Lawbot is going to Brussels (without me)

The good folks at Constant are at it again. The Verbindingen/Jonctions 12 festival is coming up, with the theme "By data we mean." Among all the activities slated to take place, there's also going to be a fine array of artwork on display. Our favourite robot sleuth, Lawbot along with Copycat and the leader of The Cabal are going to be in attendance in their fine, digital, text based form. If you're in Brussels between November 21 and 29, be sure to check out what Constant is offering up.

Lawbot: not done yet

A few days ago, I said that Lawbot and the Case of the Missing Copyright Infringers was done. That wasn't entirely true. There's more going on. I'm (hopefully) working on a version that includes an audio track to go with each page of text. Aside from that, you'll soon be able to find Lawbot out in the wild attached to another project. I'll give details on that when the time comes. I'm also trying to figure out how to get Lawbot into the real world as an alternate reality game. For now, here's a cartoon Lawbot and a less arty, more engaging synopsis of the project.


You may be infringing copyright without even knowing it. Lawbot can help. Lawbot and the Case of the Missing Copyright Infringers is a text adventure game created to teach the basics of Canadian copyright law. It drops you into a futuristic world where copyright enforcement has gone mad. On your quest to rescue your partner and set things right, you'll learn about things like fair dealing, infringement and alternatives to traditional copyright. Why would you want to learn about all that? Because you're probably infringing already and it's nice to know exactly what it is you're doing that bothers so many industries so much.

Lawbot: done.

I've mentioned Lawbot and the Case of the Missing Copyright Infringers before. Well, now it's done. Or at least, it's in an intermediate state of done. If you click the above link, you'll find a pretty fun (if I do say so myself) text-adventure game that explains certain elements of Canadian copyright law. It may later get either sound or visuals. I'm not sure yet. Here's the little artist synopsis that I wrote about the project:

Lawbot and the Case of the Missing Copyright Infringers is, above all, a pragmatic project. The aim behind Lawbot is to broaden the public understanding of Canadian copyright law. Lawbot aims to do this in an approachable, perhaps even fun, and certainly accessible way. To this end, Lawbot borrows thematic elements from both adventure games and spy movies, weaving a slightly absurd, proto-futuristic kidnap-story narrative. Lawbot employs heavy-handed allegory and a pinch of copyright history to get across the point that a litigious approach to intellectual property protection isn't sustainable. Visually, Lawbot riffs off of early text based computer games. Lawbot is written entirely in HTML and JavaScript for optimal online usability and distribution.

Work in progress: Lawbot and the Case of the Missing Copyright Infringers

Do you enjoy text-based adventure games? How about copyright law? Well, I'm working on a text-based adventure game that explains the basics of Canadian copyright law. It's called Lawbot and the Case of the Missing Copyright Infringers, and the first bit of it is online, for your clicking enjoyment.

Tetrisland

I'm currently working on turning old video games into 3D environments. Eventually, once I figure out the game engine in Blender, the environments are going to be populated in a rather interesting way. Details on that later. For now, I present to you Tetrisland: Dark, forbidding, the cheery blocks denying the seedy underside of this impersonal, cookie cutter, sky scraper town. Ominous enough?