July 2012
25 posts
Progressive Enhancement in Browser-Based Games - Build New Games →
buildnewgames.com
Really interesting to see how progressive enhancement can be used in game development and design, and not something I’ve thought about before. I wonder, in the way we also employ responsive design, how games could drastically change experiences between devices?
institutional misogyny in a nutshell
- Woman: Can I have birth control?
- Government: No.
- Woman: I got pregnant because I didn't have birth control and I don't want the fetus. Can I have an abortion?
- Government: No.
- Woman: I gave birth to my child but since I wasn't expecting it, I can't afford daycare. Can I have help paying for it?
- Government: No.
- Woman: My boyfriend isn't excited about sex anymore, because I lost my figure due to pregnancy. Will you pay for his erectile dysfunction pills?
- Government: Yes.
“It’s a measure of a “country’s worth” that has nothing to do with quality of life of citizens in these countries. This is the kind of thing that causes good, honest people to be disgusted with sports and physical activity — I know that this kind of attitude is what drove me away, to the detriment of my health, from engaging in physical activity (since then, I have learned that you can have different attitudes about sports and I am working out).”
—Why I’m not watching the Olympic games, again « Moshe’z
The significance of plot without conflict
In the West, plot is commonly thought to revolve around conflict: a confrontation between two or more elements, in which one ultimately dominates the other. The standard three- and five-act plot structures—which permeate Western media—have conflict written into their very foundations. A “problem” appears near the end of the first act; and, in the second act, the conflict generated by this problem takes center stage. Conflict is used to create reader involvement even by many post-modern writers, whose work otherwise defies traditional structure.
The necessity of conflict is preached as a kind of dogma by contemporary writers’ workshops and Internet “guides” to writing. A plot without conflict is considered dull; some even go so far as to call it impossible. This has influenced not only fiction, but writing in general—arguably even philosophy. Yet, is there any truth to this belief? Does plot necessarily hinge on conflict? No. Such claims are a product of the West’s insularity. For countless centuries, Chinese and Japanese writers have used a plot structure that does not have conflict “built in”, so to speak. Rather, it relies on exposition and contrast to generate interest. This structure is known as kishōtenketsu.
