Of artificial advances
Technology is amazing!
Recently went down a rabbit-hole watching how neural networks and artificial intelligence could generate images from datasets and it blew my mind. In particular, I tried Toonify Yourself which was developed to train an A.I. to convert photographs into cartoony or “Pixarish” versions of yourself. Personally I felt it came out a little more like an impressionist painting but its fun to play with.
Another really amazing site is ThisPersonDoesNotExist, which generates a portrait of someone based on data therefore the person does not exist. A creepy yet pretty useful thing to have handy if in need of a false identity. The portrait below is totally generated and therefore does not require consent but its amazing!
Roll 3
As a follow up to a long ago post about Dice probabilities, we derive 6n as a formula to use to calculate the possible outcomes.
Two dice 62 = 36 outcomes.
Three dice 63 = 216 outcomes.
If we take 3 Dice, the results would range from 3 – 18, or between (n – 6n).
The tricky part comes from trying to calculate the chances of each result without doing the mathematically inept person I am did, which was to list out all the possibilities.
- 3 = 1 + 1 + 1
- 4 = 1 + 1 + 2
- 5 = 1 + 1 + 3 = 2 + 2 + 1
- 6 = 1 + 1 + 4 = 1 + 2 + 3 = 2 + 2 + 2
- 7 = 1 + 1 + 5 = 2 + 2 + 3 = 3 + 3 + 1 = 1 + 2 + 4
- 8 = 1 + 1 + 6 = 2 + 3 + 3 = 4 + 3 + 1 = 1 + 2 + 5 = 2 + 2 + 4
- 9 = 6 + 2 + 1 = 4 + 3 + 2 = 3 + 3 + 3 = 2 + 2 + 5 = 1 + 3 + 5 = 1 + 4 + 4
- 10 = 6 + 3 + 1 = 6 + 2 + 2 = 5 + 3 + 2 = 4 + 4 + 2 = 4 + 3 + 3 = 1 + 4 + 5
- 11 = 6 + 4 + 1 = 1 + 5 + 5 = 5 + 4 + 2 = 3 + 3 + 5 = 4 + 3 + 4 = 6 + 3 + 2
- 12 = 6 + 5 + 1 = 4 + 3 + 5 = 4 + 4 + 4 = 5 + 2 + 5 = 6 + 4 + 2 = 6 + 3 + 3
- 13 = 6 + 6 + 1 = 5 + 4 + 4 = 3 + 4 + 6 = 6 + 5 + 2 = 5 + 5 + 3
- 14 = 6 + 6 + 2 = 5 + 5 + 4 = 4 + 4 + 6 = 6 + 5 + 3
- 15 = 6 + 6 + 3 = 6 + 5 + 4 = 5 + 5 + 5
- 16 = 6 + 6 + 4 = 5 + 5 + 6
- 17 = 6 + 6 + 5
- 18 = 6 + 6 + 6
So the grand result would be;
- Probability of a sum of 3: 1/216 = 0.5%
- Probability of a sum of 4: 3/216 = 1.4%
- Probability of a sum of 5: 6/216 = 2.8%
- Probability of a sum of 6: 10/216 = 4.6%
- Probability of a sum of 7: 15/216 = 7.0%
- Probability of a sum of 8: 21/216 = 9.7%
- Probability of a sum of 9: 25/216 = 11.6%
- Probability of a sum of 10: 27/216 = 12.5%
- Probability of a sum of 11: 27/216 = 12.5%
- Probability of a sum of 12: 25/216 = 11.6%
- Probability of a sum of 13: 21/216 = 9.7%
- Probability of a sum of 14: 15/216 = 7.0%
- Probability of a sum of 15: 10/216 = 4.6%
- Probability of a sum of 16: 6/216 = 2.8%
- Probability of a sum of 17: 3/216 = 1.4%
- Probability of a sum of 18: 1/216 = 0.5%
A look into the future
Alchymy Creative launches its second project which is a combination of animated shorts and interactive games for an installation in a Museum.
This 2D Game was an interesting experience as it was a 2D Racing experience using a Logitech Steering and Chair.
Johnson Training Academy
Namecards are tricky, some printers actually offer free namecard designs to clients in return for printing with them. It is fair but you do get what you pay for. Here is a recent namecard design for Johnson Training Academy (JTA) who does training for swimming, athletics, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tag rugby and hand ball. Quite an amazing selection, so if you are looking for quality training, do hit them up.
Re-Research
Third time is the charm, once again embarking upon the research journey with the Masters in Design (Innovation) thanks to a generous arrangement to accommodate me. This time I cannot give up or fail as I’m undertaking this with friends. As the research excitement builds, this blog will double as a space for research findings and thoughts.
Running Booths
After regularly doing roadshows in malls, public spaces and also conventions, here are some thought processes which we go through depending on the space availability and other considerations.
1) Draw gimmick
It is usually good to have something that stands out. Something to attract the crowd to spend a few minutes at your booth. Could be in the form of a backdrop or buntings and posters (depending on the layout of your booth and whether it has standard walls.) Usually this follows your game or product’s theme. I’ve used cutout standees and boxes with printed sides before. In this regard, the cornier the better sometimes.
2) Moving images
A small TV or screen showcasing your product/service/game is useful as something for people to watch. Not everyone likes engaging and talking and would prefer observing before spending time to engage. Promotional videos or explainers videos are good for this. Keep in mind that events can be noisy therefore always consider providing close-captions as an alternative.
3) Promotionals
Brochures, pamphlets, namecards, anything to disseminate information and retain people or get them to come back for more information. Tactile stuff are always welcome. This will be what visitors use to later go through and convince themselves of your service. Cost is a consideration here so make sure your give-away doesn’t cost an arm and leg.
4) Giveaways
Free game codes, badges, nick-nacks, even something as simple as a dice that you can easily purchase in bulk and giveaway to people as they talk to you at the booth. This lets people feel like they got something of value from you and helps spread through word-of-mouth.
5) Security.
Lastly consider bringing along cable locks and storage devices as crowds can get large at such events. Controllers and smaller components (mobile devices) can get pilfered easily. Also always consider your equipment being jostled and knocked over.
Anak Malaysia T-Shirt Design
Not that much updates for quite some time but we’re getting more organized so expect more content in 2019. Designed a shirt for a competition but never really got any traction out of it.
Tripping Through Time
Students recently worked on a rather unorthodox competition to design a facade entitled “A Trip through Time”. In usual GameDev style, pixel art was the chosen weapon of choice. We called it “Pixel Peranakan” and it was built for Malaysia Day in September.
Assam Laksa, Pai Tee and Cendol are all examples of the Peranakan culture’s contribution to the culinary world. You may not be able to see it, but each standee is propped up with a toilet roll.
Mangled English
As part of a WeChat Sticker Competition, my entry was called ‘Manglished’ which many translate to Malaysian English but I prefer to call it Mangled English. It is a local interpretation of how the English language could be used. This will also be my first time submitting a sticker set for any social chat application but the prize was too hard to resist. The first prize winner gets RM12,000 which would go a long way.
Blog Ad Wars
Just remembered an old Logo Design I did for a local blog ad network called Nuffnang years back. There was some drama on the blogosphere (wonder if people still call it that?) and two blog advertising networks appeared. Both started going at each other’s throats and as an innocent bystander, I picked Nuffnang to back as the other chaps seemed pretty arrogant and had some pretty unscrupulous methods. So I sent off a new redesign of their initial logo (the one above) which was honestly horrible and I was pretty happy to see it still being used til this day. Would’ve been great if I earned something out of it but as a designer, I’m glad it provided value to someone.
