Spotlight: Alex Gleason From Vegan On A Desert Island
For this month's interview we sat down with Alex Gleason, creator and developer of Vegan on a Desert Island, an upcoming libre action/puzzle RPG. The game follows the story of Rachel, a vegan girl who shipwrecks on an island, and becomes embroiled in a quest to uphold her own conflicted values against the interests of the island's many talking animals.
A newcomer on the scene, we spoke with Alex on what inspired him to create this project, along with his views on activism, software freedom, game development, and of course, life.
FG: Tell us a bit about yourself and your project to begin with.
Alex: My name is Alex Gleason and I'm making a game called Vegan on a Desert Island (VOADI). It's a puzzle-adventure game with emphasis on art, music, and storytelling. The game is about Rachel's journey, which I modeled after some events in my life involving animal rights activism I organized in real life, including all its conflict and turmoil. It's a linear story meant to be experienced once and leave a lasting impression.
FG: At a first glance, a vegan stranded on a desert island seems like an unusual concept to make a game about. Could you elaborate on how your experience in activism motivated you to create this project?
Alex: In conversations about veganism people often ask if we'd eat animals under dire circumstances, such as being stranded on a desert island. It's a ridiculous question that deserves a ridiculous answer, which is why I decided to develop VOADI.
The true answer is coconuts. In The Real Castaway, a woman in real life was stranded on an island for 9 months and survived entirely off of coconuts. To answer to the deeper question, it's the same question as if you'd be fine eating another human on a desert island. I believe that animals are people and there is fundamentally no difference. It's impossible to know what you'd really do, but it's not a black-and-white situation. It's okay to not have all the answers.
While developing the game I started to feel like a "vegan on a desert island" in a different way. The animal rights organization I founded collapsed on me. They took my home and crushed my dreams. I was the villain in their story and they were the villains in mine. This inspired me to create a more meaningful story in VOADI, reflecting what happened to me.
I redefined the character of Greybeard from being a classic evil-doer to an ambiguous villain. You're never sure whether he's really good or bad. Good vs evil is a false dichotomy that doesn't exist in real life and I wanted to reflect that in VOADI.
FG: Why did you decide to translate this particular experience of yours into a video game?
Alex: Unlike books or movies, video games force you to experience something yourself. I want players to take a step in my shoes for a minute. The downside is that I cannot guarantee they will actually enjoy it. Successful games make people feel happy, but a lot of VOADI is about misery. Some gameplay elements are even intentionally antagonizing to the player. I think this is balanced a bit by CosmicGem's cheery music and Siltocyn's meticulous pixel art. At the very least, I hope players will always be wondering what's coming next.
 |
| The game conflates serious ethical topics with ironic humor |
FG: What you just mentioned highlights a certain tendency in the video games industry to reward and empower players in a way they will feel good about themselves, which is a bit contradictory to the idea of art as a form of self-expression. Based on that, do you think there's enough interest or room for dissemination for this type of project?
Alex: VOADI is not a game for everyone, but a few people will deeply resonate with it. If that happens I'll consider the project a success.
FG: For such a personal background, so far the game has been presented as having a cheeky and humorous façade, with an ironic twist to it. Could you elaborate on the role of humor and how it has shaped the game so far?
Alex: I think humor itself is antagonistic. It's about subverting expectations, meaning there is a conflict between what your mind expects and what's really there. "Vegan on a desert island" is a ridiculous premise met with a sarcastic answer. The game is funny precisely because it's antagonistic. Part of that antagonism is in the way the game is presented: a cutesy colorful game about talking animals where very serious things happen.
FG: The project itself has been openly publicized as being a Free Software and Creative Commons endeavor. How did you first became familiar with both of these movements and how have they affected the development of VOADI?
Alex: Software freedom is a boycott, much like veganism. There's a lot of overlap between the communities because it's people who understand the concept of sacrificing something for the greater good. I still use copyleft licenses for all my works. It's a deep conviction I'll never change, and you can be sure everything we put out there will free culture approved.
Linux was a groundbreaking discovery because it defied everything I knew about people's incentives to create things. I thought software freedom didn't go far enough. Later I discovered Nina Paley, a copyright abolitionist, and her view that "copying is not theft" really resonated me. She is a personal hero of mine and an inspiration. In some ways I am quite literally following in her footsteps.
In terms of project impact, being Free software helped VOADI garner more widespread support. Daniel Molina is an amazing volunteer who joined the project to advance software freedom for gaming. I've received support from the sidelines as well, with people donating money and others doing small but important tasks like updating wiki pages and mirroring assets. It's pretty incredible how much people will help you without being asked if you put yourself out there and are willing to give back.
FG: Eventually this has taken you to present your project at LibrePlanet last March. How did that come to be?
Alex: I've been a member of the LibrePlanet community for years but never gave a talk. Last March the stars aligned. I didn't intend to give the talk originally, but I felt empowered by the people there. Lightning talks seem like a low-pressure way to showcase something you've been working on, and VOADI was received very well! Lightning talks at LibrePlanet are open to anyone on a first-come-first-serve basis after the conference starts. All you have to do is add your name to a list.
FG: Switching to more technical matters: You have been using the Solarus engine as a main development platform. How did you first hear about it and how has it helped making VOADI a reality?
Alex: Solarus has a map editor GUI making it a great tool for beginners. The Solarus community is vibrant and generous, always eager to help. It was developed by Christopho as a reimplementation of the game engine from Zelda: A Link to the Past, a game I was already very familiar with. I highly suggest Solarus to anyone new to the free gaming scene, looking to create their own games!
I used to love Zelda, especially the Game Boy Color titles. Nintendo is notorious for cease-and-desisting fan created works, which I think is unjust and counterproductive to a healthy society. I struggle to enjoy the games from my childhood because I'm too distracted by the fact that society would punish someone for deriving or extending works that they care deeply about. I see Solarus as a stepping stone towards creating a new ecosystem of free games that can hopefully touch people's hearts in a way that they'll want to extend and remix the game, and they'll be allowed to do so.
FG: VOADI notoriously bases most of its graphics style on a Creative Commons tileset (Zoria), but it also features original additions of its own, as well as original music. How did you go about sourcing an adequate free tileset, along with finding artists to fill in for the remaining necessities of the artwork pipeline?
Alex: Zoria tileset was found on OpenGameArt. I had been trying to make my own tileset, but knew I couldn't match that level of quality on my own.
Later I commissioned our tileset artist, Siltocyn, through an ad I posted on the /r/gameDevClassifieds subreddit. CosmicGem, our chiptune musician, was found through Fiverr. This has worked out really well for VOADI. It's amazing how much you can do with a small amount of money.
In both cases we switched to free platforms (email and Matrix) for communication. Reddit was the most effective at garnering attention for our gigs.
Originally I planned to make all contributors sign a waiver similar to the Apache contributor agreement, transferring their copyright to me. But the freelancers wanted to maintain their privacy (they didn't want to sign their name and address). So instead now there's a policy where all contributors must put the license on the deliverable file itself, or distribute it in a ZIP with the license.
For graphics we created these stamps that say stuff like "Siltocyn CC BY-SA 4.0" in a tiny font in the corner of the files
 |
| A glimpse into the development process |
FG: When are you planning to release the game, and in which formats will it be released?
Alex: I'm planning for a 2020 release for Linux, MacOS, and Windows. We'll consider more platforms depending on the reception (although anyone will be free to port it if they have the skills).
I'm planning to distribute the game on some proprietary platforms like Steam, Humble Bundle, etc. Those versions will have a price associated with it. I think of it as a "proprietary tax." Users in the free world will play the game gratis.
I'm also planning for a limited physical release on CD, which I'll cobble together at home using LightScribe disks, booklets I print myself, and used jewel cases from eBay. I mostly just want something to hold in my hands.
FG: Any tips for other Free Software or independent developers out there?
Alex:
- Put yourself out there.
- Good art and music goes a long way.
- Start it and don't stop.
FG: Alright, thank you very much for your time Alex.
Alex: Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Vegan on a Desert Island is set to be released in 2020. The project's code is licensed under the GPLv3, and al of the art assets are being released under CC-BY-Sa 4.0. If you would like to contribute to the project you can join development talks at VOADI's Riot channel or check their repository at Gitlab. You can also donate via the project's Patreon or Liberapay.
All of the images on this article are courtesy of Vegan on a Desert Island, released under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Got any comments? Post them on our forum thread.
Easy Mini-Campaigns Solo Miniature Wargaming (Part 4)
Campaigns are a good way to add way to add context and interest to wargames. The best ones are long running affairs with maps, histories, personalities and so on but these take a great deal of time, effort, discipline and imagination, more than I can muster to be honest. My real interest is in playing the games so when I want something more I play a "linked scenario" campaign by which I mean I play a series of games in which the result of one game has an affect on the next one.
First I pick a setting which basically means deciding which of my collections I'll use. This gives me the pool of units to choose from. A unit which is destroyed in one scenario cannot be reused in that campaign. If you have a large collection there is merit in setting an initial order of battle (ie a pool of available units) and only those units may be drawn from for a scenario. Most of my collections aren't that big individually so the whole lot are available as a pool of replacement units but of course that sometimes means replacing lost elite units with militia and so on.
Now, the scenarios don't actually need to be in a logical order. Ron and I have played some good mini-campaigns to win 2 games out of 3 but selected the games by using a random generator thingie to pick the next game from a list of scenarios he had entered on a spreadsheet on his computer. However, I prefer to go a step farther. Usually I like to start with a some form of surprise attack, a river crossing perhaps or an attack on an outpost but a straight clash of advance guards like Sawmill Village also works. The next battle will usually be a pitched battle. If one side lost the first game, I choose an attack/defence scenario with a smaller defender on a ridge line perhaps, if the first game was a tie then a straight up fight might be in order or a die roll to see who the attacker is. If one side wins the first two games then the last game will be a rear guard action, if both sides have won one of the games then fight another pitched battle, rolling to see if one side has an advantage such as a surprise or flank attack? That game will either decide the campaign or lead me to keep playing until one side wins or I get tired.
Back in 2012 Bluebear Jeff challenged blogging wargamers to design a linked scenario campaign and post them. I think I entered a suggestion but I know I took Steve the Wargamer's suggestion and greatly enjoyed it. I haven't done any research to confirm this but Jeff's suggestion may be where I got the idea.
Here is a link to Steve the Wargamer's linked teaser challenge entry and here is a link to my series of battle reports and summary (in reverse order as blogger does).
Last but not least here' the video I made of the first game:
Next posts more on the mini-campaign I am working on now.
 |
| The opening game of last Fall's Celebration Mini-campaign (click). (There are 11 posts but they appear in reverse order so please scroll down to start at the beginning. |
First I pick a setting which basically means deciding which of my collections I'll use. This gives me the pool of units to choose from. A unit which is destroyed in one scenario cannot be reused in that campaign. If you have a large collection there is merit in setting an initial order of battle (ie a pool of available units) and only those units may be drawn from for a scenario. Most of my collections aren't that big individually so the whole lot are available as a pool of replacement units but of course that sometimes means replacing lost elite units with militia and so on.
Now, the scenarios don't actually need to be in a logical order. Ron and I have played some good mini-campaigns to win 2 games out of 3 but selected the games by using a random generator thingie to pick the next game from a list of scenarios he had entered on a spreadsheet on his computer. However, I prefer to go a step farther. Usually I like to start with a some form of surprise attack, a river crossing perhaps or an attack on an outpost but a straight clash of advance guards like Sawmill Village also works. The next battle will usually be a pitched battle. If one side lost the first game, I choose an attack/defence scenario with a smaller defender on a ridge line perhaps, if the first game was a tie then a straight up fight might be in order or a die roll to see who the attacker is. If one side wins the first two games then the last game will be a rear guard action, if both sides have won one of the games then fight another pitched battle, rolling to see if one side has an advantage such as a surprise or flank attack? That game will either decide the campaign or lead me to keep playing until one side wins or I get tired.
Back in 2012 Bluebear Jeff challenged blogging wargamers to design a linked scenario campaign and post them. I think I entered a suggestion but I know I took Steve the Wargamer's suggestion and greatly enjoyed it. I haven't done any research to confirm this but Jeff's suggestion may be where I got the idea.
Here is a link to Steve the Wargamer's linked teaser challenge entry and here is a link to my series of battle reports and summary (in reverse order as blogger does).
Last but not least here' the video I made of the first game:
Next posts more on the mini-campaign I am working on now.
Oceanhorn 2: First Gameplay Video And Screenshots!
Since many of you can't make it to the Nordic Game conference in Malmö, Sweden – we decided to capture a video of our demo! The video is unedited footage that is captured on an actual iPhone 7 Plus.
If you happen to be in Nordic Game, come visit us at Epic's booth and try out the demo yourself! I will keep it short and let the video and screenshots speak for themselves.
If you happen to be in Nordic Game, come visit us at Epic's booth and try out the demo yourself! I will keep it short and let the video and screenshots speak for themselves.
 | |||
| Oceanhorn 2's Hero lives near ancient structure called Beacon. |
 |
| Try and catch me! |
 |
| Home sweet home and trusty old training dummy |
 |
| So this is why the treasure is still here! |
 |
| Arne Village is the starting location of Hero's adventures |
 |
| Hero can carry and throw all sorts of objects |
 |
| Owru houses |
 |
| Journey will take Hero around the world |
 |
| Galactoss will not suffer fools. Watch out for your healthbar! |
Suzy Cube, Available NOW!
#SuzyCube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity @NoodlecakeGames
The wait is finally over! Suzy Cube is now available! I want to take this opportunity to extend my most sincere thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.
Read more »
Orbits Of Planets
When I'm not feeling particularly inspired to work on a bigger project, I explore topics that might be useful later. I have been reading about planetary exploration, orbital mechanics, lunar chemistry, and other space topics. Along the way I found John Carlos Baez's blog post about the Pentagram of Venus. What a cool image! I wanted to try it myself. So I did.
Suzy Cube Update: May 25, 2018
#SuzyCube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity @NoodlecakeGames
My apologies! The day just flew right by and I only realized I forgot to write an update about three hour ago! Another packed week, but mostly bug fixes, so let's dive in!
Read more »
Everything You Need To Know About PUBG Season 5
It has been reported that PUBG's new update i.e., season 5 will be commenced very soon. The new update may bring new clothes, weapons, skins and especially
The Zombie Mode.
The time has come to say goodbye to season 4 and a great welcome to season 5 of PUBG.
It hasn't been officially declared but some reports and leaks suggest that the new season will bring out many features including new outfits, weaponry, skins and a Zombie mode.
It has been expected that PUBG Season 5 will have the following new contents :
1. ZOMBIE MODE :
Unlike in classic mode where the players have to fight alone or in a team, in the new Zombie Mode, the players have to survive against 98 different zombies in various gameplay modes. The zombie mode could be confined to a smaller modification of the Erangel map.
2. Apocalypse Theme :
PUBG season 5 will be accompanied by a brand new theme. Just like PUBG season 4 had a white theme similarly season 5 of PUBG could have a fire filled apocalypse theme that will supplement the Zombie mode.
3. New outfits/clothes :
As like the Vikendi update brought out warm costumes, the same way this apocalypse/zombie theme will have some clothes matching with the zombie mode.
4. New Weapons :
An update is incomplete without bringing any new guns. Some guns like G36C Submachinegun and PP-19 Bizon SMG are expected to introduce season 5.
Also, new skins for guns will also be available. This may include black and white dragon skin for the Kar98k, gold skin for the AKM and UMP etc.
Updated vehicle skins will include an ice-cream truck skin for vans and multi-colored dune buggy skin etc.
But the most important question is When will the update release? The answer is 'Though it is not officially announced but some reports say that PUBG update will start on or around Monday, Jan 21.' (Source: express.co.uk)
N.B. : The given date and data are subject to change since they are just supposed and not officially declared.
If you liked the post share the link
https://sudragamer.blogspot.com with all PUBG players and let them know about the Zombie update. Stay tuned to know more about the updates.
PUBG season 5 will be accompanied by a brand new theme. Just like PUBG season 4 had a white theme similarly season 5 of PUBG could have a fire filled apocalypse theme that will supplement the Zombie mode.
3. New outfits/clothes :
As like the Vikendi update brought out warm costumes, the same way this apocalypse/zombie theme will have some clothes matching with the zombie mode.
4. New Weapons :
An update is incomplete without bringing any new guns. Some guns like G36C Submachinegun and PP-19 Bizon SMG are expected to introduce season 5.
Also, new skins for guns will also be available. This may include black and white dragon skin for the Kar98k, gold skin for the AKM and UMP etc.
Updated vehicle skins will include an ice-cream truck skin for vans and multi-colored dune buggy skin etc.
But the most important question is When will the update release? The answer is 'Though it is not officially announced but some reports say that PUBG update will start on or around Monday, Jan 21.' (Source: express.co.uk)
N.B. : The given date and data are subject to change since they are just supposed and not officially declared.
If you liked the post share the link
https://sudragamer.blogspot.com with all PUBG players and let them know about the Zombie update. Stay tuned to know more about the updates.
Going Your Own Route
"Leave me alone and let me go to hell by my own route."
I love open world adventure games like Runebound, Fortune and Glory, and the mother of them all, Talisman. I also love the historical western genre, and have often found myself wishing, "if only there were a wild west version of Talisman..."
Well, now there is. Western Legends took Kickstarter by storm last year, billing itself as a wild west sandbox board game, and for the most part it delivers on that promise.
Players take on the roles of legendary historical figures such as Doc Holliday, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, or even lesser known characters like Bass Reeves or Y. B. Rowdy (this game does a better job than most at equal representation, with nearly half of the playable characters being women or people of color). The object of the game is to roam the countryside earning "Legendary Points" towards a goal determined by the length of game the players decide on at the start.
Players can earn points by prospecting for gold or herding cattle, but the real meat of the game is in the decision to either follow a path of law and order as a Marshal, or become a Wanted outlaw. Marshals spend the game tracking down non-player bandits as well as players who have gone renegade, facing off in combat via a clever poker-based game mechanic. Outlaws can choose to rob the bank, steal cattle, but have to watch out for player Marshals as well as a non-player Sheriff, because getting caught will force them to pay a hefty fine and set them back to the start of the outlaw track. Players can even switch careers midway through the game -- you aren't locked into a single course of action and can switch gears as needed.
The problem with a lot of open world games is that it's often difficult for players to figure out what they should be doing. Western Legends deals with this through several goal-oriented game mechanics. First of all, each player character comes with a set of goal cards outlining fairly simple tasks to perform such as winning fights or rustling cattle. There is also a story deck, which rewards players who achieve certain goals with bonus points or equipment as well as a bit of back story.
If I have any problem with Western Legends it's that it doesn't really shine at lower player counts. Playing the game with two requires the use of a third character, the Man in Black, whose actions are determined by a random set of cards. It works, but the game is a lot more fun with a full table of 4-5 players so Marshals have plenty of outlaws to chase, and outlaws have plenty of other outlaws to distract the Marshal...
Rating: 5 (out of 5) a terrific game that does exactly what it set out to do, which is to provide open-ended board game adventures in the wild west.
– "Calamity" Jane Cannary, shortly before her death in Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1903.
Well, now there is. Western Legends took Kickstarter by storm last year, billing itself as a wild west sandbox board game, and for the most part it delivers on that promise.
Players take on the roles of legendary historical figures such as Doc Holliday, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, or even lesser known characters like Bass Reeves or Y. B. Rowdy (this game does a better job than most at equal representation, with nearly half of the playable characters being women or people of color). The object of the game is to roam the countryside earning "Legendary Points" towards a goal determined by the length of game the players decide on at the start.
Players can earn points by prospecting for gold or herding cattle, but the real meat of the game is in the decision to either follow a path of law and order as a Marshal, or become a Wanted outlaw. Marshals spend the game tracking down non-player bandits as well as players who have gone renegade, facing off in combat via a clever poker-based game mechanic. Outlaws can choose to rob the bank, steal cattle, but have to watch out for player Marshals as well as a non-player Sheriff, because getting caught will force them to pay a hefty fine and set them back to the start of the outlaw track. Players can even switch careers midway through the game -- you aren't locked into a single course of action and can switch gears as needed.
The problem with a lot of open world games is that it's often difficult for players to figure out what they should be doing. Western Legends deals with this through several goal-oriented game mechanics. First of all, each player character comes with a set of goal cards outlining fairly simple tasks to perform such as winning fights or rustling cattle. There is also a story deck, which rewards players who achieve certain goals with bonus points or equipment as well as a bit of back story.
If I have any problem with Western Legends it's that it doesn't really shine at lower player counts. Playing the game with two requires the use of a third character, the Man in Black, whose actions are determined by a random set of cards. It works, but the game is a lot more fun with a full table of 4-5 players so Marshals have plenty of outlaws to chase, and outlaws have plenty of other outlaws to distract the Marshal...
Rating: 5 (out of 5) a terrific game that does exactly what it set out to do, which is to provide open-ended board game adventures in the wild west.
- Western Legends official website
- Western Legends on Board Game Geek
HOTT 52 - Relearning The Rules For The First Two Weeks.
I played two games of HOTT (Hordes of the Things) this weekend, to do my first two weeks' games for the HOTT 52 challenge. I'm now caught up so that I can do a "game a week" - I've got things set up so I can quickly generate a battlefield and two opposing armies, based on my Etinerra campaign world. Currently, I only have humans, orcs and goblins. I guess I might now have some motivation to get some elves, halflings and chaos humans!
So what happened in these battles?
The human army watches nervously as the orcs march over the plains grasslands towards them. The humans are set up to defend their encampment. The orcs have brought a mountain ogre with them, truly a fearsome behemoth! The humans have a flock of Giant Ravens, which they immediately set loose into the air!
The armies slowly approach each other. The orc and goblin archers quickly shoot down the Giant Ravens that the humans sent to their right flank. Knights of the Duchy make to follow.
With a bone-shattering roar, the mountain ogre charges the humans commander and knights on their right flank! The knights are able to withstand the charge and flank the beast, dispatching it! The orcs and goblins howl in dismay!
The orcs seek to close to combat, with their left side spear turning to face the flank attack by the human's commander and knights! On their right side, the orc and goblin archers rain arrows on the approaching human knights.
The bestials join in combat against the human spearmen center! While the knights seek to press their advantage to the orc's left, on the right, the situation grows more dire for the knights, who are falling to the orc's and goblin's deadly missile fire and skirmishing attacks.
The bestials press their successful attacks to the human's left, having defeated the knights and then the militia bowmen! The lines of combat dissolve into chaos, but the human spear and commander's knights are too much and the orcs lose their warchief and half of their forces!
Their attack blunted, the bestials sound the horns of retreat and melt away into the plains, leaving the humans to regroup and count their losses.
I set up this game to be simple with no terrain, so that I could focus on remembering the rules. There were a few things I had forgotten and needed to remember in playing HOTT, such as Knights pursue if they destroy their enemies or force them to recoil. I also had to remember that if a stand is in support of another stand, and the front stand is destroyed, the supporting stand is lost as well!
There was a lot of pushing and shoving in the center, it was the action on the flanks that made all the difference!
I've created a different version of my HOTT reference sheet for my use. If you're interested, it's here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13-9aZ1NurA6ZzRK4_Bj04bmNYYMirzewK1G_uZZ2SmU/edit?usp=sharing
This document is geared towards my campaign world and the forces I would normally use. I put all of the HOTT units on the last page, in case you want to use that instead.
The orcs were on the move again and threatening the human's castle. The human commander assembled her forces as best as she could, given the woods to the right of the castle and the marshland to the front. She sent in her doughty (and apparently invisible! [grin]) warbands into the swamp to hold the center.
The orcs sent their riders around the woods to wait for the right opportunity to press the attack, or disrupt the human's defense by being a possible threat. The human's command and knights took watch, leaving the rest of the troops to defend the line. The orc line approached.
The humans held steady, raining missile fire on to the orcs flanks, consisting of their heavy blades, while the goblin warbands approached the marshes.
Then, in a complete surprise, when the orc line rushed to attack, the unit of blades that the orc warchief was in suffered a grievous defeat! The bestials were dismayed and the attack faltered as they retreated.
I had also forgotten that in HOTT 1.2, if you kill the opposite side's general and they've lost more AP than you have, then you win! When the orcs roll a 1 and the humans roll a 6, bad things will happen. It was a quick kill, but a fun game. I am going to replay this same scenario and even perhaps the same strategies and see how the battle turns out differently... keeping my generals safe however!
I also realize how silly my empty warband stands look, so today, I made an order with Splintered Light for their Late Saxon Fyrd set - twelve 15mm figures. This will give me four human warband stands, more than enough for future battles against the bestial armies!
Question for you, my loyal henchfolk, if you've made it this far. Do you like this style of recap - where I set it as if it were a journal of the battle?
I enjoy reading and writing this style of recap, but I know that recaps can be hard for many to enjoy. To me, thinking about the battle in terms of how the campaign world would see it and record it into history is interesting!
So what happened in these battles?
The human army watches nervously as the orcs march over the plains grasslands towards them. The humans are set up to defend their encampment. The orcs have brought a mountain ogre with them, truly a fearsome behemoth! The humans have a flock of Giant Ravens, which they immediately set loose into the air!
The armies slowly approach each other. The orc and goblin archers quickly shoot down the Giant Ravens that the humans sent to their right flank. Knights of the Duchy make to follow.
With a bone-shattering roar, the mountain ogre charges the humans commander and knights on their right flank! The knights are able to withstand the charge and flank the beast, dispatching it! The orcs and goblins howl in dismay!
The orcs seek to close to combat, with their left side spear turning to face the flank attack by the human's commander and knights! On their right side, the orc and goblin archers rain arrows on the approaching human knights.
The bestials join in combat against the human spearmen center! While the knights seek to press their advantage to the orc's left, on the right, the situation grows more dire for the knights, who are falling to the orc's and goblin's deadly missile fire and skirmishing attacks.
The bestials press their successful attacks to the human's left, having defeated the knights and then the militia bowmen! The lines of combat dissolve into chaos, but the human spear and commander's knights are too much and the orcs lose their warchief and half of their forces!
Their attack blunted, the bestials sound the horns of retreat and melt away into the plains, leaving the humans to regroup and count their losses.
I set up this game to be simple with no terrain, so that I could focus on remembering the rules. There were a few things I had forgotten and needed to remember in playing HOTT, such as Knights pursue if they destroy their enemies or force them to recoil. I also had to remember that if a stand is in support of another stand, and the front stand is destroyed, the supporting stand is lost as well!
There was a lot of pushing and shoving in the center, it was the action on the flanks that made all the difference!
I've created a different version of my HOTT reference sheet for my use. If you're interested, it's here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13-9aZ1NurA6ZzRK4_Bj04bmNYYMirzewK1G_uZZ2SmU/edit?usp=sharing
This document is geared towards my campaign world and the forces I would normally use. I put all of the HOTT units on the last page, in case you want to use that instead.
The orcs were on the move again and threatening the human's castle. The human commander assembled her forces as best as she could, given the woods to the right of the castle and the marshland to the front. She sent in her doughty (and apparently invisible! [grin]) warbands into the swamp to hold the center.
The orcs sent their riders around the woods to wait for the right opportunity to press the attack, or disrupt the human's defense by being a possible threat. The human's command and knights took watch, leaving the rest of the troops to defend the line. The orc line approached.
The humans held steady, raining missile fire on to the orcs flanks, consisting of their heavy blades, while the goblin warbands approached the marshes.
Then, in a complete surprise, when the orc line rushed to attack, the unit of blades that the orc warchief was in suffered a grievous defeat! The bestials were dismayed and the attack faltered as they retreated.
I had also forgotten that in HOTT 1.2, if you kill the opposite side's general and they've lost more AP than you have, then you win! When the orcs roll a 1 and the humans roll a 6, bad things will happen. It was a quick kill, but a fun game. I am going to replay this same scenario and even perhaps the same strategies and see how the battle turns out differently... keeping my generals safe however!
I also realize how silly my empty warband stands look, so today, I made an order with Splintered Light for their Late Saxon Fyrd set - twelve 15mm figures. This will give me four human warband stands, more than enough for future battles against the bestial armies!
Question for you, my loyal henchfolk, if you've made it this far. Do you like this style of recap - where I set it as if it were a journal of the battle?
I enjoy reading and writing this style of recap, but I know that recaps can be hard for many to enjoy. To me, thinking about the battle in terms of how the campaign world would see it and record it into history is interesting!
Square Tiling Of A Sphere, Part 1/3
I almost always work on 2D game maps, but occasionally I get intrigued by planetary maps. I'd like to make a planet that uses a grid. The topology of a sphere requires a few things:
- Moving east or west you eventually wrap around the world → easy
- Moving north/south you eventually reach a pole, and then all directions are south/north → medium
- Wrapping around the world east/west is shorter near the poles than near the equator → hard
Some grid games like Civilization will let you wrap east/west but not north/south. That acts like a cylinder, not a sphere. And some grid games will let you wrap north/south just like you wrap east/west. That acts like a torus, not a sphere. A tile grid game that acts like a sphere is hard!
A few years ago I played with hexagons covering a sphere. The main idea was that although there are some pentagons scattered around, we can hide them by making the map generator produce impassable terrain (deep oceans, inaccessible mountains, lava, etc.) in those areas, so you can never get close to the pentagons. Also, we have to divide the planet into regions that get shuffled around as you move around. While I was working on that I found some other things I wanted to try, but I didn't try them right away. Why?
I have three kinds of projects:
- My "main" projects (hexagonal grids, pathfinding, etc.) are about making high quality explanations. I'll spend a lot of time on these. I usually understand the topic reasonably well.
- My "gamejam" projects like this one are about exploring new things. I'll spend a limited amount of time (hour, day, or week) on these. I usually don't understand the topic that well.
- My "art" projects are about making something that looks cool.
Since I limit my time on each of the "gamejam" style projects (marked with an /x/ in the URL), once I run out of time, I'll stop, and make a list of things I want to explore later. For the hexagons-on-a-sphere project, I wanted to try squares-on-a-sphere, but didn't have time. I decided to explore that topic last week. I started with HEALPix, a layout used by NASA for placing quadrilaterals on a sphere, but I concluded that it's overkill for my needs. NASA also has the COBE quadrilateralized cube, and there are several other layouts to try. But I'm out of time, so those will be in a future "gamejam" style project. As often happens, I realize towards the end that I should've read more papers first, but sometimes I don't know what to look for until after I've tried implementing something.
Read about covering a sphere in square tiles
UCLan Games Design Projects With GSM Research Group
Latest News from Paresh Parmar: Head of International Development & Partnerships for School of Art, Design & Fashion at University of Central Lancashire.
'We are grateful that 2019 gave us (GSM - Global Sound Movement) the opportunity to present our working concepts on cultural preservation at the '2019 British Science Festive Press Conference'. Happy to share that it caught the eye of some top press. The Virtual Reality Hani Drum was sighted as innovation in cultural preservation. Thanks to Josh Taylor, Josh Write & Bev Bush 'BA (Hons) Games Design' at UCLan. You really helped us push the boundaries. Josh Wright and Josh Taylor from UCLan Games Design developed the VR Hani Drum. Now people can actually play this ancient drum, without damaging it, our travelling to the distant mountains of the Yunnan, China. Watch the clip, more coming soon...'
GSM on BBC North West Tonight - 18 Sept 2019.
This research is part of a collaboration with The Global Sound Movement. Audiences can interact in a unique way with GSM sampled sounds from the drums of the Hani Tribe in China to create an embroidery pattern which celebrates their rhythms and traditional costume designs.
"Can gamification be used as an interactive and transformative tool for artistic expression to engage learning, encourage appreciation and to illustrate traditional, historical and cultural related experience?"
Advertising designer Elliot Harris' animated film of 2002, 'Burberry-Rain' identifies the 4 – dimensional properties of Burberry fabric. In 2013 Sophia George developed a game based on 'The Strawberry Thief' which re-vitalized the art of William Morris. The Hani App moves beyond re-vitalization of a design to involve interaction with sound and illustration of traditional crafts, exploring the use of digital tools to create unique artefacts. This acknowledges and records ideas and objects which may otherwise be lost or forgotten.
'The Art of Computer Game Design.'(Crawford, C. 1997)
'Play, Games and Gamification in Contemporary Art Museums.'(Romualdo, S. 2013)
'Gamification in the Arts.' (Bouchard, A. 2014)
We're Launching An Official Discord Server!
Join our server here!
Frictional Games is a distant and cryptic game developer, quietly tinkering with unspeakable horrors in the darkest depths of Europe. Yet over the past while we have been chipping away at that image, exposing a softer core. And now we're ready for the final nail in the coffin of mystery: an official Frictional Games Discord server, where you can talk directly to us, or to other fans!
We hope that having a fluid, shared space like this will help casual and hardcore fans alike connect over topics that interest them, from lore conversations to sharing the cutest K8 plushie sewing patterns, from best uses of AddUseItemCallback to fanfiction tips. And, of course, anything and everything Frictional Games.
Aside from community-centered involvement, we hope to bring us developers closer to you with events like Ask Me Anything threads, and an occasional casual chat. Who knows what else the future will bring?
Upon launch the server includes channels for:
- Frictional's news, sales and patch notes,
- Discussions about SOMA, Amnesia games, Penumbra games and Frictional Games in general,
- Showcasing your mods and other fan creations like art, cosplay and videos,
- Connecting with peers and discussing modding, creating fanart, or how to avoid overheating when wearing a Grunt suit,
- Social media feeds,
- Buying our games directly from Discord.
To celebrate the launch, all our games are heavily discounted at the Discord store pages.
Welcome!
PS. We are open to getting a few more members for our moderator team, especially persons to balance out the majority of men. Contact community etc manager Kira for more details!
Blender 2.80 Released, Gets Industry Sponsorship
The amazing libre 3D modeling tool Blender needs no introductions at this point. Suffice to say that what began as a humble Free Software alternative to most heavy-duty proprietary 3D software is slowly becoming a new industry standard. The newly released version 2.80 is a testimonial of this.
The new release adds not only a much needed upgrade to the UI, but along comes an improved real time renderer and much more. All new features and improvements can be checked here.
Finally, some of you might have already heard in the past few weeks the gaming industry titans Epic Games and Ubisoft have officially began sponsoring the Blender foundation with grant funds. These are welcoming news since it means Blender will only see better and more regular updates from increased sources of income. Even if the money comes from proprietary software business, libre developers alike can also reap the benefits.
Blender can be downloaded for free on its official download page.
Code license: GPLv2
Via GamingOnLinux.
Got comments? Post them on our forum thread.
Physics Book Face Off: The Hidden Reality Vs. Parallel Worlds
It has been an awfully long time since my last Physics Book Face Off, and that's mostly because it seems that I read pop physics books very slowly. I haven't even gotten into the real physics books that I eventually plan to read on relativity, string theory, and the like, but that's okay because I'm still enjoying these gentle forays into the technical details of the universe. For this pair of physics books, I dug into the idea of multiple universes with The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene and Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku. Physicists have a bunch of different ideas about the possibility of other universes lying outside our own, and both of these books, by authors I've read before, set out to explore those wide-ranging ideas.
Let's not let that small failing get in the way of learning about the possibilities that Greene covers in this book, where he goes through nine different possibilities for multiple universes, otherwise known as the multiverse. He starts out simply by describing how we know that the universe we live in is far larger than what we can see, even through our most powerful telescopes. Because there is more universe that lies beyond what we can observe, we can consider that part of the universe separate from ours, giving us a patchwork quilt of universes, each containing its own galaxies, stars, and solar systems.
Assuming the universe is infinite leads to the conclusion that all possible configurations of solar systems, planets, and molecules would exist throughout the expanse of the universe, so there would be multiple copies of you and me inhabiting far off planets just like Earth that we would never be able to see. That's pretty incredible to think about, but things get weirder.
The inflationary universe is pretty well-accepted in the physics community today. The universe starts out with an inflationary period before the Big Bang where space is expanding at an incredible exponential rate. For some reason that scientists haven't worked out, yet, our region of space slowed down, the Big Bang occurred, and our universe developed. It follows that there are regions of space outside of our universe that are still in the inflationary state, and there are other universes separate from ours that have also fallen out of that state, giving us an inflationary multiverse.
At this point in the book, Greene introduces string theory along with some justifications and arguments in favor of it. Some of these arguments are surprisingly weak, such as:
He starts out with a discussion of what we now know about how the universe came to be. The Big Bang wasn't actually the beginning, and was preceded by at least a small fraction of a second of an inflationary period where empty space expanded at a tremendous rate before matter was created in the Big Bang. Kaku sometimes gets a little loose with his language, for example describing the Big Bang as a "fiery explosion." It wasn't an explosion of any kind remotely like what we're used to, since it was the creation of matter and anti-matter at temperatures and energies so high that not even protons and neutrons could form, only fundamental particles.
Some of the theories are out of date as well, as we see in Kaku's assumption that the Big Bang happened at a singularity. As described in The Hidden Reality, it is now believed that empty space was rapidly expanding everywhere in an inflationary state, and a localized area that would become our universe dropped out of that inflationary state, triggering the Big Bang and the creation of the matter, radiation, and energy that makes up the universe today. It wasn't a singularity, but a much larger area of unknown extent that expanded at a much slower rate after the Big Bang, and likely continues well beyond the visible extent of the universe.
Kaku incorrectly puts the inflationary period after the Big Bang, but we can excuse the inaccuracy since it was discoveries occurring after this book was published that corrected that perspective. The discussion of inflation leads to the first type of parallel universe we encounter in the book: the inaccessible universe just outside the visible universe. Because the universe is still expanding, meaning every point in space is moving away from us, and points farther away are moving faster, there is a horizon where space and everything in it is moving away from us faster than the speed of light. We will never be able to reach galaxies that far away, so it is as if they exist in a different universe, albeit one with the same physics as our universe.
Another potential separate universe exists within black holes, since they are created from matter having collapsed into a singularity from extreme gravity. All that matter at the singularity could be a new universe, or because the gravity is so immense at the singularity that it tears spacetime, there could be another universe at the other end of the black hole. This alternate universe is also inaccessible, and the reasons why are fascinating:
Things get more wild and crazy from there. Kaku goes on to explore the Many Worlds hypothesis with every possible quantum mechanical variation resulting in another possible universe, invisible membrane universes that exist right alongside our that result from M-theory (Greene called them Brane universes), and discussions of how to escape the universe and travel faster than the speed of light. Some of the discussions are quite fantastical, but it's always easy to tell when he's deviated from accepted theory into speculation even if he doesn't say so directly.
Parallel Worlds ends up being a fun romp through some known physics and some wild science fiction. The stories, explanations, and discussions are always entertaining, even if they sometimes deviate from being entirely accurate. It's good to expand your horizons and let your thoughts run free every once in a while, and this was a great book for doing just that.
Both of these books covered a lot of the same ground, with most of the same multiverses represented, but described from different perspectives. This is a good thing! Getting multiple points of view on any concept allows us to compare and contrast, learn the nuances more deeply, and get a better understanding from differing explanations. The Hidden Reality included a few extra multiverses, like the Simulated Multiverse and the Ultimate Multiverse. Parallel Worlds took diversions into other areas like how we could theoretically escape our own universe and visit other ones. They were both quite entertaining reads, and definitely worth a look.
 | VS. |  |
The Hidden Reality
Having thoroughly enjoyed The Elegant Universe, I had high hopes for this book, and Brian Greene did not disappoint. His clear and thoughtful explanations of complex topics in physics again made for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. However, it is important to be careful and pay attention when he's discussing string theory, because he's prone to exaggerating the conclusions that can be drawn from the theory as it stands, lacking in essential evidence.Let's not let that small failing get in the way of learning about the possibilities that Greene covers in this book, where he goes through nine different possibilities for multiple universes, otherwise known as the multiverse. He starts out simply by describing how we know that the universe we live in is far larger than what we can see, even through our most powerful telescopes. Because there is more universe that lies beyond what we can observe, we can consider that part of the universe separate from ours, giving us a patchwork quilt of universes, each containing its own galaxies, stars, and solar systems.
Assuming the universe is infinite leads to the conclusion that all possible configurations of solar systems, planets, and molecules would exist throughout the expanse of the universe, so there would be multiple copies of you and me inhabiting far off planets just like Earth that we would never be able to see. That's pretty incredible to think about, but things get weirder.
The inflationary universe is pretty well-accepted in the physics community today. The universe starts out with an inflationary period before the Big Bang where space is expanding at an incredible exponential rate. For some reason that scientists haven't worked out, yet, our region of space slowed down, the Big Bang occurred, and our universe developed. It follows that there are regions of space outside of our universe that are still in the inflationary state, and there are other universes separate from ours that have also fallen out of that state, giving us an inflationary multiverse.
At this point in the book, Greene introduces string theory along with some justifications and arguments in favor of it. Some of these arguments are surprisingly weak, such as:
As of today, then, the most promising positive experimental results would most likely not be able to definitively prove string theory right, while negative results would most likely not be able to prove string theory wrong.
This argument is essentially saying string theory is unprovable, at least with foreseeable and feasible technology. It's not a very convincing or satisfying argument, and it ends up putting on airs of complete speculation for the next three types of multiverses.
The first such multiverse is the brane multiverse, which speculates that our universe is contained on a brane—a 3-dimensional construct that exists within a higher dimension—and there are other branes containing other universes all around ours. The second string theory multiverse is a cyclical multiverse that occurs when brane universes collide, setting off another Big Bang and the creation of another universe. The last string theory multiverse combines the inflationary multiverse with brane universes, resulting in the idea that different universes within the multiverse landscape could have different string properties, and thus different numbers of dimensions or physical constants.
After the string theory multiverses, Greene delves into Quantum Mechanics and explores the Many Worlds hypothesis that follows from the statistical quantum nature of reality. The (very brief) argument goes as follows: since all particles have wave functions and their properties are not definitively known, all possible values of those wave functions are indeed possible and are a reality in some universe in existence. The combinatorial explosion involved in this multiverse is incredibly mind-boggling, but there it is.
Next, we come to one of my favorite multiverses, the holographic multiverse. Greene describes this multiverse especially well, starting with part of the introduction:
The final two multiverses were nearly as interesting. One being the simulated multiverse, with the idea being that our universe is actually a simulation, and there are innumerable other simulated universes going on as well. The arguments here are especially hand-wavy, of course. This one tries to rationalize the simulation by saying that simulations and artificial life within our universe would necessarily prove that we are also, in fact, part of a simulation:
The first such multiverse is the brane multiverse, which speculates that our universe is contained on a brane—a 3-dimensional construct that exists within a higher dimension—and there are other branes containing other universes all around ours. The second string theory multiverse is a cyclical multiverse that occurs when brane universes collide, setting off another Big Bang and the creation of another universe. The last string theory multiverse combines the inflationary multiverse with brane universes, resulting in the idea that different universes within the multiverse landscape could have different string properties, and thus different numbers of dimensions or physical constants.
After the string theory multiverses, Greene delves into Quantum Mechanics and explores the Many Worlds hypothesis that follows from the statistical quantum nature of reality. The (very brief) argument goes as follows: since all particles have wave functions and their properties are not definitively known, all possible values of those wave functions are indeed possible and are a reality in some universe in existence. The combinatorial explosion involved in this multiverse is incredibly mind-boggling, but there it is.
Next, we come to one of my favorite multiverses, the holographic multiverse. Greene describes this multiverse especially well, starting with part of the introduction:
Arguably the strangest parallel world entrant, the holographic principle envisions that all we experience may be fully and equivalently described as the comings and goings that take place at a thin and remote locus. It says that if we could understand the laws that govern physics on that distant surface, and the way phenomena there link to experience here, we would grasp all there is to know about reality. A version of Plato's shadow world—a parallel but thoroughly unfamiliar encapsulation of everyday phenomena—would be reality.Then he goes into the reasoning of how black holes' size is determined by the amount of information that can be contained on the surface area of the event horizon and is directly related to the mass within that surface. The arguments of other scientists are used to generalize this result:
Susskind and 't Hooft stressed that the lesson should be general: since the information required to describe physical phenomena within any given region of space can be fully encoded by data on a surface that surrounds the region, then there's reason to think that the surface is where the fundamental physical processes actually happen.And Greene concludes:
If this line of reasoning is correct, then there are physical processes taking place on some distant surface that, much like a puppeteer pulls strings, are fully linked to the processes taking place in my fingers, arms, and brain as I type these words at my desk. Our experiences here, and that distant reality there, would form the most interlocked of parallel worlds.I found the discussion of how information is encoded on the event horizon of black holes especially fascinating, and he also had plenty to say about how time and possibly even causality can be distorted around black holes. Every time I read something new about black holes, I realize more how little I understand these exceptionally strange objects. I also get the sense that nobody really understands them, and there are many more questions than answers about just what happens in and around black holes.
The final two multiverses were nearly as interesting. One being the simulated multiverse, with the idea being that our universe is actually a simulation, and there are innumerable other simulated universes going on as well. The arguments here are especially hand-wavy, of course. This one tries to rationalize the simulation by saying that simulations and artificial life within our universe would necessarily prove that we are also, in fact, part of a simulation:
One future day, a cosmic census that takes account of all sentient beings might find that the number of flesh-and-blood humans pales in comparison with those made of chips and bytes, or their future equivalents. And, Bostrom reasons, if the ratio of simulated humans to real humans were colossal, then brute statistics suggests that we are not in a real universe. The odds would overwhelmingly favor the conclusion that you and I and everyone else are living within a simulation, perhaps one created by future historians with a fascination for what life was like back on twenty-first-century earth.I'm not really sure why that would follow, but it still gets the mind turning just reading about these ideas. The last multiverse is fittingly called the Ultimate Multiverse, and it encompasses all of the multiverses already discussed as well as any other that can ever be conceived. I thought the justification for these imagined universes being reality just because they could be thought up was a bit weak, but reading about the ideas for the different universes was mind-expanding, as was this entire book. Greene is a great scientific writer, with his descriptions and explanations being quite clear and understandable. I've found his works to be pleasantly approachable and always good for taking my mind out for a stroll through wondrous physics concepts. The Hidden Reality is no different, and I highly recommend it.
Parallel Worlds
As the subtitle suggests, this book is about a little more than just multiple universes, adding in entire sections on the early history of the universe as well as predictions of how the universe will develop in the future. Michio Kaku's writing is just as understandable and approachable as Greene's, and he covers a lot of ground in his discussions of the potential of the muliverse.He starts out with a discussion of what we now know about how the universe came to be. The Big Bang wasn't actually the beginning, and was preceded by at least a small fraction of a second of an inflationary period where empty space expanded at a tremendous rate before matter was created in the Big Bang. Kaku sometimes gets a little loose with his language, for example describing the Big Bang as a "fiery explosion." It wasn't an explosion of any kind remotely like what we're used to, since it was the creation of matter and anti-matter at temperatures and energies so high that not even protons and neutrons could form, only fundamental particles.
Some of the theories are out of date as well, as we see in Kaku's assumption that the Big Bang happened at a singularity. As described in The Hidden Reality, it is now believed that empty space was rapidly expanding everywhere in an inflationary state, and a localized area that would become our universe dropped out of that inflationary state, triggering the Big Bang and the creation of the matter, radiation, and energy that makes up the universe today. It wasn't a singularity, but a much larger area of unknown extent that expanded at a much slower rate after the Big Bang, and likely continues well beyond the visible extent of the universe.
Kaku incorrectly puts the inflationary period after the Big Bang, but we can excuse the inaccuracy since it was discoveries occurring after this book was published that corrected that perspective. The discussion of inflation leads to the first type of parallel universe we encounter in the book: the inaccessible universe just outside the visible universe. Because the universe is still expanding, meaning every point in space is moving away from us, and points farther away are moving faster, there is a horizon where space and everything in it is moving away from us faster than the speed of light. We will never be able to reach galaxies that far away, so it is as if they exist in a different universe, albeit one with the same physics as our universe.
Another potential separate universe exists within black holes, since they are created from matter having collapsed into a singularity from extreme gravity. All that matter at the singularity could be a new universe, or because the gravity is so immense at the singularity that it tears spacetime, there could be another universe at the other end of the black hole. This alternate universe is also inaccessible, and the reasons why are fascinating:
The crushed-to-death reason is obvious, but the fact that time stops as well was new to me. Because time slows down as gravity increases, from an outside observer's point of view, someone falling into a black hole would never actually reach it. However, from the victim's point of view, time for them would continue as normal and the time of the rest of the universe around them would speed up considerably. They would literally see the universe flash before their eyes as they were crushed by the black hole. Ouch.Moreover, you would be crushed to death if you ever fell into one. And since one could never pass through the magic sphere (since time has stopped), no one could ever enter this parallel universe.
Things get more wild and crazy from there. Kaku goes on to explore the Many Worlds hypothesis with every possible quantum mechanical variation resulting in another possible universe, invisible membrane universes that exist right alongside our that result from M-theory (Greene called them Brane universes), and discussions of how to escape the universe and travel faster than the speed of light. Some of the discussions are quite fantastical, but it's always easy to tell when he's deviated from accepted theory into speculation even if he doesn't say so directly.
Parallel Worlds ends up being a fun romp through some known physics and some wild science fiction. The stories, explanations, and discussions are always entertaining, even if they sometimes deviate from being entirely accurate. It's good to expand your horizons and let your thoughts run free every once in a while, and this was a great book for doing just that.
Both of these books covered a lot of the same ground, with most of the same multiverses represented, but described from different perspectives. This is a good thing! Getting multiple points of view on any concept allows us to compare and contrast, learn the nuances more deeply, and get a better understanding from differing explanations. The Hidden Reality included a few extra multiverses, like the Simulated Multiverse and the Ultimate Multiverse. Parallel Worlds took diversions into other areas like how we could theoretically escape our own universe and visit other ones. They were both quite entertaining reads, and definitely worth a look.
Assinar:
Postagens (Atom)
See video : GSM on BBC North West Tonight - 18 Sept 2019