Category Archives: Blog

Mine Kafon

Posted on Dec 29, 2012 by Jeff Watson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0dWZ7dsCes The Mine Kafon is a “low-cost wind-powered mine detonator” that’s light enough to be blown by the wind, tumbleweed-style, across war-ravaged landscapes, but heavy enough to actually set off any mines it happens to roll over. In countries with … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged inventions, kickstarter, land mines, mine kafon, war | Comments Off

The Impact Award at IndieCade 2012

Posted on Oct 8, 2012 by Jeff Watson

Thank you to the amazing IndieCade jury for recognizing Reality Ends Here with the 2012 Impact Award. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged 2012, awards, dissertation, indiecade, reality ends here, sca, simon wiscombe, tracy fullerton, usc | Comments Off

New cards from Reality 2012

Posted on Sep 4, 2012 by Jeff Watson

The second season of Reality Ends Here launched last week. In addition to numerous new play mechanics and tweaks, we’ve also created dozens of new game cards for players to use to generate creative prompts. Here are a few of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged cards, dissertation, reality ends here, sca, usc | 1 Comment

Design is a method of action

Posted on Apr 4, 2012 by Jeff Watson

Charles Eames, as interviewed in 1972 by “L. Amic” of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Eames’ Zen-like answers amount to a thorough and timeless definition of design. What stands out to me is the exchange about constraints: “Does … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged charles and ray eames, constraints, design | 4 Comments

Parsons Talk: Pervasive Games for Experiential Media Arts Education

Posted on Feb 23, 2012 by Jeff Watson

If you’re in NYC, you might want to check out my talk at the Design and Technology program at Parsons The New School for Design. I will be presenting Reality Ends Here and some ideas about the role of applied pervasive games in education. Hope to see you there. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged ARGs, education, nyc, parsons, pervasive games, reality ends here, speaking | 2 Comments

GDC and DML Panels: Gameful Layers for the Freshman Experience

Posted on Feb 18, 2012 by Jeff Watson

I will be presenting at the Game Developers Conference and the Digital Media and Learning Conference in the first week of March, 2012. These presentations are a part of a panel series jointly organized by the University of Southern California, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged benjamin stokes, dml, donald brinkman, gdc, just press play, reality ends here, rit, speaking, throwdowns, tracy fullerton | Comments Off

Reconstructing visual experiences from brain activity

Posted on Feb 6, 2012 by Jeff Watson

Despite its length and hard-to-pin-down clunkiness, I always liked Until the End of the World, Wim Wenders’ rambling near-term sci-fi film about (among other things) the psychological impact of a technology that enables the recording and playing back of one’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged berkeley, brains, lifelogging, neuroscience, science, science fiction | Comments Off

Berkeley Talk: Transforming Community Through Pervasive Play

Posted on Jan 25, 2012 by Jeff Watson

I will be speaking at the Berkeley Center for New Media on February 2nd, 2012, at 5PM in the BCNM Commons (340 Moffitt). Here’s the description of the talk: In this talk, Jeff Watson will present Reality Ends Here (2011), … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged bcnm, berkeley, events, pervasive games, reality ends here, speaking | 4 Comments

Play, writing, and the pleasures of complex dynamic systems

Posted on Jan 10, 2012 by Jeff Watson

Writer and game designer Andrea Phillips, who I interviewed in this space a few years back, recently wrote a blog post about the evolution of her writing process, describing “the way that my creation of stories and my creation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged andrea phillips, complexity, game design, screenwriting, storytelling | 3 Comments

Metropolis II