Sources of inspiration thread

[dlan]

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS

every space opera games should have sceneries as awesome as that :)

[Ian Snyder]

http://koalastothemax.com/

Inspiring in the worst possible way. If you have OCD tendencies, don't click through unless you have a good 15 minutes to flush away.

[Ashkin]

http://koalastothemax.com/

Inspiring in the worst possible way. If you have OCD tendencies, don't click through unless you have a good 15 minutes to flush away.

Oh nooooooooooooooooooooo
What have you doooooooone

[mcc]

ffffound



EDIT:





http://dvdp.tumblr.com/

http://blessthismess.tumblr.com/

[mcc]

A thought re: that second image. The original NES had a limitation concerning maximum sprites per scanline; the graphics chip could only render 8 8x8 blocks on a single horizontal line on the screen.

When correctly managed, this limitation produced effects such as the characteristic "Capcom flicker". See around 0:30 - 0:40 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp421U625As ; Mega Man 9 actually had an option buried in the settings to turn this particular flicker effect on and off.

When incorrectly managed, this produces an if anything even more fascinating effect where elements on screen will simply disappear, selectively, in an ugly and somewhat random fashion, on any particular horizontal line with too much moving content. See around 0:34 or 1:08 or 2:16 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hjGpg5tcL8 ... although due to the nature of this particular example we see only whole 8x8 blocks disappearing, I *think* I've seen cases where the "blanked out" areas were more blocks of inconsistent height or single scanlines.

Anyway what I find myself wondering. Could an effect such as this-- blanking out screen areas where "too much" content of a particular type attempts to be rendered on a single line-- be efficiently simulated with shaders?

[Jonathan Whiting]

Horrible. Compelling.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/1943/12/0020617

And a strange place it was by that time. In all, it contained nearly a hundred rooms. There were “staircases that led nowhere in particular,” blind passageways, hinged walls, false partitions, rooms with no doors and rooms with many doors. All these centered on the second floor of the gloomy, forbidding structure. Holmes’s own apartments were at the front of this floor. A trap door was cut in his bathroom and from it a short hidden stairway led to a windowless cubicle between-floors in the heart of the house; from this a chute dropped straight to the cellar.

[netmute]

This would make an awesome level design.

http://tokyobling.wordpress.com/2011/12 ... tting-sun/

[Bryant]

The New Games Book

This is a strange book from the 70s that contains dozens and dozens of designs for physical playground games (many of which you probably played when you were a kid). The pictures are both charming and disturbing; every design is accompanied by a picture of middle aged hippies groping each other :) But the book presents such a strong design philosophy, and the designs themselves are timeless. If adults weren't so afraid to act like kids, I bet we'd still be groping each other on playgrounds :)

[Kor]

This would make an awesome level design.

http://tokyobling.wordpress.com/2011/12 ... tting-sun/

Awesome. Reminds me of http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/103 ... the-wall-0

[Jonas]

I find that comedy inspires me, especially comedy that is verbal rather than physical. Not because I want to imitate it, but simply because it delights me with its clarity and power. For example, I find Frankie Boyle's comments about Thatcher's funeral, especially the part about the shovels, to be really inspiring - so concise, so perfectly phrased, conjuring up hilarious images with only a few words.

Finding just the right words is an important aspect of making games for me, and can be applied to other aspects of game design as well. It also doesn't hurt to laugh a bit every now and then.

[Ian Snyder]

A friend of mine stumbled into this place just driving around: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma

It's a mining town that has been deemed inhospitable due to it's high amounts of lead, and people have slowly left it over the years. There are apparently just huge piles of lead dust sitting around. It was also hit by a tornado at one point, and according to my friend there are several concrete lots where buildings used to be just lying empty.

[netmute]

More here:
http://tokyobling.wordpress.com/2011/12 ... awa-skies/

[Ed K]

This guy is painting a map over the course of his lifetime that is also an abstract simulation/game, due to the random input from a deck of cards

http://vimeo.com/6745866

(Keep watching the whole film, it gets crazier/more awesome in stages)

[Ian Snyder]

A bunch of different pigeons.





As I understand, these mutations are mostly the result of human breeding.

[Lixel]

A bunch of different pigeons.





As I understand, these mutations are mostly the result of human breeding.

These are quite interesting.
Thanks for the link :D