For the November 14, 2011, Gamers on Game show, featured Artificial Intelligence, E-learning and Serious Games expert, Avron Barr.
Avron is a longtime researcher and implementer of advanced virtual learning systems, an independent consultant for software businesses, writer, director, and DARPA advisor. We discussed the nature and breadth of what’s going in the emerging area of “Serious Games.”
Game technology has been applied to serious activities since teachers discovered they could dramatically impact student involvement in the classroom by replacing flash cards with a Jeopardy-like game. Especially if there was some reward for the winner. Modern game technology, consisting of an expanded collection of tools and methods, is being applied quite seriously to education, corporate and military training, clinical psychology, marketing, rehabilitation therapy, and even social
and political discourse.
To hear our broadcast in its entirety, please click the gray ‘play’ button below:
Local Programmer, Code Monkey, and Role Player, Mike Muldoon came into the KZSC studio for Gamers on Game to save the day.
Mike is one of the founders and CEO of Infrno.net, a website dedicated to finding other gamers throughout the world and a platform for playing paper and pencil role-playing games by using online tools. We talked about his passions, Nerdery, Gaming and Eduction.
Mike and I met at NextSpace Santa Cruz back in 2009 just as he was creating the code for the Infrno Platform which launched a little over a year ago. Since the launch, Infrno has nearly 5000 world-wide players, video conferencing and whiteboard with logged in over 13,000 hours of game play.
It was a great pleasure to speak with him about the evolution of Infrno and his next big project using the Infrno Platform to help make the world a better place through using games and game dynamics for education. The inspiration came from a GenCon game entitled National Security Decision Making involving over 100 people that play for 12 hours straight.
This made me think of a serious game created in 2007 entitled, PeaceMaker involving bringing peace to the Middle East or the agony of plunging the region into disaster.
Infrno Con 3 will be happening October 1st with two 4 hour slots for playing D&D, Pathfinder, Inspectors, Fiasco – Based on Coen Brothers.
Here’s a quick video we took right after our radio interview.
Computer programmer, game designer, and founder of Grl Games, Graeme Devine was the guest for Gamers on Game July 25, 2011 to talk his newest electronic game for IPads ‘Full Hand Poker Solitaire.’ Since both co-host Patrick Reilly and Graeme were just there, we also talked about the recent Comi-Con 2011 in San Diego.
Graeme was the lead programmer on the game and on its sequel The 11th Hour. The 7th Guest was a phenomenon, selling 2 million copies, and is credited (along with the game Myst) with encouraging the use of CD-ROM drives for games. He was also one of the forefathers of file compression.
Graeme founded Trilobyte in December 1990 with Rob Landeros. Together, they designed the original concept of the 1992 horror game The 7th Guest. Graeme was the lead programmer on the game and on its sequel The 11th Hour. The 7th Guest was a phenomenon, selling 2 million copies, and is credited (along with the game Myst) with encouraging the use of CD-ROM drives for games.
After a stint with Apple to help them with games on the IOS systems, Graeme began his most recent company and adventure with GRL Games. To date, he has two games on the ITunes store, Full Deck Solitaire and Full Deck Poker Solitaire.
Along with co-hosts Nada and Pat, Graeme is one of the founders of EGG, a Santa Cruz Electronic Game Gathering with the intentions of bringing together all facets of game lovers from developers, creators, researchers and players on a monthly basis in Santa Cruz California. Our next gathering is August 25 at NextSpace Santa Cruz at 6:00pm with special host, Limbic Software.
To hear our show, please click on the play button below.
Timerie works as the Creative Consultant for City of Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency. She consults in various creative capacities for retail businesses, non-profits and city entities using her ability to “think outside the box” to problem solve and help clarify and realize goals.
We had a great talk. One of my last questions was to Christian about the current project dancing in his head. He replied seeing the riverway really activated and going from being invisible to being a central urban corridor with river-facing development, pedestrian activity, events. They saw it happen in Rhode Island. It can and should happen here.
Below is a little video we took before the show:
If you missed any part of the live broadcast, please click on the triangle below.
Santa Cruz local artist, Steve Hosmer, was the guest for the the June 15th live broadcast of UCSC’s KZSC’s Artists on Art show to talk about the art of signs and posters design.
Are signs propaganda?
It was great talking to him because as a member of NextSpace I am surrounded by his bold artwork every working day.
The following pictures of his work were taken at NextSpace.
During the show, we spoke of how Steve got into this art form. His career in art and sign making began when he was working as a waiter at the Chart House in Los Gatos and the owner asked that he make a parking sign. He did and the owner loved it.
Hence began a new career in Pleasure Point where he was already making stained glass windows.
In 1984 his neighbor, Harry Stokes, retired and Steve took over the business, Stokes Signs at the Sash Mill where business still resides. Through hard work and a lot of lessons learned, since then, Steve has built a successful and prolific business. His signs are all over Santa Cruz.
Five years ago, Steve began making poster art as a way to continue revenue on his work. Signs generally are a one time fee and payment.
To date, he has created over 40 local paintings, including Elkhorn Slough, the Boardwalk’s ferris wheel, the Santa Cruz wharf and Bonny Doon, to name just a few. He credits two German artists as his inspiration — Ludwig Hohlwein and Lucien Bernhard.
For more information about about Steve Hosmer’s work and Stokes Signs, please go to stokessigns.com.
If you want to see his studio and witness the process, you’re in luck. Steve partakes in Open Studios. This year the event will take place the first three weekends in October. This year is particularly special because it is the will be the 25th year of Open Studios put on by the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County.
If you missed the live broadcast, you can listen to our show in entirety by clicking on the triangle below.
For the November 14, 2011, Gamers on Game show, featured Artificial Intelligence, E-learning and Serious Games expert, Avron Barr.
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