God’s Perfect Timing
Where did we leave off? Well, according to my blog, it was a little over a year ago, at the Graduate Student Winter Retreat– the one with PhD/Med/Masters students from Berkeley, UCSC, UCSF, and Stanford. I’m a bit more mature since then; or, at least, I am more relaxed about many things. If anything, I am grateful that my own impatience had not burned bridges, and that it would’ve been no benefit for me to needlessly make enemies.
Ethan, who’s off in San Diego, had heard through the grapevine that things were going well. He recently wrote me and said: “seems like you’re working along with leadership quite well now– glad to see, and keep it up–”
GDC Wanting to be Bigger than Jesus
I know, I know. I’m a year late. I’m sure that every opinion has been voiced by now. For starters, I’ll give my full experience at the panel, “Game Design Challenge 2011: Bigger than Jesus.” I’ll talk about the ways in which GDC11 was bigger than Jesus, and end with how much of Jesus I experienced at GDC.
Let’s address the elephant in the room. So yea, part of me can’t help but consider being a little offended by the sacrilegiousness. Part of me is a bit too lazy to care, but most of me was excited for some action! To be honest, the description of the event is quite respectful. They simply chose a title that stirs shock.
If GDC is Anything Like Last Year…
So, what do you want to know about the game industry? The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is coming up again, and I’ve still yet to recap my adventures from last year. I suppose I’ve been a year behind for a while now. I guess I shouldn’t complain about having too much to write about. Going through my photos, I find the most notable highlights to be: (1) Behind the Scenes, (2) Parties, (3) Free Stuff, and (4) Sessions. I’ll leave out the Jesus stuff for my next post.
What Haven’t I Said about GDC?
I’m currently drawing a blank. This isn’t due to the fact there there is not enough to say, but that I’ve already said so much about GDC. The highlights of my experiences; however, are worth re-emphasizing. Luckily, I have these nicely captured:
http://blog.ffpaladin.com/2008/03/repost-why-i-go-to-the-game-developers-conference-every-year/
In this post, I wrote about how this service-oriented Conference Associate (CA) community brought out the best of each member, and without the need for conformity, is able to achieve a highly functional unity. People spend their whole lives looking for ways of authentically being part of something, which I find elegantly captured in the Conference Associate program.
Bethel Pierces the Darkness
I think it was Lou Engel that said, “Redding is the closest place to heaven on earth.” On a side note, I’m probably not one of Lou’s biggest fans currently, just b/c I get some of his politically radical emails. I do find this description of Bethel Church, in Redding, CA, informative. I first heard of Bethel through that “Finger of God” documentary, then through people I’d met through a house church. Joaquin Evans, from Bethel, had visited not long after which was quite an introduction to their culture.
Who Am I Now?
I’ve been writing a lot, just not on this blog. I live many lives, and if I were to summarize it all, I’d say that I’m a researcher with great ideas in a burgeoning field of study, a tenor saxophone player with the most amazing band of friends that one could hope for, and a revolutionary stewarding my influence for a revolution that started over 2000 years ago. I’m becoming who I always thought I was.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Unless you’ve taken an introduction to Artificial Intelligence course, you most likely don’t have a full understanding of what Artificial Intelligence actually is. Even our own expert understanding of Artificial Intelligence changes as new advancements occur. Although AI has been around since the 60′s, the study of AI in videogames 5 years ago, and perhaps even the study of videogames 5 years ago was unheard of at almost all universities. Grant it, it’s still not common today, but it’s way easier for people to concentrate in or major in videogame studies and development now.
Adventures in the Xbus: Mobile Gaming, Redefined
“What’s an Xbus?,” I asked myself. I knew I’d find out at the CGDC, after seeing it as a listed activity during the conference.
The Xbus is a converted 40′ transit bus that has been outfitted for 16 person multiplayer LAN link video games. It has 16 networked Xbox 360 game consoles so that means that each player gets their own 27” HDTV. There is a 13kW onboard generator that supplies power for everything so it doesn’t even cost you for electricity. We even have a soda machine onboard. We provide everything for the ultimate gaming experience.
(Description taken from: http://www.xbusgames.com/about-xbus-games/)
I Got Hustled…
Everyone is meant to live a meaningful life, which implies that my life is meant to be meaningful. The question really is: how much do I want to limit myself in achieving the ubiquitous meaning to be had? I realize now that, to have made it this far, it doesn’t make sense limit myself in any way. I know, without a doubt, the sort of impact that is possible from my life, and to bury my head in the sand would be to knowingly rob the world of hope.
APEST is the New BINGO!
I am determined to get all caught up in blogging! My research, in other news, is going well. I’m more motivated to blog these days, b/c, well, you’ll have to wait for me to get to that blog. What’s to come? One on being hustled, one on GDC, one on Jubilee, and one on CGDC. This one is about APEST; which is like BINGO, but, instead of numbers, it’s people.
I first learned about APEST when I joined a “house church.” As far as church goes, I’ve had the best experiences with this kind. They structure their leadership after the APEST model. This is AKA the Five Fold Ministry taken from Ephesians 4:
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