Kung Fu Panda and Creating the new Bible

The goal is not just to produce some game. Imagine watching a movie. It is good. Now you go to read the Bible – yes the actual bible. Screw if you’re not religious. You know what the bible is. These two things – the movie and the bible – exist to communicate something. A group of people sat and decided what was important, and codified it, one in writing, the other in moving pictures (with sound).

We create so that we have a record of what we did, what we knew. We also do it for the babes, and the immortality. Though most importantly we do it for ourselves. The act of creation is one that gives us power. It connects us with our own ideas. When you kiss a girl, or open a door, you are acting from a place of purpose… maybe not a strong purpose, but a purpose. You act on what you believe, and by acting what you believe becomes stronger. Want to succeed? Succeed. You’ll feel far better doing it than thinking about it. Ask anyone.

I want to create something that can be told over and over: the perfect story, one that never tires, that communicates the truth that we have observed. One story to communicate all truth, that is the impossible dream. We can’t achieve that. What we can achieve is something that as closely represents what we believe as possible. How do we know what we believe? When we express it we should feel better. When we share it, consume it, what we believe should flare up in us and make our contributions stronger. When you are in the moment, acting on what you know is true, it is obvious. You feel alive.

I just watched Kung Fu Panda 2. It’s a decent movie with mediocre writing in some parts and levity in others. Gary Oldman is fantastic as the evil guy. Jack Black is funny. Angelina Jolie is Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan is cute.

Kung Fu is expressive. I love it. I like eastern spiritualism and combat. I don’t even remember what I wanted to write about… something about collaboration, competing with the media monsters out there, creating something of such high quality that I won’t feel angry consuming it. The only thing that matters is that I create with a group. That’s you. That’s everyone. I wonder what it is that keeps us apart, as people? A lack of understanding is obvious. The inability to express ourselves, to know who we are.

This game is a statement about ourselves to the world, to ourselves. Its structure is such that it will bend to our will. I’ve done everything I can to find what separates a vision from a product, from realization. Games are important for reasons more than their interactivity. They are generated, from software, and as such can be iterated on. We can perfect them, and we can abstract out the role of any given contributor.

What does this mean? That any human who has an idea can make a contribution, and have it realized in the game. That is what this game is, a tool to build a team of collaborators, out of everyone that plays it, and facilitate their cooperation towards the extension of itself. What we are doing now is just the beginning. Pour in ideas and see what happens: that’s the plan.

Pick your favourite 3 movies. If you had to leave only 1 mark on the world, and it was through only 3 movies, what movies would you choose? How do those movies make you feel? Take what’s in your mind and put it in the game. Our project exists so that any collaborator can do this – is helped to do this – while the finished product remains as polished and cohesive as the best titles out there – even out doing them.

Capture reality and put it in the game. Build tools so that nothing stands in the way of this process, so that it is clean. That is the purpose of this project.

Design Theory vs “Just Doing It.”

I am a theorist, through and through – whatever that means. I love theory. I drink it up. I live inside it. I am very good at arguing it, especially in person. I will probably ruin you in a philosophical discussion. I know a lot of guys who think they’re good too, a lot of guys who think they know something about philosophy, because they read some books, maybe even a lot of books, then I talk to them, and I own them, and they are nothing. Why? Because they suck, no, because they don’t know what the f they are talking about.

Theory isn’t about knowledge. Maybe you could say “theory” is about knowledge, or some shit, but you’d be wrong, or you’d just be talking about something else. Real theory, like real music, like real anything, is about the ability to act. If you are a womanizer you can pick up women. If you are a soccer player you can play soccer. If you are a soccer theorist you think up theories about soccer and understand and defend them.

What is a guy who knows a lot about design theory but can’t apply it? What is it called when you, or me, can discuss the teams behind 52 different games, and the companies that made them, and who the lead programmers were, and what programming libraries they used, and what each level is comprised of? I don’t know. That depends.

… to be continued (I lost the inspiration) …