I don't think I mentioned it here in the forum, but back in November I was selected to partake in the NASA Tweetup for the MSL Curiosity launch.  Day one included a tour of KSC, including the launch vehicle on the pad, and inside the VAB, where we had the opportunity to see Endeavor in the process of being prepped for display.

With all the talk lately about Portal 2, it'd be great to set up a DIF "Game Time."  As my attempts to get folks together for F&F will reflect, I may not be the best one to organize it, but I'd love to get in some multiplayer time in Portal or Left 4 Dead.

Very cool; keep us posted.

Here's a wrinkle: playing a video game, as opposed to watching someone else play a video game, i.e., are video games inherently more subjective than film?

Part of the enjoyment of video games is that the player is creating the experience as they go.  They dictate the pacing, where, when and how a character goes or solves a puzzle or defeats a foe.  If they stop playing, the experience stops.  While one player might take a long time to figure out a puzzle in Portal, another might figure it out right away, and yet another has already figured it out on previous play-throughs and is on to the next puzzle in no time.

In each case, the player is still deriving a level of enjoyment from the experience, because they are the ones creating it.

So what about observing someone else play?  I would posit that it depends on the observer's familiarity with the game in question.  A new player might find watching an experienced player enjoyable, and indeed helpful if they're stuck.  I remember getting stuck a few times in Portal 2 and was grateful for the wealth of game play-throughs available on YouTube these days.

On the other hand, an experienced player might not find watching a new player stumble around to be as enjoyable.  The theory I posit is that because the experienced player has defined the outline for their experience of that game, perhaps watching someone else with a different outline, or someone figuring things out for the first time, could be frustrating, particularly if there were no opportunity to offer advise when the new player get stuck.

With film (or T.V.), every "play-through" is exactly the same, and yet a room full of viewers can have vastly differing subjective experiences, and those experiences can change over time.  With video games, even with an experienced player, each play-through can be slightly different, and offer a slightly different experience. Granted, in a game like Portal, there is a very clear through-line in terms of how any one player move from beginning to end, so most players will likely have a very similar experience.  This is by design of course, so perhaps in the broad strokes, there really isn't that much difference between the two mediums as it might appear.  If that's the case, then it brings up the questions of whether a non-player could enjoy watching someone play a game, and whether they would be more inclined to watch a game with a story as opposed to one without.

So I guess my questions are:

A.) Does the fact that each player creates their own experience as they go with a video game make that experience inherently more subjective than film or T.V.?
B.) How does that experience translate when watching a new player, or simply another player?
C.) Can a non-player enjoy watching others play a video game?
D.) Would they be more inlined to do so if that game had a story?

The final idea I will posit is this: if a non-player can enjoy watching someone else play a video game, particularly if that game has a story they can invest in, how is that experience any different from watching a film?

Ok, seriously, why don't we have a film based on this yet?

Did P90X: Arms and Shoulders the other night with a buddy who had the videos.  Arms very sore today.  Biceps so tight I can barely straighten my arms.

So good workout.  Gonna need some barbells or resistance bands before I can start in ernest, but I like it so far.  Gonna need to figure out how to enter the various exercises into Fitocracy so I'm getting credit for each workout.

Totally in.  Big, small, the guy in the middle of the back seat constantly trying to get everyone else's attention about something but is ignored the whole time, guy who just looks stoic the whole time, guy in the trunk (I have a HUGE trunk; two, three bodies easy), whatever.  Teague knows me fairly well, so wherever I can do the most good is all good with me.

Might be tricky getting moving shots, but I should be able to get pretty good footage off my iPhone 4S.

Locations: I'm halfway between Orlando and Daytona Beach.  Teague's spent some time here, so he'll have a pretty good idea of what sort of locations I can visit.  Disney is possible-ish, but you can't really see much from the parking lots.  You can drive right onto Daytona Beach though.

Thought: As a nod to our worldwide community, perhaps there could be a non-English speaking part; I'm thinking along the lines of the third character in Ark.  Also, depending on how many folks want to chip in, a second vehicle could be incorporated and the story have to do with both cars trying to meet up somewhere.

I'm going to cut off suggestions there for now, because I'm starting to come up with things that would involve FX work.

Looking forward to another collaboration!

In case I'm not the only one who missed it, John Pavlich and Teague sat down and did a Sofadogs commentary for Sad Max: linky

Yeah, sorry guys; kind of dropped the ball in making this happen.  I'm still game though! Mondays and Thursdays are still best for me, but I could do weekends after 11 pm Eastern.

Frickin' awesome my friend.  Frickin' awesome.  Take your bows.

Bravo!
Bravo!
Bravo!

That screen is one of the big selling points for me; I mean, short of full 3D holographics, I don't see how they're going to improve on the "Retina" resolution, at least in the next couple years.

//come on Apple, make me eat my words.