Finds

№ 5 | An RPG about Refugees, Mind the Metrics, “The Pattern,” A Goldmine of Essays, and Patagonia

Stephen P. Anderson

Stephen P. Anderson

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№ 5 | An RPG about Refugees, Mind the Metrics, “The Pattern,” A Goldmine of Essays, and Patagonia

A text-based RPG about refugees

Last week, I shared an article about the patterns in interactive fiction. Part of my fascination with CYOA books, branching narratives, interactive fiction, choice based games, and so on, is how they represent (to me at least) an incredible opportunity to help people explore new situations or develop empathy for others, all in a safe, playful way. For a few hours, readers are presented with—and must make—difficult choices. As “playful things to think with,” these fictional narratives immerse us in a world that requires concentrated engagement with situations and perspectives we may only know a little bit about. That’s powerful. Anyway… Here’s a recent project that does just this: “An interactive book (text-based RPG) about refugees, made in collaboration with real refugees.”

CDN media

Mind the metrics

I finally had a chance to listen this Ezra Klein Show interview with philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, all about… 🥁 Games! And Life!

[🎙 PODCAST] "Are We Measuring Our Lives in All the Wrong Ways?"

This podcast episode explores a philosophical look at games as an art form. While I found the perspective on games a bit too focused on points (what about personal challenges, self-expression, fantasy, pattern recognition, etc?), it’s an amazing discussion about being mindful of the point systems that pervade most areas of life, from school to work to social media to (yes) games. It’s a great exploration of what should be concerning (and is perhaps unavoidable) in our quest to quantify everything. Bonus points for the phrase  “Agential straightjacket”

🍷🧀  This podcast pairs nicely with…

“The Pattern”

Coincidentally, I stumbled across The Ungated Manifesto that explores similar themes to the podcast above, through the lens of a content creator. The author manages to put into words (a lot of them!) the persistent tension  between making things of substance and hustling for the attention that sustains these efforts.

A definite read, that clearly articulates ‘The Pattern’ that “is ripping through our digital commons, and seeping into the hearts and minds of humanity… stifling our creative potential… poisoning our culture. And…standing in the way of our ability to live well and flourish.”

A goldmine of essays?

Over on twitter, Packy McCormick asks:

What’s your favorite essay/blog post of all time? 
Looking for >2 years old, and that you think will be as good in a decade. Instant classics.

Looks like lots of of good responses to sort through… (this is where I found the article above.)

I ❤️ Patagonia:

There’s so much to love about the ethos and reasoning in this short announcement about Patagonia’s new owners. If only more businesses operated with a commitment to the planet and a sustainable business.

In retrospect, the Patagonia announcement—and the mention of why taking the company public wasn't an option— connects back to themes in the podast. Thematic Friday Finds FTW!

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№ 125 | Harms of the AI Ecosystem, OK Go Sandbox, Learning Experience Canvas, Family Tree of French Sauces, How Nouns and Verbs Shape Game Design, Harm Along a Spectrum, and Pain Point Bingo

№ 125 | Harms of the AI Ecosystem, OK Go Sandbox, Learning Experience Canvas, Family Tree of French Sauces, How Nouns and Verbs Shape Game Design, Harm Along a Spectrum, and Pain Point Bingo

Harms of the AI ecosystem At this point, just about anything Per Axbom creates is an instant share from me. His latest creation, an infographic identifying various “Harms of the AI ecosystem” is a fabulous ‘thing to think with’. Brief. Good use of dual coding. Seemingly comprehensive. I was initially

By Stephen P. Anderson
№ 124 | Deep Deck, Charismatic Language, “Are Student Attention Spans Really Shrinking?”, AI Divergence Engine, 10 Things to Watch Out for When Working with AI, “Society Begins at Home”, and Collective Madness Bingo Sheet

№ 124 | Deep Deck, Charismatic Language, “Are Student Attention Spans Really Shrinking?”, AI Divergence Engine, 10 Things to Watch Out for When Working with AI, “Society Begins at Home”, and Collective Madness Bingo Sheet

Deep Deck Let’s kick things off with a good ol’ analog card deck! Deep Deck is a deck of conversation starters that promises to “push strangers closer and pull friends deeper.” Deeper connections and all that. Long-time readers will know how bored I am by most of the

By Stephen P. Anderson
№ 123 | Deep Code Cards, Cultural Differences and Storytelling, “So You Want to Be an American?” (the Game), Work-Life Balance, the Smiley Model, Playful Visualizations—Using Trees!, and Deep Reading

№ 123 | Deep Code Cards, Cultural Differences and Storytelling, “So You Want to Be an American?” (the Game), Work-Life Balance, the Smiley Model, Playful Visualizations—Using Trees!, and Deep Reading

Howdy! Welcome to another roundup of ‘playful things to think with’ and things to think about. Let’s kick it off with… Deep Code Cards Ooh… Another project from Dark Matter Labs. The Deep Code Cards offer a “playful exploration of the invisible forces that shape our lives.” Nice. Maybe

By Stephen P. Anderson
№ 122 | A “Horseshoe” Diagram, Slow AI, the Data Communication Triangle, The Invisibles, A Simple Clustering Algorithm for Lists, Ordinary Abundance, and “Certainty, Variety, and Delight”

№ 122 | A “Horseshoe” Diagram, Slow AI, the Data Communication Triangle, The Invisibles, A Simple Clustering Algorithm for Lists, Ordinary Abundance, and “Certainty, Variety, and Delight”

A ‘horseshoe’ diagram Ooh… A horseshoe diagram?! That’s a new-to-me pattern; I’m adding this to my collection of visual primitives. Pretty much a cycle, with emphasis on the starting and ending points (before the cycle begins again). That’s all. Oh, and as for the content

By Stephen P. Anderson