Hello Thelonius
WordPress 3.0 “Thelonius” has dropped and all is right and good in the world. Thanks to Matt Mullenweg and all of the hard working WP devs. My upgrade experience on this site and on a WPMU/BuddyPress site I have in development went as smooth as silk. Looking forward to fully exploiting all of the 3.0 goodness in the near future.
Mobile Streaming Kit (MSK)
A lot of folks have asked for more details about the Mobile Streaming Kit (MSK) that we used at NAB 2010 and on the set of Marty Rosenberg’s film. In the most recent episode of Gear Media Tech, Alex breaks it all down for you in under five minutes. And, you get to see some big bald guy lugging it around after a day on the floor of NAB. ;^D
At some point in the near future, we’ll produce a more in depth video that provides greater detail on the rig itself. We’ll also include some lessons learned from the field and some cool insight on the forthcoming HD version of the LiveU unit.
Peace,
Doug
Making Movie History
Doug Daulton, Pixel Corps Camera Operator. Photo by Tom Anderson
This past weekend, everyone on the set of Martin Rosenberg’s new supernatural thriller found out that we were making movie history. While many other films have had crews on hand for “behind the scenes” footage, no other production maintained live video streams throughout the course of the shoot.
As the principal camera operator and stream “wrangler” for the Pixel Corps crew, it was my job to keep the signal alive, but I had a lot of help, starting with Carolyn Stampeen, our Producer for the shoot. Carolyn managed every detail of our shooting with great professionalism. Kevin Hansen also ran camera for two nights. Suzanne Llewellyn set up and ran interviews and coordinated press coverage, Tom Anderson was invaluable in many roles, not the least of which was sound and John Riley provided key logistical support back at the office. In addition to shooting video for the stream, we also shot many stills and some of HD footage that may be later used by the film makers and in future Pixel Corps challenges.
While none of us set out to make movie history, this experience just goes to show what can happen when you work hard at things you love. Everyone on the Pixel Corps crew owes a big thank you to Martin Rosenberg, his co-producers Peter Adams, Peter Bailey & Rod Hartzog, our boss & mentor Alex Lindsay, the cast & crew of the film and the staff of Preston Castle. This has been an amazing experience and we are glad to have been a part of it.
Peace,
Doug
WordPress Shortcode for File Inclusion
I have a project that requires a lot of complex, yet static Pages in WordPress … think lots of tabular data with heavy CSS styling. This sort of content is best written in an external editor like Zend IDE or Dreamweaver and then dropped into WordPress.
However, if you’ve ever done this, testing the page as you develop it is a huge pain in the backside. It involves cutting and pasting from the editor to WP … saving and refreshing … make changes in the external editor … rinse and repeat.
Not fun. Not efficient.
The solution is fairly straightforward — keep these files static HTML and simply include them somehow in the page. I researched the available plugins and they all seemed like overkill which added overhead. Then, in WP IRC, Fris suggested writing a custom shortcode to do the heavy lifting. 90 minutes later, I have precisely what I need and a renewed respect for WordPress and the community supporting it.
For those interested, here is the code:
< ?php
// SHORTCODE FOR STATIC FILE INCLUDE
function sc_static_html ($atts) {
// Extract Shortcode Parameters/Attributes
extract( shortcode_atts( array(
'subdir' => NULL,
'file' => NULL
), $atts ) );
// Set file path
$path_base = ABSPATH."wp-content/inc_static/";
$path_file = ($subdir == NULL) ? $path_base.$file : $path_base.$subdir."/".$file;
// Load file or, if absent. throw error
if (file_exists($path_file)) {
$file_content = file_get_contents($path_file);
return $file_content;
}
else {
trigger_error("'$path_file' file not found", E_USER_WARNING);
return "FILE NOT FOUND: ".$path_file."SUBDIR = ".$subdir."FILE = ".$file."
";
}
}
add_shortcode('static_html', 'sc_static_html');
?>
USE CASE
[static_html subdir="testdir" file="dirtest.html"]
Complete bbPress Integration for BuddyPress
Last Updated June 25th, 2009
This document expands on the the original tutorial written by Trent Adams and posted here:
http://buddypress.org/forums/topic.php?id=471
It clarifies a few spots in Trent’s work with more explicit instructions and adds specific tests for success. Ideally, it should prove the definitive “how-to” … for the moment. ;^D
Integration Assumptions
Here are the various versions of the applications used in this tutorial.
- WordPresMU – Version 2.7.1 (from Download)
http://mu.wordpress.org/download/ - BuddyPress – Version 1.02+ (from SVN)
svn co http://svn.buddypress.org/trunk/ - bbPress – Version 1.0-RC+ (from SVN)
svn co http://svn.automattic.com/bbpress/trunk/
While techincally development releases, the SVN versions of BP & BB are both pretty stable and include ongoing fixes to both applications.
Acronyms/Shorthand
WPMU = WordPressMU
BP = BuddyPress
BB = bbPress
SHELL: Indicates you are working in the SHELL or, worst case scenario, your FTP client.
BROWSER: Indicate you are working in your BROWSER.
BPROOT The root directory of WPMU/BP Installation, not your server ROOT.
http://yourdomain.com/ The web domain of your WPMU/BP installation.
CLI(LOCATION) Short for Commad Line Interface, CLI is the actual linux command used. Text in () is the location from which the command is executed.
WPMU & BP Installation
This tutorial assumes you already have a working WPMU/BP install. If not, use the following tutorials to get up and running.
- Install WPMU:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WPMU - Install BP:
http://codex.buddypress.org/getting-started/installing-buddypress/
1. bbPress Installation & Configuration (for BP)
- SHELL: Within BPROOT, create a new folder called bbpress
CLI (BPROOT): mkdir bbpress - SHELL: Check out the SVN copy of BB.
CLI (BPROOT): svn co http://svn.automattic.com/bbpress/trunk/. bbpress/. - BROWSER: In your browser, visit http://yourdomain.com/bbpress and complete the BB installation.
- BROWSER: Once BB is installed, login into BB as the “admin” user. When asked, be sure to select the following options:
“Add integration settings”
“Add user database integration settings” - BROWSER: Create a new user in BB called “admin-bp” and grant them “adminstrator” rights. NOTE: This account can be named anything you like, but “admin-bp” will be used for this tutorial.
- SHELL: Copy the “buddypress-enable.php” from the BP to BB.
SOURCE: BPROOT/wp-contents/plugins/buddypress/bb-plugins/buddypress-enable.php
DESTINATION: BPROOT/bbpress/my-plugins/buddypress-enable.php
CLI (BPROOT): cp wp-contents/plugins/buddypress/bb-plugins/buddypress-enable.php bbpress/my-plugins/buddypress-enable.phpNOTE: Do not install this plugin in BPROOT/bbpress/bb-plugins.
- BROWSER: From the BB admin, click “Plugins” on the left-hand menu. Then, find “BuddyPress Support Plugin” in the plugins list and click the “Activate” link for it.
- BROWSER: From the BB admin, click “Settings” on the left-hand menu. From the Settings submenu, select “Writing”. At the bottom of this page, click the checkbox next to “XML-RPC” and then click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page.
- BROWSER: From the Settings submenu, select “Discussions”. At the top of this page, click the checkbox next to “Enable Pingbacks” and then click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page.
- SHELL: Using the text editor of your choice, open BPROOT/bbpress/bb-config.php in the shell. At the bottom of the file, just before the close of PHP … ?> … add the following line then save the file.
$bb->bb_xmlrpc_allow_user_switching = true;
2. BuddyPress Configuration
- BROWSER: Login to the main blog of your WPMU/BP installation as the “Administrator”.
- BROWSER: From the menus in the left side of the Admin UI, select “BuddyPress”. Then, select the “Component Setup” sub-menu and make sure the “bbPress Forums” component is enabled. If it isn’t click the “Enabled” radio button and then “Save Settings” at the bottom of the page.
- BROWSER: From the “BuddyPress” submenu, select “Forums Setup” and enter the following information then click “Save Settings” at the bottom of the page.
bbPress URL: http://yourdomain.com/bbpress/
bbPress Username: admin-bp (or whatever name you gave in Step 1e.)
bbPress Password: Password for admin-bpNOTE 1: Make sure you have the ending slash “bbPress URL”.
NOTE 2: Some users report a bug where, at random, the password is not saved. I did not see this behavior, but if you have issues with your install, you may want to try entering the password again to see ifthat reolves the problem.
3. Reset Existing Groups and Test Forums
At this point, BB should be fully integrated into the groups of your WPMU/BP installation. To make sure, complete the following checks. If your WPMU/BP installation does nothave pre-existing groups, skip to 3b.
- BROWSER: If you have pre-existing Groups, you need to reset the Forums “switch” now. Complete the following steps for each pre-existing Group.
- Go to the pre-existing Group and select “Admin”, then “Group Settings”.
- In “Group Settings”, uncheck the box next to “Enable discussion forum” and click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page.
- Staying within “Group Settings”, recheck the box next to “Enable discussion forum” and click “Save Changes”.
- Visit http://yourdomain.com/bbpress/ and see if a subforum was created for the Group in the non-integrated BB interface. If so, repeat this process for all pre-existing Groups. If not, see “FAILED TEST” below.
- BROWSER: Complete the following steps to create a new Group and enable Forums.
- From the BuddyPress Bar at the top of the page, select “My Account >> Groups >> Create a Group”.
- Give the Group a Name and Description, then click “Create Group and Continue”.
- In “Group Settings”, check the box next to “Enable discussion forum”.
- Select any additional Group options and complete the Group creation wizard.
- Visit http://yourdomain.com/bbpress/ and see if a subforum was created for the Group in the non-integrated BB interface. If so, everything is working correctly. If not, see “FAILED TEST” below.
- BROWSER: If you have made it this far, it will work, but I like to create the first post in the new forum on the bbPress side and then see if it shows up in the buddypress group forum. Old habit, but for odd circumstance, it seems to work best for me. If it works, try creating a new topic on the group you have working.
FAILED TEST
If you do not have the Group as a new sub-forum in the non-integrated BB, something went wrong. Check your work by reviewing all of the previous steps to see if you missed something.
DEEP INTEGRATION :: Embedded Forums Page
To achieve the integrated home forum found here …
… one must pursue “deep integration” which is not fully documented yet. I will attempt it shortly and document the process if I get it working. If you care to look into it yourself, this is a good place to start:
http://bbpress.org/forums/topic/bbpress-integration-plugin-for-wpmu
Trent’s Notes
- The refresh bug noted in Step 2 – Note 2 killed it a couple of times and I made sure I saved it at least 2 times.
- Forgetting the line in bb-config.php killed it for me a couple of times as well.
- In one install I had to change the bbPress “user” with administration rights password and on the bbPress side and then completing step 7 again.
- I also found that through “previous testing” I had some bp_groupmeta entries that were screwing things up with duplicates for the same forum in the database. Shouldn’t happen to anyone else, but that screwed some things up for me as well.
- In terms of having buddypress and bbPress working together, I am sure it works with buddypress on one server and bbPress on another since it works through the xmlrpc module which makes it very powerful.
Tell Me Your WordPress 2.7 Must Haves, Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!
Dear WordPress Nation,
I need your help. I pour through the WP Themes and WP Plugins listings looking for the best of breed, but there is something missing … opinion based on informed experience. In other words, you.
So, based solely on your own experience, add a comment to this thread which includes the following:
- Name of your #1 must-have plugin.
- Link to said plugin.
- In a nod to Twitter (sort of) tell me why you cannot live without the aforementioned plugin in 140 WORDS (not characters, hence the “sort of”) or less.
This contest will run through February 15th at midnight. By February 22nd, I will select one winner who will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card. Easy-peezy, no?
A few parameters for you …
- I know and use many of the most common and popular plugins for SEO, Twitter and the like. So, I am really looking for something out-of-the-ordinary. If it makes me go “Hmmm, I never thought I’d want that on my blog, but now I MUST have it!” … you have a good chance of winning.
- You cannot be the author of the plugin. No SPAM or shills please.
- Themes will be considered as well, but they better be pretty special to win.
- All Plugins or Themes must currently work with WordPress 2.7.
- You can only list one plugin/theme in one comment. Multiple entries in any form will be disqualified.
- Be sure to provide your email in the comment so I can contact you if you win. I promise not to SPAM you.
So there you have it. Knock my socks off, if not my pants (though no one really wants to see the latter but my wife). ;^D
Peace,
Doug
WordCamp Vegas – Day 1
So, I was a bit distracted by Twitter issues and could not live blog like I ‘d hoped. Happlily, the Twitter issue was resolved towards the end of the day, more on that in later post. On to my highlights …
State of the Word :: Matt Mullenweg
Matt rocked it out and dropped a couple of interesting teasers. First, WP 2.8 will focus on Themes. Look for similar auto-install features for Themes that we saw for Plugins in 2.7. Next, WordPress Handbook is coming.
Though the Codex will still live, WP Handbook will be built in Docbook XML allowing the WP documentation to be managed like software. Why is that a big deal? Well, it means the docs can be written to suit a particular release without destroying the historical record. And, edits/corrections to current and past docs can be submitted and managed like bugs.
This means, Plugin and Theme developers can commit docs in the same format. This is huge for folks who use WordPress for consulting clients because WP installs inventory the installed Themes/Plugins then could poll the WP Handbook’s Docbook XML and build a completely custom set of docs for the WP you’ve installed for your customers.
During the Q&A, I asked about the status of bbPress. Matt said to look for 1.0 at some point of 2009. Interestingly, Matt said that he considers bbPress to be better written than WP because he wrote it after he had learned a lot about coding.
On a humorous note, someone is constantly pinging Matt about bbPress status. Apparently, Matt has a bbPress “stalker”, but I swear it isn’t me. ;^D
how to run a blog with a staff of contributors :: Geoff Kleinman
Geoff offered a lot of great insights on the role of the editor in the blogosphere. As part of my plan involves a great deal collaboration, Geoff’s pragmatic insights were powerful and should bear fruit for me down the road. His is one presentation I am sure to watch again on the uStream. If you work with or supervise other creatives, I strongly suggest you do the same.
Beyond Beer and Blog: How Social Media Lit Up the Portland Tech Scene :: Aaron Hockley
Aaron set off far too many lightbulbs in my head. I’ll never turn them all off. From Ignite to Beer and Blog, I now have a few more social media pools into which I plan to dip my toes. Most powerful of Aaron’s insights – online social media is most powerful when it serves to bring people together in the real world. The “Legion of Tech” video was classic internet nerdery … and I say that with much respect and affection. Oh, and I now want to visit Portland in the worst way!
10 Steps to Search Engine Optimize your WordPress Blog :: Michael Dorausch
Michael had a great presentation regarding SEO and WordPress. As SEO is a big part of what I do everyday, a lot of it was old hat for me. But, the audience was full of raw, new bloggers as well, so it was a perfect presentation for that crowd. And, I learned a couple of cool tricks along the way. Best of all, he got people in the crowd to sing “Hello Dolly”, including Lorelle, who can really belt out a tune!
Using Your Blog for Sales and Marketing :: Chris Brogan
Brogan is a freaking nut! Again, this is said with respect and affection. After Blogworld Expo 2008, I followed him on Twitter based solely on John Hawkins’ reccomendation. For 4 months, I found Chris’ tweets interesting and useful, but I did not get why John had such a bromance for the guy. Now, I get it.
While providing a lot of useful insights, Chris had the crowd laughing and eating out of his hand. He is a gifted and entertaining storyteller, who happens to be a skilled marketer that “gets” the power of online media. While it may sound trite, his through-line was “follow your passion”. If you blog about things that are meaningful to you, your audience will find you.
Another gem, “learn from the best and then copy them”. In particular, he bemoaned the lazy, stock list of interview questions he is always asked. When we have Larry King and Charlie Rose available on Youtube, Tivo and Boxee, why wouldn’t we watch and learn how to interview from them?
This was particularly interesting because I’ve been noodling doing an independent Master’s degree. Meaning, setting a curriculum for myself and learning everything I would get in an Online Media MFA on my own. Chris Brogan pointed me at an entirely new source for faculty! W00t!
Finally, if anything will stick with me from his presentation, it will be the definition of callback. Deftly used by Mr. Brogan in his presentation, I am working callbacks into my speaking arsenal from here out.
By the Numbers: a look at stats and what they mean to you :: Lorelle VanFossen
Lorelle spent the first half of her time deconstructing a wide range of popular web analytic metrics. Nothing escaped her intense scrutiny as she introduced us all to the concept of “distracting stats” and the power of horse sex. Frankly, she shook the foundations of my understanding of web analytics … in a good way. The second half of the presentation was an in-depth demo of the stat pr0n application that is Woopra. Thanks for the beta key!
You’ve failed? Learn Why! :: Jim Kukral
Jim Kukral is the biggest failure on the interwebs, or so he wants you all to believe. I won’t be able to do the presentation any real justice, so it it is best to catch the uStream for yourself. Suffice to say that Kukral does not deliver a simple rah-rah speech filled with platitudes. Like the Mike Rowe speech I posted earlier, Kukral preaches a “get off your ass and work” approach to success. He gave me a lot of serious food for thought, all of which will likely lead to future posts when I’ve had time to digest them more fully.
All this from a Browns fan. Go figure! Oh, he also introduced us all to the word “shmoosh-rags”. Good times!
Now, I would be remiss if I did not once again say CONGRATS! to my friend, buddy, pal John Hawkins who had the vision, the will and the drive to make WordCamp Las Vegas happen. Hawk … thanks for adding a stellar event to the Vegas Tech/Social Media calendar.
In addition to the great speakers, I reconnected with friends Carl Szeibert, Todd Huish and John’s lovely wife Chris. And, for the first time in five years, I finally made it on Todd’s photoblog!
Until tomorrow …
WordCamp Las Vegas 2009
Congratulations to John Hawkins! Wordcamp LV is a huge success. Having thrown a party like this, I know how much work this was. He has a great line up of speakers and the show is going off without a hitch! I’ll live-blog sessions with point of interest.
Ning responds. I am impressed.
So, I had some pointed criticism for Ning on the Network Creator boards yesterday. Then, I wake up to discover my comments moderated out. After a round of email with Gina Bianchini, one of Ning’s co-founders, this is how it all worked out.
As posted on the Network Creator’s forums, Saturday Update thread.
To the contrary, I’d like to give Gina and Ning a pat on the back. So, here we go …
First, in a private email, Gina acknowledged that my post should not have been deleted. While offering pointed criticism, my post was constructive in nature and did not violate the Ning’s forum policies. Gina assured me the post would not be deleted again if it were reposted. Regrettably, I maintained no offline copy because I did not think I would need one. As a sidebar, Ning may want to hold deleted forum posts for 24 hours before actually clearing the database. As a Network Creator, I know I would love that feature myself. Everyone makes mistakes, having a way to correct them would be ideal.
To recap my post, the gist was as follows. While Ning certainly had the right to boot Widget Laboratory, the execution of that decision lacked foresight and was not handled well. First, I doubt that WL’s scripts were going to cause an imminent system-wide crash. Even so, if Ning thought there were problems, they should have taken the time to plan for, if not build, test and implement, widgets that would create a seamless transition for WL users. This is the course Ning has taken after the fact, and it is the right course.
If it only takes a couple of weeks to replace WL with native Ning features, those should have been put into place before they effectively blew up hundreds, if not thousands, of networks without notice. At the very least, the transition plan should have been part of the announcement of the WL decision/action. A little more foresight and a little less reaction would have made things smoother for everyone involved, including Ning.
Finally, I mentioned how surprised I was that so many of my fellow Network Creators were just taking the mass disruption in stride. In fact, many were trumpeting Ning’s decision without really understanding potential impact on Ning’s long-term health and reputation and, by extension, their very own networks. It struck me, and still does, as the worst kind of groupthink. We need all need Ning to be a strong, viable platform. Giving them a free pass when they misstep is not the way to help them grow.
Now, why go to the trouble of re-posting this?
First, I hold no illusions that my point-of-view is more important than that of any other Network Creator. To the contrary, there are many folks here that have far more experience and time with Ning than I. However, the act of deliberately shutting down constructive criticism would be, in many ways, a major nail in Ning’s coffin, were that what happened. Rather, someone on the Ning team simply overstepped in an overzealous attempt to maintain focus on positive, forward motion. Gina and Laura have both apologized for the mistake and that is important to me. More pointedly, it should be important to each of you. It means that Team Ning has moved beyond damage control and is now listening and learning. In the long run, that should mean good things for all of us.
In fact, Gina and I have been corresponding most of the morning via email. While we’ve had a couple of misunderstandings along the way, the dialogue has remained open and I’ve come away impressed with Gina and with Ning’s commitment to customer service. Moreover, it leads me to believe that the WL issues, while probably not intentionally malicious, may have been more of a threat to the platform than I originally thought.
To be clear, Gina shared no new information about the reasons WL was kicked. Rather, I get the sense that this was something that genuinely needed to be done. While the questions of timing and communication remain, the question of motivation (necessity/stability/security not greed) has been settled for me.
So, kudos to Gina and Team Ning. Take the many lessons from this event and make Ning stronger. Then, go home and get some much deserved sleep.
Peace,
Doug
Ning, What Should You Do?
While I remain decidedly ticked off over Ning.com’s decision to boot Widget Laboratory, (WL) I thought it might be more productive to actually list some of the things I think Ning needs to do to resolve the problems and move forward. So, here are my top ten Ning fixes, in no particular order of priority.
01. Let me delete/merge users – On more than one network, I have duplicate users. To obtain accurate numbers for advertisers, I need to keep my user list clean. Sure, I could pad my numbers with duplicate and abandoned accounts, but I’d rather just merge dupes or simply remove inactive users altogether.
The current “Ban User” option has a harsh connotation and the consequences for both my network and the “banned” person seem … ominous. And besides, user management is web app 101. I know I cannot delete them from Ning, but let me “delete” them from my network(s).
02. Simple Page/Tab Creation – Why require that this be done procedurally (ie. via Javascript)? I understand if it is simplest to do this for the majority of non-technical Ning users, but there should be a simple override in the source code that allows static HTML pages to be loaded using a Controller. The same applies to tabs.
03. Simple to Find/Edit HTML & CSS Overrides – For that matter, xn_resources should have a folder called “overrides” where one can drop files which then get pulled in to the HTML doc as its formed. For example …
tabs.php, header.php, footer.php, custom.css …
Perhaps that is not possible in the Ning MVC schema, but at least drop in a README with clear paths to all of the files that actually form the wrapper. It would make customization SO much easier. Don’t force me to hunt through the Ning documentation for simple fixes.
Please, no RTFM comments … please. This is a design issue, not a documentation issue.
04. Allow direct edit of customXYZ.css from an IDE – It is sort of crazy that editing customXYZ.css in the source code doesn’t actually do anything. What is the point of code access if you cannot make live changes? If the issue is the Akamai cache, give me a simple command (from the shell or in the Admin UI) that I tap to refresh the cache. In any case, don’t make me cut-n-paste stuff into the “Advanced Customization” pane if I have source code access.
05. File Manager & Library – It would be cool to see a file library that lists all of the files uploaded to my network so I can cull the list as needed and perhaps (on static or simple PHP pages) invoke lists of photos, PDFs, etc. based on tags/keywords.
06. Let me change my network name – C’mon. Is this so hard? If I want to change the name, let me. If the desired name is taken, prompt me to choose another. Think of Gmail’s “Name Available?” feature. It won’t happen often, but when needed, it is important. And, because it is infrequent, the system overhead required to update internal references is not so dramatic. If overhead is significant, just tell me it will take 24 hours to do and schedule it during non-peak hours. I promise I’ll wait.
07. Provide a Sample Application – Download and install WordPress. Every install comes with hello.php which illustrates the basic structure of a plug-in/module/app. Provide this and update it with a tested/vetted replacement for each new release and issues like those with WL are far less likely to happen.
08. Create a standard themes package – Again, reference WordPress. Why are Ning themes so fragmented? Collect all of the components in one place. This will greatly increase customization and reskinning, particularly if you pair this common theme framework with an HTML wireframe that captures all of the common page types and the corresponding CSS.
Need an SAS example? Check out the way Shopify.com handles theme development with Vision. Ning may not be a Rails app, but Shopify.com is on to something and there must be a PHP analog.
09. Network Creator Email/SMS Notification – Tonight’s SFTP outage is a perfect example. That sort of thing merits an immediate notification of network owners. While some Network Creators will not care, many/most will. At the very least, give us this as an option to check in our profile.
10. Lose the long URLS used to activate “advanced” features – Really?!? In 2008, should I need to cut-n-paste an obfuscated URL and then append my network name at the end to activate “Add Pages”, “URL Mapping” and such? Is it so difficult to create an “Advanced” pane in the Admin UI for this stuff?
Show me a confirmation pop-up if you are worried I’ll break my site. Put a scary skull-n-crossbones on it if you must. But whatever you do, do not add unneccesary steps to the process with web dev techniques from 1996.
The list could go on, but these are the low-hanging fruit. To be clear, I love the idea of Ning and, up until last Thursday, I loved the application of Ning. Why, just last Saturday I was singing the praises of Ning to anyone who would listen at the New Media Expo. Those folks now have my heartfelt apologies.
To Widget Laboratory, I say “good on ya” for your plan to open source all of your apps under the Creative Commons License. It was a smart move for everyone involved even, in the long run, Ning.
To Ning, I say make this right and do it fast. I want to go back to building my business, not searching for alternatives. And, I want to go back to singing your praises. At the end of the day, I am all about the love. Truly, I am.
Peace,
Doug
PS: This post was inspired, in part, by Lisa Bettany’s Twitter, What Are You Doing?” commentary. 
I Twitter; Therefore I Am
Apologies to Descartes. While sitting through the most excellent Podcasting Bootcamp at PXC today, I was reminded that I had yet to join the legion of Twitter micro-bloggers. So, I signed up for Twitter; then found Sarah Isaacson’s Twitter Widget Plugin for WordPress. The results are now displayed in the sidebar to the left, just below the Youtube player. Woohoo!
I alos took the opportunity to clean up some anoying layout issues with my base theme. Once I get back from bootcamp next week, look for more improvements.
- DD
Austin Game Conference :: Day 2
AGC Day 2 has wrapped. Lots of great info dropped today. And yes, the crickets are still out in force.
First, we got a shout out over on Mystic Worlds. To quote Lauren … “I love this misfit tard duo.” She is speaking of Gary and Ryan of MOG, a gaming podcast I help produce. Thanks Lauren!
Now, on to the AGC.
I attended several sessions of the Games Writer’s Conference (an AGC subset). Bioware continues to impress. They held a session called “New Frontiers in Digital Acting”, in which they outlined their process for writing, casting and filming digital actors. In short, their take on digital storytelling is years ahead of anyone else in the industry. They really, really take story seriously, which is why their games are consistently the best in the business. I spoke about Mass Effect yesterday and saw game play footage of a completely cinematic, yet player driven, conversation between the player and an NPC. It is nothing short of amazing.
Chris Avellone, the Creative Director of Obsidian, led an interactive session called “How to write the best game ever!” Given that Avellone is one of the primary drivers of Neverwinter Nights 2, I was looking for some insight into the work processes used to develop the rich stories that Bioware (and now Obsidian) used to “make its bones”. I did not get that, but I was not disappointed. The session was more of a roundtable where everyone shared the tools and processes that worked for them. So, we got a broad cross-section of talent talking about how they get things done. This was far more valuable than one person’s isolated perspective.
We also got a peek at MultiVerse, an MMO development platform with a twist. Developers pay NOTHING for the platform (server, client, development toolset, initial assets) until they start charging their customers. If they never charge, they never pay. This makes the platform ideal for independent game developers, students, academics, folks developing simulations for non-profit organizations. If you’ve ever wanted to create your own MMO, Multiverse might be the perfect place to start.
The company showed a lot of demos made on their platform. Graphically, all seemed pretty rudimentary, but they were in the private beta. Multiverse says the platform sports a plug-in architecture that will a hook up with any pro-level graphic toolsets and assets. Multiverse is now in private beta. Look for it to drop soon.
Online Alchemy, a Multiverse beta tester, showed off Dynemotion, a emotion engine they just announced at AGC. Dynemotion plugs in to Multiverse and is a really interesting take on faction/reputation systems. The demo had a sniper shooting into a crowd. The crowd reacted to dropping bodies with pretty realistic crowd dynamics. Granted, it was a demo but the ideas presented could lead to some pretty immersive and ground-breaking game play down the road.
More general takeaways …
1. Bioware Austin confirmed that their next offering is an MMO. Beyond that, they could not say more. This is not earth-shattering news as this has been rumored for some time. Given Bioware’s track record, this becomes the game to watch.
2. Ryzom Ring looks absolutely amazing. User-created content looks to be a major part of this game’s future. Again, no big secret here. The update drops in the next few weeks. So you’ll have an opportunity to try it for yourself. What is notable is the extent to which this is going to be part of the Ryzom experience. I’ll let Gary and Ryan give you the full scoop in the next episode, but let’s just say that if Ryzom pulls this off it will be a big, freekin’ deal.
3. Virtual worlds and MMO business models were a major theme. In-game advertising is a hot-button topic. It is going to happen, the real question is … “how intrusive is it going to be?”
4. Blizzard, SOE, and EA Mythic were all notable for their relative lack of presence in the exhibition hall. Considering that these are the 800 lb. Gorillas of American MMOs, one would think they’d have had a bigger footprint at the show. Also notably absent from the floor were Funcom (Conan) and Flying Labs (Pirates of the Burning Sea).
5. The MMO that looks most promising, at least to me, is Fallen Earth. Log line … Mad Max meets the MMO.
6. The boys met with CCP, the developers of Eve. Again, I’ll let them drop the knowledge in the next episode. For the moment, know that they have many new, and interesting insights into Eve, the Kali update and the Eve community.
Like last night, I’ll share a bit of unattributed developer insight For the sake of brevity, I am summing up much larger and longer conversations, so don’t consider the following word-for-word quotes. As for the lack attribution, I’ll respect the devs desire for anonymity. So, don’t ask me who said this stuff!
“Anytime you can get an (in-game) emotional reaction (positive or negative) from a gamer, you have to consider it a victory”
“E3 is dead for good reason. It was a huge waste of money that drained budgets with little real benefit to the developer or the audience. The $400K spent for a stand-out presence on the E3 floor is better spent on bug-testing and polishing games before they launch to ensure a positive reception on launch day.”
“Technology is holding back next-gen PC game development, but not in the way you think. Sure, new cool tech is on the horizon, but a lack of assets standards, coupled with the need to produce multiple versions of assets to accommodate backwards compatibility are the real roadblock. Everyone, at least on the PC side, still has to develop a second set of assets against Windows 98. Standardization and raw processing power is why the console market will take off with third-gen consoles and leave PC gaming behind”.
In closing, I’ll offer you a little bit of insight into the MOG team. Gary and I have met in the past. I already knew he had a wry wit in person. Gary, Ryan and Todd all know one another from back in the day. This trip is my first face time with Todd and Ryan. If you think these guys are funny on the show, hang with them in person.
Sitting around watching Bill O’Reilly tonight, I damn near pissed myself laughing on three separate occasions due to something one of these guys said while commenting on that tool. My fricking sides hurt.
Peace,
DD
PS: One last insight, the game dev community seems to be one huge sausage party. There are not many women working in the industry, and that is unfortunate. And we wonder why so few girls game?
