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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.

Oct 25

Create Or Conquer – A Decade to Get from Version 1.0 to 1.5

October 25, 2020 by Chris Billows in Business Beller 0 comments tags: Business Development, Self Analysis
This post is a bit of history, a bit of product promotion, and a bit of diary. I am pleased to announce that over on my main game development website, that I have released CreateOrConquer.com Version 1.5. Now a Version 1.5 is not usually something to write an entire blog post about, but this time it is. Why? Because it took me a decade to get from Version 1.0 to 1.5 which is an absurdly long time to do so little. How did this happen? I’m not a coder. I don’t have the time to take on coding as a sideline. I work full time in a health care career, have a family, and like to tinker around with lots of different things. I am not the kind of person with a singular laser focus. I typically will have five plus books on the go at one time, plus numerous projects. I spread myself around intellectually and interest wise. To be competent at coding there needs to be dedicated attention and I hope to one day apply myself at it, but currently it is not possible. I acquired CreateOrConquer.com back in 2010. Though it was in development from 2006 to […]
Aug 01

Playful Work & Serious Leisure

August 01, 2020 by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Components of Human Nature, Game Philosophy, Playstates
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” You might have heard this proverb or some variation on it. We know that play is important and in many ways we live to play. Play takes many different forms and I captured these through my theory on Playstates. Getting back to the proverb, we are told that play is something that needs to complement work. If you work all of the time and have no play in your life then you are considered to be dull or living a sub-optimal life. Play adds delight to life. Yet play is not the only activity that is meant to complement work. Some academics and professions have defined distinctions as we see in the following table: The Park and Recreation Professional’s Handbook defines Leisure as an overarching umbrella that has three aspects: Time, Activity, and State of Mind. All three are Leisure since you are doing things you want to do and have no obligation to do. Leisure is perceived true free time and manifests in things like vacation, retirement, holidays, and being totally free to pursue whatever activities that you want to.   Recreation is defined as a Leisure activity that possesses socially […]
Jul 04

Primal Storytelling in Video Games

July 04, 2020 by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Game Philosophy, Games Analysis, Playstates
Video games are a young media, establishing a foothold in early 1970s and really taking off in the the 1980s. Video games were initially focused on games proper or as I like to say the play of measurement but evolved to include puzzles, sport, toys, and sign-play. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I see video games as being the digital child of play and play is fundamental to humans and other species. I am not embarrassed to love video games. Yet there are quite a few enthusiasts and creators are so desperate for legitimacy they need to equate video games with art or as I will discuss in the post, with literature. We see some of these suppositions below: ‘When is a game going to win a Pulitzer Prize? Are we ready and deserving of such an honor? Can we at least TRY to be worthy of that? Please.’ ~ Warren Spector ‘However, early NES titles were yet too primitive in scope to tackle political themes. Games were childish diversions rather than interactive art.’ ~ Ben Sailer Some are desperate for video games to possess the same qualities of literature as defined by Rick Gekoski: “Nevertheless, what you find […]
Jun 06

Why Video Games Are Not Art

June 06, 2020 by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Game Philosophy, Games Analysis, Playstates
I came across this compelling Youtube by the Game Overanalyser that challenged my perspective about games and art. It is a well-done video that argues why video games are to be considered art.      Why Games Are Art attempts to convince the viewer that (video) games are art. It is unfortunate that Game Overanalyser conflates all games to be video games but that’s another matter. The video is produced in a quick-fire method where he argues that video games are art for a multitude of reasons. These reasons are listed below are a confusing mess when evaluated. I respond to these points in the brackets: The Hero’s Path is a staple in most video games and exists in most art. (He confuses art with literature). Stories are art. (Stories and art are not the same thing). Emotions are art. (Life is full of emotion but that does not make life art). Art exists for its own state. (This is debatable whether this is true). Is Michael Jordan not a artist with his unique style of basketball? (He confuses player performance with game rules). Art is disinterested pleasure. (Some video games induce this but the vast majority of video games […]
Mar 08

The Crossover Zone

March 08, 2020 by Chris Billows in Hobby Heedings 0 comments tags: The Crossover Zone
I’ve been long fascinated with how media properties and their creators interact with each other. The idea that a media property can be seen to possess a kind of meta-consciousness that interacts with other medias is something captures my imagination. This kind of activity is typically named a Crossover and is pretty common practice in the superhero comic medium, but has become more common in all entertainment media. Crossovers are imaginative play and are fun. As I thought about what Crossovers mean, I defined Crossovers to be where two or more media properties engage directly or in parallel with each other. But as I dug deeper I gleaned there are actually different kinds of Crossovers. They are as follows:  1. Formal (or Direct) Crossover The media property or its creators engage formally or directly, allowing characters in a media or medium or milieu meet each other. There are four Formal Crossover sub-categories: Type A – Celebrity Pollination (i.e. celebrities are fans of other medias) Type B – Trans-Media (i.e. toys become a cartoon) Type C – Character Salad (i.e. characters proper interact) Type D – Character Mashup (i.e. characters take on another character’s properties)   2. Analogue (or Parallel) Crossover The […]
Feb 09

Mid-Century Contemplation

February 09, 2020 by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments tags: Human Condition, Poem
Today is my 50th Birthday. I now have a half-century of living that brings forth a contemplation of what is this life for. I am definitely on the other side of living. No longer am I building for a future as that future is now. My wife and I have accomplished the material and parental goals we set out for. Our children have launched themselves into their own lives and I am in the early stages of thinking of retirement from my career of almost 25 years. Yet the future does not look bright and how can it? While it is possible we have many healthy years to live, there is nothing more to attain for even if attained, the Lord of Death will take it. It is time to think more about what life means in the context of inevitable death. What I am witnessing is the the birth of death. From the middle of life, only he who is willing to die with life remains living. Since what takes place in the secret hour of life’s midday is the reversal of the parabola, the birth of death … ~Carl Jung; Soul and death, CW 8, §800. The things […]
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