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Radiator: Polaris
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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Riven on Fri Jul 3rd at 4:31am 2009



What is Radiator: Polaris? It's a new, short (VERY SHORT) SP experiment meant to test your experience about what a game can be, and what it can do without expectations. I don't want to spoil ANYTHING for potential players at all so I'll keep my comments for later possible discussions. But I wanted to point this wonderful super-short mod to anyone who might be interested in theoretical game design.

Some Links:Be sure to read the Manifesto on the Radiator website to understand the reasoning behind this mod. You need [EDIT]: Half-Life 2 Episode 2 to install and play this mod. But I would play it first before reading anything! Let me know what you guys think. And also assume that any comments following this post might give away spoilers.

Have fun!


Blog: www.playingarchitecture.net
LinkedIn: Eric Lancon
Twitter:@Riven202



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by G4MER on Fri Jul 3rd at 6:37am 2009

I can do the same thing by walking outside. Interesting though.. and glad to see someone thinking outside the box.



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by reaper47 on Fri Jul 3rd at 6:18pm 2009

Looks interesting already. I'm gonna check it out (trying not to read anything before smiley ).



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by reaper47 on Fri Jul 3rd at 9:45pm 2009

Can't get it to work... it installs just fine, to the correct folder and everything - but doesn't show up in the steam games list?



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Le Chief on Sat Jul 4th at 3:35am 2009

Sounds interesting, I'm curios to see what this mod is all about. Downloading now. smiley

By the way, it says here that you need Half-Life 2 Episode 2. smiley


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Finger on Sat Jul 4th at 6:01am 2009

Hey - very charming and inventive little experiment! I thought it was really great - I loved the atmosphere, and I actually learned something. At the end, I was hoping I would need to navigate the dark woods by following the north star - coulda been cool.

Congrats Camp - this is a very special little experience. This is how we should be teaching this kind of stuff in schools - makes it very easy to learn.



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Le Chief on Sat Jul 4th at 7:21am 2009

Show spoiler

Quoting "Finger"
This is how we should be teaching this kind of stuff in schools - makes it very easy to learn.


I'm curios, what do you mean by "this kind of stuff"?


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Gwil on Sat Jul 4th at 11:11am 2009

You have played it aaron? I assume Finger means constellations



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Le Chief on Sat Jul 4th at 11:54am 2009

Quoting Gwil
You have played it aaron? I assume Finger means constellations


Oh lol, ofcourse! Yeah I played it. For some reason I automatically assumed that Finger was talking about 'story telling in games' or 'rich player experiences' or something nice and cheesy like that. smiley

Did you click the show spoiler Gwil? smiley


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by omegaslayer on Sat Jul 4th at 6:01pm 2009

Very good game. This needs to be entered into the IGF at the GDC - I don't know if the IGF still accepts mods (It did with Dystopia and Eternal Silence 2 years ago), but if you entered it under your own graphics engine you could really win an award or two (Creative Design, story telling, etc.).

This should be expanded upon.

Edit:

Here is the entry form, I think Campaignjunkie should really do this. If your reading Campaignjunkie DO IT!

http://www.igf.com/03submit.html



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Finger on Sat Jul 4th at 8:30pm 2009

Oh - I just meant sciences, math, history, etc... anything that has a tendancy to come off dry in a textbook. This is a wonderfull example of how games can educate and engage way beyond the ability of books and pictures.



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by G4MER on Sun Jul 5th at 4:09am 2009

And that is why our kids today are far more stupid than the last generation. We kater to them, teach an altered history, and worry about a test rather than an education. We also need to beat kids in schools again, like they did when I was a kid.. whip that butt when outta line. Were too soft these days.. raising a bunch of wussies. School should not be fun, it should be work.. it should teach you that life is not all easy and a joke.. like they do now. How are we preparing kids for life with video games.. come on man get your first point of contact out of your fith. Since you most likely have no clue what that means I will dumb it down for you.. pull your head out of your ass.

This is not really a game, it is a nice diversion. You can walk outside, somthing I suggest more of you do, and look at the stars.. we dont need a video game to do that.. holy shit people. Were becoming just like this link: http://chooseyoursurrogate.com/

First watch the vid, then have some fun and make an alternate you. smiley



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Finger on Sun Jul 5th at 6:28am 2009

I don't know about you - maybe I'm an oddball, but traditional schooling worked best when the teachers inspired and impassioned me to understand the subject.

I can only speak for myself here; I certainly don't have any real clue about 'what it takes to teach kids today', but I imagine the best way is to use all tools at hand. If you can inspire a kid to be interested in what they are learning (using whatever means possible, including video games), more power to you.

I also think kids DO need to step outside more, get some fresh air, climb trees and build treehouses like I did as a kid. I had 100 acres of land to explore, horses, three-wheelers, mud pits, bows and arrows.... I wish all kids could have the adventures I had available.

I also think there is a fascinting playground in our imaginations - this is the 'gameboy' I took out into the woods when i played. This is the same machine I exercise when I design levels, draw, write stories..etc. If you can fire up the machine of imagination in a kid, it becomes a self propelling engine, pulling them further into understanding this world from whatever angle they start.

Or, you know, you could just beat it into them.



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Le Chief on Sun Jul 5th at 6:52am 2009

Quoting Muhnay
And that is why our kids today are far more stupid than the last generation. We kater to them, teach an altered history, and worry about a test rather than an education. We also need to beat kids in schools again, like they did when I was a kid.. whip that butt when outta line. Were too soft these days.. raising a bunch of wussies. School should not be fun, it should be work.. it should teach you that life is not all easy and a joke.. like they do now. How are we preparing kids for life with video games.. come on man get your first point of contact out of your fith. Since you most likely have no clue what that means I will dumb it down for you.. pull your head out of your ass.

This is not really a game, it is a nice diversion. You can walk outside, somthing I suggest more of you do, and look at the stars.. we dont need a video game to do that.. holy shit people. Were becoming just like this link: http://chooseyoursurrogate.com/

First watch the vid, then have some fun and make an alternate you. smiley


Muhnay, like you're a handsome sexy guy and such but that's a really old fashioned way of thinking. I mean, why make bread if you can just go to the shop and buy it? So why not take advantage of some of these interactive methods of teaching if it's going to make it easier for students? And by easier, I mean easier to understand and remember.


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by G4MER on Sun Jul 5th at 10:45am 2009

You know what feeds the imagination? Play. Not on a computer, or a gameboy, or console.. but being outside playing, with people.. real people not these fake behind a computer screen people. When was the last time you wrote a letter, not an email, a letter with a pen and paper? When was the last time you were in the woods to be in the woods.. not with your gameboy or cell phone.. but there to soak up the stars the sounds the whole thing? When was the last time you sat in a park and watched people go by and just soaked up life?

Kids these days are so caught up in themselves and the machines, they no longer know what any of what I just said means. I used to play marbles and hot-wheels outside in the dirt.. played on swings and slides and monkey bars and these funky other park things that were in the school playground... I got hurt, I got dirty, I had to use my imagination to play coyboys and indians, or cops and robbers. Cant do any of that now.. its not PC, or oh little johnny may get a booboo, or worse he may get dirty! AHHH the horror!

Kids are brats and they need boundaries, they need to know there is a limit and a punishment for going over it... like a good swatting. Maybe you have not been to a school recently, but here in TEXAS these little brats treat teachers like dirt, and the teachers no longer inspire or teach, they are too worried about the damn test.. so they can get the funding they need, and dont get closed down by the state or feds if they dont pass the stupid test with a marginal percentage.

I agree that this little sideline thing, I guess a game is neat and all, and very thought provoking, but instead of looking at the stars on a fucking game.. step out side at night, dont take the gameboy this time, and glance up.. woa what are those... yes they are REAL STARS! Or clouds depending on the weather. =) There used to be a time they taught you about the stars in school, no longer. There was a time they taught real history, not this BS they teach now.. I feel for our kids these days.. it is a real let down.

I guess I am just old fashioned then. Color me guilty.



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by reaper47 on Sun Jul 5th at 1:47pm 2009

Quoting Muhnay
And that is why our kids today are far more stupid than the last generation. [...] We also need to beat kids in schools again, like they did when I was a kid.. whip that butt when outta line. [...] School should not be fun, it should be work..




Quoting Muhnay
Kids these days are so caught up in themselves and the machines, they no longer know what any of what I just said means. I used to play marbles and hot-wheels outside in the dirt.. played on swings and slides and monkey bars and these funky other park things that were in the school playground... I got hurt, I got dirty, I had to use my imagination to play coyboys and indians, or cops and robbers. Cant do any of that now.. its not PC, or oh little johnny may get a booboo, or worse he may get dirty! AHHH the horror!


I don't know about your/your neighbor's kids, but we're not exactly living in the Matrix yet. TV exists for over 50 years. It didn't destroy anyone. Neither will the evils of computational technology. Kids are as able to play cowboy and indans today as they were 20, 30, 100 years ago.

I spent a big junk of my childhood in the woods, catching insects, getting bruises, getting dirty. I watched the stars. And I can appreciate an artistic interpretation of all this in a modern medium.

Why do you find so much joy in rejecting that? Just because it is fictional, it doesn't destroy the real world. If it were doing anything, this mod would be advertising it.



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Riven on Sun Jul 5th at 5:10pm 2009

Quoting Muhnay
You know what feeds the imagination? Play.


I agree whole-heartedly. And what are kids doing when they play? -They're learning! Play is our instinctual way of learning as a sentient species; heck most all mammalian species play to learn. I agree that outdoor play in the real world is very important, because kids are learning to exercise their muscles and minds at the same time. But what do you call it when someone is interacting with a video game? Are they working? No, we call it playing a video game. and if playing=learning, then playing a video game that caters to a meaningful lesson can come across as a better teaching tool than most other methods, because what sets video games apart from other forms of play is that games are models. And unlike movies or books, models are designed to teach us something, and not simply deliver the facts to us as we take it all in. Most people think they're different simply because they're interactive, and that's not the case. All media is interactive. You have to understand the language in order to read the book; we aren't born knowing Bach, you have to learn to appreciate that. So, one reason why I encourage games in schools (not your run-of-the mill video game) is to take another route and to practice all means possible in order to get children these days to understand what they're learning.

I highly recommend you listen to what Raph Koster has to say about video games and the world today in his PARC forum talk on "The Medium that Ate the World" (click the streaming video link on that page to view it). It's about an hour, so It's only for those who may have the patience, but it is very intriguing.

Games can teach us a lot about the world. It's up to us to investigate the natural sources those games take from. -Inspire the child through a game (the classroom) to discover the world around them.


Blog: www.playingarchitecture.net
LinkedIn: Eric Lancon
Twitter:@Riven202



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by G4MER on Sun Jul 5th at 5:46pm 2009

Oh no, your getting me all wrong.. I am saying I dont see the point in this mod. I can achieve the same thing by walking outside and looking up. Schools at one time taught your about the stars and how to find the constellations, and how they came to be. They dont anymore.

I own a game store.. My problem with this media format is we have lost the ability to communicate in person. I was at a track meet with a friend of mine who happens to be the coach, and sitting there were like 10-12 teen-aged girls all on their cell phones chatting.. and get this with each other.. all they had to do was look over and say what they had too.. but no they decided that texting it on the cell phone was how to communicate. Kids these days are so outta touch.

I am not saying your wrong.. I am not saying your right either. I just happen to have this opinion on the matter thats all.. and it comes from first hand experience.



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by reaper47 on Sun Jul 5th at 6:06pm 2009

smiley Wait - are you saying they were text messaging each other while sitting next to each other?



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 Re: Radiator: Polaris
Posted by Campaignjunkie on Sun Jul 5th at 6:31pm 2009

I recently got a text message plan and it's kind of awesome - it's like a way of communicating when you don't necessarily want to talk to someone. Addresses, directions, book titles, movie titles, band names... a lot of information is better digested in text form. Plus, what if you're 12 years old and you don't want your parents to overhear? Plus, what if you want to show your friend what that cute boy said to you?

Texting is a form of play like anything else, and it confers certain gameplay advantages (privacy, archiving, prestige of having a cellphone, etc.) that make it a better choice than talking out loud sometimes... Kids are just being good players in that sense.




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