Dave Perry, 21-year-veteran of the game industry, head of Shiny Entertainment (Earthworm Jim, the Matrix game, and many others), and a very nice (and gorgeous) guy who I know via various conventions such as GDC and E-3, offers his advice on how to get into the gaming industry. Go to this site and click on "jobs" for some good resources and FAQs.

Dave Perry's Advice on Game Industry Jobs

] The average American moviegoer taking in the Matrix
] Reloaded this weekend will likely be wowed by the
] elaborate action sequences and dazzling special effects.
] But hackers who've seen the blockbuster are crediting it
] with a more subtle cinematic milestone: it's the first
] major motion picture to accurately portray a hack.

More detailed info about the (very cool) hacking scene in the Matrix Reloaded. I love it when a movie pays attention to the details.

The Matrix's Nmap Hacking Scene

] I was sure we'd see a silly "Hackers"-esque 3D animated
] "hacking scene"
]
] Not so! Trinity is as smart as she is seductive! She
] whips out Nmap (!!!), scans her target, finds 22/tcp open,
] and proceeds with an über ssh technique! I was so surprised,
] I almost jumped out of my seat and did the "r00t dance"
] right there in the theatre!

I *loved* seeing the "SSH to root" line. Here's a screenshot:
 http://images.insecure.org/nmap/images/matrix/nmap-matrix2log.jpg

Re 'The Matrix Reloaded' - Nmap Hackers: Whoa!

Hello from E-3!

First, some caveats, for those of my colleagues who may be reading this but are not familiar with the blog phenomenon: This is a blog. A personal web log, an online journal, some meaningless ramblings. I am not official press, I have no formal journalistic training. This is not an article, nor is it even a weak attempt at a comprehensive review of E-3. This is just my stream of thought, and somewhat of a timesaver since every time I *do* log on, I'm getting inundated with IMs from a variety of different people who all have the same question: "How's E-3???" (grin) So, since I *do* want to answer everyone's question, but I just don't have time to talk to everyone individually, here's the Elonka's-eye-view, a quick summary of the sights and sounds and people that have streamed through my universe in the last couple days. If I don't cover a specific game that you're interested in, well, sorry, go read somebody else's blog. :) As it is, I'm worried that I'm going to write something that is going to irritate, marginalize, belittle or offend *somebody*, so I'm probably going to regret writing this anyway, but here goes . . .

First, an explanation of what E-3 is: Electronic Entertainment Expo, one of the "mecca" gatherings of the computer game industry, with tens of thousands of attendees, hundreds of different booths, and literally thousands of different things to see. It takes over multiple buildings of the main convention center in downtown Los Angeles, and can be envisioned as a loud, crowded, colorful, flashing lights and explosions and 20-story high ad banners and costumes and lasers and oh yeah, tons and tons of games, kind of event.

As for why I go to E-3. well, everyone has different reasons, but in my own case, in no particular order, I come to (a) get data about what else is going on in the gaming industry, preferably real numeric data ranging from user numbers to statistical demographics; (b) to see what the "hot new games" are, firsthand; (c) to see and be seen -- to network with my peers, to meet and encourage newcomers in the industry, and to get faces to put to the names that stream across my desktop throughout the year; and (d) to take a long deep sniff on the show floor, and grab a double nostrilful of the hype, so that I can judge for myself what's real, and what's being spun faster than a neutron star.

Next, some namedropping. I know many people in the industry, with of course many more that I don't know, but, so far, this is a partial list of those I've run across this year. The peers that I know well enough to hug, share a friendly handshake with, or wave at across the room while the turbulence of the convention pulls us in opposite directions. Some of these names are famous, some not (but should be), and some are just very cool individuals: Gordon Walton, Jessica Mulligan, Raph Koster, Rich Vogel, Jeff Valadares, John Welch, Greg Mills, Mark Jacobs, Jake Song, Richard Garriott, ... [ Read More (0.8k in body) ]

] . . . hundreds of looters, including many
] children, stole dozens of drums filled with toxic
] chemicals and worse -- uranium oxide, or yellowcake,
] a key nuclear agent.
]
] Saef, a 14-year-old, said most people just dumped
] the contents near their homes and recycled the drums.
 . . .
] Now radioactive drums litter the area, and
] villagers are getting sick.
]
] El Tifat was a healthy 13-year-old girl until she
] washed her brother's clothes after he had come in
] contact with yellowcake. Since then, she says, she's
] had difficulty breathing and gets nosebleeds three times
] a day.
]
] Others complain of rashes. In all, there are over
] 30 recent cases of radiation poisoning.

:(

MSNBC: Tuwaitha, Iraq Radiation Poisoning Cases on the Increase

] Noted Washington, DC artist Jim Sanborn worked in
] collaboration with the designers to create innovative art
] installations for Zola. His elements begin at the door
] with international espionage texts that glow on backlit
] acrylic panels lining the entrance corridor. Showcased in
] the back bar and private dining rooms, Sanborn's
] trademark paper works made from shredded CIA documents,
] are molded to reveal tiny traces of readable words.
]
] Similarly, Sanborn has taken KGB documents and turned
] them into brass sheeting. Lighted from behind, the
] screens become sconces, subtly projecting texts in the
] bar area. A grid of declassified intelligence documents
] from around the world hangs in the historic stairwell.
] The documents, in several languages, but showing the
] evidence of a censor's heavy black pen, are sandwiched
] between plexiglass panels and connected by steel wire to
] make a significant statement. Sanborn has numerous museum
] and gallery shows to his credit as well as public art
] commissions across the country, and notably, at CIA
] Headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

This restaurant next door to the Spy Museum in Washington, evidently has more work by Jim Sanborn, the sculptor who also created the Kryptos sculpture. I wonder if he used any of the same techniques, and might have left some Kryptos clues there?

Zola - Spy Museum Restaurant

For anyone wondering why my Memestream seems quieter than usual over the next week: I'm in L.A. E3. Back soon, with ears ringing (E3 is *loud*).

Elonka :)

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2003 -- Show Highlights

] Chilling details of al Qaeda's secret communications
] system - and the possibility of widespread knowledge that
] the devastating attacks on New York and Washington were
] in the works - were unveiled in a courtroom in Milan,
] where a group of Islamic militants are on trial for
] supporting al Qaeda's terrorist activities.
]
] According to reports in the Corriere della Sera newspaper
] and on ABC News' Web site, the secret communications were
] discovered during a November 2001 raid on the Via
] Quaranta mosque in Milan, where police confiscated 11
] computers.

] Investigators believe cell members were using a process
] called stenography, in which special software allows a
] text message to be hidden inside a small part of a
] computer photograph.

Note: "inspectors believe" does not mean that Al Qaeda *was* using this form of crypto, so this may just be more reporting of the unfounded rumors. Also, it's *steganography*, not *stenography*. (sigh)

If anyone can find the actual trial transcripts online (even if they're only in Italian), I'd be very interested in seeing them.

New York Post: Milan trial mentions Al Qaeda and steganography

] A June 15 conversation laid out a blueprint of the
] network's evolution and survival despite law enforcement
] pressure. An unidentified visitor from Germany counseled
] the Egyptian imam of the Via Quaranta mosque in Milan to
] avoid communicating via the Internet, to speak in code
] with associates and to use messengers. Funding was still
] plentiful, the visitor said.

No information about steganography or porn in this article, but it is a lengthy and apparently well-researched description of the links between different terrorist groups. It also includes mention of the Via Quaranta mosque in Milan, which was rumored to be the center of a raid in which several terrorist computers were captured with large numbers of pornographic images on them. Which doesn't mean that the porn contained secret messages (most porn is, after all, just porn), but it is a story worth following to see if this is where some of the rumors about Al Qaeda and steganography may have started.

Al Qaeda in Europe and Iraq

] The Old Faithful WebCam sends a new real-time photo of
] Old Faithful Geyser approximately every 30 seconds.

It also displays the prediction for the time of the next eruption, which is usually accurate +/- 10 minutes.

Old Faithful Geyser WebCam - Yellowstone National Park