Why I Love Pong

It is simple to play.

It is not occult. No hidden features to unlock or special moves to learn.

Every game is unique. Pong has endless possibilities.

Pong rewards dedicated play: it has a gradient of mastery.

It is an elegant representation. Pong is a depiction of Ping Pong. The similar nature to a physical
representation provides linkages to stored associations to the represented game.

It is social. Pong is a game of interaction and spectatorship.

It has a cool sound. The pong sound made when the square (ball) is hit by the line (paddle) is satisfying. The sound is not unpleasant. It is positive feedback that one has succeeded in positioning the paddle. It signals a brief reprieve while the ball is in their court.

It is fun.

What Is A Game?

Humans love to find patterns – we are pattern finding machines.

In Half-Real Jesper Juul defines a game as thus:

"A game is a rule-based system with a variable and quantifiable outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable."

 I would modify this definition slightly:

"A game is a rule delineated system with a variable and knowable outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different significance, the players' efforts influence the outcome, the player is identified with the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable."

rule-based system -> rule delineated system : In a rule-based system, the system is based upon the rules. In a rule delineated system, the system may be partially based upon rules and the system may be partially based upon non-rules (whatever that may be). The rules become a fence which can serve to delineate and define the game. While the game may be made of more than the rules, the rules will serve the purpose of providing a guideline to indicate when one is within the confines of the game and when one has slipped from the confines of the game.

quantifiable outcome -> knowable outcome: The outcome of most games will tend to be quantifiable. However, there is no reason to limit the nature of outcomes to be only those which are quantifiable. It is possible to include non-numeric measures into the definition of an outcome. However, it is necessary that the outcome is knowable – whether it be through quantitative measure or not – it still needs to be knowable. In addition, the outcome needs to be variable. If the result is constant independent of the play of the game, then the player participation is undermined.

the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome ->  the players'  efforts influence the outcome: In addition to players exerting effort with the intention of influencing the outcome, it is important that the outcome can, in fact, be influenced by the players' efforts. If the outcome were determined randomly after a predefined duration of making lively efforts, the nature of the activity as a game would be undermined. To engage the player, the possibility of a player's efforts influencing the outcome is necessary.

the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome ->  the player is identified with the outcome: There are more ways to be attached and invested in the outcome other than merely emotionally. Identified, as used in this context, implies a vested interest (often, but not always emotional) in the outcome.
outcomes are assigned different values ->  outcomes are assigned different significance: Values implies a numeric, or quantifiable measure. Once again, we need not limit ourselves to quantifiable measures of the outcome. Qualitative measures are possible.

the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable (stat): This phrase remains unmodified in so much as it is bang on. To be a game, the outcome of the game should also contain a portion of non-obligation. Gambling is a form of gaming, but it is not a game – for just this reason. There is no measure of voluntariness in the acceptance of the outcome, nor is the outcome negotiable. If you lose $20 on the hand of Black Jack, it is lost whether you agree to the consequences or not. And if you think you can negotiate with the pit boss about the payment, you have not met any of the same pit bosses I have.

One of the results of this definition of game is that some activities which one may have previously thought of as a game, may now fall outside the province. And, perhaps, new activities may present themselves as possibilities.

Zoom Vs. Font-Size

There is quite a debate amongst web designers about the relative merits of using zoom vs. using font size to make a page more accessible. Many folks lobby for font-size as the option of choice. Others suggest that zoom is a better representation of page content since it preserves the original layout -- just larger or smaller.

My mother has severe Macular Degeneration. I have watched how she works with her various magnifying tools. She is quite used to scrolling both vertical and horizontal. It has become part of her life style.

However, zoom as it is implemented is missing one very significant feature. I call it  the "photoshop hand". Photoshop just happens to be the first place I was introduced to this UI tool. By combining a keyboard shortcut with the mouse one can "grab" the canvas  and move it around. It can be moved up, down, left, right, and at any angle. This is very convenient for navigating an image that is larger than the view port.

I have not found this movement tool in the Firefox Zoom feature. If there is one please let me know, my mother will be most pleased. As it is the keyboard arrow keys to some good effect.

If Zoom is designed for use by the visually impaired then it would make sense for it to duplicate the look AND feel of the equipment already in use -- such as the table top overhead project type camera and screen. Or, at least for the UI (user interface) designers to study those tools for a bit.

Obviously computer browsers could have expanded functionality beyond the mechanically limited user interface of desktop camera systems. For example, a simple button to jump from h? to h? within a page might be nice. These are semantically the deliminators of distinct areas of a page. Whether or not this would truly be a good idea is left to testing. And testing is something that seems to be missing from many of the accessibility features at the moment.

Pattern Finding And Jazz Art

Previously I discussed our love for finding patterns. In this blog-article I'd like to continue that discussion by relating it to Jazz Art and the role that visual media can play in context with music.

Please be clear, I am most definitely not trying to indicate that our love of finding patterns has anything to do with the who, what, where, of how of jazz. Rather, I am simply pointing out that while we are listening to jazz, our brains continue with their pattern finding mania unabated.

Our love of finding patterns does not stop just because we are playing jazz. Before jazz we find patterns, after jazz we find patterns, and during jazz we find patterns. Let's face it, we find patterns all the damn time. That is what we do.

Hence, while jazz is happening so too does pattern finding.

I think it is easy to appreciate how perceptual data influences the patterns we find. For example, the visual data presented by an orderly array of trees in an orchard will give rise to very different patterns than the visual data provided by an accumulation of trees in the forest. It should be easy to appreciate how the data (in this case the trees) effects the patterns we draw.

All of this, brings us finally to the topic of this paper – Jazz Art. Jazz being the music, and art being associated visual media.

In Jazz Art, the music and visual media have a symbiotic and synergistic relationship. Both draw life from the other – the mixture of jazz and art being far greater than the sum of the parts.

As we listen to music, the process of pattern exploration continues. The music supplies audio information forming the bulk of  the raw data from which we explore patterns. But, this audio information (a.k.a. music) is not the whole of it. The set and setting also contribute.

In terms of set, how we approach the music is important. Are we harried, have we just gulped down five espressos or half a bottle of wine, did we come from a hectic drive through mid-town traffic, or a pleasant evening with friends. All of this contributes to the set.

The setting would naturally be the audience, layout, decor, and even smell of the venue. Believe it, listening to music in an adrenaline filled beer saloon is very different than a small jazz club around the corner. The setting matters.
When it comes to set and setting, they should, for the most part, be a kind of static background used to predispose one to a positive listening experience. There is one area in which this non-interference rule should be broken – that is the stage. The setting of the stage is a part of the performance. This includes everything from how the instruments and musicians are arranged on the stage, to the lighting, to the stage decoration.
It is in the stage decoration that Jazz Art takes its place. Apart from the shear utilitarian function of acting as sound baffles to help sculpt the sound, Jazz Art adds visual data supplementing the audio information.

This is most easily demonstrated through experience. For me, E.J. Gold's monumental entitled Milt Green is an excellent case study. The picture by itself is a beautiful, partially abstracted portrait of Milt Green – hence the title . However, place this portrait anywhere within easy view while listening to jazz and something wonderful happens. Not only is the nature of the artwork mutable through the effects of the music, the music is also susceptible. Or, perhaps more correctly, my experience of the music is susceptible to the juxtaposition with the artwork.

Obviously the notes do not change in the recording. The CD is the same, colors don't reach out from the painting into the gold foil of the CD changing the music as it is recorded. But, somehow, the process of being with the portrait savoring the  visual experience brings out a variety of different aspects within the music.
Jazz, is not fluctuations of density in the atmosphere. Pressure waves are merely the means by which sound is transmitted through the room. It takes a human ear to transform a room full of wiggling bits of air into jazz. The ear contributes to the experience of jazz. The ear is not just flesh and bone. The ear is also the accumulation of experience which has served to educate the listener – preparing them for the present performance. There is a reason that musicians appreciate certain audiences.

Now comes the truly magical part of a live performance. Not only is the perception of the audience altered by the presence of the art, the experience (and performance) of the musicians can be altered by the aesthetic of the stage. While it is true that art cannot reach into a CD and change the music, that is not as true with a live performance.

In a live performance there are feedback loops between the performers, the audience, the audiences' perception of the music, the audiences' perception of the art.

How and why does this operate? Fortunately, as an audience member it doesn't really matter whether or not I understand why I like jazz or how the presence of Jazz Art can contribute to my listening experience. It only matters that the musicians know how to do what they do, and that the artists know how to do what they do. In the case of the musicians and artists, it matters a great deal how well trained they are in their respective crafts, and how well they are able to bring themselves into the task.

The fusion of jazz and art is something which works. Everyone that experiences the results of this fusion is so impressed with the positive contribution of the art to the music that it is a mystery why art has not been an integral part of jazz performances.

But don't take my word for it, do the experiment. Plunk yourself down somewhere, somehow so that you can give a listen to jazz while viewing Jazz Art. You tell me whether the art contributes to your experience of the music. You tell me whether your experience of the art is modified by the music.