f13.net

AGC07: Interview with Raph Koster



Raph Koster, President of Areae, Inc., author, speaker and game designer, allowed us to interview him at this year's Austin Game Developer's Conference.  He was joined by Areae's Community Manager, Tami Baribeau.  A productive and insightful interview, despite not being able to tell us exactly what his company is currently working on.

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Crosslink (http://www.raphkoster.com/2007/09/14/agdc07-the-f13net-interview), or whatever the kids call it.  After a long discussion with a drunk United Kingdomer in Austin, I believe this actually qualifies as Web 2.0, so enjoy.

Yegolev, that link is incredibly brokened.


So, We are going to hear about it? or were we already supposed to be hearing about it?

Nice interview all around, although Tami really didn't say a whole lot.

I was counting on the usual two month transcription time. :)

I believe I can upgrade from Real Soon Now(tm) to Damn Soon.

Man, I tried to break up some of those segments so it wouldn't be all WALL O' TEXT, but there's still large blocks remaining. Oh well.  :oops:

Still, whee, interviews are fun. Thanks again, Raph-man. :-D

"Raph: Actually, I'm not very good at games. I lost, if you recall. I lost badly, twice!"

Aww, come on! UO wasn't so bad!

It was still a great read. If I were a producer, I'd be throwing wads and wads of cash at Raph.

Ha ha.

The game in question was actually "For Sale." Fun little card game, I recommend it.

It's a good thing you're not a producer.

Great interview, guys

I'm actually working on something like that. Cockblocked by Indian outsourcers. :(

I like some of Raphs ideas but a lot of things he entirely off the mark. Last year it was micro transactions, this year its panic over ADDORPGS.

I would be throwing wads of cash at Raph but have someone else make calls. His ideas are ether fantastic or outright horrible, usually nothing in-between. As such you need proxy that would filter all bad stuff. As much as Raph is talking about fun he does not seem to apply 'Is This Fun' test to any of them.

It's not easy to get a word in when the conversation is about something Raph is passionate about! ;) 

Link works for me...?

Tami did try to get in there, honestly.

Yah.. It works now  :wink:  Although I wasn't aware that I was supposed to notify people that it was fixed.



Well, this I can totally understand, and with the length of most of his paragraphs I'd also assume he was talking very fast too. I also see why Raph was expecting a delay in transcription, but honestly don't every be afraid to just jump in.  :-P :roll:


You're a community person, so I hope you don't do that too often, especially lurking forums (like this one).  :-) :-D

There was a cool bit about Halo 3 development in Wired (shock!), and they went into some of the tools and techs they use for playtesting. There is one studio that gets playtesting.

If the gaming community ever realizes there is an entire 'nother part of this country (we call it the old country, the northeast, eh) and somehow there is a convention up here in the civilized regions, I want to interview Raph. It would probably piss off gamers and developers everywhere as we talk about half-capoing and alternate tunings.

I'd likely post it anyway.

They are announcing tomorrow:

www.metaplace.com

That'll Mesh well with Generic Box.

Jesus, they picked dark green text over lime green background in tinyfont, just so no one would make the connection? Irritating.

Very interesting beginning to Raph's little enterprise here. They updated the main page of the Areae (http://www.areae.net/) site too.

That Metasite page isn't also lacking it's image, but also seems to want me to allow Java and/or ActiveX.

Maybe it's this?:

I don't know if was worth allowing, especially with that image. LOL  j/k

I guess I'm paranoid too though, but it also was something I allowed for some other sites, that I'm now rethinking. This must be that Web2.0 thing in action. I like how seamless it is to give away my rights by allowing it, and also make me a statistic at the same time . (http://www.google.com/intl/en_ALL/privacy_faq.html#aggregatedinfo)

I would like to sit with Raph and have that discussion just like Sky, but I know that I'd never get a face to face. Hell, if I introduced myself he'd yell "Security". There aren't enough visits to the NYC area, and not ones that don't cost lots of money for a escort from the building.

:-D :-o

Thing is I like Raph, and know we'd get along if I did get the chance, plus have tons to talke about. Heck we even both made sandwiches for Subway.

Hey guys. Here's a fun conversation. WHO WILL FAIL?

http://www.techcrunch20.com/2007/index.php

Man. We should do this every year. Like a tech deadpool.

Edit: I'll start a thread. This looks fun.

The Areae trademark says the same.

Call in the Internet Detective heavy hitters. We need to know all we can so we can make wild assumptions prior to the inevitable press release tomorrow.

Don't be a donk. That's Google Analytics code. If your browser is giving you shit for visiting a site with Google Analytics code, you are too fucking paranoid and should get directly the fuck off my Internet.

Google Analytics is a bean counter's wet dream, tracking site traffic and analyzing the shit out of it. It's like WebTrends on major horse pill steroids.

I will not get off your internet, because I'm not actually on your internet. All you see is residue I leave all over the place, my connection and yours are totally seperate entities connected only by the data we leave all on a file someplace.

I have that type of stuff selected so that I am prompted (Java, ActiveX, others), so, seeing I hadn't ever allowed the "new" site before, it burped. I know it was/is inoccuous, and only Google's statistics catcher, but it also is me allowing Google to collect info about sites I vist. I'm not scared of Raph seeing (or stealing) my cookies, but I am more afraid of tossing them (all across the intraweb).

I block ads and pop-ups too, which I'm sure you do too. The prompting is just a preference, and an extra click so I know when somethings happening that I may or may not want. It's paranoid, but it's also extra secure.

People like you fuck up my statistics and revenue.

You're a terrible fucking paranoid tin-foil hat breed of geek.

What is this you speak of?

I will never surrender my tinfoil hat.

Plus, I also allow them for sites I visit frequently. I'm clicking on your banner ad I just forced it to show me now, just for you Schild.

You don't have to click.

I'm not Arthur Parker, but here you go...

Somewhat interesting:  http://metaplace.com/

Joomla?  Content Management.  User created content a la Facebook, Myspace, Habbo Hotel, Zwinky, and Lord knows what else?

I'm thinking something for the 10-16 age group.  Virtual worlds they create, can log in to each others 'worlds', possibly even chat support via cellphone with internet access.  Basically, a 3D Web 2.0 version of Myspace, Facebook, and SL all rolled into one that can run on a pocket calculator.

Joomla is most likely a placeholder.

Wrong. Your packets are clogging my tubes!

Oh, and Google Analytics saves it's cookie as the site you're accessing; not from Google.

See it's not the saving of cookies that is the issue here, it's that Google is actually analyzing my cookies, and also is giving the "stats" they acquire back to the site using Google Analytics. I added a (hidden) link (http://www.google.com/intl/en_ALL/privacy_faq.html#aggregatedinfo) to Google's privacy policy in my original mention of it, because of the portion that's relevant about what I agreed regarding my "aggregated non-personal information" (the link was embedded in the punctuation after I "became a statistic").

This basic explanation (http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?answer=26804&topic=7199) of Google Analytics direct from their FAQ (http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/topic.py?topic=7184) tells it better than I do:

What are you afraid of?

fun?

Besides my own shadow, conspiracies, Big Brother and aliens... Umm... Everything?

The information they collect I'd give to anyone that asked (like the game sites or general information (+porno) places I visit *I am essentially every 13-37 yr old internet user*)... But it's also something that I disagree requires being collected at all and probably shouldn't be.

I'm at least knowingly giving up my rights, by forcing Java to prompt me, but then again what difference does it make if everyone else just lets it happen?


LOL

I was/am having alot of fun with this circular debate on web browsing habits and privacy derived from Raph's "big news".

You better watch out. Google's out to sap and impurify your precious bodily fluids!

Is that you volunteering to clean up the place when I mentally masterbate all over the thread? Or are you going to get Google to suck out my brain cells?

I'm more afraid of Mod peen waving or them sickening people than I am of Google Analytics.

This is the only video link I could find. (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=2015400099)

I didn't know people who hadn't seen Dr. Strangelove were allowed onto the Internets.   :-o

Where's the thread?

In Gen Disc.

They aren't "collecting" anything. They're just counting page hits.
They aren't interested in you, the individual, at all.
Companies that use ads and adwords and analytics and whatever else Google bundles in, are interested in finding out how many times each ad drove a user to their shopping cart.

That's where you are wrong.

Yes, we...I mean they...have quite the folder on taolurker. Code eagle. Alpha zeta. Red team go. Back...and to the left.

Anyway, getting away from this ridiculous derail into another. Bill Maher had a bit about the goddamned babytalk tech company names. Looking at the list from techcrunch, it's well-warranted. Stop it with the baby talk, already.

How else can the common boob be fleeced, if you don't speak his language?

Again, you donk, nothing they are collected is new. It's been collected by every web server EVER since the beginning of the Interwebs. It just makes it easier to analyze by the people who do that sort of thing. You don't get asked for that information at sites that DON'T cause that stuff to popup, the web server automatically grabs it anyway, without using cookies. Anyone with the right warrants, will power and log anaylzing tools can get the same shit. Google Analytics makes it easier.

So if you do indeed get even the tiniest bit of panty ruffle from this information being collected, get off my Internet, because everything you've ever browsed has been logged.

The information has to be collected in order to justify the money spent to build, house, serve and maintain all that delicious content you see on the Internet.

Here's how you figure out if your site's name sucks. (http://www.igorinternational.com/process/social-networks-name-taxonomy.php)