Meandering Thoughts on G+ vs. Temporal Indifferent Media

G+ is an awesome tool but it does have disadvantages. I miss many interesting conversations because of time zones, blocked by the corporate machine, or just away for a few days. Like many, I’ve circled a lot of people because they occasionally post interesting points. The stream can be very chaotic and quickly bury stuff I’d like to read. I simply want to be able to easily find interesting conversations that occurred when I was not around.

I understand that the ideal social media consumer is always present. I will never fit that model. I’m going to have to start my own personal aggregation just to keep up. Aggregation is not the right word, I want to model it based on my own personal interests.

Currently, the G+ API limits my ability to do so. #1) I cannot pull my own circle information via the API. Considering I want to seed my algorithm with the people I like reading,it will require duplicating that information. #2) It is not possible to actually pull posts in my stream in any form. While I might be able to browse the actual G+ site today, I may be gone for a few days and want to easily find posts of interest when I get back Unless it is my post, it is not possible to easily browse the history of the topics, not people. #3) Back to limited posting, even if people have shared posts with me, I cannot see that via the API even if it is authorized to pull that information.

On the plus side, the API does allow extraction of public information. Once seeded, I should be able to find blog posts of interest based on the settings of folks I follow. I can also extract details on those who respond to the people that make public posts. A bit of relationship modelling and training and I can actually find better suggestions about people to follow based on my topic of interest.

The most important element is I want to read more posts — even if I’m not around. I don’t want my G+ stream full of ancient stuff; just the ability extract that data for my personal consumption. Perhaps even tie it back to relevant content in the past.

Get Your Game On(line): Google+ RPG Gaming and Events

Indie+ is an online indie RPG convention to be held in mid-July 2012 on Google+. It is an opportunity for small publishers, bloggers, podcasters and others to work together and raise the profile of independent gaming.

When: July 9th – 15th
Organizers: Chris Tregenza, Brent P. Newhall, plus many others.
More Information: Wiki

Unlimited Adventures – Limited Commitment

The aim of Unlimited Adventures – Limited Commitment is to encourage both DMs and Players to try new games. Not in a one shot, see ya later sort of scenario, but over 2 to 3 sessions. Long enough for players and GMs to feel they hopefully gained something from the experience.

When: Continuous
Organizers: Erik Tenkar, Michael Garcia
More Information: Goal Statement, Other Postings and Game Calendar

Gameplay is a playtesting network where members can playtest games and have their games playtested. It’s an online-only group that uses Tabletop Forge with G+ Hangouts to organize and play games.

When: Continuous
Organizers: Unknown
More Information: Google+ Page, Calendar

Not enough to flll your plate? There are also some FLAILSNAILS games happening. Many of those are flagged under the ConstantCon effort. ConstantCon also has a calendar of games.

I would be remiss not to mention Tabletop Forge. Many of the games being run utilize this great Hangout Application.

Tabletop Forge is a Google+ Hangout application that lets your play tabletop roleplaying games inside of a Google+ Hangout. It includes things like dice rolling, whispering, and map functions.

The developers (Charles Jaimet, Joshua Owen, et al.) of the application are running a Kickstarter campaign to make an excellent product even better.

A Little Star Frontiers

Wednesday is turning into game night. Last week, I played a session of Labyrinth Lord set in Middle Earth via Hangout on G+. This week, the game was Star Frontiers run by Larry Moore again on G+. Up until Wednesday, I’d never played nor run in a Star Frontiers game. At least I cannot recall any game. I do recall looking at the game on several occasions back in the 1980’s and 1990’s but never pulled the trigger.

Larry was kind enough to pre-generate a character for me prior to the session. The PC had a few holes to fill in which I worked through prior to the game and then went through final tweaks with Larry in the Hangout prior to the game. My character was a human smuggler named Euric Cals. I figured human was an easy route to take not being familiar with the system. Turns out, it probably wouldn’t have mattered considering Larry’s great depth of knowledge and easy going explanations.

The session had a couple of people drop out beforehand so was only myself and William who played a human scout named Bart. Bart and Euric hit it off. Being stuck without a jobs and a serious need for income, the pair wandered into animal recovery job in the local zoo. The definition of animal is used loosely. Alien wildlife is dangerous. Just ask Bart.

The session had a couple of minor technical hiccups. I honestly cannot explain how one machine can suddenly fail to recognize the network link it was using but a replacement used it just fine. Very, very odd. Crazy damn computers for the win.

Larry had multiple maps ready to share for the game, which were relayed via Google Docs with links in the Hangout. They included character counters we could move around the map during our actions. Doing so provided everyone a clear visual picture of the situation at hand. Were they absolutely necessary? Probably not. They certainly added to the experience and made the game flow a bit quicker.

Euric and Bart ended up entering into a new job with an eccentric fellow named Doc. No word when or if the game will continue but if it does, I’ll gladly play again.

Next Wednesday, the LL game is supposed to continue. Looking forward to it.

G+ Hangout Gaming – A First Experience

For the past few months, I’ve been meaning to join a G+ Hangout game just to try it out. Last week, I finally managed to find one that fit my schedule and interests. The game premise was a Middle Earth game utilizing Labyrinth Lord rules. Although I was familiar with both the setting and the underlying system, I didn’t know anyone in the group planning to play. Rather than ponder joining and missing another opportunity, I just made the jump to asking to be included.

Scott, the Labyrinth Lord, allowed me to play one of the NPC’s he was going to use as group filler since I was a last minute addition. My character was Dark Thom, a hobbit (halfling) thief with dubious hygiene habits and a shady set of morals. He’s not particularly skilled either; much like most first level Labyrinth Lord characters.

When the game started, I underwent a couple of technology related glitches. Linux and Hangouts are compatible when the stars align. However, I could see but couldn’t hear or speak. Rather than fiddle around trying to solve the issue, I just grabbed another laptop and used Windows for the session. Even that required adjusting input device settings. Quickly fixed but in the rush, I managed to leave my dice lying elsewhere so I used my online dice roller when needed.

I’m a bit of an introvert in new groups and settings. I need some time to determine how and where I fit in any new group. That quickly passed in the game. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. In fact, I questioned why I hadn’t jumped into more games in the past.

The game itself was quite fun. Took a bit to get rolling, as all 1st sessions tend to do. Once we accepted the introductory plot hook, the group was off to investigate orc sightings in the area. No character deaths this time around but there was one close call.

Next session is next week and I’ll be there. If you are wary of jumping into a Hangout game, my advice is to take the plunge. Hiccups may happen. Nobody worried about those.

I think one of the prototype hangout apps would add to the experience. However, the raw hangout system worked just fine with five people. Video was reasonable. Audio was glitch free.

If you haven’t tried it yet, go for it.

Cool Stuff: Dragons for Dinner a Google+ Hangout App

Charles Jaimet shared a video of his work in progress on Dragons for Dinner. DfD is an app using the Google+ API to support gaming in a Hangout. Essentially, its a cool take on a virtual table top with many great features. Given the beta status of the G+ API, the app cannot be publicly released. Hopefully Google decides to migrate into its normal open beta policy soon so I can give it a whirl.

Check it out. It’s worth a look.