The Funware Blog @ rmbr

Well, the Web2.0 conference was super interesting, even though I couldn’t stay past Wednesday evening. Our session, ably moderated by Justin Hall with Rajat Paharia and Chris Chapman, was fairly well attended and became a bit of a sensation after this article in Computerworld (posted just minutes after we finished). And after the session I was the recipient of nearly a dozen (!!) amazing Funware ideas from the audience. It was really extraordinary and very heartening to see all the creative energy flowing through the attendees. To whit, some of those ideas are really good - I hope we get to work on them at some point.

If you want to read the musings of another blogger - LaSandra Brill - she has an interesting perspective on the session as well.

I’m sure many geeks have seen the breathtaking Tenori-On device that’s been under development at Yamaha for the past few years. Somehow, I was only recently turned onto it by the charming Brandon Boyer at a recent late-evening beer-patio mashup. Tenori-On is basically a 16 x 16 grid of LED buttons that let you create music by interacting with the lights as they flash across the device. If it sounds complicated, it is!

Of course, we don’t need another interface to making music. Every single sound that humans can hear can be summoned using a keyboard - whether 101 or 88 key. Even the name of the input device is evocative of its role. So, why develop a new musical interface that only seems to complicate the process of making music? After all, we’ve been making music since the dawn of civilization, and our current complement of instruments (both digital and analogue) are pretty amazing.

Because it’s more fun. Waaay more fun. In fact, Toshio Iwai, the creator of the Tenori-On, is a game designer (and artist) who explores themes of music and electronic media. Take a look at the video, and let me know if you own one of these beautiful devices. I’d love to come over and play some music. Literally.

Kids generally do a bad job at brushing their teeth. Many have hypothesized that making the experience more fun (branded toothbrushes, colored pastes, teddy bear videos) would lead to better adherence, and they’ve gone down the road to prove it.

Well, from our friends in Taiwan, comes a toothbrushing game that melds spatial virtualization with toothbrushing to create an objective-oriented game to clean those dents. Using Wii/eyeToy style technology, the game gives kids control over a virtual character that appears in their mirror, brushing to win! Check it out. I love Taiwan.

Thanks to the folks from NewScientist for the news!

Hey - are you working on some cool applications that feel like Funware? Are you using game design/mechanics in a non-game context - say, for example, publishing a leaderboard and challenges where they wouldn’t normally be seen?

If so, drop me a line. Here are the opportunities that may open up to you:

1. Some reporters at major publications are working on covering cool, new Funware apps
2. I am going to write a series of profiles for this blog about great applications of game design outside of games
3. I have been asked to write a Funware series at another major site, and I’d love to include you
4. You get to be my friend. Ok, you can be my friend regardless.

Anyway, if you’d like to let me know about a project you’re working on - confidentially, of course - drop me a line at gabe at rmbr, or friend me on:

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