Archive for March, 2010

Monday, March 29th, 2010

The Infamous Photoshop CS5 Sneak Peak

Photoshop CS5

I won’t say much, simply because it speaks for itself. I suppose for the general public it’s pretty amazing. For the Photoshop veteran, however, it could prove to be a little frustrating.

Then again, more powerful tools can’t replace talent. If it’s that easy for the average user to do something that normally took actual skill, then those with actual skill will simply be able to create entire scenes from scrap photos. Hell, that’s already possible, but the bar will soon be raised.

It raises another question though: Can we trust digital photography anymore?

Posted by Ben Paddock

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Banner Blog

I came across this unique blog that allows agencies to upload rich media work for display. Found this pretty interesting because it allows viewers to see various levels of interactivity brands are now using to advertise.

Some of my favorites are below..

Dunlop Ad

Barnardos NFP Ad

Video Game Ad

Enjoy!!

Posted by michelle

SLS AMG site

The new SLS AMG site by Jung von Matt/Alster brings a immersive full motion video flash experience that lets the user experience the new car hands on. Using context sensitive actions in a series of quck events, users are asked to press certain key commands to progress through the experience. For example, in one scenario the user is asked to press the down arrow to brake, and while still holding the key is asked to press the space bar to accelerate. The user is then told to release the brake, which results in the car peeling and accelerating forward. In another scenario, the user must time the key presses in order to shift through the gears. Experiences like these are immersive and give the user an active role in the experience. The history of the medium can be traced back to the 1980s, when the first full motion video game was released on the laserdisc. It was called Dragon’s Lair. Its legacy lives on in the new SLS AMG site.

Posted by michael

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

SOCIAL GAMING @SXSW

Nick O’neill did a nice write up summary of John Pleasants’ talk on social gaming at #SXSW http://bit.ly/dn1726 – I wanted to add a couple points I heard that stuck with me.

STORED VALUE & THE FACEBOOK CURRENCY
Playdom’s monetization strategy is free to play, build engagement and convert to paying customers through microtransations. Common among social games – what was interesting though was that while only 2% of gamers typically make a transaction – those with stored value in their accounts are up to 4x more likely to spend. Good piece of data. You could make the case that everyone should get an account with some credit value when they join.

And under the header of what’s next he also noted that Facebook currency could explode through social games simply due to the platform’s scale. This begs the question whether facebook currency ever migrates offline as well…stay tuned.

If you have any interest in social gaming I recommend finding the video or podcast of this session or at least finding some interviews with him. You’ll get a good dose of data and insight…
http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/682

Posted by Matt