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The Journals of Doc Surge is the personal blog of Chris Billows. This blog’s purpose is to explore ideas and concepts through the discipline of writing as an exercise to further personal understanding.

Check out more about me, some of my thoughts on Games and Hockey.

Aug 11

Jung on Art, Games, and Fantasy

August 11, 2018 by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Games and Jung, Playstates
“One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves.” – C.G. Jung What does Jung mean in this quote? Why would other despise the invention of a good game? Is it that games require instincts and ‘men’ are in denial of said insticts? Is it because it is one of the hardest things to do? I can only imagine that Artists will resent this quote. I will agree with Jung. I think that good games are very hard to create. They are hard to create in large part because they requires that the designer understand that instinctive something about themselves. Its fascinating that Jung did not say that good games required good rules or mechanics. Instead he said it was about self-knowledge, and not just any kind of self-knowledge – instinctive self-knowledge. But isn’t Art also about self-knowledge? A way to explore one’s self? Jung had this to say:   “Art is a kind of innate drive that seizes a human being and makes him its instrument. The artist is not a person endowed […]
Jul 28

Media Filter Idea

July 28, 2018 by Chris Billows in Hobby Heedings, Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Self Analysis
I was playing with my Mindmap app and came up with a tree of medias that I engage with. Essentially the branches of the tree are separated by their verb (i.e. reading books, browsing websites, playing games, etc.) and then further separated by the method/place (i.e. bedside books, iTunes music). Sharing for hopeful utility.
Jul 14

A List of Superhero Origins

July 14, 2018 by Chris Billows in Hobby Heedings, Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Comics, Superheroes
Years ago I recall looking at the DC/Marvel characters, I found the following hero archetypes, almost akin to character classes you find in most RPGs. I’m sharing this list for the sake of posterity and hopefully for some utility.   – Accidental origin: A single or combination of events that culminate in the non-chosen attainment of superpowers. Examples: Flash, Spiderman, Hulk, Fantastic Four. – Alien origin: Essentially a hero not of human origin that possesses super powers. Examples: Superman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Namor the Submariner. – Bestowed origin: Essentially a human who is give n super powers by a higher, more powerful force. Examples: Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, CaptainMarvel, Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Scarlet Witch. – Creation origin: Essentially those sentient beings either intentionally exposed to superpowers or created. Examples: Captain America, Vision. – Demigod origin: Essentially a minor god who becomes active in human affairs. Examples: Thor, Hercules. – Disciplined origin: Essentially those humans who train their bodies to become exceptional in the martial arts. Examples: Batman, Nightwing,Green Arrow, Wildcat and many of the heroes of the JSA, Black Panther, Daredevil, Hawkeye. – Gadgeteer origin: Essentially those humans create or come to possess one or more items […]
Jun 30

Top Links from Paul Graham

June 30, 2018 by Chris Billows in Business Beller, Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Business Development, Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition, Summarizing a Business Organization
Paul Graham is not only a successful entrepreneur he is a analytical master who has written extensively on business, economics, and culture. I greatly appreciate how he deconstructs complex topics and makes it accessible. Below is some of my favorite articles by him: Nerd Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html Hacker Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/gba.html Wealth and Inequality http://www.paulgraham.com/gap.html Wealth, Technology, and Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html American Culture, Craftsmanship, and Design http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html Graduating from High School http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html Finding What You Love To Do http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html Building a Startup http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html Startup Lessons http://www.paulgraham.com/startuplessons.html Startup Mistakes http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html About What Good Art Is http://www.paulgraham.com/goodart.html Intelligence vs Wisdom http://www.paulgraham.com/wisdom.html Thinking about Equity Valuations http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html About Philosophy http://www.paulgraham.com/philosophy.html Principles to a New Product Launch http://www.paulgraham.com/newthings.html Types of Disagreement http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html 5 Regrets to Avoid http://www.paulgraham.com/todo.html The Counter Intuition of Startup Investing http://www.paulgraham.com/swan.html How Startups are Different from other Businesses http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html How to Find Ideas for Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html Convincing Investors http://www.paulgraham.com/convince.html  
Jun 16

Destination Model for Strategic Management

June 16, 2018 by Chris Billows in Business Beller 0 comments tags: Business Development, Summarizing a Business Organization
When I was taking my business certificate, I created a mental model about the steps of creating a viable business venture. I called it the Destination Model of Strategic Management. Using the analogy of getting somewhere, I envisioned a road, driver, passenger, and vehicle with each part representing a strategic consideration. I created this model years ago and just recently stumbled onto it. I am posting it for posterity sake. I think it has some utility.  
Jun 03

The History of Game Development

June 03, 2018 by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Game Analysis, Game History
Based on my categorization exercise in my last post, I’ve gleaned what I consider to be a synopsis of Game Development history. It starts off appropriately as a fun and experimental exercise on the University campuses. 1961 HobbyDev GameDev that is for fun and experimentation, not intended for commercial purpose Prime example: In 1961 we see the release of Space War! by Steve Russell, in collaboration with Martin Graetz and Wayne Wiitanen. In a separate realm, where software development was serious business (as early software developers worked for Defence Contractors) we see how Ralph Baer and his Sander’s Associates carved out a niche within his larger company to explore GameDev as a commercial venture. 1967 ProDev GameDev is sold as a commercial product, with fun being its market need Prime example: Begun in 1967 up to its release in 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey 1972 was the first commercial Video Game Console. Ralph Baer, Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch spent those years creating the first games for the Brown Box, the Odyssey prototype. What these two ecosystems share is that they are both closed systems. The HobbyDev was restricted to only people who could attend University while ProDev was limited to […]
Jun 02

GameDev Ecology

June 02, 2018 by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Game Analysis, Game Philosophy
I have been operating a part-time GameDev sideline since 2004. I started working with a local GameDev to bring to the internet a game inspired by Atari’s arcade game Warlords. Like most projects, it never came to be. Now I have been working on acquiring and designing/developing a series of online game IPs. You can see more through my business links. Because I enjoy the mental exercise of categorizing entities, I got thinking about how GameDev has its own ecology that is more nuanced than seeing just AAA and Indie Devs. I tweeted about it and got some responses that got me thinking more. Here is my summarized thoughts:   ProDevs are those typically professionally trained programmers, artists, designers who work for a company. They are either Employees or Contractors. They belong to large companies that spends millions of dollars and take years to release. Then comes the IndieDevs, made up of three distinct groups: In-Market (released one or more games and is seeking continued profitability), Pre-Market (either working on their IP or trying to find their market); and Never-Market (these people take on a game product that they can’t realize and it never materializes). The difference between a Pre-Market […]
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