Elonka wrote:
] ] The Secret Of Psalm 46 was first presented on 23
] March 2002
] ] at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose,
] ] California. It was accompanied by a digital video of a
] ] total solar eclipse, synchronized to a harpsichord
] ] recording of JS Bach's Art Of Fugue.
]
] Brian Moriarty is a brilliantly-gifted speaker (and a heck of
] a game designer). This talk that he gave at GDC 2002 was a
] work of art. Inspiring, moving, and thought-provoking, and I
] will never forget it. I'm glad that a transcript is on the
] web, though I don't think that reading this can even come
] close to the "performance art" that was the talk itself.
]
] I'm also meme-ing this because he spoke of some codes and
] messages hidden in music. If you're interested in
] cryptography, or conspiracies, or the history of the game
] industry, this is worth a read.

I saw this at GDC 2002, as well. I had no idea what to expect, but I was looking for something a bit less focused and a bit more entertaining than the lectures and roundtables I had been going to all week long. I got that in spades. Although not specifically game related, this performance piece was, by far, the best hour I spent during the entire conference.

I agree with Elonka, the text does no justice to the performance. Of course, I was sitting in the front row, looking at Moriarty's face eerily illuminated by the podium's little reading light as he pontificated on the mysteries of Shakespear and Bach. A very powerful performance, indeed.

Elonka wrote:
] ] The Secret Of Psalm 46 was first presented on 23
] March 2002
] ] at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose,
] ] California. It was accompanied by a digital video of a
] ] total solar eclipse, synchronized to a harpsichord
] ] recording of JS Bach's Art Of Fugue.
]
] Brian Moriarty is a brilliantly-gifted speaker (and a heck of
] a game designer). This talk that he gave at GDC 2002 was a
] work of art. Inspiring, moving, and thought-provoking, and I
] will never forget it. I'm glad that a transcript is on the
] web, though I don't think that reading this can even come
] close to the "performance art" that was the talk itself.
]
] I'm also meme-ing this because he spoke of some codes and
] messages hidden in music. If you're interested in
] cryptography, or conspiracies, or the history of the game
] industry, this is worth a read.

Excellent read, thank you for posting the link to the transcript! Makes me wish I had been there myself... seems almost like a GDC version of the Defcon X Richard Thieme speech, as far as sensationalism and emotional value is concerned. The bit regarding Bach's Art of Fugue was of particular interest, as one of the books I'm currently reading, "Gödel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter, goes into very appreciative detail on that acrostic.

aestetix wrote:
] Elonka wrote:
] ] ] The Secret Of Psalm 46 was first presented on 23 March 2002
] ] ] at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose,
] ] ] California. It was accompanied by a digital video of a
] ] ] total solar eclipse, synchronized to a harpsichord
] ] ] recording of JS Bach's Art Of Fugue.
] ]
] ] Brian Moriarty is a brilliantly-gifted speaker (and a heck of
] ] a game designer). This talk that he gave at GDC 2002 was a
] ] work of art. Inspiring, moving, and thought-provoking, and I
] ] will never forget it. I'm glad that a transcript is on the
] ] web, though I don't think that reading this can even come
] ] close to the "performance art" that was the talk itself.
] ]
] ] I'm also meme-ing this because he spoke of some codes and
] ] messages hidden in music. If you're interested in
] ] cryptography, or conspiracies, or the history of the game
] ] industry, this is worth a read.
]
] Excellent read, thank you for posting the link to the
] transcript! Makes me wish I had been there myself... seems
] almost like a GDC version of the Defcon X Richard Thieme
] speech, as far as sensationalism and emotional value is
] concerned. The bit regarding Bach's Art of Fugue was of
] particular interest, as one of the books I'm currently
] reading, "Gödel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter, goes
] into very appreciative detail on that acrostic.

I agree, Richard Thieme Rocks. :) Both he and Moriarty (and Jonathan Baron, if you've ever heard him speak) are in that revered category of speaker, where if I see their names on a program, no matter what it is that they're talking about, I'm going to go listen to them. Because no matter what subject they choose in any particular year, I know that their material is going to be well-researched, that they're going to speak with passion, and that I and most of the rest of the audience are probably going to walk away with an emotional afterglow of "Wow!"