Decided to revive this site as a (mostly) game dev blog. I’ve been spending my hobby time working with the Godot game engine. As with most solo game devs, I’ve started quite a few projects but finished none. However, I’ve gone one that is pretty far along. Will be sharing some of that in some future posts.

For now, check out IParT. This is a little something I put together a few months back, when NFTs (collectable crypto tokens) were all the rage. I wanted to see how Ethereum and all that “web3” stuff worked. The problem I ran into with the collectable tech was that it didn’t support interactive HTML content well (only one marketplace, OpenSea, did, and it’s support was limited and buggy). That took most of the fun out of it for me, who wants just a boring old static picture?

Anyway, each individual instance is a particle simulation with various variations in style and behavior. You can interact with the particles using your mouse. They are 100% deterministic. Use the IParT link to see all the variations.

Some pictures of the camp we put together this year. Gifting hammock naps on hot afternoons makes people happy…

… I feel good.

… a cacophony

    of

       sounds
       lights
       faces
       experiences
       hearts
       souls

I

       went home again.

Fuck to the default…

Conjured Accomplishment!

So… the art car license wasn’t granted. The idea came across as simply having the “seats removed and furniture and decorations added.” Fair I suppose….

Of course additional mutation would be possible… but I didn’t get anything decent worked out before the appeal deadline. So this is something that will have to wait for another year.

Not sure if the family plan will work out anyway… just need to be patient for a few more years I think. Then the kids would be more able to participate. I’ve got a feeling they aren’t really ready to get the most out of the whole thing.

So, now I need to come up with an alternative plan for this year’s burn. I think I’ll take the dragon bike again… not sure what other art project I may try to get together. Or maybe I’ll just join up with a theme camp and dedicate my time to that this time around.

We have been refining the idea for the art car. The pictures below show how we expect to put a brick facade on the outside, paneling on the inside, and curtains. We also expect to mount the chaise lounge sideways and put a couch at the back.

This should create a nice shaded space that can hold quite a few people. We expect to cruise around taking people where they want to go while they spend time on our couch. We’ll also park out on the playa somewhere pull people who wander by in.

The brain? What brain? Oh, that brain. Yes, that is a giant metallic lighted brain on top, complete with eyes. The “neural pathways” will slowly change color and will have a variety of colors at any one time. During the day, the shiny silver duct material we are going to use should reflect a lot of natural light as well, making it quite dazzling in the sun. Below is a test that gives some idea of what it may look like.

We have also started working on the car itself. Doing some cleaning and repairs. Looks like it will work out well for our intended use.

A requirement for a successful Family Burn will be to encourage my couch potatoish internet focused family (myself included) to actually interact with people. So, we are building the “Family Therapy” art car.

Starting with this (I can’t believe I just bought this thing):

Remove those seat cushions and seat backs, then add something like this:

Along with four (one for each family member) of something like this:

Arranged something like this (click for a better look):

Finish it off with some carpet and wood paneling, and a bookshelf along the back. And some lights of course.

You know. Like a family therapist office, but backwards. The family is the therapist (like we have a clue). Get it?

We’ll have pins and stickers for anyone who gets on our couch:

Anyway that is the idea. I’ll post progress…