1. We are moving office on the 1st of December! It’s bigger and better and nicer and has a swanky new meeting room. It’s still in Stokes Croft
2. Before leaving, we have managed to change the layout of the office about 3 times in a week (in binary that is eleven) !
3. Dan likes the 11 times table because it’s so easy to remember. He is actually pretty good at coding things.
4. Dan is also an experienced “piper” having Grade 6 flute and Grade 5 saxophone (which equals, uhm, 11)
5. Antoine can do 11 pullups on the office RSJ, which is impressive because it DESTROYS your fingers. No-one else has come close.
6. Dan likes binary. Today’s date is 1023! (1+2+4+8+16+32+64+128+256+512) -> 11/11/11 11:11:11
7. Current studio intern Peter Simon likes sandwiches and liquorice. But presumably not liquorice sandwiches.
8. Ben Templeton and Ben Webb are currently redesigning the Thought Den website. Turn it up to 11!
9. George Rowe is skiving today. Apparently he is having his legs waxed at the Clifton Lido. Or something.
10. Our bike suspension system currently holds up 2 bikes (next to each other, like 11) but when we move it’ll be expanded for all the office. No more director’s privilege.
11. oops

Source: besttechInfo.com

A rumour that spread like wildfire across the web a month ago has now metamorphosed into a big, exciting News butterfly. Facebook is on a journey to take on the might of Apple and Google in the mobile market, much like Leonidas and his 299 fellow under-dressed men.

Project Spartan, as it is known, is Facebook’s plan to develop their own new App Store; think iTunes but through Facebook. While not too much has been said yet (Spartans are men of action, not words) it is not too difficult to imagine what the project could lead to.

This will allow for e.g. making better use of some features like Facebook Credits for sales, in-app purchases and thus making more profit.  It is a clever battle-plan which the Financial Times and Playboy have already kicked off.

Apparently about 80 outside developers and companies (including Farmville and The Huffington Post) are contributing to the project, and we also know now that Apple is giving a certain level of support.

This effort from Facebook to bring a whole new experience to the iOS devices is something to celebrate. It would be nice to see this new platform being spread through other mobile devices, let’s say… Android OS for instance!
It may very well push developers and the rest of the industry to have more interest in HTML5 and CSS3 features, pushing forward new web standards.

source: Slashgear.com

The exciting news for our clients however is that it is a new contender in the app market with Facebook’s 750-million users behind the top brand.

Thought Den’s experience with the technology, HTML5 and Javascript will allow our clients pretty much instant entry to the service.

Now less talk about the naked men fighting please!

From the humble egg whisk to the shopping cart, from the first smart-phones to children’s play toys, there isn’t a field in which IDEO have not innovated. This company has an incredible talent for understanding how real people solve real problems. Humans are undoubtedly intelligent creatures but understanding the nuances and occasional contradictions of our behaviour requires a particular skill. Even sophisticated and intuitive touch-screen units sometimes need a low-tech alternative to suit the realities of daily life. A room-booking system that clearly shows availability as you peer down the length of a corridor because the lights are mounted in a particular way; this user-friendly solution was designed for busy workers requiring instant feedback for last-minute availability.

Thought Den visited the IDEO campus in Palo Alto, CA in October. Over the course of an hour Danny Stillion, Senior Interaction Designer, did a fascinating show-and-tell, demonstrating the sheer depth and breadth of the company’s output. There is of course an incredible heritage of success in this company, facilitating an abundance of touch screens, break out spaces, project rooms and prototype materials that ensures the creative process is free-flowing and robustly supported.

We learnt:

1) The power of a holistic and human approach – through research and observation you can thoroughly understand the challenge, to the point the solution will present itself.
2) Share and communicate – everyone has something to add, whether tea-boy or the lead technician, and facilitating this knowledge transfer is essential in nourishing a productive ecology
3) Surround yourself with the tools to prototype and play – pens, paper, curiosities and widgets. Make stuff and test stuff. Then make stuff better and test stuff harder.
4) Have an incredible account handling and sales team. Natch.

Rarely have I seen such emphasis on observation and research, the importance of testing and iterative development that thoroughly involves the target audience. Solutions that work because they were informed by and engineered to improve day to day life. But IDEO’s considerations don’t rest solely with the end-user; a firm grasp of the commercial imperative means every solution has a well-formulated and effective strategy for return on investment. So the real magic seems to be in treading the fine line between satisfying both parties. Genuine reward for users and commercial success are not mutually exclusive because a win-win situation is the least we should settle for. Get that right and the cash-monies look after themselves, right?

If you’ve got some cash-monies, we can help you innovate and build real human connections.

Two recent events -  1) A session with @ubistudio in Palo Alto, CA and 2) Our BBC Trainees Immersive Experience Lab in Manchester – both committed to exploring the tension between hypnotic, connected, powerful, emerging technologies and the personal, unique, emotional experiences that entertain us or help us learn.

And so to UbiStudio. It seems Bristol’s Pervasive Media Studio has a few fans here in San Francisco. Rutger and I were lucky enough to attend a session packed with academics, technicians, businessmen, futurists and the curious who regularly convene to reflect on and project the trajectory of media consumption. With contributions from Intel, Nokia, Stanford University, ex-Hewlett Packard staff, transmedia theorists and casual observers alike, the discussions were both inspiring and mind boggling.

Augmented social interaction…

There were three formal presentations, starting with the analysis of an experience designed to encourage people to make genuine human connections at large events. Zorop is the brainchild of Ken Ekland, also known as writerguy, and used a gentle narrative (people dressed as Zoropians, tooled with iPhones) to bring strangers together in search of common affinities. Results were visualised in real-time on touch-screen tables at the Zero One Festival in San Jose. One memorable story described two old ladies brought together who, after some cajoling, eventually found a shared interest in ceramics. They were no longer strangers having found mutual ground, a shared passion. The interesting point here is that for all the technology that enabled this meeting, the resulting impact and emotional experience had no dependence on technology as it played out.

Using LAYAR

Gene Becker, UbiStudio director, offered a retrospective on the challenges of developing an AR app using LAYAR, in a short time frame, with minimal technological knowledge. Ultimately we learnt the development was far more enjoyable than using the tool itself. The technology, using GPS enabled camera-phones, though impressive, was too crude and fiddly to support any memorable or useful experience. Again, we see the challenge of striking a balance between visible technology and user experience.

Transmedia that works

In contrast to this, Robert, who spoke on transmedia and augmented reality, made reference to an iPhone app for use in conjunction with a (real-life) comic book, adding to the depth of experience by using QR codes to trigger additional content on the phone such as ambient audio or back-stories. In this example, the extra layer of technology (camera phone, internet connection, streamed content) enhanced the experience despite having to fiddle with the app.

A conclusion of sorts

So the conclusion seems to be a question of context. Horses for courses. At a vibrant street festival it doesn’t enhance the experience watching through a small screen, whether or not it reveals additional content. However, at home, book in hand, additional un-intrusive content accessed quickly and simply can enhance the experience. Perhaps this is because the conventions are more familiar – background music isn’t a ground breaking revelation; but instantly accessing relevant content using a bar-code is pretty cool So in every case it is about finding a relationship that works – balancing an enabling technology with a desired experience, without one over-powering the other.

Get in touch if you want us to help you engage in ways that work.

Thought Den Director Ben Templeton (soon to be dropping 3rd person blog writing) is in San Fransisco. In no particular order, here are some key reasons :

• Knowledge Transfer – our work with the PMStudio has opened many doors to innovation, inspiration and creativity. Now it’s time to step through a few of those doors and meet the sharpest minds of the American creative industry.
• New business connections – in this perma-connected world, why restrict yourself one desk, one office? It’s time to think big, play big and make a splash on the international stage. Next stop, world domination…
• It’s been a demanding 6 months with nearly 10 projects in production. We’re working with the likes of international movie-makers Paramount, London-based cultural institutions Tate and BBC, along with local innovative businesses such as Coaching Creatives and Footprint Television
• San Francisco is the Bristol of America (I have images to prove it) and my creative juices require some re-invigoration.

Cool San Fran idea #1

The Bold Italic is an online magazine that gives voice to the boldest, most inspirational local people of SF, in turn benefiting the local merchants who can post discounts, special events and general nudges to come on down. This very slick, tightly edited and thoroughly usable site is one step ahead of the identikit self-published so-called ‘local expert’ guides, though I imagine there is considerable financial backing to the venture. Interested to see if the business model can work. Take a look.

Networking adventures in SF

Well, if I’m not here to drum up business, what would the point eh? (Ideas on an A1 sheet to the usual address….) Phil Stenton at the Pervasive Media Studio very kindly set me up a few exciting appointments. IDEO (275 employees, offices in London, New York, Munich etc) are one of the modern heroes of design, working across strategy, product development and digital, thoroughly plumbing the depths and breadths of innovation. Rutger and I were lucky enough to have a personal tour around their Palo Alto facility by Senior Interaction Designer Danny Stillion. The trip requires a full post to do it justice -  highlights include giant touchscreens around the ‘campus’ for staff expression, the fantastic smell of glue and steel in the workshop, constant examples of innovation (from cash-cards that round up your bill and stick the extra in a savings account, to ergonomic pizza slicers) and the bike rack – not a patch on Thought Den Towers, but at least they tried…

And so to UbiStudio, Pervasive Media Studio of the Pacific coast, run by Gene Becker, ex HP man much like Phil Stenton. The event itself featured 3 talks, largely around AR and ARG experiments – this again requires it’s own post, highlighting as it did the occasional disparity between sophisticated technologies such as LAYAR and the golden goose egg of genuine, engaging, human experiences. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.

Current project madness

The Den is hectic-busy, even without me there to crack the whip. We can’t talk about all of them, but you read it here first: Thought Den have been commissioned by the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland to produce a game that ties in with the Artist Rooms exhibition that is touring the country. VERY exciting job.

Other work for the BBC includes a top secret online tool for the Learning Development department, along with a week-long training and brainstorm event with the aim of developing a pervasive experience to launch the BBC’s impending mass-move oop Norf.

Portsmouth University have commissioned Thought Den to complete a Virtual Tour of their city-based campus off the back of a glowing endorsement from our longest-standing client, Bournemouth University.

General titillations

So far the best districts are North Beach, Mission, Haight & Ashbury, and then a bit of the Marina District along Chestnut. We’ve found bistros, bars, cafes, taquerias, mojito bars, strip joints, parks, hills, trams but no bloody salad! I need salad!

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass event was great – a hidden valley of hedonism in the midst of Golden Gate Park. Apparently MC Hammer and Elvis Costello played but we were too busy eating Burritos and drinking Red Stripe. Yes.

Whet your whistle with some southern Comfort Swamp Drifting (don’t drink and drift…) in this game in support of Southern Comfort’s sponsorship of the True Blood TV series on FX. Once you’ve collected HM Heron’s precious cargo from the ‘gator infested Bayou (linky-link to Swamp Drifter), pop into New Orleans for a bit of Vamp-dodging. This second game for the True Blood series of digital treats takes inspiration from Jewel Thief, a skanky, pixel-tastic, PC-based game of childhood yore. Collect the gems. Don’t get caught. Here’s the link – Vampire Chase.

Cute-animal alert! Ask yourself this – should rabbits eat broccoli? Not according to the law of Cybervores! This little digi-toy combines a cracking little suite of mini-games for kiddie-winks, crafted over almost 6 weeks of game-testing and development at the Den.

It’s a bit like tamagotchi, but we got rid if the boring click-to-cuddle / click-to-feed and focused on gameplay / gameplay with classics like as Catch, Hide and Seek, Sports Day and Pairs. Have a quick play, they’re all under 2 minute interactions, and let us know what you think. And damn, the illustrations are good.

Many thanks to all the good people who have contributed – our main man on the visual side Mr Ben Webb; all the cool dudes at Communicator in London; Dom, Ben and Dave at Kerve for joyous XML wrangling and file uploading.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Download

Thought Den – Flash Programmer

Thought Den – Studio Marketeer

Note
No agencies

Text versions

———-
Flash programmer

WAGE
£300 per week

DESCRIPTION
We build addictive games. That’s why we’re chosen to work with agencies on their big clients like Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, BBC and leading British Universities.

Our Flash Programmer role will involve intensive Actionscript programming to develop gameplay, but will also involve building connections to databases and loading XML files. You will be supported by the creative and technical team in terms of visual assets and complex technical solutions.

See some of our examples
The JD Set – http://www.thejdset.co.uk/
Fire Kills – http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/firekills/game.html
Virtual Tour – http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/virtualtour/

You need to have a good understanding of Flash and Actionscript, or at the very least, a strong desire to learn.

TASKS
- ideas generation
- rapid prototyping
- programming
- testing
- deployment of game

DURATION
8 week trial

——–
GETTING IN CONTACT
Please send to dan@thoughtden.co.uk
- a Cv, some links to your work (student, graduate, own time)
- a zip file of 1 Flash project, code+fla. (no more than 5MB!)

SCRABBLE IT TOGETHER BY
April 6th

THEN
If we like the cut of your jib, we’ll find a time to chat from the April 7th

——–
Studio Marketeer

WAGE
£250 per week + commission

DESCRIPTION
Thought Den are going places. We’ve been working with agencies on their big clients like Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, BBC and leading British Universities for 5 years.

Now we need someone to start shouting about it.

Ultimately this role is responsible for raising the profile of the company and generating new business leads. Thought Den design, build, collaborate and educate. We need someone to take responsibility for separating and defining our range of services, develop the appropriate sales strategies for each and then execute the strategy.

The successful candidate should have a good understanding of the digital industry, including trade magazines, blogs and other appropriate channels. But of most importance is the creative spark and enthusiasm that will help communicate Thought Den’s passion for delivery rewarding digital experiences. Financial rewards for doing well.

TASKS
- writing blogs / articles / tweets
- researching target clients
- cold-calling new clients
- placing articles in the appropriate channels
- brainstorming and creative thinking

DURATION
8 week trial

——–
GETTING IN CONTACT
Please send to dan@thoughtden.co.uk
- a Cv, some links to your work (student, graduate, own-time)
- a mini-blog post to sell “iPods to your Nan”
- 200 words max.
- 1 hand-drawn image. A drawing, pen/pencil/pasta choose a medium
- delivered in a blog/word doc/plain text doc + attachment

SCRABBLE IT TOGETHER BY
April 6th

THEN
If we like the cut of your jib, we’ll find a time to chat from the 7th April

As ever, we all got very excited with the brief, came up with some amazing game-play mechanics, tried to cram them all into one game, moved the goalposts a few of times and almost threw the baby out with the bathwater, but eventually ended up with a tight piece of work. Tear’s were shed but lessons were learned and here are our golden rules:

Team buy-in from the beginning

The sooner everyone involved can understand the underlying aim of the game the better. This means the client’s aims too. If the creative vision for the project ultimately only exists in one person’s head, an awful lot of management time will have to be committed down the line to ensure everyone is gunning for the same target. When the goals, creative vision and problems are shared from the beginning there less links in the communication chain and each member of the team has more understanding and ownership of the project.

Use the right documentation at the right time

There are client-facing docs, internal docs, technical specifications, flow diagrams, testing feedback and wireframes, all with their own valuable role to play. But we’re here to build the game, not make a million documents explaining why and how we’re going to do it. The documents are there to ensure everyone is on the same page, all boxes are ticked and limit nasty surprises along the way. Be strict on what information you are representing in which document. How much of it is really relevant at that stage, and what important details are being left out? Early input from the team and a shared understanding of the challenge at hand makes the documentation the best it can be but also means it is not the only resource to rely on.

Rapid prototyping and play-testing

The sooner a game can be played, the better, no matter what state the graphics are in. Forget splash screens, buttons, highscores and preloaders, we need to play it, get a feel for it, discover the fun bits and reveal any potential trip-ups down the line.  In fact, a prototype is the best form of documentation in terms of game-play and what is a game if it’s not about playability? Cynics might say brand engagement or data capture, but the best way to achieve these is by rewarding the user with quality interaction.

Keep talking

The management process is a thousand times easier when you’re not left in the dark. And in the engine room too, it is essential the production team keep talking so that the pieces of the puzzle join seamlessly at the end. No matter how tight the production process, there will always be a desire to improve and innovate the output. In all likelihood the goalposts won’t stop moving until the 11th hour and the only way to prevent nasty surprises is to make sure people are talking to each other. Of course, it’s possible to over-talk, which is why development cycles and milestones are so important as checkpoints at which information is exchanged, keeping everyone up to speed.

Manage the feedback

The game should be played but the feedback must be collected, filtered and distributed correctly. The target audience are your most important motivator (besides the client I imagine) and it will be someone’s responsibility to make sure the game serves its purpose. With prototype feedback  coming in from all angles, inevitably some of it will not be relevant and the build team need to be drip fed only the most pertinent information, organised so they can tackle it efficiently.

The War Room

As a project nears completion the loose strands need to be tucked in, the stodgy bits stripped away. This requires executive decision making from the project leaders and quick turn around from the technical team. If the shit hits the fan, this is where the team needs to be – all in one place for the final hurdle.

Make it good

Finessing a project and showing it some love when the build is essentially finished is the stage that so often goes by the wayside. This is when it can become something beautiful! Finishing touches like improving the user feedback, splash screen layout, calls to action and sound effects add the gloss and shine to a project that makes it something to be proud of.  Unless, of course, you’re massively over budget and desperate to get the damn thing out the door. And then it’s for the seeding team to worry about!

Fear not, for Thought Den have visited the sensory soothsayers, taken prayer with the bluetooth gods and consulted the ethernet queen. A parchment of infinite age has been entrusted to them, along with the fate of creative Bristol, and there-in were the words of salvation. A virginal sacrifice has been made and the voodoo artefact has been positioned on the beta meridian. Now we must all hold hands and pray that Bristol will be spared the wrath of the Digital Devil as he prowls these rich lands in search of HTML horrors, Photoshop faux-pas and Flash bashing.

May your wits remain with you,

Best wishes from all at Thought Den.