e384 – TrAIning AI

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robot hand on a blue network background
Photo by Tara Winstead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/robot-s-hand-on-a-blue-background-8386437/

Andy and Michael R get this episode started with all things AI.  First, Michael shares his experiences with training an AI (see image below).  Next up, the pair consider Krafton’s virtual human Ana with her ‘Shine Bright’ video.  

Then the co-hosts take a look at a recreation of the Jurassic Park T. Rex breakout scene made with a PlayStation and Dreams.  Quite an incredible piece of work, and extremely faithful to the original movie scene.  Sticking with the AI theme of this episode, the pair consider ‘The Follower’ with the AI using open cameras to find video of people taking instagram photos.  

Then, Michael and Andy turn to the (smaller) screen and MacStories’ thorough review of iOS 16, and all of the new capabilities it affords those in the Apple ecosystem.  Check out the details on notifications, lock screen enhancements, shortcuts and much, much more.  @mattcassinelli shares how @macaulay_flower uses iOS 16’s background removal feature to curate an outfit history – check out the show notes below to see.  

The co-hosts wrap things up with a funny tweet from Ian Bogost, and a cool kickstarter for Book Wyrm dice.

Where do you see AI making interesting inroads?  What iOS 16 feature are you most excited about?  Drop us a line at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know! 

Selected Article Links

Michael R’s Training an AI

The Verge article: Here’s Krafton’s virtual human Ana in action

Krafton

MacStories.net iOS 16: The MacStories Review

MacStories.net LockFLow: A Simple Way to Add Shortcuts to the iOS Lock Screen

Kickstarter: Book Wyrm Dice

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:19 — 41.7MB) | Embed

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e383 – Notchy McNotchface

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iPhone & Mac with notches
Photo by Penfer on Unsplash

Back to full co-host strength this week, Michael, Andy and Michael start off this @GamesAtWork_biz episode with the premier of Andy’s new Opal C1 camera and appreciate its features.  Andy also shares the prompt he used for DALL-E to create an unsettling image of the Games At Work co-host team rendered as minifigs and dice.  

Next up is Disney’s new AR-enabled short film, ‘Remembering’.  The team did not get the chance to take in the augmented reality experience in advance of the show, however, did so over the weekend.  The AR portion is short — the film is too! — and effectively transforms the area around the television into a woodland area with a waterfall, and a pool filled with leaping dolphins.  As a second screen, the experience is a great example of what is possible, and will likely become expected in entertainment, news and information sharing.  

Michael, Michael and Andy shift gears to discuss how the iPhone and iOS team at Apple have taken the notch and turned this obstacle into an opportunity.  The newly named “Dynamic Island” is the iPhone screen real estate that is taken up by the camera array.  This area is used as the center of a space that then bubbles out in an animated way to provide contextual information depending on what the user is doing.  AirPod Pros connecting via bluetooth, the Island bubbles out to show that the connection is up and running.  Getting close to a destination in Maps, the Island bubbles out to show the upcoming turn.  There’s an article from 9 to 5 Mac that speculates how the same user experience may be ported to iPad, if the camera array is placed on the landscape edge.  It is not out of the question whether the same bubble out experience could apply to the new MacBook Air, which also has a notch — this could be the case where the obstacle becomes the feature in such a clever way.

The team closes out this week’s episode with the exciting news that there will be a Monty Python based RPG, and muses whether one’s knowledge of budgies, philosophers or the airworthiness of coconut encumbered avians might provide an advantage in this game.  Have a look at the other bonus links below to see whether Michael, Andy and Michael picked the right one given their limited time for the episode. 

Which of the bonus links should we have talked about?  Drop us a line at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know! 

Selected Article Links

Opal C1 camera

https://labs.openai.com/s/Kag36pExavazHrw7vA4BQmVg

TechCrunch article: Disney+ releases its first AR-enabled short film, ‘Remembering,’ starring Brie Larson

Gizmodo article: Bizarre Muzzle Microphone Keeps Your Mouth in the Metaverse

Rackit 2.0 Handsfree Harmonica Microphone 

The Verge article: Apple may have fixed the notch by putting it on an island

9 to 5 Mac article: How could iPhone 14 Pro’s ‘Dynamic Island’ work on iPad? 

MacBook Air M2

Games at Work e315: Reeses McBoatface

Polygon article: Congratulations to Monty Python Fans, there is finally an RPG for you

Bonus links

Rest of World article: They built a Minecraft crypto empire. Then it came all crashing down

Ars Technica article: Developer creates delightful programming font based on Minecraft

Gizmodo article: Playful Lego-Compatible Mechanical Keyboard Works With Your Own Bricks

Let’s Play Retro Games

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:44 — 31.9MB) | Embed

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e382 – Know it when I see it

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Flying Toaster created with #Craiyon 4 Sept 2022

In this week’s @GamesAtWork_biz episode, Andy and Michael bring you a 100% spoiler free roundup of this week’s top stories in technology, metaverse, gamification and a whole lot more.  

First up, Andy shares the news about his recent guest spot on Coffee and Open Source.  Then the pair turn to an interesting article about Fortnite as the metaverse.  They also talk about what it was before the battle royale experience, and the fact that that there are other experiences in this virtual world beyond that.  

Staying on games, Michael and Andy consider a review of Pentiment, which has some intriguing user experience features, and a design that is simultaneously reminiscent of Monty Python sketches and animated renaissance paintings.  Then, without causing any spoilers at all about the Rings of Power, the co-hosts remark how an English professor writes a virtual excuse note for anyone who has not yet read any other Tolkien material (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, etc).  

Next up is a story that has been making the rounds of the AI x art world – where the first place winner of the Colorado State Fair in the Digital Arts/Digitally Manipulated Photography category is an AI-generated artwork piece.  Of course, this then launches a discussion between Andy and Michael on the fun and games of Midjourney, Dall·E 2 and craiyon.  The short clip from John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight is a funny look at this trend.  

Staying on the art theme, Michael plucks a piece from the Erza Klein podcast dealing with Rotten Tomatoes, and the concept that art is not easily reduced to a social score.  The podcast uses the Rotten Tomatoes score as an example of this, and that 50 people who love a movie and 50 people who pan it averages out to an average score – not that much help, when you think about how significant art moves people’s emotions.  

Wrapping things up this week with the announcements from Lenovo at the IFA Berlin trade show – the new Glasses T1 wearable display and the ThinkPad X1 Fold, Andy and Michael briefly touch on 3D television and the ThinkPad 701 butterfly keyboard.

What do you think makes great art?  What are your thoughts on the Rings of Power premier?  Drop us a line at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know! 

Selected Article Links

Coffee & Open Source episode with Andy Piper, recorded 8/31/2022

Coffee & Open Source RSS feed

Mashable article: The ‘real’ metaverse already exists and it’s called ‘Fortnite’

Inverse article: Pentiment is a Work of Peerless Brilliance

Slate article: Don’t Read Lord of the Rings Before Watching Rings of Power. It’s Fine!

Ars Technica article: AI wins state fair contest, annoys humans

DevOps.com article: Stable Diffusion Goes Public – and the Internet Freaks Out

The Erza Klein Show: Best of: A Life-Changing Philosophy of Games re-airing of a favorite podcast from February 2022

Rotten Tomatoes 

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

ZDNet article: IFA: Lenovo unveils Glasses T1 wearable display, next-gen ThinkPad X1 Fold, and more

Bonus links

Mashable article: At NASA, some dread the mega moon rocket returning to its hangar

Inverse article: Goodbye Ikea — A Futuristic Technology Could Create Self-Assembling Furniture

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e381 – Cut to the Chase

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saw cutting to the chase
Photo by Karan Bhatia on Unsplash

In this week’s @GamesAtWork_biz episode, Andy, Michael and Michael examine the nurbleflurbiness of a multitude of metaverse articles.  Starting with the the 2022 edition of the Gartner Emerging Tech Hype Cycle, the co-hosts explore various items on the cycle.  It is interesting to note that the metaverse is on the start of the curve, and with a greater than 10 year estimate to the plateau.  Sticking with the metaverse concept, the trio discuss the iHeartRadio Fortnite concert venue sponsored by State Farm.  This spins up a discussion on advertising and influence in the metaverse, and Michael M brings in the example of Vans on Snapchat and that company’s recent popularity resurgence.  

Moving along to Settlers of Catan, Michael, Andy and Michael explore the augmented reality gaming experience from Tilt Five.  They also take a look at Ian Hughes’ tweet using the glasses and wand from earlier in August.  Such well loved games could become the ‘killer app’ for AR.  Tilt Five is well positioned with Catan, D&D and, as the article references, Embracer Group who have the Lord of the Rings gaming franchise.  Definitely a space to watch!  There’s more to look forward to as well – such as the Amazon television series premier of the Rings of Power, due to launch 1 September.  And the new Meta Oculus 3, coming in October.  But wait, there’s more – Apple has an event on 7 September.  So many things to check out in the near future! 

The team wraps up this week’s episode with two micro builds, each intriguing in their own way.  Let’s cut to the chase.  First up, an arduino-powered toy saw that is appropriately used as a Fortnite controller.  And last, an amazing build of a micro micro computer display in the form of a LEGO brick that you just have to see to believe.  

What would you like to see an arduino power?  What would make the best AR game?  Drop us a line at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know! 

Selected Article Links

SkarredGhost blog: The metaverse enters the Gartner hype cycle (but with a 10+ years outlook)

The Verge article: iHeartRadio is trying out a Fortnite ‘metaverse’ concert arena 

Snapchat

Snapchat sponsored avatar clothing options
Snapchat brand name avatar clothing options

The Verge article: The Settlers of Catan will become a holographic AR board game in early 2023

Games at Work e130 The Final Countdown (Catan reference)

Tilt Five

Embracer Group

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

PCGames article: Oculus Quest 3 release date, price, specs rumors of the Meta Quest

Ars Technica article: Meta’s next VR headset will launch in October

Kickstarter: Project Ironside | A $399 Extendable Board Game Table

Cult of Mac article: Kooky interactive site lets you design your own Franken-iPhone 

Michael R’s creation

hackster.io article: A Toy Saw with an Arduino Makes a Great Fortnite Controller

The Verge article: Please, Lego, let this engineer bring your computer brick to life

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:12 — 40.4MB) | Embed

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