, нечто, что люди так и не поняли до конца. Я не хочу идти по пути создания магических школ и классов, где, если вы произнесёте шесть слов, то что-то обязательно произойдёт. Магия так не работает. Магия — это игра с силами, которые ты не совсем понимаешь, и, возможно, с существами или божествами, которых ты не понимаешь. Магия должна быть пропитана чувством опасности.
Джордж Мартин
Джордж Мартин
TIL apes don't ask questions. While apes can learn sign language and communicate using it, they have never attempted to learn new knowledge by asking humans or other apes. They don't seem to realize that other entities can know things they don't. It's a concept that separates mankind from apes.
I think it was quite interesting to begin the evaluation phase by describing what we see. So often we do not really look at a work of art, we just glace in its general direction, make assumptions about it, and move on. We live in such an accelerated culture that to really look at something is rare. Taking the time to verbally describe what I saw was a useful exercise for me.
I always wondered why somebody doesn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody. ~ Lily Tomlin