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Flippersmack Issue 12
O=
/) FLIPPERSMACK 012
`= culturemag for a penguin generation
http://www.flippersmack.com
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
It's 3am, a few hours before we're leaving for Vegas. We were supposed to
leave at 4am, but since I almost ran into like 50 cars on the way up and
lost the freeway, sleep is prolly a good idea. SlapAyoda wrote a kickass
article for this issue, and Monk and Stone Dragon sent in some poetry.
Yay! Slap and I hit up Anime Expo last weekend.. that was pretty fun. Went
to a serial experiments lain panel, and did a Q&A with Mikimoto, who was
the character designer for Macross. I'll see you guy at DefCon, stop by
the booth and say hi!
Check out the OFFICIAL website for the DefCon Scavenger Hunt! We WILL be
at DefCon this year. Play the Pre-Hunt game and swing by the
Flippersmack/K-Line table and tell us the secret passphrase to win
Scavenger Hunt Points and cool stuff!
http://www.penguinpalace.com/flippersmack/scavhunt
-the land of the last minute slackers-
pinguino
[pinguino@comicartist.com]
Flippersmack Archives:
http://www.penguinpalace.com/
http://www.nettwerked.net/
http://www.ghu.ca/
tABLE oF cONTENTS
*fresh* Pre-Scavenger Hunt Clue #6 and 7 ...........Flippersmack
*fresh* The Game Behind A.I. ..........................SlapAyoda
Untitled Poetry.............................................Monk
Haikus to Lose IQ Points To.........................Stone Dragon
FRESH articles were written day of zine release- July 11, 2001
.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Why do I do everything last minute before major conventions? These
are easy - should make up for the really hard ones at the beginning!
PRE-HUNT CLUE #006!!!!
(two chars)
Hacker's least favorite class in school? _ _
PRE-HUNT CLUE #007!!!!
This website talks about what service? (3 letters)
http://www.unixsup.com/cursos/rx_6.html
PRE-HUNT FINAL
Okay, you all set?! Break out all your scribblings of decoded puzzles and
lay them out to spell this phrase:
_ ____ _ _____ _____.
Say this phrase to a Flippersmack Crew Member at the DefCon table for 100
points! (This is the same number of points you would get if you did naked
stuff.)
-.x.x.x.-
The Game Behind A.I.
by SlapAyoda (slapayoda@yahoo.com)
For the uninitiated, a bit of explanation is required; there's a lot of
strange things going on in a small sector of the Internet and I'm here to
attempt to explain some of it. If that came off as a convoluted
introduction, be prepared for a confusing array of information and
speculation about one of the most revolutionary marketing campaigns since
"Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz". What the hell am I talking about, anyways? Oh yes
- the Internet-based game created to promote the recent Warner Bros movie,
"A.I. - Artificial Intelligence".
A.I. is a movie about a ground-breaking product of man's desire to break
the limits of technology - a robotic boy who can 'actually love'. It
focuses nearly every frame of film on this robo-boy, David, who is adopted
by Monica and Henry Swinton, a couple who have nearly lost their only
child to a critical disease. When their 'real' son, Martin, is suddenly
cured and returned home, things look bleak for David, who is at this point
merely an imitation son. This eventually causes him to go on a quest to
become a real boy, along the way meeting such interesting characters as
Gigolo Joe, a hustler of a different (robotic) era, and even David's own
creator - Allen Hobby, an inventor referred to as 'The Visionary'.
This article, however, is about the -game- and not the movie, so here's
the story behind it. In January of this year, a radical idea was buzzing
around Microsoft's game division- an idea credited to Elan Lee of MS. The
unconvential idea was discussed heavily at Microsoft for a good length of
time before they called Warner Bros with the news that they had an idea
for a game to promote their upcoming movie A.I. When they heard about the
strange and certainly interesting game, they gave it the green light and
production began.
Allow me to explain how the 'game' (and the term is used loosely) works.
Soon after planning out the story to be presented by the game, Microsoft's
team (who players of the game affectionately termed 'The Puppet Masters')
launched several websites that were actually set in the future. For
example, these sites would refer to robotic houses and severe global
flooding as if it were an actual occurrence - after all, the date these
sites were written, by in-game characters, was 2142. And the sites never
break character. The team began their quest to create a solid story
without a centralized narrative. That is - (and note this is all very
difficult to explain without actually experiencing it) this series of
websites all 'created' by different characters and organizations in the
year 2142, actually come together in a strange and unexplainable manner to
form a coherent and richly-textured Universe. I'm sure this all sounds
strange, and it is.
So, what is the point of this game, and how is it played? That is a
question to which even those playing the game do not know the answer. Most
players got involved with the game after noticing that the trailers for
the movie contain the credit "Sentient Machine Therapist - Jeanine Salla".
After doing a search on Google for this strangely credited Jeanine Salla,
they invariably stumble upon the homepage for one Jeanine Salla, who
practices her therapy, of course, in 2142. Further investigation of her
site reveals a phone number - if called, a series of messages describe
some recent events, such as the death of her friend Evan Chan. After a
google search on Evan Chan, and the subsequent browsing of his homepage,
it becomes apparent that his death wasn't a mere accident. From here, the
game literally explodes into hundreds of directions, including dozens of
sites created to move the story along, intricate and intriguing puzzles,
actual incoming phone calls where characters from the game call you,
interaction with live characters over the phone, incoming faxes, emails,
and more. The 'Puppet Masters' even filmed a video that depicted one of
the sub-plots in the game.
Needless to say, such an adventurous and ambitious project like this is
bound to gain fans. Actually, this game has done that and more. It has
spawned a whole subculture. Firstly , a Yahoo Group was formed to discuss
the plot and puzzles (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cloudmakers/) called
Cloudmakers (borrowing their moniker from the name of Evan Chan's boat).
The group (which now features over 7,000 members) often refers to
www.cloudmakers.org, the official encyclopedia and stomping grounds for
Cloudmakers. The game has even spawned a spoof site: Troutmakers
(http://www.troutmakers.org/) - the bizarre and often hilarious parody has
gained interest even with the Microsoft team of creators. Members of the
Cloudmakers group meet every week around the globe (with popular meetings
in Los Angeles, New York City, and Great Britain). Recently, after the
Cloudmakers were treated to a sneak preview of the movie, the Microsoft
team stopped by a post-screening Los Angeles meeting. The crowd of excited
Cloudmakers asked the Puppet Masters all about the game and got a variety
of interesting anecdotes and answers.
The game is seemingly wrapping up soon, and now that the movie has been
released, we can see the parallels and overlapping concepts and characters
of the two. Although it is not quite clear yet how the game is going to
finish, the players are expecting a grand climax to what has been an
amazing ride.
-.x.x.x.-
Untitled
by Monk (monkstah@hotmail.com)
it's been awhile since i saw your heart
pour across broken glass
the jagged edges tracing the curves
of all the pain you hold inside.
you stole glances, little ones,
from me when i was slumming along
painstakenly trying to find myself
before i'd forgotten love.
it's been awhile since i saw your heart
traced on paper too thin to hold
those feelings of loneliness grabbing
hold of the ink i know.
you stole whispers, little thoughts,
from me when i could barely move
running from everything bothering me
with lungs frozen cold.
it's been awhile since i saw your heart
crossed out like my name in school
i've regretted those days
feeling your words slip away.
i've regretted those things.
malnutritution is natural when losing control.
and i've lost more.
sleeping alone.
-.x.x.x.-
Haikus to Lose IQ Points To
By Stone Dragon (r_lull@hotmail.com)
(Not to be confused with REAL poetry)
Too many Video Games
Final Fantasy
And yet there are ten of them
Who are they kidding?
Anime
Big eyes, toothy smiles
School girls are super-heroes
Tenchi is lucky
The Inhale
Floating in deep space
mind goes here and there - slowly...
....what was I saying?
Late
Need to get sleep soon
Just one more game of Starcraft!
....Need to get sleep soon....
Swedish Bikini Team
Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing
Boing is one syllable right?
Boing Boing boing boing <droooooll>
Outdoors
Pure and Crisp - Inhale
flower's scent, then chimney smoke
exhale the nectar
Music
I am full with sound
carried away on silk waves
wrapped in cool satin
Karate
I move with power
I make my only beauty
my life miles away
+-----------------------------------------------------+
Flippersmack (c) 2001 Flippersmack All Rights Reserved.
Penguins do it better!!!!@$!%@%#
