The game of self

Moving on to my own domain.

2008-02-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

I've got to say, Blogger was a convenient way to get my feet wet in the blogging world. But I am exploring grander ambitions, and I've decided to register http://www.gameofself.com/ as it's own domain.

I've also changed from Blogger to Wordpress as my blogging software, I like the flexibility and professional features in Wordpress more. I've moved all content from this site to my new site, so you don't need to hang around here any more!

Please update your bookmarks and join me at
http://www.gameofself.com/

-Norman

The Art of Learning

2008-02-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

It was serendipitous to find the The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin in a library recently.

This guy is phenomenal, first he was a childhood national chess champion, and then he learned tai-chi well enough to win the world title (twice) in international push hands tournaments.

I found this book to be very inspirational. It rang a bell with both my NLP (how do I learn?) and Taoist (how do I get good at Push Hands?) interests.

If you'd like a preview, check out this youtube video.

OpenSocial and Persistent Worlds

2008-02-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed the explosion in little games and entertainment applications intended for use on social networks?

Facebook led the charge by publishing an API for developers to use, but Google followed up soon thereafter with an portable standard interface called "OpenSocial". Most of the rest of the social networks are standardizing on OpenSocial. An OpenSocial application can work similarly on hi5, Myspace and Plaxo and several other social networks with only minor code changes.

OpenSocial provides developers with a Javascript API exposing several interesting services:

1. View the contents of a users Profile.
2. Access to a users social graph (Friends List)
3. Management of application specific persistent data.
4. The ability to read and write "Activity" streams (a log of actions which a user has taken).

Each OpenSocial provider hosts a container for these services, where they can customize which services are available and what permissions need to be validated for access.

By allowing external developers access to this API, the social networks have leveraged the talents of many independent developers, letting them extend their services “stickyness” organically and at very little cost to themselves.

So let me ask, what is the difference between a social networking application and a persistent world? Or even an MMO? Aren’t we just another type of social network, with perhaps some Role Playing stuff on top?

Can we learn from the way that social networks are extending themselves? Should we consider supporting API’s like OpenSocial, and think about extending our communities in a similar way?

Even if we can’t do this “in world”, isn’t there value in exporting this type of information from our game worlds out to the web? Once our communities are visible on the web, we also can support OpenSocial applications.

What are your thoughts?

Find out more about the OpenSocial API.

Breakthrough to Success

2008-02-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I spent 3 days getting brainwashed by one of the best NLP trainers out there.

Christopher Howard gives free "Breakthrough to Success" Trainings, and I was fortunate to attend and see him work his magic.

Christopher Howard has learned the "true tradition" of NLP, and has kept it fresh with a lot of the recent innovations in the field. His reputation was why I chose to go, and as I expected, there was a bit of upselling going on. But it was well worth it, because the training I got was very powerful and Life changing!

I had some mental roadblocks removed, and I now feel like I am going full throttle down the highway of life, watching sparks fly off the guardrail as I adjust my course!

Highly recommended, sign up for your own "Breakthrough to Success" if you get a chance!

New Frontiers for me.

2008-02-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

I've moved on from my previous gig at Stormfront Studios to a new position as CTO for a early stage online game startup Bardo Entertainment. I get to work with some really great people with solid finance and game marketing experience. My job is to "make it so!", and I am really excited. It is still way to early to say very much about what Bardo is doing, but believe me, we plan to rock your socks!

FYI, If anyone knows good flash or Java developers with some game experience in the bay area, please let me know :)

Mixing Holosync with Tai Chi

2007-12-03T23:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while, but I have not been standing still.

Since my last post, I've created a new morning ritual (These things should change depending on your need, don't stagnate). I listen to an hour of holosync www.centerpointe.com while practicing Tai-chi Sword, Tai-chi open hand, Qi Gong and standing meditation. I try to do this 6 days a week (whenever possible) every morning at 6am.

This has been great! My Tai Chi has improved so much! my ability to percieve my surroundings has also expanded greatly. I now have a dedicated hour of practice and meditative activity every morning, and I don't need to set any alarms, the one hour holosync session does my timing for me!

Domain Driven Design.

2007-05-07T23:38:00.000-07:00

I have recently been reading: "Domain-Driven Design, Tracking Complexity in the Heart of Software" by Eric Evans.

An Excellent book. The basic principle is that a "Ubiquitous Language" should be a core design element which is shared between all participants and extended, or refactored as the understanding of the problem domain matures.

This has echos of NLP for me. Isn't rapport learning to share the same language? It makes sense that the software built to satisfy a shared language will be much closer to what the customer needs than whatever an engineer can mind read. Evans wants us to spend time speaking the language, (multiple modes anyone?), because he believes that our mind will accept complicated models visually which we won't stand verbally. By mulling over how a model sounds, we are using a different partion of our mind to validate, and to insure that the model we have is succinct, and well structured.

As an NLP fan I would also be interested in looking for meta language issues with the language. The same deletions and generalizations we might look for while in conversation with a patient would also reveal weaknesses in the ubiquitous language, and help us identify areas where it should be expanded or modified.

I'm still reading the book, but it has triggered a lot of great ideas in my mind! Thank you Mr Evans!

They stole my idea!

2007-04-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. But after my previous post was made, I received a link to a group which is developing an educational MMO game based on Math! This game apparently will use a lot of the same ideas I was talking about. I'm impressed, I can hardly wait for its release!

http://www.frozennorth.net/games/

I love it when great minds think alike. Using math is a great idea, it is a more constrained domain than "The 5 excellences", probably has a larger audience, and it lends itself to linear progressions (pun intended) .

"Why Can't I learn Chinese in a computer game? part 2"

2007-03-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Back when I wrote the article on "Why can't I learn Chinese in a computer game", I posted it to a list of professional game developers to get their response. I guess it was naive of me, but I was thinking of "game" in terms of a role playing game, or perhaps an MMO. The unexpected, but obvious (in retrospect) responses I got were:

It would be easy to add Chinese to existing puzzle/parlor games.
There is a whole subculture of game developers specialized in "serious games".
Several computerized language tutoring programs already exist which have game like elements.

This left me speechless, but I have been thinking about it for a while and I am working on expanding my vision to include the spirit of these responses.

What I am looking for is a way to get a return on my investment of the many hours I've spent playing addictive games like World of Warcraft. I didn't want Chinese language instruction to be the primary purpose of the game, but one of several educational side effects of playing it.

What I envision is a game which educates in a variety of areas, letting the player follow their interest and naturally learn as they do what they find interesting.

For instance, being a student of things Taoist, my ideal game would be a title which focused on the 5 excellences: poetry, painting, calligraphy, tai chi and medicine.

In the ancient days, the path of wisdom was to become an ascetic and wander from village to village meeting new people, experiencing new things, learning skills, and perhaps to finding a guide for the next phase of the journey.

Why can't our game give the same experience? Instead of a linear set of areas to traverse, there may be a range of different people / objects to interact with, each with their own entertaining challenge or training. As you learn new things, new possibilities open up, and perhaps after succeeding in a challenge, some key information will be passed on which opens up a new area of exploration. The design of Oblivion is very much like this.

The use of puzzles with educational content would be a core mechanic of the game. Puzzles allow the user to drill new concepts while still being entertained. For a game with a similar (less educational) integration of puzzles and RPG, take a look at puzzle quest

I also think that puzzle games make excellent candidates for download to a portable device. The material in your portable device puzzle collection would evolve and become more complex dependent on what you have achieved in the primary game. Given enough practice perhaps you can learn enough to pass a challenge which will let you enter a new path in the primary game. Keeping old material in occasional rotation will allow an occasional refresher, and help cement what you have learned in long term memory. I believe that a small set of puzzle games can be reused, but can be kept fresh by updating their content regularly.

We have a lot to learn from the serious games people too, to avoid repetition and linear game play we will need to greatly improve our character simulations, and provide a lot of alternative dialog and intelligent behavior in our NPCs. Advanced Natural Language Processing techniques would be absolutely necessary in a game this language centric. The serious games community has also researched the educational patterns which work in games.

I would like some attention paid to the basics of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and hypnosis as I mentioned in my previous post. I think leveraging some of their ideas could greatly enhance the quality and entertainment value of the game.

Many linguists tell us that immersion is the best way to learn a new language. The primary game should expose the user to the target language gradually, requiring the player to gain in their understanding of it to converse with new characters, and to advance their goals. Although current generation game will probably not have adequate voice recognition, users could still communicate with NPCs using dialog trees or icons and learn to understand both written and spoken forms of the language in response. The more we are required to use the language, the more painlessly we learn.

In any case, we must not forget the primary purpose of the game, to entertain. Getting buy-in from educators and parents would be a big bonus, but ultimately, what will make the game work is its inner addictiveness, high quality game play and variety.

I think all the technology, research and game design elements needed already exist. Isn't it time we produced a blockbuster or two which actually had some redeeming value?

Lets build some AAA titles that educate. You know it is in our power...

The "big idea"

2007-03-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not posting very often. I could make all the normal excuses, but the fact is, I hate to post unless I have a "big idea" to relate.

Unfortunately the "big Idea" thing is an unnecessary constraint on me, and discourages creative flow while encouraging writers block.

So I am promising myself, and you, that I will post more often. The reverse of this statement is that I make no guarantee of having a "big idea" in every post. But perhaps enough little ideas will be sufficient to build and keep the interest of my readers.

It all goes back to the Zen idea of "Attachment". As long as I am attached to the idea of a big idea, I'll probably only rarely have one, and I'll write less because my internal dialog is criticizing everything I say. To desire a "big idea" is a sure way of blocking one :)

The Morning Ritual

2007-02-11T23:39:00.000-08:00

One very useful technique I've been using is the "Morning Ritual". I've always had the tendency to stay up late, and sleep in until the last moment, and I never seemed to have time to do the things I knew I wanted to do each day. By promising myself to do a "Morning Ritual", I've managed to shift my wasted, passive, evening, web surfing, game playing or TV watching time into a different, productive set of activities every morning.

I prepared a self hypnosis tape to help cement the morning ritual into place, and now that it has become second nature, I don't even need to refresh myself with the tape any more.

My current morning ritual consists of:
1. Get up, do some minor "wake up" chores.
2. Prepare a cup of Chinese medicine.
3. Sit quietly, drink my herbs, and write my morning pages (3 pages every morning).
4. take my morning pills and eat a light breakfast.
5. Do Qi Gong, and review anything I recently learned in Tai Chi class.
6. Listen to an audio hypnosis session.

All in all this takes me a couple of hours each morning, but I feel so much better when I do this every day.

Doing the same thing every day can be boring, so I try to vary my ritual to reflect what my current focus is. But there are always some things I try to do every day. Like exercise.

Push Hands is similar to NLP Short Therapy

2007-01-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

In Tai-chi practice there is this skill called "push hands". Basically you and a partner remain in contact with each other while each player alternately pushes towards your partners center. The practice is to absorb the push and/or redirect the push in useful ways.

Push hands is based on the sequence: listening, following, interrupting, and redirecting.

The primary skill in push hands is listening. This isn't listening with your ears, it is listening with your body. This is a skill is built from many weeks of practice. To succeed at listening you must quiet your own mind, and be open to feel (listen) to whatever your partner is doing. If you do this successfully you can track your partner 100% and you will always know how they are applying force, and where their center is.

By listening well, you enable following. This is the gentle matching of your force with your partner's, ideally, if following is done well, your partner will not even be aware that you are doing anything at all. They will continue to move with the illusion that they are in total control.

Once you are listening to, and following your partner closely, you can then choose an appropriate moment to interrupt your partner's pattern of movement. The goal is to use as little force as possible to redirect what they are doing, and lead them into a new and unexpected direction. The more force your partner is using, the more force you are able to reflect back onto them in your response.

The interruption and its follow through effectively redirect your partners pattern, moving them into one of your choosing. Once you have them in your own pattern, it is easy to bounce, trap or throw them into a nearby painful object.

In push hands this process is practiced many times, until it becomes instinctive for the practitioner.

In NLP, a short therapy may be conducted in a similar manner:

Once again the sequence is: listening, following, interrupting, and redirecting.

You listen to your partner by quieting your mind, and keeping it open to what your partner is doing. Instead of listening for a physical center, you are looking to understand their map of the world, and working to identify their existing behavioral pattern and their desired outcome. In essence you are looking for their emotional center.

You then follow their actions by subtle Mirroring and by using their vocabulary, gestures, and map of the world. This increases their trust in you and builds general rapport.

Once you identify a pattern you wish to change you wait until you see it, then you interrupt it. This can be done through some sudden shock to their system, for instance, a loud noise, or a unexpected gesture. The interruption should momentarily cause your partners pattern to be broken.

Before the old pattern is re-initialized, you have the opportunity to create a new pattern by redirecting your parner to a new behavior at this point.

Rinse and repeat, always replacing the old pattern with the new.

There is a common thread between these two activities, I find it fascinating!

Why can't I learn Chinese in a computer game?

2007-01-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

I listened recently to an Adam Up Live podcast (#48) where Adam gave a summary of how to amplify the learning process by doing what he called "Total Immersion". Adams podcast used research from NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and child development to enumerate a list of what was needed to encourage rapid learning. I was struck by how close this list seemed to many of the features we provide in our gaming environments.

I have summarized his list of points below, adding my commentary about how I think they could be applied within virtual environments.

The participant must want to learn. This is usually done by providing some tactical incentives to encourage goal setting and defining a strategic pathway to a higher level goal, in other words, we need to make progress tasty.
The participant must be engaged in the moment. Not in the past or the future, but right now. I think this could be facilitated by using a first person point of view and immersing the participant in an interactive environment. (i.e. FPS technology)
The participant must be immersed in the learning experience. The setting, preparation, game state, environmental cues, and timing must all work together to enhance the ability for the participant to "tune in" to the activity. This is a standard game design goal, nothing in the environment should distract the participant from what he/she is doing.
The participant should use all senses. This comes from the NLP concept of modalities. Learning is best when done in multiple senses, such as Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. So the environment needs to provide non-exclusive clues in a variety of senses. Visual and Auditory are pretty well covered in modern computer games, but perhaps kinesthetic could benefit from creative leverage of Wii controller manipulation, or at least rumble feedback.
The participant should get frequent praise and rewards. We're talking about positive feedback baby! Perhaps the game could come with a hot companion who knows just what to say when you show perseverance and try alternate solutions :) .
The participant should be liberated from the concepts of success or failure. Young children while learning rapidly are not daunted by a few failures, or complacent just because they accomplished something. Have you noticed how they keep going? over and over and over, (sometimes making adults crazy!) until they are happy with the pattern? Our environment must reward them for their continued participation, rather than categorize what they do as success or failure.
The participant must pace herself. When the participant gets tired, it needs to be possible to take a break. Forcing someone to "grind" the same puzzle over and over can be very tiring. We need to provide a way to save the game state, or to context switch to a different goal when the participant gets tired. It may even be possible to detect this state and provide some alternate activities at this point.
The participant needs time to digest and process their experiences. Usually this involves sleeping for a while. The brain spends the time we are sleeping categorizing our experiences and associating them with other portions of our mind. Trying to do too much without digesting the result (with some good solid sleep) is not good for the ultimate retention of the material.

So how would we develop a game to be educational and fun without being pedantic? What if I wanted to play a game where I could learn to read, write and understand spoken Chinese?

I don't believe the game design would need to be that different from existing patterns of computer game design, so what is the blockage? Do we have a problem generating content? or do we need to overcome the competitive nature of existing computer games? Or would such a product fail to make enough money?

Just some food for thought!

How I got started with self hypnosis

2007-01-03T22:53:00.000-08:00

I originally got interested in self hypnosis because I was having a weight problem this summer. I noticed that my weight was creeping up, and I knew that at a certain threshold my diabetes would kick in. (I know because it has happened to me before). So, on a whim I spent about $50 on an audio set "Think Yourself Thin" from Adam Eason an entertaining hypnotist with a strong NLP background.

I was pretty determined to not waste my money, so I decided to follow all the instructions, and listen to the audio sessions at the rate suggested (one per week). I used my determination to leverage my subconscious, determined to make a serious change.

The worst part was keeping an eating journal for a while, and actually discovering what it was like to feel hungry again... This had to happen, because I needed to interrupt my old pattern of eating and bring the whole eating thing back into my conscious awareness again. Don't worry, I didn't starve, and after my metabolism stabilized, There was almost no willpower needed to stay on the program!

The most enjoyable part of the program was the audio self-hypnosis sessions. I tried to listen to the latest every day whenever possible. I could feel my body filled with energy and my psyche seemed to feel new enthusiasm after many sessions.

In about 3 weeks I started to notice that my self confidence had improved! and I felt like I had new control over my life. This unexpected result was very nice, and had unexpected benefits in many aspects of my life.

I was told not to weigh myself during the program, so I waited 10 weeks from when I began, I was amazed to discover that I had reduced my weight by over 25 lbs!

Well I was convinced of the power of self-hypnosis, so I purchased the "Master course in self-hypnosis" and started to learn the basics of how it all works. I now can create my own self-hypnosis tapes, and I try to either listen to one of Adams (I still love the Think Yourself Thin sessions) or one of my own, every day.

My life has changed. I've started religiously doing a morning ritual including Qigong, writing and self-hypnosis. I don't feel limited anymore, and I have naturally dropped some self destructive habits I've had for a long time.

If you need to change your life, and need a little guidance, I highly recommend trying a guided program like Think Yourself Thin!

Passion is the key

2006-12-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to believe that passion is the key to success. (closely followed by perseverance).

I was remembering the many job interviews I've had and thinking about what made the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful ones. I think my passion was the primary factor. If I was talking about an area I deeply cared about, and the interview remained focused on my area of interest, I inevitably did well. When I got distracted by difficult questions or by a negative emotional state, I would start to back-pedal or second guess myself. As my focus moved from my passion, I became a less desirable candidate and the interview turned out not so well.

Passion is a motivating force, driving dedication and building perseverence. It is an important tool for anyone interested in self development.

Passion is also a primary factor in building positive rapport between people. Think of the people you admire most, I'll bet you see strong passions in every one.

I'm not the first person to espouse being passionate in your life. I know Anthony Robbins and others have discussed its importance. But I am not one to reject an idea just because I got it from someone else :)

I suggest living your life with passion, just like what you've witnessed in those you admire.

Affordable Leadership Training

2006-11-09T22:50:00.000-08:00

Have you investigated toastmasters? They have chapters everywhere, and are an effective way of practicing not only speechmaking, but also your, listening, organizing and leadership skills.

I've joined a group recently, and I can tell you that it has been very helpful to have a community of peers to practice with. Not only that, but I'm having a great time too!

Public speaking is one of the most feared activities by many people, if you can get comfortable talking to large groups, you will find that many other leadership roles will be easy by comparison.

The importance of practice.

2006-11-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

A famous NLP statement is:

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got".

No matter how much you understand something intellectually by reading books or listening or viewing materials. Nothing will happen until you practice! Even if it is only 10 minutes a day, get in the habit of practicing whatever you are trying to learn. Practice is how you build new pathways to new behaviors.

QiGong and Tai-chi both leverage self Hypnosis

2006-11-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

I've taken a qigong course with Arnold Tayam (Highly Recommended) recently. And I've been studying Tai-chi for many years. One of the primary precepts of both is that:

"The Imagination leads the mind, and the mind leads the Qi".

That makes imagination the root skill of both!
Both also encourage a kind of "trance state" where you remove the mental noise of the day and focus on just what you are doing now.

After continued practice you will be able to "feel" the Qi flowing along the same path where you only "imagined" it earlier.

In self hypnosis, it is also common to "imagine" or "visualize" a positive outcome while in a trance state. This trains your subconscious and "retrains" your brain accordingly. By repeating this visualization with belief and intensity, you prepare yourself to allow the desireable outcome to occur.

Very similar underneath, don't you think? I guess it's not too suprising, since our brains seem to be hard-wired for it internally.

My first blog posting

2006-11-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd try blogging and see if it takes.

I intend to write about self development in the context of computer gaming, NLP, hypnosis, and taoist principles (like qi gong, tai-chi and chinese medicine).

I am a professional game developer with an interest in self development.

I'm ultimately interested in leveraging my knowlege of virtual environments and online games to create places to practice self development, and to create communities of interested people who share an interest in improving themselves.