Well, I know that coffee does wildly varying things to different people. For me in particular, though, I become more focused, more willing to work on difficult things, and in general turns me into a raging optimist. Cocaine, on the other hand, makes you do downright unreasonable things. Well, so I'm told. In this instance, coffee has given me powers. And with these powers I have gone and started a company, Method in Mind.
And this, is the beginning of many stark changes, here and elsewhere. First of all, for those of you that don't know already, I've quit my job at Institute for Creative Technologies to work on Method in Mind full time. My god, I did what now?
Second, I'm sure you've noticed already, but what little posts that I've been able to squeeze out since the god awful shift to hourly-wage status have been decidedly non-game related. The reason for this is my interests moving more broadly into the general application of AI methods to software in general, as opposed to games in particular. That deserves a little discussion.
I love games. I know many of you love games also. As someone once seriously considering a career in the video game industry, I had to ask myself the following question: Will you be satisfied in a job that entails engineering a better way to entertain people? Is creating digital entertainment personally fulfilling?
For me, the answer is no. What I feel most, and what I think attracted me to AI in the first place is, I want to make software that helps people, that increases their quality of life. AI can go a long way in doing this, and that is precisely the investigation that my company, Method in Mind, has undertaken.
Now, do not misunderstand. I would be pleased as punch to create AI that is used in games. It will simply be as a part of a larger effort of applying AI to software in general. I think that along the way, Method in Mind definitely will create technology that will really benefit the game industry. In fact, as I've discovered in talking directly to developers, the only way real AI innovation is going to make it into games is through an independent company making the whole game themself. That is why, eventually, I plan to release a game developed through Method in Mind.
And now that I'm no longer working for the man, expect the posts to be coming fast and furious.
Mmmhmm.
There's an interview right here with Will Shipley, founder of Delicious Monster and OmniGroup. These are the two companies I immediately cite when someone tells me "I was not aware there was such a thing as a Mac-only software company" as an example of companies making totally kick-ass software. Highlights from the interview:
- Will Shipley was fired from OmniGroup!
- Regarding entrepreneurship, luck is most useful if you are prepared to take advantage of it.
- Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring developers like me? A: Yes: write code. Write lots of programs. All the time. Do anything, and give it away.
You’ll be amazed how much excitement even the simplest of programs generates. I built my reputation by writing freeware apps, and I recommend that approach to everyone.
Oh, my god that's funny.
The argument that Mac's don't have viruses because their market share is less than PCs does not hold water. First of all, the fact that there are zero viruses in the wild, that do not actually require your active, painstaking cooperation to install themselves, should motivate any hacker trying to make a name for himself. In addition to that, you could earn a living from winning prize money for hacking Mac's. Here's another contest for hacking an OS X machine.
No matter what it is, there is nothing that cannot be done. If one manifests the determination, he can move heaven and earth as he pleases. But because man is pluckless, he cannot set his mind to it. Moving heaven and earth without putting forth effort is simply a matter of concentration.
-T. Yamamoto Hagakure
More useful, powerful words are seldom spoken.
...or else.
Or rather, the most commonly cited reasons for not starting a startup, and why most of them are bad reasons. The new article by Paul Graham. Some highlights:
- The median age of a founder is 27. Actually, that's how old the founders of Sun were when they started their little company.
- Knowing nothing about business is not a good reason to avoid starting a startup. Just worry about making something people like. When you've got lots of people looking at your site, you can always figure out how to monetize it. On the other hand, if your site is a piece of useless crap all the business knowhow in the world will not help you.
- Investors do not hold past failed startups against you. In fact, this is viewed as good experience.
Paul Graham is a fellow filled with good advice about startups, and occasionally drops these inexplicable, indecipherable, bizarre opinions on things (like Lisp, in which he says Lisp is the most awesome of the awesome, the badassingest of the programming languages, the tool that will give you the unfair business advantage. However he can't tell you why, because it's inexpressible in your "words", for some reason. Pah, I say.) However, you can't argue with the fact that he's a successful entrepreneur, with the investment organization Y Combinator that has a success rate of something like 25%. So, there you have it.
Took a little breather.
Also, here's what happens when you freak out a room full of Japanese ladies:
Rock on, citizens!