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Posted by: madpraxis
« on: December 04, 2012, 03:31:20 PM »

Huh, just got around to finally reading this...Nice presentation :D
Wish I had a degree ;) Professional landscaper here...Actually dropped out of high school at the end of my junior year to get my ged and enroll in college...Which worked, sort of...hehe. Now I hold 3/4 of an AS in Aviation Mechanics, 3/4 of an AS in Aviation Science, and a year+ of a BS Bioscience Tech (If you ever want to get your giggles making mutant creatures, I totally suggest the field).
I notice a trend here...hehe.
Probably should of joined the army when they tried to recruit me for warrant officer, but was still married to my delightful abusive crazy wife at the time (You should do it!..day later..WHY YOU DO IT!..day later...Why haven't you done it?...day later...WHY YOU DO IT?!?! ad nauseam+1 (SHE MADE ME GO BALD  :o)). Thankfully, now an ex-wife (still crazy though...I SWEAR she was sane when we married...SWEAR IT), so am looking forward to getting my quackers in a row and getting some kind of bloody degree so I r can be edumicated like all you fine folks! Well, at least the ones out of basic schooling that is, not sure if I want to repeat high school, though the hot gf part would be nice...
And man, work's of art indeed. Only problem with that is when you use that term peoples brains go straight to thinking of visual art...Which (even though I like it) them little circles and spreadsheets ain't ;)
But, yes, definitely a work of art. Steve has yet to achieve the totally retentive (good thing there) level's of DF, but they (and all their cahooters) offer a refreshing breath of quality and pride in workmanship that is, honestly, a piece of artwork.

Thanks boss!

Posted by: Erik L
« on: December 03, 2012, 02:12:11 PM »

Quote from: makassar on December 03, 2012, 02:09:25 PM
Hi Guys. . .   First post.

I've played some very complex games in my time (WitP-AE, WitE, Distant Worlds, Masters of Orion 1/2/3), but this beats them all for depth.

I found this site/game about 2 weeks ago, and have been hooked from the first day.  Yes. . .  it is a work of beauty, and has more layers than any game I've ever seen. . .  I'm in love!

Just 1 question; is there a list of techs that one should start the game with?

Jump Point Theory is pretty much a needed one. Other than that, most techs are personal preference. Want missiles? Work the missile techs. Want lasers? Work the laser techs. The academy forum has some good info in it. :)
Posted by: makassar
« on: December 03, 2012, 02:09:25 PM »

Hi Guys. . .   First post.

I've played some very complex games in my time (WitP-AE, WitE, Distant Worlds, Masters of Orion 1/2/3), but this beats them all for depth.

I found this site/game about 2 weeks ago, and have been hooked from the first day.  Yes. . .  it is a work of beauty, and has more layers than any game I've ever seen. . .  I'm in love!

Just 1 question; is there a list of techs that one should start the game with?
Posted by: vonduus
« on: December 01, 2012, 04:03:05 PM »

I thought perhaps this would be of interest to you: Dwarf Fortress on MoMA

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=164920
Posted by: vonduus
« on: November 23, 2012, 06:11:37 AM »

The future is yours. When I was a kid, grown-ups were worried about cartoons, to them it was trash. But then a new generation took over and today cartoons are literature. The same will happen with video games. The old generation (people in my age) will retire and die, and the new generation will regard video games as art.

Same thing happened in the music business; when I was young, rock was considered dangerous, today nobody (but a few retarded people) thinks you are doomed if you listen to rock music.

Take a look at Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", the same is happening in the sciences: The old elites are reactionary, and new paradigms only become accepted, when the young take over the universities. They will, of course, in their turn become reactionary and oppose new paradigm shifts.

I got an old MA in philosophy, but I make my living as a musician and sound engineer.
Posted by: Stardust
« on: November 22, 2012, 01:14:22 PM »

This was very interesting.   Thanks for sharing.

I feel like Aurora allows me to create a living, breathing universe.   A work of art.

I'm working towards a MSEE.   I land jets on aircraft carriers automatically while the pilot enjoys the ride.
Posted by: niflheimr
« on: October 25, 2012, 05:16:01 AM »

So let's see : Bachelor in Nuclear Engineering , Master degree in Nuclear Security and Advanced Reactor Designs , currently working on my EngD ( Control and Operation of a subcritical research reactor using IEC neutron generators ) . Needless to say I've always been interested in the kind of stuff Aurora deals with ( even though I must admit I've been looking forward to NA ever since Steve started talking about it :) )

I've always liked writing fan-fiction and even if I rarely got the time Aurora does make for an awesome playground to design your universe . Work of art ? No , but I do find it as being the framework for creating art .
Posted by: MehMuffin
« on: October 23, 2012, 07:04:30 PM »

Currently getting through high school, looking towards some sort of engineering or sciences degree (Hopefully).
Posted by: State
« on: October 20, 2012, 01:57:57 PM »

Bachelor degree in Business Administration, working on a Master of Supply Chain Management, with a minor in Neuroscience, and System Dynamics. . . 

This game is by far the best i've run into in ages!
Posted by: Geoffroypi
« on: September 26, 2012, 11:07:38 PM »

Quote
I am curious...how many of you have advanced degrees (masters or higher), in anything.
I'm not trying to make a judgement here, but I think a lot of my colleagues view games like aurora as "academic", and I'm fairly certain that's not true.
I was a bright student when i was <13 yrs old , im 19 now and i just dropped out school and my ambition to be an astrophysician.

Quote
I'm currently picking my way through highschool. In my spare time, while not going out with friends, or doing something else, I play video games. People say that I'm a good writer, that I am good at drawing, or that I know alot about science and history for my age. Strangely, I learnt alot of things from them; both directly - IE a game based on real events, or indirectly; games that made me think about a topic, and I later learnt more about it due to that.

In my case i learned most of english with internet and video games, i understand it perfectly and write it correctly, being French and 19 yrs old , their is matter to be proud.  ;D


I once noticed a similar topic about dwarf fortress being considered as "art".
It seems that video games are suffering a rejection from being considered as art because their main purpose is to entertain a targeted group of customers.
Games like aurora or dwarf fortress freely  "entertains" us in a way  books does , by soliciting our imagination .
sometimes, things just need to be old and dusty to be considered as art, we should wait 100-200 years to see Aurora exposed in Louvre museum. ("prepare the cryogenisation unit !")
Posted by: sloanjh
« on: September 22, 2012, 11:57:35 AM »

A notion just struck me on this topic.  In the "What's going on..." thread http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,3808.msg54972.html#msg54972 the conversation is currently (on page 27) centered on everyone's interpretation of precursors.  The observation is that Steve does have a backstory in mind for their history, and has even published it, but people make up interpretations of them anyway.  I've seen similar discussions of jump points and jump gates; I suspect there's a few more that I've forgotten.

The notion is that this "interpretation on the part of the observer" aspect is one of the core properties of a work of art.

OTOH, this brings up questions such as "Government as Art?" (conspiracy theories, anyone?) :)

John
Posted by: Theodidactus
« on: July 30, 2012, 10:15:32 AM »

I think actually what you've created is an art-generating machine. Aurora is a great creative springboard, it gave me so many character and story ideas.
Posted by: Steve Walmsley
« on: July 29, 2012, 03:05:51 PM »

Aurora as art is an interesting concept. I do look upon it as a creative endeavour, so I guess in that way it could be classed as art.

No degree here btw :). I have a fairly average collection of O levels and A levels. I was working part-time from 15 as a musician in pubs, clubs, theatres, etc, earning a decent wage and enjoying the lifestyle so university was low on my priority list. I probably would enjoy it now but at the time I wasn't very academically-inclined :)

Steve
Posted by: MrAnderson
« on: July 29, 2012, 12:39:06 PM »

I'm currently picking my way through highschool. In my spare time, while not going out with friends, or doing something else, I play video games. People say that I'm a good writer, that I am good at drawing, or that I know alot about science and history for my age. Strangely, I learnt alot of things from them; both directly - IE a game based on real events, or indirectly; games that made me think about a topic, and I later learnt more about it due to that.

For example, I was in grade two. By that time, I had learnt how to write graphs, multiply and divide, I knew square roots, and 3 3 dimensional graphs (xyz) all by myself, from video games that had nothing to do with those, that most people would have learnt in grade 5. Aurora has been a diamond in the rough; this is the very first game that I found that I could write about. It gives me challenging decisions to make, and exercises real-world skills.

Quite a few of the things that happen in Aurora surprise me at first, but then I think about it, and figure out some kind of logical reasoning behind it.

(Well, besides in one of my campaigns where Russia somehow toppled every nation in 1 and a half years, even though they were a much weaker version of themselves than in real history.)
Posted by: Thiosk
« on: July 26, 2012, 01:37:58 AM »

Quote from: Theodidactus on July 19, 2012, 10:36:49 AM
I am curious...how many of you have advanced degrees (masters or higher), in anything.
I'm not trying to make a judgement here, but I think a lot of my colleagues view games like aurora as "academic", and I'm fairly certain that's not true.

completed a phD here :D  (chemistry!)