Games

My previous week: I attended a really interest critical thinking exercise by Sara Penrose Optimisation Training. Myself and several others just brainstormed through how to design a driver’s cab for a truck. The ideas went in all sorts of directions, and it was really illuminating to see how creative people could be given the time and space to work together, and also how that innovation was down to process rather than some kind of innate quality. I learnt a lot, and was struck by how much “path dependence” there is in the design of truck controls - from the steering wheel to the gears to the pedals all being based on outmoded mechanical systems, to “paperwork” still being made of paper. I stepped back from a few things, trying to catch up on a lot of older email and other messages, while also implementing systems that make it easier to filter out the signal from the noise in future. I think I had some success, but also this is a process I’ve been trying to do for years and years. Spent an enjoyable evening just playing Animal Crossing and realised it’s one of the few things I do that I don’t try and turn into something productive. Having turned many of my interests into presentations, and with an increasing interest in the commercial production of game-based exercises, this is one thing I just do. Making the most of the new tripod mode I developed an innovative photography style in the game which… well… it makes me laugh. Mostly my massive head A new contact got in touch to discuss some business ideas. This is particularly promising, but often I make contact with similar “ideas people” who are “time poor” and so our conversations are interesting but not profitable. We’ll see… I helped someone think through their career options, I think mainly by just given them space to think, and helping them apply their consulting skills to their own situation. I’m more the catalyst than the reagent. Another interest that I’ve turned into a presentation… the Seattle Seahawks had the Seahawkiest of games so far this season, “sloppy but thrilling”.

My previous week: Provided some feedback for a game/exercise design, which was enlightening because it’s rare that I’m in that situation, rather than being part of the design or operational team. Some thinking around the forthcoming Enterprise Circus. I’ve some trepedation about whether we can make the Circus metaphor work, but I think that is what makes this event work doing. As per our “pitch”, written by Phelim Rowe, using this metaphor is an “engaging prism”, which I hope will spark some new ideas. I enjoyed attending Level Up: Gamification as an innovative tool for public service design; this was particularly enjoyable due to the talent and experience on display - I essentially watched three people build a pitchable business idea in a little over half an hour. There’s some really interesting things happening in game-based methods right now. I was on a panel at the CISO Ensemble, and ran a panel as well. Running the panel was particularly difficult and enjoyable, great to get a range of views, and to figure out on the fly how to give everyone a chance to speak, forewarn them when they were “up”, while paying enough attention to the conversation. On that particularly busy day I also attended Cardstock; very useful, very interesting, I came out of with lots of ideas and a connection or two. One thing that particularly struck me, it might be observation bias, but for a generally skeptic-minded person like me, some of the greatest insights and mental leaps seemed to come from those with the greatest affinity to “magical” concepts such as astrology and tarot. Something to ponder. I finally made time to watch the Georgetown University Wargaming Society’s recording on WATU, presented by Sally Davis of DSTL. Good points well made, and also packed with useful academic references to strength through diversity. And I continue to play fantasy football, which I find such an interesting way to follow the NFL. For me in-particular it brings home just how big a part injuries play in the game, and the operation of the teams. A team figuring out CISO as a Team at the CISO Ensemble event

My previous week: Thinking through different and underused game formats: board games that support simultaneous or asynchronous movement, where a wall-mounted magnetic board would make “Play By Video” easy, and so on. A great chat with someone looking to use me as a cyber security associate, who asked all the right questions… such as “what are you interested in?” rather than “what do you have five years’ experience in?”. Other useful conversations about forthcoming projects and events, or working on existing ideas. Some “cyber security strategy” work, just helping someone think through their security roadmap and highlighting what they might have missed, or giving them a chance to explain their choices out loud to me before they face their stakeholders. And as always, I’m finding it useful to write up these weeknotes. I just wanted a free pixabay graphic about studying or thinking... but now I have to know why she's studying on a roof...

My previous week: I was kind of thrown into the role of Game Control for an online playtest - which I found a little stressful, but illuminating and useful as well. Lots to think about, especially running other people’s game designs. A really useful conversation on how to make money out of game design. I’ve been put off the idea because so many game designers make a point of explaining that it’s not well paid, but as always I’m trying to find a different angle. The online services provider for my work went down temporarily. While there was really no harm done, and I was kind of covered, I was reminded that we all need to test all fallback procedures in advance. I was reminded of this recent post on hybrid gaming when your Internet connection goes down. Inspired by this tweet I’ve been thinking of how to design Play By Video games, both as the desired format for the game, and as a way to playtest them. It’s a particularly difficult design problem for anything beyond a simple game like chess because the players have to trust each other with anything hidden or shared… lots to think about. Also I don’t have the space to leave these kind of games out, but I’ve ideas around that too. I was the remote adversary for the Ransomware workshop at BSides London. The event went well, I’ve received some good feedback, so I’m looking forward to where we go with the idea in future. Also I’m looking forward to seeing the recording of the presentation my rookie presenter mentee put together, a cross reference of penetration testing and Persona 5. We watched Shang Chi and the legend of the ten rings; in some ways not a typical Marvel film, and the better for that. We also watched Red Notice and, as many have said - an unsurprising film by numbers. It works as an “enjoyable romp” if you’re drinking, or not particularly awake. And lastly, with the unscripted excitement of a game but the budget of a movie comes watching the Seattle Seahawks. After navigating poorly described and outdated contractual restrictions I managed to get access to the game… was it worth that level of effort? Every week Lee Sharpe creates these great gifs, that map each team’s Win Probability as the game progressed, which give you a really great idea on the flow of the game. You can figure out the flow of this one pretty easily… So little time on the Seahawks' side of that 50% chance line...