A Thought Experiment Part 1
Part 1:
When I work on a project be it a whole game, a setting, or even an adventure I like to have images around for inspiration.
About a month ago I started a folder on my computer I just called "cool images." Into this folder I would save images from the net that I thought were interesting or evocative. I follow a lot of art collections and groups on G+. I have a slight obsession with large scale street art for it's scope, and small scale street art for it's energy and immediacy. I also have strange love for 70's pulp novel covers and science fiction illustrations. I soon found my folder filling up with images from those influences among others.
I also noticed that while thinking about my games I browsed and saved some interesting pictures.
Here is the premise I have been going with for the past few weeks.
While I'm thinking about working on a game I will occasionally which is my habit anyway pour through google image search for inspiration, The pictures that really catch my eye will go into the folder.
At the end of the week I'll go through each picture and write down details that I like. One world details like "spacesuit", "nebula", "mecha", and so on.
The visual elements which keep recurring im going to try and work them into a game.
There might be some useful software around that uses user generated meta tags to sort and order images, I'll have to go looking.
Here's my dilemma, now that I have thought of this whole thing when I look at an image my brain is going to say "I want that in a game!" and I'll drop that image in the folder. That's not what I want. I want to look at an image and think "whow that's evocative and interesting," on the images own merit. I don't want to pick images that simply confirm my gaming prejudices.
The only way I can think of combatting this self inflicted confirmation bias is time. If I do this over a long enough period my sample size will eventually level itself. I don't always think about games after all. (surprise.) and given enough time I will be browsing pictures without gaming in my head.
Be on the lookout for part 2 of this experiment sometime early in the new year.
When I work on a project be it a whole game, a setting, or even an adventure I like to have images around for inspiration.
About a month ago I started a folder on my computer I just called "cool images." Into this folder I would save images from the net that I thought were interesting or evocative. I follow a lot of art collections and groups on G+. I have a slight obsession with large scale street art for it's scope, and small scale street art for it's energy and immediacy. I also have strange love for 70's pulp novel covers and science fiction illustrations. I soon found my folder filling up with images from those influences among others.
I also noticed that while thinking about my games I browsed and saved some interesting pictures.
Here is the premise I have been going with for the past few weeks.
While I'm thinking about working on a game I will occasionally which is my habit anyway pour through google image search for inspiration, The pictures that really catch my eye will go into the folder.
At the end of the week I'll go through each picture and write down details that I like. One world details like "spacesuit", "nebula", "mecha", and so on.
The visual elements which keep recurring im going to try and work them into a game.
There might be some useful software around that uses user generated meta tags to sort and order images, I'll have to go looking.
Here's my dilemma, now that I have thought of this whole thing when I look at an image my brain is going to say "I want that in a game!" and I'll drop that image in the folder. That's not what I want. I want to look at an image and think "whow that's evocative and interesting," on the images own merit. I don't want to pick images that simply confirm my gaming prejudices.
The only way I can think of combatting this self inflicted confirmation bias is time. If I do this over a long enough period my sample size will eventually level itself. I don't always think about games after all. (surprise.) and given enough time I will be browsing pictures without gaming in my head.
Be on the lookout for part 2 of this experiment sometime early in the new year.
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| Yup that's the stuff. Al Williamson |
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