Virtual World Post Number 1

As some of you know, I have been working with 3d virtual worlds in an attempt to find business value for the past few years. Starting in 2006 actually. I have been quite quiet about this on my blog and I don't really know why. I guess I just wanted to toot my own horn today. That said, I wanted to showcase some of the technologies from a couple different virtual world engines I have direct experience. So this is the first of many virtual world blog (I hope!) to come. I will talk today about the engines which we are using (includes Torque Game Engine, Secondlife, OpenSim, and Unity3d).

Torque Game Engine (TGE) from Garage Games - My team has extensively modified version 1.52. Now the fidelity of this engine is no where near the caliber of Unreal or Crytek, but it has 3 very distinct advantages. I recommend it to any indie developer, or student. The documentation however, has been a little lax, but is getting much much better. The ability to import models, a scripting language so you don't have to change the engine if you don't want too, and a large wiki of Q and A, this will get you going quickly.

1. It is CHEAP in comparision. Many indie developers use this engine due to the price point. Under $250 when we purchased it for indie developer and $750 for commercial users (commercial is considered anything over $100K a year in sales).
2. It comes with the source code for you to modify! Not many engines of this price (did I mention price?) come with the source code and allow for modifications at the base level. This is a boon if you need to add enterprise integration points like we did.
   
3. Runs on multiple platforms - this particular version runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac with almost zero rework (there are two caveats, you have to code in independent libraries, and you have to have the different platforms on which to compile).

The newer version is Torque Game Engine Advanced (TGEA). It seems they have dropped support for Linux (a major component in my company, more so than Mac), but added Windows, Mac, Wii, and Xbox360. At the time we evaluated the different engines, TGEA was available (and did get used for another project) but did not have a Linux or Mac component. I suspect it is shader support is what is keeping Linux out of the runnig (or it is lack of adoption - i.e. not enough green to put in the effort).

This is not to say there is not a downside to TGE. Sometimes the scripting makes you feel like you have entered the 7th ring of hell, but I find that with most modern computing languages. Anyway, if you questions about Torque, feel free to drop me a line (not that I am an expert, but I could point you in the right direction). Comments are most welcome (can I say PLEASE PLEASE?).


Have a great day!

Questionable Content Quote 2 - Apology Greeting Cards for Awkward situations

Sorry for being lax in posting, but I have been busy with work, school, and side projects (as well as the house, rental property, beer and soda making, well just life - so no excuses).

Anyway, as some of you know, I really enjoy the web comic Questionable Content

Today's comic is fantastic with apology greeting cards for awkward situations:

"Look, I didn't know she was your wife"
"I didn't mean to get that drunk"
"I misread the pregnancy test"
"Sorry about all the groping"
"Lets pretend last night didn't happen"
"Sorry I outed you to your family"
"Was that your dog? Oh"
"I didn't mean *your* retarded baby"
"I guess you're allergic to peanuts Huh?"

Be sure to check out the comic!

~Jeffrey

Keys inspired poem

The photo is from the Key West Diary and attributed to ConchScooter



The sunset glows as the water turns black.

Those dark waters cannot thwart my soul from turning back.

For the warmth, and bright sun will again come...

So I might feel the rhythm of the Keys beating like a drum.

My personal guide to an attitude shift

They say nothing in life is free except a little bad advice. That said, a friend of mine asked about my recent shift in thinking (I can tell you it is a direct influence from my recent schooling). That said, here are the highlights I gave to my buddy:

I suggest you get these books (get the audio books if you dislike to read and can listen in the car). Get them from the library so you don't have to spend as much money:

Preparatory Readings:

1. The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
2. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (or as an alternative get the Working with Emotional Intelligence by the same author)
3. Getting things Done by David Allen
4. Why didn't I think of that by Roger Firestein
5. Tribes by Seth Godin
   

Consider these points

Be bigger than yourself. Start to look for something that is bigger than yourself. Have a purposeful life.

Use positive momentum. Start to use PPCo when someone approaches you with an idea (Praise first, Potential, Concerns, and then ways to overcome those concerns). There is nothing worse than using our training from System Analysis and going after the problems we see first to kill someone's innovative spirit. Try hard to get out of the corporate world mindset sometimes (or what I call the Midwest horse sense pattern of thought. It is good in context, but not always the best. Everything needs balance).

Be Self-Aware and don't let your perceptions rule you. Don't subscribe to the "dirty dozen" flawed ration thinking.
Flawed Rational Thinking (Dirty Dozen):*
1. Needing Approval – “Everyone I work with must approve of me at all times”
2. Making Mistakes - “I must prove that I am thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving at all times.”
3. Changing Others - “I have an obligation to change others who act unfairly or obnoxious.”
4. “Catastrophize” - “When I get very frustrated, treated unfairly, or rejected, I have to view things as awful, terrible, horrible,, and catastrophic.”
5. Others Cause Misery - “My emotional misery comes from external pressures that I have little ability to change.”
6. Worry, Fret, Fear - “If something seems dangerous or fearsome, I must preoccupy myself with it and make myself anxious abut it.”
7. Avoidance - “It’s easier to avoid facing difficulties and self-responsibilities than to do something about them.”
8. The Past - “My past remains all-important and, because something once strongly influenced my life, it has to keep determining my feelings and behavior today.”
9. Unrealistic Expectations - “People and things should turn out better than they do, and I must fix them.”
10. Competition - “My worth can be measured by competitive situations.”
11. Source of Problems - “The people and conditions in my life are the sources of my problems.”
12. Negativity - “Certain occurrences or events are negative by nature.”

Find your prefences. Use measurements like Foursight to help you do this, there are others such as KAI, KEYS, etc. (Remember! these are not TESTS only measures of preference, you can work in all the areas, you just like to work in certain ones more).

Know you are human, and will make mistakes. However, don't use it as an excuse to be not responsible socially, fiscally, and most of all spiritually with your family and friends. It is all about balance. Get some Zen my friend. Learn not to care what others think, be not afraid, be outgoing, but be reserved at the same time. Balance, balance, balance. Strive for excellence, not perfection.

Maybe learn to meditate. Your mind is like a puppy learning to go on paper. That puppy is going to try to go everywhere including on the paper. You must pick it up and put it back on the paper to train it to use that area. Your mind needs to be picked up and put back so you can learn to clear all thoughts and just "be". It is harder than it sounds, as you want to think about everything and anything. However, you can do it with minimal practice.


Good luck!

~Jeffrey

Do you twitter?

I have mentioned Twitter before, but I didn't really explain it. Think of mass SMS (simple message system), eg. cell phone texting, that meets social networking. You follow people's messages, and they follow yours (but you can be following people they don't follow, and vice versa).

Check it out at www.twitter.com. My username is jeffrey_abbott

Twitter also connects to a series of applications, including Facebook, Twitterific, Tweetdeck, etc. You can update from the website, an API, or mobile device (phone, blackberry, iPhone, etc.).

The thing about Twitter is it does connect people and it connects them with information. Many news stories I first become aware of them on Twitter from my colleagues overseas, or I become aware of information or things of interest I might not have seen otherwise.

One word of caution, Twitter can be addicting, so as with anything, have a sense of balance and control.

So check out the future of social networking on Twitter, and hopefully someone will figure out how to make money from such a service (right now it is free and ad free - THANKS FOR THAT!).


~Jeffrey