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Brilliant stuff Paul! We ken you are busy, go for it mate! :)
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeJul 13th 2011
Paul, I'll swap you a bench and a couple of moths for some insider information
Ah @Kradlum, you think I actually have time to PLAY this game? Foolish boy, I'm too busy fall into that black hole, but I do enjoy watching what's going on in the game. And to see how much people are dissecting all the graphics I made for the game. It's insane! It's like a REALLY nerdy CSI kind of thing! -
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I assume you did the pictures for the daring sorties? Would it be obsessive to read too much into the details in those pictures? Like the billboard being from the 1980s or 90's?
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeJul 26th 2011 edited
Yup, that was me.
(edited for content) -
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Cheers! I'll get my crack team of coffee cup ring decoders onto something more productive.
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeSep 4th 2011 edited
Well, it's September, and the FLOATING CITY online game for Thomas Dolby is over, for all intents and purposes a smashing success for something that could have exploded upon launching. Over 5,000 players registered, and the game and forums were very busy all the time. The interaction in the forums for the various tribes in the game were the key, as community building was a huge part of the vibe of the game. I was one of the moderators on the boards and the mod for one of the tribes, so I used all the moderator skills I've picked up here to run my tribe clean, lean and mean. A few brave souls from these boards ventured over and played the entire game, which was a bit odd for me, as I was not playing in the game as Paul Sizer, but rather as this person; The Soot Sparrow:
...which was very interesting to have to de-cloak at the end of the game. "Soot" seemed to be well liked, although there were a few players who MAY have developed a crush on her, thus me having to add to the cliché that all girls on the internet are actually older guys. I thought for sure that someone would have figured me out, but at this point, I seem to have maintained the illusion up to the point of me "coming out" last week to the players. Heard a couple of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screams, but other than this, most people enjoyed the disguise.
The game was really an amazing experience for me, in that I am NOT a gamer AT ALL (last and only thing I've done was MYST; no D&D, no MAGIC, NOTHING) and suddenly I am neck deep in a very intel based trading game, with some really hardcore WOW level players, who demanded a high level of interaction and play. The game was planned out, but by necessity was also very liquid, as we adapted to all kinds of changes and problems that popped up, and that made things very weird at points, but also very exciting. I had to really think on the fly, in character, and lead without spoiling, nudge without showing favoritism, and deal with folks who would have gotten arse eels within seconds of their first posts here. But despite the bumps and wrankles of the game, I thought it went very well, meeting it's objective of getting a huge new audience exposed to Thomas Dolby and his music through the narrative in the game. I was also an amazing experience to have to design all the graphic infrastructure for the game, making logo systems and layouts for the game that were intuitive and playable. At some point, I've gotta make a book about the design part of this; I've got GIGABYTES of design on this project.
Next up; the album, coming out October 25th. Design is done, it just uploaded to the printers, and we'll see what happens next! -
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- CommentAuthorJames Cunningham
- CommentTimeSep 4th 2011 edited
I would buy the living hell out of a design book on all the work you've put into this. :)
Ultimate CD version that comes with a copy of the album, a giant multi-hundred page large-scale hardcover book, and DVD of stuff that couldn't fit in the book's pages? You know this needs to exist. -
What happened in Floating City stays in Floating City.
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeSep 4th 2011
Indeed. But thanks again for being such a great player, Kradlum.
I thought of the Whitechapel forums every time I had to deal with an obnoxious player and applied this equation:
(What would Warren do) x 1/10 + girl's perspective = Soot's response. -
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
If any of you Whitechapelers hears a faint "popping" sound seeming to come from Chicago this Friday (October 7th), it is the sound of my head exploding as I finally meet Thomas Dolby face to face and have dinner with him! OR, it's the sound of two universes imploding and me being flung into the Negative Zone.
Dolby's doing a short US promo tour in October, talking about THE FLOATING CITY game and playing people a few songs on his laptop and keyboard, in a lecture format.
He's in Chicago this Friday, and then out to the West Coast.
He's then doing a full UK tour in November, and will be touring the states in February/March of 2012.
Full tour schedule SO FAR here. -
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Have a great time, Paul! I'd ask if you have time to grab a beer while you're in town, although I suspect you're going to be pretty busy, and I'm pretty busy with the infant right now anyway. :) But Congrats on how great this year has been for you!
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeOct 7th 2011
Thanks Isaac, congrat on the little rugrat, you're gonna make a great daddy! -
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeOct 9th 2011
OK, after nearly 2 years of working with the guy trans-continentally, via Skype, email, video chats, phone, YouSendIt, DropBox, texting, and every other way of communication that doesn't include actually being face to face, in Chicago, October 7th, it finally happened.
Short version: Dolby is a great guy. Great to work for, nice guy, wicked smart, funny, and very very gracious. He gave me a shout out at his lecture/mini-concert at Martyrs' in Chicago, and we went out after the show and had dinner. It was so bizarre in some ways, given what a huge fan I am of him, and yet we've talked nearly every day in some form for the last 20 months, so it was more like a personal meeting more than anything else, which made it all the more cool.
AND I finally got to actually see the physical CDs that I've been designing for the past 3 months.
The album is out in the UK on October 24, and October 25 in the States. I may be biased, but it's REALLY good. -
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Thomas Dolby got interviewed on NPR about the new album that Paul helped with! Unfortunately, I don't think Paul got name-checked, but no worries.
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/23/141557689/thomas-dolbys-floating-city -
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeOct 25th 2011
The album is now officially out in the UK and the USA. NOW I will believe it's done! : ) -
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeJan 10th 2012 edited
THOMAS DOLBY US TOUR ANNOUNCED
And here's the trailer he'll be pulling behind his tour bus that he dreamt up and I helped to visualize...
AND it's official: He's getting this thing made! For real. Serious. -
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Dolby on Laughing Squid today with pic of the trailer.
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeJan 16th 2012
Thanks Keith! -
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2012
Official Tour Poster, now open to the public.
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CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
- CommentTimeMar 13th 2012
The Time Capsule Trailer is no longer just a JPEG....IT'S ALIVE!
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