Five things on Friday #97

Things of note for the week ending Friday, November 7th, 2014.

(t-shirt from Hero & Cape)

1. 3D-printing machines make awesome Tattoo artists.
Not. Kidding.

This is staggering.

The machine actually reads the the surface of your arm as it ‘prints’ (by prints, I mean punctures your skin at up to 150 times per second) ensuring that it moves smoothly along your chosen limb.

There’s a video too, natch.

Amazing.

2. Turning the Game Around
This, believe it or not, is 13,000 words on what makes the storytelling at the centre of the 2008 version of the Ubisoft video game, Prince of Persia, so compelling.

This is has been open in one of my tabs since August - that’s how long it’s taken me to get around to reading it.

But it was worth it.

There are many reasons why you might not want to read this essay. First: ‘Da-yam! Dat word count!’ Get over it. Second: ‘I’m not really a gamer, so I know I won’t be that interested’. Wrong. The piece is about not only how to tell a story but also gaming as art. It really is great to see gaming deconstructed in this way and, while it may give away the ending (I’d completed it, so I didn’t mind – but really, does it matter?), the intelligence in the writing makes everything OK. Make the time, then read the essay.

If you’re a gamer, you’ll love it (obvs).

3. The Christopher Nolan Profile
I’ve written about him before in these webpages of mine however, with the release of Interstellar right around the corner (I’m seeing it at the IMAX tomorrow), it seems fitting that I should write about him again. Well, I would, except The New York Times have done such a good job of it that I’ll link you to that instead.

This bit, on Insomnia, is great –

After that, when he came across the script of “Insomnia,” a remake of a Norwegian psychological thriller, Warner Bros. had the option. Nolan was interested but couldn’t get a meeting. His agent, Dan Aloni, called Steven Soderbergh, an early fan of “Memento.” Soderbergh told me that he “just walked across the lot and said to the head of production, ‘You’re insane if you don’t meet with this guy.’ My sense even then was that he didn’t need our help except to get in the door.” Everything happened very quickly. Nolan made the film on a budget of $46 million, and Soderbergh and George Clooney signed on as executive producers. Soderbergh visited the set in Alaska. “I got there and was having a conversation with Al Pacino: ‘How do you feel? How’s it going?’ Al said, ‘Well, I can tell you right now, at some point in the very near future I’m going to be very proud to say I was in a Christopher Nolan movie.’ ”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we are lucky to be alive at the same time as this particular film maker. His passion and vision for the final delivery is something that, come the end of his career, will be held up alongside Kubrick, Spielberg, and Scott. Nolan’s body of work is already excellent.

So go read his profile piece; it’s really very good.

4. Alternate Universe Movie Posters

These are great.

5. More Monument Valley

Ever played Monument Valley? If not, why not? It is honestly one of the best iPad games I’ve ever played (it’s now available across iOS, Android, and Kindle) and you should absolutely play it! Beautiful to play and look at; it really is that good.

That being said, if, like me, you’ve already played Monument Valley and wish it could’ve gone on longer or are hankerin’ for the next version/sequel/expansion pack – then hanker no more! ‘Forgotten Shores’ is the official name of the forthcoming next part and it’ll be hitting iOS on November 13th. Hurrah and hurrah again.

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Bonuses this week are three random things that I picked up this week:

• Prostitute or City Trader: how do you want your workspace?
• Note to self: don’t go to Mars.
• Ever read this and wanted to write your own? Steve Waddington has published an e-book entitled ‘Blogging for Beginners‘, and you might find it useful.

Until next time,

JW x

Last updated by James Whatley at November 8, 2014.