Cards Against Humanity

Billed as a free party game for horrible people, Cards Against Humanity was released in 2011 after exceeding it’s initial kickstarter campaign by 300%. The free download “print it yourself” version or the paid physical card versions are available under a creative commons license. This past holiday season the Cards Against Humanity team experimented with a “pay what you want” pricing model. Last week they shared the results in an extensive infographic. The end result, $70,000 in profit which the team donated to wikipeadia.

See the full breakdown of the “pay what you want” campaign.

IndieCade comes to NYC

One of the largest gatherings for independent game developers is coming to NYC later this winter. Taking place at the Museum of the Moving Image February 16th & 17th, IndieCade is a must attend event for anyone interested in the art and craft of game design. This marks the first time that the event heads east as it is usually held on the west coast.

For those new to game design, IndieCade east will feature a special section called Game U.

From the IndieCade site

Game U is a special program from IndieCade that focuses on pulling back the curtain on the game development process, and the work that game designers do. Specially designed for a diverse audience from entertainment and media professionals who want to learn about the game development process to amateur game creators who are considering trying to become professional.

IndieCade’s Game U sessions will take place during IndieCade East (February 15 – 17, 2012, in New York City), and will cover an introduction to game development tools, processes, and roles, as well as opportunities to meet working professionals in the game industry.

Lennon’s Poster

Peter Dean and team set out to recreate the poster that inspired John Lennon to write “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.”

Self Balancing Unicyle

Built from spare parts — a chain driven wheelbarrow wheel powered by a 350w geared motor, a pair of batteries wired in series, some PVC and polycarbonate, an IMU gyro and an Arduino UNO — all hobbled together to form a one-wheeled electric mount. Read More

Sitegeist

The Sunlight Foundation has released an interesting open data discovery app called Sitegeist. Working from a host of open data sets, the app helps to provide another view of a neighborhood, town or city.

Here’s a few of the data points the app provides.

Wake

Wake
by Michael McGillis
Wood, paint. 95 feet.
Franconia Sculpture Park,
Shafer, Minnesota.

Abies Electronicus

The Abies Electronicus is the latin name for electronic fir, a contemporary christmas tree, glowing in the night in the snowy village of Guebwiller. It is a metallic structure of scaffolding, emitting sound and visuals every week end in December. Design and show by 1024 Architecture, original sound by Vincent Viluis.

This Ain’t California

From Filmmaker Magazine

The most gratifying aspect of curating a film fest is being able to bring an under-the-radar gem you feel passionate about to an audience that might never otherwise see it. And as the director of programming for this year’s Santa Fe Independent Film Festival I was asked several times to name my favorite selection (which, of course, is like being asked to choose between kids). Nevertheless, I’d be lying if I pretended one film didn’t immediately leap to mind, a flick I’d fallen head over heels in love with when I caught it over the summer, courtesy of Rooftop Films. As I wrote in my program notes:

“The talk of the 2012 Berlinale and a hit at this year’s Rooftop Films Series NYC, West German director Marten Persiel’s This Ain’t California thrills on so many levels it ultimately defies description, much like its stunning skateboarding tricks caught on archival super 8 and set to 80s German synthpop. To call it a doc about a gang of skateboarders on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall doesn’t nearly do justice to this punk nostalgia trip and fragile time capsule, to this alternative history of the German Democratic Republic, and personal tribute to a lone teenage rebel with a universal cause.” – READ MORE