Polytechnicast - Code Sketching for Artists and Programmers

In this episode I discuss how I believe code isn’t just for people with a computer-science background and that no matter your background it can be helpful to draft your code by sketching it out.

Links Mentioned and Useful Resources

• Rob’s random-sort jQuery plugin at Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
• Coding languages/environments mentioned (though there are many, many more worth checking out based on what tools you use and prefer) Python - a beginners guide, Lua (note: I didn’t find a solid introduction to Lua useful for programmers and non-programmers in the time I had… which means perhaps I should write one. Stay tuned.), JavaScript via jQuery for Designers JavaScript - at w3 Schools
• ProcessingJS - a programming tool and language great at visual tasks and for visual thinkers (easiest in some ways to get started with Processing JS, though you can do even more with Processing)
• Psudocode

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Introducing the Fun Loop

Introducing the Fun Loop from Rob Stenzinger on Vimeo.

The Fun Loop is a powerful concept in game design. This brief introduction gives a feel for what fun is in a game design context and how the fun loop helps with delivering an interactive flow for your game.

Fabulous Secrets 03 - Resequencing a Story

Inspired by an activity I read about on the Drawing Words, Writing Pictures blog, I recently test-ran a new lesson in my classroom that turned out to be a lot of fun for the students. I had them draw a sequence of events on some 3x5" index cards and evaluate how the story tone changed when we changed the sequence of events.

You can download a PDF of the lesson plan to try it out yourself!

Photos of some of the students' work can be seen here:

Resequencing a Story Class

fs03.mp3 Listen on Posterous

LIA Cast 02 - Feelings Count, Too

This time on the Lean Into Art cast Rob and Jerzy discuss creating from an emotional or non-analytical place. Regardless of how analytical we think we are, we all operate from that primal part of the brain sometimes. We then highlight some of the features of Lean Into Art's first event, 30 Classes in 30 Days, which will launch in November of 2011.

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Links Mentioned

• Why Superheroes Communicate to Us
• Adobe Connect
• Max Headroom Blipvert
• 30 Characters Challenge and Tyler James Comics
• Daniel Govar
• Art & Story Podcast
• Home Movies
• Comics Fundamentals by Jerzy Drozd
• Lean Into Art - 30 Classes in 30 Days Event
• Rob’s Participation in the 30 Characters Challenge in 2009 and 2010
• Ian Bogost’s Cow Clicker
• Jerzy’s Blog: Comics Are Great!
• Jerzy on Twitter
• Rob’s Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
• Rob on Twitter

LIA Cast 02 - Feelings Count, Too

Comics Are Great! Presentation

Jerzy Drozd recently did a talk on the communicative power of comics and how reading them improves key reading comprehension skills at Ignite Great Lakes on July 30, 2011. You can watch the talk via the video player below.

Ignite is an international series of 5-minute talks designed to enlighten and inspire an audience. Each presentor is allowed 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. It's a fun challenge to capture your thoughts into such a restricted format.

Check out Jerzy's other talk, The 21st Century Cartoonist, performed at Ignite Chelsea.