UT3 Map and MashUp

DayGroup.zip

Exp3 Position Statement

The site during the day lives on the boundary between the explorative – the realm of texture, taste, fragrance, sounds – and the peripheral, that of driving past without noticing anything other than the slight chill down the spine as the ominous smoke stack spewing out its filth looms briefly overhead.
While the various scales and movements around the site exhibit a split world still more subtle is the 1disconnect between wildly different pedestrian identities that inhabit the area. There is the drunk who wakes up in the shadow of narrow back lanes, or on the doorstep of a young family’s heritage terrace. There are the groups of subversives who graffiti everywhere and anywhere, in an attempt to extend their sense of ownership over a place already mired by signage posted by the “official” owners of buildings. There is the social shadow cast over every local by the Eastern Distributor ventilation stack, on a site owned by the RTA and distinguished by its inhabitability. Clearly, the site is distinguished by cultural silos.
Far below the surface is a stream of cars, most active in the periods marking sunrise and sunset. The arrival of accompanying smog is the most widely relevant output of the site; it is the opening and closing act of the site’s daytime drama.
Pollution spewed from the site itself sits in watch over the silos of human activity. It broods, watches, infects. The brooding, the space, the melancholy of the activity that occurs is the inhabitant, is the character of the site. One feels that the site, the bricks and mortar, sand and cement may be built on, but the character of the site, the one that exists there at this time will not be shattered, will not change. One feels that it will move, walk down the footpath to the alleys and back lanes of Surrey Hills, stand up the sign of no trespassing once again and continue on uninterrupted with its life.
The work of high power simulations these days is a reconfiguring of player positions, finding ways to enable collaboration of personified identities – teams, organisations, matter. In embodying the perceived meaning of these identities, we hope that such identities can be dealt with rather than overlooked.

Hotkeys

Just a quick one letting you guys know where to find a comprehensive list of the UT editor hotkeys... UDN - Two - UnrealEdKeys
Hope its useful

Monkeyball surgery

Here's an article about the benefits to surgeons of playing computer games, http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/17/surgeons-hone-skills-on-nintendo-wii/
I remember when this study first came out it was about the benefits of the Monkeyball games on gamecube, and it was of great comfort to the med student i was living with at the time that his time wasn't being wasted playing Monkeyballs. This article refers mainly to the Nintendo Wii but the idea is the same, that certain games improve fine motor control. In addition to this they improve depth perception for microsurgery. It's prety obvious really in that both have a screen that only has a representation of depth. Playing the games helps the surgeons recognise depth for when they are directing little cameras around inside you.
As a side note, i can attest to the benefits of such games for fine motor skills as during the summer when we were playing these games the Palace hotel had a promo on where they had one of those machines where you lead a wire through a path without touching the edges, if you touch the edges a buzzer goes off as you have completed a circuit. If you moved the wire all the way through you got a prize. Needless to say the palace lost quite a few hip flasks and aviators to the 5 of us.

Saving Lives

I came across an interesting article on the use of computer games to deliver mosquito nets. Basically a simple game has been set up in which the user has to race the setting sun to deliver as many mosquito nets to African families. The more nets delivered the more lives saved from malaria. When the game ends you are directed to donate money to send a real net to a real African family. I guess people just don't donate anything these days unless they get something tangible in return. Its like donating blood to get the little mars bar at the end. Donating mosquito nets because you had a few minutes of enjoyment out of a game.
Having said that it is a useful medium to get people thinking about the issues, and has the advantage over tv ads or something similar in that it is easily accessible, more engaging by being interactive and the donation is a continuation of the process. Instead of watching a tv ad and then going to the phone or the internet to make a donation this is just a simple mouse click away. It make the donation process more seamless giving less reason not to follow it through.
The article can be seen here:
Serious Games: Play Game, Combat Malaria In Africa