The first session back was presented by the subject of Ondi Timoner's film, and the creator of the project We Live In Public, Josh Harris, In a somewhat disjointed, forthright and eclectic presentation he discussed topics around tearing down the barriers of privacy and intimacy, and the possibilities generated under such circumstances for fantasy and reality to coexist in the plane of one person's life. He talked about his own version for World of Warcraft in real life, by creating a capsule hotel on a soundstage, housing celebtrities and bands, and with people in the world spending time in constant communication with the outside world. Until they burn out at least and get churned. Whether it happens or not, who knows. But Harris won't - or can't - let go of the idea. And he may just on to something important ...
Games designer, author and television producer Lee Sheldon gave a presentation titles 10 Verbs. He worked on shows including Star Trek: The Next Generation before moving on to interactive games, including one designed to teach Iraqi Arabic to US soldiers, and another recreating Oakland jazz clubs of the 40s and 50s. He is now developing a naaritive driven virtual world called London Town.
His discussion of Alternate Reality Games covered both games that can be run in both the virtual world and the real world, and it is not always possible to know that you are in the game or that the game has already begun, somewhat like the Michael Douglas film The Game. Sheldon says there are plenty of people in the real world willing to pay for such an experience. He aslo talked about The Skeleton Chase, a real-world game intended to make people fitter and healthier, and a bunch of other projects that he is involved in.
Amongst many topics, he talked about the fact that imagination and vocabulary do not equal storytelling, and that writers are chrnoically unrecognised and misunderstood. Hence people don't think they need a writer - or can be a writer themselves.
His presentation was full of advice for games designers, from making sure you employ the right people with the right skills, to getting the processes right, to taking sufficient care - all somewhat obvious, but beautifully presented by Sheldon, and peppered with examples.
"Games are reality with the boring bits removed."
"We get enough real life, games must be better than that."
"Why is there so much shooting in games? Because the feedback is instant. No one has found a way to do diplomacy that hits like a bullet."
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