Links

Last Modified: Sep 1, 2024

This page lists some interesting and fun stuff for you to enjoy.

Videos

Sparkling Dialogue YouTube video of a narrative design talk by Jon Ingold, the developer of Inklewriter, about why most videogames have awful dialogue in comparison to films, but also why this is absolutely no excuse for awful dialogue in videogames. The live demonstration where he redrafts a key scene from Blade Runner, turning it from linear screenplay to non-linear choice-driven narrative in a few minutes, is nothing short of remarkable.
Stage manager calls cues for 'Hairspray' Youtube video. I was shown this at uni as a practical demonstration of what a Deputy Stage Manager does on a complicated show with lots of tech cues. A really cool watch if you want to learn more about what happens backstage at a theatre.
AD/BC: A Rock Opera (HD) Essential Christmas viewing. A highly specific but incredible parody of early Andrew Lloyd-Webber straight-to-tv musicals, starring Matt Berry, Julian Barratt and Julia Davis. This HQ version annoyingly doesn't come up as the first result on YouTube, so I have linked it here for your convenience!
Skyrim's Top 5 Books The only pointless video essay worth watching. Possibly my favorite YouTube video despite the fact I have never really played Skyrim.

Bros., Lecce: We Eat at The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever - Article by Geraldine DeRuiter. A truly hilarious review of a terrible experience at a Michelin starred restaurant.
You've been traumatized into hating reading and it makes you easier to oppress - Article by Ismatu Gwendolyn. Brilliant article about the importance of the physical written word. Helped me feel a lot less bad about being a slow reader, and excited to read more stuff.
Inside the “Phallus Palace,” Charles Leslie’s Trove of Queer Art - Article by Julia Fiore. Cool interview with a guy who owns an apartment where every inch of it is covered with penis-related art.
The Group Games Model of Learning - Article by Gary Schwartz. A summary of Viola Spolin's philosophy of teaching concepts using the process of solving a problem with no single correct solution, i.e games. Spolin is regarded as one of the earliest and influential figures in modern improvisational theatre of the last 100 years.

Rise Of The Videogame Zinesters - By Anna Anthropy. I have come back to the messages in this book over and over again, and I am comfortable saying that it changed the trajectory of my entire life. It's abook about why everyone should have the means to make videogames. Yes, including your mum. I love the DIY ethos that is fiercely devoted to making tech accessible. It's queer and feminist and joyful and inspiring. It's a book that wants you to make shit, and if it looks bad, first, be proud of yourself, second, who the fuck decides what is good?
Impro - by Keith Johnstone. This book greatly influenced my teaching style. I love Johnstone's unshakeable belief that every single person can exercise creativity, if they wish to do so. Note: This was published 50 years ago, Johnstone's a product of his time and makes some not great remarks about typical ignorant old white dude stuff.
The Art of Gathering - By Priya Parker. A book by a woman who started her career as a conflict resolution expert in warzones and politically polarised communities across the world, uniting people in peace and social progression who had previously wanted to kill each other. Parker applies this mindful and purposeful philosophy of creating connection to the whole field of events planning, and it's utter, utter genius. It's all about how to organise meetings between people, in any context, and have it genuinely mean something, change people, and also be fun and memorable.

The Frank Book - By Jim Woodring. Incomprehensible graphic novel, illustrated by Jim Woodring, who seems to have some form of hallucinatory schizophrenia which motivated his creation of the Frank series, but who otherwise has a very normal life. As a person who has manic episodes, and does a lot of creative work based on gut insticts that are not always fun or palatable, I found this really comforting. (Read more about Jim here.)
Entertaining - By Martha Stewart. Incomprehensible domestic housekeeping and hosting handbook, written by Martha Stewart, who seems to have some form of paranoid manic profile which leads to her calmly explaining how you may host an omelette party for 100 people, in a tone that suggests she believes this type of event is normal and to be expected. Mean jokes aside, this massive book is a formidable testament to this woman's encyclopaedic events management knowledge.
The Complete Servant - by Samuel and Sarah Adams. A detailed book, written by two senior servants, about the minutiae of day to day tasks for household servants in the Georgian/Early Victorian era, in Britain. I like reading about this stuff.

The Dream Podcast investigating the psychology of Multi Level Marketing Schemes, with an empathic look at how vulnerable people are coerced into these schemes.
Now, Where Were We? Podcast made by Barry Cryer and his son Danny Baker. Each episode, Barry Cryer talks to old mates from the comedy and theatre industry and swap stories about ridiculous things that happened. It's so much fun.

The Alexandrian Blog Incredible collection of essays on game design for Table Top Roleplaying Games. I regularly refer to this blog when I'm designing anything game-related, be it an electronic game, interactive theatre, etc. etc. Special mentions go to:
- The Three Clue Rule
- Node-based Scenario Design
qrdex.io QR code generator that apparently doesn't limit clicks.
Nuu Docs Free Google Docs templates for theatre producers. These are boilerplates for every document you could possibly need when planning a show.
SEO for theatre and arts venues - By One Further. A really useful article explaining why SEO works differently for websites that advertise arts/cultural events, and how to make a great site within that specification.
IffyBooks A really cool collection of instructional guides for DIY electronics and coding projects.
Curlie One of the largest entirely human-curated web directories on the internet. This probably seems old fashioned, but with the rise of AI, I think we may come to start returning to such resources. A new iteration of the now discontinued DMOZ project.

ribo.zone A beautiful, richly detailed site packed with the author's personality.
Welcome To My Homepage! A 'digital artist in residency' installation.
Sunday Sites A monthly online coding club where you meet on gather.town, and code in HTML for two hours, and build a page in response to a creative prompt.
diagram.website - a map of small web concepts.