While going through my links and updating them accordingly, I noticed that the once popular Att skriva om spel-blog has been shut down. It was a place where swedish game journalists freely and openly could discuss game journalism from all possible angles. It served it's purpose a long time and was a good place to brainstorm and argue.
Sadly it's end wasn't as glamourous. It kinda stopped dead in it's tracks, ending up as a place a few select individuals could use for their own holy crusades. Of course the vast majority was still serious and using the blog in the way it should be, it's just that these one or two individuals (who I'm not gonna name, they know who they are, but I'm not here to pick a fight) managed to completely destroy the atmosphere and drag everyone else into aome sort of bitch-mode.
It's a damn shame.
Anyway, they didn't kill the blog, they just made then end more sad. What probably killed the blog was that, in the end, everything had been said. Most discussions ended up regurgitating the same arguments for or against different approaches over and over again. And by that time, what role were ASOS playing then?
I will miss ASOS, since it was a wonderful time when one could discuss interesting matters with colleagues from other publications. But all good things must come to an end, and I wonder if not ASOS was stretching it that last year after all.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Oh yeah...
...I have a blog. I almost forgot.
So what have I been up to the last years? Well, much of my supposed blogging time is swallowed by other priorities. Most goes to my work for Gameplayer still, but I have been helping THD out with his Pakten-project a lot (especially during spring I was very active there), as well as other game-related stuff. And of course, I have a private life too, believe it or not.
I'm not gonna write much for Pakten anymore though, but me and TDH has been brainstorming about a MMO-related swedish blog among other things. It's supposed to be casual and broad (although of course focusing on the largest titles), so if you're interested in joining up, holler at us. We feel very enthusiastic about it and have a few people with us already.
Anyway, I've been thinking of re-vitalising this blog instead, now that I'm not actively writing for Pakten anymore. We'll see how that goes. There's a reason this blog is called "Unfinished Project" after all.
So what have I been up to the last years? Well, much of my supposed blogging time is swallowed by other priorities. Most goes to my work for Gameplayer still, but I have been helping THD out with his Pakten-project a lot (especially during spring I was very active there), as well as other game-related stuff. And of course, I have a private life too, believe it or not.
I'm not gonna write much for Pakten anymore though, but me and TDH has been brainstorming about a MMO-related swedish blog among other things. It's supposed to be casual and broad (although of course focusing on the largest titles), so if you're interested in joining up, holler at us. We feel very enthusiastic about it and have a few people with us already.
Anyway, I've been thinking of re-vitalising this blog instead, now that I'm not actively writing for Pakten anymore. We'll see how that goes. There's a reason this blog is called "Unfinished Project" after all.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Monday, October 08, 2007
Facebook is a virus
I got in contact with Facebook just a little more than a month ago thanks to a guild friend in World of Warcraft (thanks a bunch Aggro). At first I wasn't really impressed, and could hardly find anyone there I recognized. A week later it all just exploded and goddamn acquaintances and old friends were everywhere int hat place. I was intrigued and for a week or two I enjoyed the freshness of the community a lot. Until I realised what it really was: A disease.
Now, before I get started, I should point out that Facebook has a lot of things that older/earlier communities lacked, such as MySpace or LiveJournal and the likes. All those were based on profile focuse where the profile was all about marketing you. Older communities are all about what you are, what you do and think, and reflects the world through your visions. That made them quite limited in the sense that it was harder to create networks in them than in Facebook. You had to wade through thousand upon thousand of individuals (that more or less served as their own ads for themselves) and figure out who's who. If you added someone it was usually because you were already networked through some other means first.
Facebook changes that entirely, because Facebook changes focus totally. Facebook isn't about you anymore, Facebook is ALL about who and what you are in the context of who you know. It is in fact perfect for networking. Finding friends and people is way easier and it expands with you as your profile and network grows. You share your applications with your friends and you are instantly compared to anyone else you know if you happen to use the same applications.
But still Facebook is just a facade for a much more deceiving principle; that of disease. For every contact you get you expose him or her for other contacts, that add them to their network to expand their own community and further define themselves by who they know. And as such it is the perfect place for contamination. Everyone knows everyone and is but a click or two away. If you add an application, you will expose others for this "disease", leaving them a risk to be "contaminated". Those who get contaminated they expose their contacts in the same way, and plagues are literally born on Facebook every day.
It is totally genius. But it is also in the end boring, trivial and lacks of personality. You are deleted from your own context as you define yourself by others. And, to be honest, how fun are those small applications, really?
I mean, REALLY?!
No. I thought so. They aren't.
Now, before I get started, I should point out that Facebook has a lot of things that older/earlier communities lacked, such as MySpace or LiveJournal and the likes. All those were based on profile focuse where the profile was all about marketing you. Older communities are all about what you are, what you do and think, and reflects the world through your visions. That made them quite limited in the sense that it was harder to create networks in them than in Facebook. You had to wade through thousand upon thousand of individuals (that more or less served as their own ads for themselves) and figure out who's who. If you added someone it was usually because you were already networked through some other means first.
Facebook changes that entirely, because Facebook changes focus totally. Facebook isn't about you anymore, Facebook is ALL about who and what you are in the context of who you know. It is in fact perfect for networking. Finding friends and people is way easier and it expands with you as your profile and network grows. You share your applications with your friends and you are instantly compared to anyone else you know if you happen to use the same applications.
But still Facebook is just a facade for a much more deceiving principle; that of disease. For every contact you get you expose him or her for other contacts, that add them to their network to expand their own community and further define themselves by who they know. And as such it is the perfect place for contamination. Everyone knows everyone and is but a click or two away. If you add an application, you will expose others for this "disease", leaving them a risk to be "contaminated". Those who get contaminated they expose their contacts in the same way, and plagues are literally born on Facebook every day.
It is totally genius. But it is also in the end boring, trivial and lacks of personality. You are deleted from your own context as you define yourself by others. And, to be honest, how fun are those small applications, really?
I mean, REALLY?!
No. I thought so. They aren't.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
I'm back
After having this blog lying dormant for almost a year I've decided to return and start blogging again. Maybe not as actively as when I started it, but at least a few times a month.
It's a real shame though I haven't been able to post here. I've had tons of ideas, thoughts and stuff over the past year I have thought of writing about here. Such as my view on what elements that make a good mmo, well, good. Rants about Mutant Chronicles... you know that old swedish sci-fi/horror-rpg that's about to become a b-movie, and worries of what Paradox will do with the game-license.
(Actually they almost wasted it on a crapgame some years past.. I did some research and came up with some scary facts about that embarassing project.. good thing they pulled the plug tho. Hmm.. might actually still write that rant.)
What else.. oh yeah. I thought of making a long comment on Neil Strauss 'The Game - Penetrating the secret society of pickup artists', and all the theories in that book about male and female interaction, and of the whole pick-up artist society. (Yeah made some research into that too.. morbidly fascinating I might tell you. There's a lot of that stuff on Youtube actually.. try searching on terms like "PUA". "Style", "Mystery" and "Juggler" and you might find some of it at least).
One of the reasons I never got down to write the stuff down here is because I really didn't give myself the time. And much of my writing-time gets spent on Gameplayer and the newschronicles I prepare for every friday there. Of course they aren't as personal or interesting as a real blog. But they somehow drain the blog-energy out of me. Which somewhat is related to my return here. I need to start write more for myself, and not only others as of late.
Anyway, I'll be back in a couple of days with a more proper update. This is just a small headsup. And I promise, this time I'll be back for sure.
It's a real shame though I haven't been able to post here. I've had tons of ideas, thoughts and stuff over the past year I have thought of writing about here. Such as my view on what elements that make a good mmo, well, good. Rants about Mutant Chronicles... you know that old swedish sci-fi/horror-rpg that's about to become a b-movie, and worries of what Paradox will do with the game-license.
(Actually they almost wasted it on a crapgame some years past.. I did some research and came up with some scary facts about that embarassing project.. good thing they pulled the plug tho. Hmm.. might actually still write that rant.)
What else.. oh yeah. I thought of making a long comment on Neil Strauss 'The Game - Penetrating the secret society of pickup artists', and all the theories in that book about male and female interaction, and of the whole pick-up artist society. (Yeah made some research into that too.. morbidly fascinating I might tell you. There's a lot of that stuff on Youtube actually.. try searching on terms like "PUA". "Style", "Mystery" and "Juggler" and you might find some of it at least).
One of the reasons I never got down to write the stuff down here is because I really didn't give myself the time. And much of my writing-time gets spent on Gameplayer and the newschronicles I prepare for every friday there. Of course they aren't as personal or interesting as a real blog. But they somehow drain the blog-energy out of me. Which somewhat is related to my return here. I need to start write more for myself, and not only others as of late.
Anyway, I'll be back in a couple of days with a more proper update. This is just a small headsup. And I promise, this time I'll be back for sure.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
About time...
...I update this blog. I haven't written in it for about half a year. Oh, well that isn't absolutely true, I do have written maybe 20 posts for it, all in my head. Things I thought of while walking with my dog or riding the bus or working. But I haven't really had the time nor the spirits to actually write all those thougths down. So now they are gone... well most of them at least...
Anyway, aiming to get back and blog some more from now onwards again... but it's a bit weird keeping up two blogs at the same time, one in swedish and this one. I'll ponder on how to solve that.
Anyway, this is just a heads up to show I still live and breathe.
Oh, and I got my Wii this week. Only got Wii Sports for it yet, and Mikaelas been occupying it most of the time, but it's fun. And a damn good exercise too.
Anyway, aiming to get back and blog some more from now onwards again... but it's a bit weird keeping up two blogs at the same time, one in swedish and this one. I'll ponder on how to solve that.
Anyway, this is just a heads up to show I still live and breathe.
Oh, and I got my Wii this week. Only got Wii Sports for it yet, and Mikaelas been occupying it most of the time, but it's fun. And a damn good exercise too.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Catching breath
Haven't blogged in what feels like two months time. Probably is two months also. Haven't had the time to read other blogs neither, which feels like a huge loss really. But there's been to much stuff going on, on a personal level, for me to really give time to blogging. Contradictory, because at times I really could have needed to vent a little. God knows I have had a lot of ideas for blogposts, stuff now more or less forgotten or irrelevant.
And in the midst of this I get order from my chief editor on Gameplayer: You must start using our internal blogsystem. Whop-de-do. Yet another blog to keep updated regularily. But I have a plan. I'll post more personal and interesting stuff here (although I have a tendency to never get to personal.. I shun from exhibitionistic behavior. The virtual Johan is quite different from reality Johan.) and leave the fun rants and easier stuff for Gameplayer. After all they have different audiences. You can find my GP-blog here.
I can already hear some wise-ass mongrel starting to object and say, "So you guys are gonna promote your writers via blogs just like Loading.se". You couldn't possibly be more out there grasping at straws than that. Our blog system has been integrated since day one of GP 2.0, and we've discussed our plans for it internally for a long time and when it is all finished it will be a lot more useful feature of our site than the halffinished solution we gave Loading.
Actually the reason to why you are seeing Gameplayer getting a lot of new functions right now is because we had to take a break working with the site just to prioritise finishing the new Loading for Reset Media. They are really the copy of us, since the backbone for all their features are the GP-core.
Anyway, was gonna keep this short, but went on ranting. So I'll stop.
And in the midst of this I get order from my chief editor on Gameplayer: You must start using our internal blogsystem. Whop-de-do. Yet another blog to keep updated regularily. But I have a plan. I'll post more personal and interesting stuff here (although I have a tendency to never get to personal.. I shun from exhibitionistic behavior. The virtual Johan is quite different from reality Johan.) and leave the fun rants and easier stuff for Gameplayer. After all they have different audiences. You can find my GP-blog here.
I can already hear some wise-ass mongrel starting to object and say, "So you guys are gonna promote your writers via blogs just like Loading.se". You couldn't possibly be more out there grasping at straws than that. Our blog system has been integrated since day one of GP 2.0, and we've discussed our plans for it internally for a long time and when it is all finished it will be a lot more useful feature of our site than the halffinished solution we gave Loading.
Actually the reason to why you are seeing Gameplayer getting a lot of new functions right now is because we had to take a break working with the site just to prioritise finishing the new Loading for Reset Media. They are really the copy of us, since the backbone for all their features are the GP-core.
Anyway, was gonna keep this short, but went on ranting. So I'll stop.
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