Swrve is a tool that creates multiple split tests within a game where developer can try, fine-tune and deploy changes live. Company CEO Hugh Reynolds explains that the service isn’t an analytics platform like Kontagent or its competitors, but rather a component that allows developers to see and act on feedback collected from split tests conducted in-game. As an example, he says a card game developer can deploy five versions of the same piece of art for one card type in-game, interpret which performs best among its demographic breakdown, and push the one art piece that performs the best live. Or, Reynolds says, a developer could even consider deploying more than one art piece for the card in-game that varies depending on the user’s demographic.

“People look at it and say it’s more like a game editor than analytics tool,” he says. “It’s something that ‘regular people’ that don’t have a PhD in analytics can use day-to-day to guide development.”

Swrve is now launching version 2 of its server architecture, allowing the service to scale to a larger pool of developers. One of its earliest clients is Facebook social game developer 5th Planet Games; Reynolds tells us that about 18 more customers across mobile, social and open web game developers are also evaluating the product. Swrve uses a business model similar to a phone bill where customers have a low point of entry and then pay for usage with no lock-in agreement. It’s possible to use the service on a month-to-month basis, but there are incentives for quarterly or annual subscriptions.

As an interesting aside, Reynolds and Swrve CTO Dr. Steven Collins are known in the video game industry as the creators of the cross-platform Havok physics engine, which powers games like Fallout 3, L.A. Noire, and Dead Rising. Havok sold to Intel in 2007 and Reynolds and Collins went on to found Swrve in 2010.

(from Gaming http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2011/10/26/cloud-based-game-feedback-service-swrve-exits-beta-launches-version-2/)

(from Gamasutra Smartphone/Tablet News http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/38021/CrowdStar_Targets_Hardcore_With_Wasteland_Empires.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fingergaming+%28FingerGaming%29)

I am following, with bemusement, the skirmish over the IS-LM macroeconomic model between Brad Delong and Tyler Cowen.

Here are three posts by Delong who likes the model:

Yet more rites of tribal solidarity among right-wing econ…

IS-LM

The tribal dislike of John Hicks and IS-LM

Here are three by Cowen, who dislikes the model:

Scott Sumner on IS-LM

Brad Delong on IS-LM

Why I do not like the IS-LM model

***

I will leave aside the macroeconomics (no expertise). What I care about is how one should, and should not, critique “models”.

Since a model is an abstraction, a simplification of reality, no model is above critique.

I consider the following types of critique not deserving:

1) The critique that the modeler makes an assumption,

e.g. “it fudges the distinction between real and nominal interest rates”. Making assumptions is not inherently bad, making bad assumptions is a problem but not all assumptions are bad.

2) The critique that the modeler makes an assumption for mathematical convenience,

e.g. “Don’t assume they are the same, just to squash the two curves onto the same graph.” Almost all assumptions are made for mathematical convenience. The inappropriate use of the Gaussian assumption, that most unpardonable of sins according to Taleb, is almost always invented to render the math tractable. But not all assumptions that simplify the math are bad assumptions.

3) The critique that the model omits some feature,

e.g. “those aggregate curves are not invariant to expectations”, because this critique is no different from saying the modeler makes an assumption (see #1) More, what is a “bad” assumption? How does one determine which assumptions are bad among the set of all possible assumptions?

4) The critique that the model doesn’t fit one’s intuition,

e.g. “the model leads you to believe that interest rates are more important than they probably are”. The model should fit reality (the data); it doesn’t need to fit anyone’s intuition.

5) The critique that the model fails to make a specific prediction,

e.g. “this distinction really matters when you’re trying to predict the macro effects of ‘window breaking’”. No model, especially a macroeconomic model that can issue a large number of predictions, will ever predict everything. Not all predictions are equally important. One must agree on which predictions are the  most important to get right, and make judgment based on the entire list of predictions.

Above all, a serious critique must include an alternative model that is provably better than the one it criticises. It is not enough to show that the alternative solves the problems being pointed out; the alternative must do so while preserving the useful aspects of the model being criticized.

***

This whole debate reminds me of the climate change model controversies. I am not aware of an alternative model from those who dislike the consensus model. Until they offer such an alternative, their critique cannot be taken seriously, I’m afraid.

The underlying belief — on both sides of the macroeconomic divide, it appears — that someone’s model can be proved “wrong” and thus discarded for all eternity is as dubious as the belief that a model can be proved “right”.

(from Numbers Rule Your World http://junkcharts.typepad.com/numbersruleyourworld/2011/10/how-not-to-critique-models.html)

The cool thing about social games is that you learn something new every day. Every new game you play teaches you something and evolves your thinking of what is possible and what works and what does not. I regularly spend quite a lot of time playing new games coming out from the major players in the industry regardless whether the theme or type of game actually interests me. I usually play all the games coming out from the top casual companies (Zynga, EA, wooga, Playdom, Digital Chocolate and LOLAPPS) at least to level 20. If you are just starting out with social games a good starting point is playing the top 3 properties by each of the companies listed. When playing I take a note of a few things which I try to summarize next. BTW, I usually take a screen capture video and then later run through the questions below to not destroy the flow (and fun) of the game.

Image ref: http://www.appdata.com Top Games by DAU

When playing think (or even better write up) following things:

• How long is the initial loading, what is shown to entertain you while loading?
• What is the first interaction with the game you have as a user – an ‘okay’ button click or an in-game action?
• How does the game teach you to play, what does it teach and what not?
• How long is the tutorial in minutes?
• Is the objective of the game clear to you after finishing the tutorial?
• How does the game move from tutorial to mission mode? Is it smooth and fool-proof?
• What are the first missions about, do you feel rewarded when making them? Are they new or something you’ve already seen in other games?
• What is the core loop of the game? The action series which will be generating you in-game money? Is it rewarding?
• How fast do you level-up? What level are you after playing for 10 minutes?
• Why should you have also friends playing the game – what is your benefit? 
• When does the game for the first time ask me about friends, items needed or staffing (this is sometimes called a ‘friend-gate’)
• How fast do you level-up in minutes of play?
• On what level do you run out of energy and/or the game requires me to wait for some time before you can proceed with the goals? How many minutes into playing are you when this happens?
• How does the game allure you to wanting to come back after the first session? Is it clear what rewards will be waiting for you if and when you come back? (this is sometimes called “closure”)
• Why should you spend money in the game? What is the benefit? 
• If you play for 6 months, what will you achieve? What is your objective as a player? Is this clear after playing the first time.
• While playing did you laugh, smile, or show any other sort of genuine excitement? 

After playing all these games try to sum up TOP 3 aspects of each game. Also read user comments and feedback on forums. Try to figure out if and why the game is fun, if not for yourself but for the target audience of that game. Have fun – that’s what this is all about!

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(from Games Changed My Life http://www.gameschangedmylife.com/play-and-learn)

Hey guys, here are some cute extras — some satin ribbons to add to your blog bling collection. There are 19 grunge and semi-transparent ribbon labels in all. To give you a feel for the ribbon sizes, the orange and violet ribbon pair in the image above measures 683 x 220 px.

In case you missed my extraction screencast, I show how I extract the backgrounds from my images in this tutorial. So, if you would like to create digital ribbons from your own existing ribbon collection, check it out.

  
(1) Clip Art:
Vintage Floral Embroidery PNG

(2) Customizable Desktop Wallpaper (PSD):1280×720 | 1600×900 | 2560×1440

(from Pugly Pixel http://www.puglypixel.com/2011/09/20/blog-bling-satin-ribbon-labels/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PuglyPixel+%28Pugly+Pixel%29)

I read an excellent novel this weekend, Dana Spiotta’s Stone Arabia. Like any good novel, it’s about many things, but in particular, it made me think about the issue of self-curation.

In his “Chronicles,” the character Nik elaborately archives his work in music and an alternate autobiography. He tells his sister Denise, “Self-curate or disappear.”

As I was reading, I realized: I suffer from archive anxiety. Partly about my actual life, which is why I’ve adopted resolutions such as Keep a one-sentence journal and Suffer for fifteen minutes. They help me chronicle my life.

But for me, the greater worry is the archiving and curation of my observations — not my actual life, but my intellectual life. Even though taking notes on my reading and thinking is one of my favorite things to do, it’s also burdensome: it takes up a lot of time, and I worry about whether I’ll be able to find what I want later and whether I’m making good use of my materials. So much wonderful material! I want to write book after book after book, to think it all through.

Reading Stone Arabia has made me consider this theme of “self-curation” in a different light.

I need to think about this more.

How about you? Do you “self-curate”? What steps do you take to preserve memories, to catalog memorabilia, to leave a record of your life, thoughts, experiences, and to review it? Do you do it for yourself, or with an eye to an audience? Do you feel the need to curate anyone else’s history?

* Check out the Pop vs. Soda map that shows, county by county, the most commonly used term for “soft drink”: pop, Coke, soda, or “other.”

(from The Happiness Project http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2011/09/do-you-think-about-self-curation.html)

Often we think of having very little as a hardship.

It’s bad to be poor, right? It’s not easy struggling with low wages, with debt, with scarcity.

And while all that is true, it’s also not true.

There can be joy in getting rid of things, in living with less, in freeing yourself of debt and possessions. It’s all in your mindset.

I grew up poor, and it wasn’t long ago that I was struggling with an income that was too low to meet my mounting bills and debt payments. One of the worst times of my life, actually.

But as I worked to eliminate my debt, I learned to live with less. And I learned that it can be a wonderful thing.

Struggle is hard, no matter how you paint it. But living in scarcity doesn’t have to be struggle. That’s completely up to you.

Reducing Debt

When my wife and kids and I began reducing our debt, more than five years ago, it was a scary time. We were overloaded with bills, over our heads in debt, and it was one of the most stressful things we’d ever faced.

So we cut back on spending, which meant learning a whole new way of living. Zap … we got rid of the cable TV, magazine subscriptions, mocha coffees, regular outings to the movie theaters and restaurants and the mall, and more. We changed our entire lives.

And yet, while we could have thought of this as sacrifice, in truth, we learned to enjoy it. We were living with less, but we were happier.

We were happier because we saw this as an opportunity to reconnect with each other, doing things that were cheap or free. We took the kids outside more, and played with them. Playing kickball and soccer and tag … these things cost nothing. We dusted off board games and decks of cards, played charades, and had a blast. We visited family and friends more.

We cooked at home and had better meals than ever, got healthier, enjoyed eating together.

It wasn’t all roses and cream, but there were many, many positive things that came out of this scarcity. When you are forced to cut back, you can moan, or you can find joy. We chose the path that made us happiest.

And once we were out of debt, that was one of the most liberating things ever. So we reached an amazing destination, but the journey was just as wondrous.

Reducing Clutter

Clutter is another scary thing for a lot of people. Just facing the piles of clutter in your home can be overwhelming. In truth, clutter is a mountain of procrastination … putting off decisions and fears and emotional issues and shopping addictions and more. Facing those fears and issues is too much for most of us.

I faced them, and learned that when you deal with these fears and emotions, even a little at a time, it is freeing. You feel clean and spare, not just because you’re burdened with fewer possessions, but because you’re burdened with less emotional baggage that you’re hiding in the back of your mind.

Reducing our clutter meant tough choices, it meant a lot of discussion about what we wanted and why we really need things, it meant learning a whole host of new habits.

But it also meant getting rid of things that were weighing us down, that we didn’t need but that were still costing us time and energy and mental cycles. We learned to love a spare-looking room, and the amazing feeling of sitting or lying around in a room that was clean and uncluttered.

Living with fewer possessions can be a pure joy that is unmatched by anything you can buy.

Less Food

Losing 70 lbs. has been a journey of exploring my relationship with food. In days of fatness, I ate because everyone else was eating, I ate because I was bored or stressed out and needed the comfort of food, I ate because I didn’t want to confront my health issues, I ate because it was one of the only ways I knew of finding pleasure.

Now I know that less food can also be a joy. Eating simple foods, rather than fast foods or convenient foods or sweet or fatty or fried foods, can be a joy.

I’ve learned the simple pleasures of drinking a cup of unsweetened tea made from whole tea leaves. I’ve learned the deliciousness that comes from eating a single fresh fig, half a handful of berries, a few raw almonds. When you stop putting so much sugar and sauces on things, you learn their real beauty. When you stop killing animals and learn to appreciate the natural taste of plants, you feel incredible and alive.

I now skip breakfast so I can remember what it’s like to feel a little hungry — something I never did when I was fat. I eat two meals a day because it’s easier to prepare, and I like a little scarcity in my life. I eat what I want, but I find that I enjoy the simple foods more than ever now.

Fewer Choices

We think we want a lot of choices, but really we want freedom. There’s a difference, and the overwhelming number of choices in our lives these days leads to confusion, paralysis, and unhappiness.

Scarcity choices can be seen as a bad thing, but I see it as liberating. I’m not saying we should have no choices, but fewer is better.

Try narrowing down your choices, in as many ways as you dare. Watch fewer TV shows by picking just three you watch every week. Pick just one book and read that until you’re done. Have a to-do list that’s only three items long each day. Make a weekly menu that only has two or three meals you cook in big batches, and eat those all week. You might worry that you’re making the wrong choices — you’re not. There are no wrong choices, there’s only the fear of making the wrong choices.

I find limiting my choices to be an opportunity to let go of the worries about making the wrong choices, and to focus on enjoying the choices I do make. As I’ve explored scarcity, I’ve been left with this one truth: every path I take is perfect.

Tw | G+

(from zenhabits http://zenhabits.net/scarce/)