Minecraft as a Geodesign Tool
Geodesign
The Geodesign Summit (when did they drop the CamelCase?) is happening next week and I’ll be elsewhere or I’d totally go. You all know I’ve had a soft spot for Geodesign and it’s always a good time. Plus Bran Ferren is keynoting so that’s worth the price right there.
Now those with kids know there is something that is bigger than any other game out there right now. Minecraft is played by my son and his friends more than any other game out there. On the Mac, Xbox, iPad, iPhone; it’s crazy to think about how such a simple game has taken over for today’s connected youth (did Qualcomm really try and call them “Generation M”?). I won’t spend my time explaining it here, but it breaks down the whole world into blocks. You can build, destroy, create and battle your environment by yourself or with friends. Sort of like SimCity, but not constrained by products. You get raw materials and build as you go.
So I was playing along with him last night and I got to thinking. The blocks in Minecraft are a great way to symbolize man’s impact on the world. Start mining for diamonds and pretty soon you’ve got either a huge hold in the ground or a mountain that looks like swiss cheese. It all came to me when Connor said he wished he hadn’t dug such a big hole because the sheep and pigs kept falling into it (that’s pretty funny out of context, but you’ll get over it). So while I was building my Fort out by the sea, he went back to restoring the hillside so it not only looked good, but could support trees, flowers and bushes. We talked about creating a rail line between our two forts and he wanted to make sure it was routed around area’s he wanted to protect.
Now I’m very proud of my son for those good choices and it seems like the speed at which you can work with the blocks in Minecraft would be a great tool for showcaseing what GeoDesign really is. My great friend Dale Lutz wrote a super post on this a couple months ago.
So imagine my surprise upon learning that Mojang and the United Nations were teaming together in the cleverly named initiative “Block By Block” to encourage the use of Minecraft in crowdsourcing urban planning, giving youth “the opportunity to show planners and decision makers how they would like to see their cities in the future”.
I know there will be awesome CityEngine, SketchUp and open source analytical tools presented. Those are needed of course, but I’ll tell you I sure wish I was there to give a lightning talk on Minecraft and Geodesign. Jack always says the key to good Geodesign is iterative evaluation. I can’t think of a quicker or easier tool than Minecraft. Let’s get that FME 2014 reader/writer out there Safe!
Minecraft as a Geodesign Tool
Geodesign
The Geodesign Summit (when did they drop the CamelCase?) is happening next week and I’ll be elsewhere or I’d totally go. You all know I’ve had a soft spot for Geodesign and it’s always a good time. Plus Bran Ferren is keynoting so that’s worth the price right there.
Now those with kids know there is something that is bigger than any other game out there right now. Minecraft is played by my son and his friends more than any other game out there. On the Mac, Xbox, iPad, iPhone; it’s crazy to think about how such a simple game has taken over for today’s connected youth (did Qualcomm really try and call them “Generation M”?). I won’t spend my time explaining it here, but it breaks down the whole world into blocks. You can build, destroy, create and battle your environment by yourself or with friends. Sort of like SimCity, but not constrained by products. You get raw materials and build as you go.
So I was playing along with him last night and I got to thinking. The blocks in Minecraft are a great way to symbolize man’s impact on the world. Start mining for diamonds and pretty soon you’ve got either a huge hold in the ground or a mountain that looks like swiss cheese. It all came to me when Connor said he wished he hadn’t dug such a big hole because the sheep and pigs kept falling into it (that’s pretty funny out of context, but you’ll get over it). So while I was building my Fort out by the sea, he went back to restoring the hillside so it not only looked good, but could support trees, flowers and bushes. We talked about creating a rail line between our two forts and he wanted to make sure it was routed around area’s he wanted to protect.
Now I’m very proud of my son for those good choices and it seems like the speed at which you can work with the blocks in Minecraft would be a great tool for showcaseing what GeoDesign really is. My great friend Dale Lutz wrote a super post on this a couple months ago.
So imagine my surprise upon learning that Mojang and the United Nations were teaming together in the cleverly named initiative “Block By Block” to encourage the use of Minecraft in crowdsourcing urban planning, giving youth “the opportunity to show planners and decision makers how they would like to see their cities in the future”.
I know there will be awesome CityEngine, SketchUp and open source analytical tools presented. Those are needed of course, but I’ll tell you I sure wish I was there to give a lightning talk on Minecraft and Geodesign. Jack always says the key to good Geodesign is iterative evaluation. I can’t think of a quicker or easier tool than Minecraft. Let’s get that FME 2014 reader/writer out there Safe!
Day 1 at JS.Geo13
Day 1 has come and gone at JS.Geo13, but now you can see the slide decks as they get populated on the JS.Geo homepage. As of this morning, there are four slide decks posted for Leaflet, Ubisense, Vizzuality (CartoDB) and MapBox. Click over to view and enjoy each one. I bet you didn’t realize you could do so much with a text editor and a browser.
Oh really
Esri Press:: Python Scripting for ArcGIS
This week I noticed Esri Press released a new book titled Python Scripting for ArcGIS.
Python Scripting for ArcGIS is a guide for experienced users of ArcGIS Desktop to get started with Python scripting without needing previous programming experience. Experience with other scripting or programming languages (Perl, VBA, VB script, Java, C++) is helpful but not required. Readers are expected to have good general ArcGIS skills and a basic understanding of geoprocessing procedures. There are 14 chapters with corresponding exercises on an accompanying DVD. Also included is access to a 180-day trial of ArcGIS for Desktop 10.1
So my first reaction was one of bewilderment at the price:
https://twitter.com/jamesmfee/status/289201055227596800
I mean that’s a bit above the normal price for a professional GIS book (which runs about $60) and of course much more above general python books, which run about free. But let’s not get too tied down on the price. I mean if your career depends on using ArcGIS and you want to learn Python, $80 shouldn’t be an impediment to making yourself more desirable.
Ah, but don’t fear. Amazon has Python Scripting for ArcGIS at a much more reasonable $50. Plus Amazon has the first chapter available for review so you can see if it will work for you.
If you’re interested in the author, his University webpage gives a little bit of background. I don’t have the book so I can’t give a recommendation yet. It is still preorder so I guess we’re going to have to wait a bit, but to save $30, why not? If people get the book, let me know how it is and I’ll make sure to share it with everyone else.
Esri Press:: Python Scripting for ArcGIS
This week I noticed Esri Press released a new book titled Python Scripting for ArcGIS.
Python Scripting for ArcGIS is a guide for experienced users of ArcGIS Desktop to get started with Python scripting without needing previous programming experience. Experience with other scripting or programming languages (Perl, VBA, VB script, Java, C++) is helpful but not required. Readers are expected to have good general ArcGIS skills and a basic understanding of geoprocessing procedures. There are 14 chapters with corresponding exercises on an accompanying DVD. Also included is access to a 180-day trial of ArcGIS for Desktop 10.1
So my first reaction was one of bewilderment at the price:
https://twitter.com/jamesmfee/status/289201055227596800
I mean that’s a bit above the normal price for a professional GIS book (which runs about $60) and of course much more above general python books, which run about free. But let’s not get too tied down on the price. I mean if your career depends on using ArcGIS and you want to learn Python, $80 shouldn’t be an impediment to making yourself more desirable.
Ah, but don’t fear. Amazon has Python Scripting for ArcGIS at a much more reasonable $50. Plus Amazon has the first chapter available for review so you can see if it will work for you.
If you’re interested in the author, his University webpage gives a little bit of background. I don’t have the book so I can’t give a recommendation yet. It is still preorder so I guess we’re going to have to wait a bit, but to save $30, why not? If people get the book, let me know how it is and I’ll make sure to share it with everyone else.
Leaving WeoGeo
Today is my last day at WeoGeo. I am looking forward to taking a much needed vacation in Kona, Hawaii and then sitting down and thinking about what I want to do next.
As always, you can reach me at james.fee@gmail.com.