Lab Escape - Behind the Scenes

Lab Escape is finally out on Google Play and you can get it here. So now I'm going to take you behind the scenes, to the actual making of this  puzzle game.

Matte has been working hard on Lab Escape and I've given up hope on ever getting back my dining room table.

But it hasn't all been about Red Bull drinking and drawing on post-its. For those who don't know about app development, one of the most important things to get is user testers. And not just one tester, you need loads. The Beta Testers in the Beta Tester Group have been awesome with giving step-by-step game-play data and feedback about bugs and features. But Matte is greedy and has wanted more. This means that in every social gathering I've been to with him for the past two months, sooner or later he will have handed over his phone to someone.

People react differently at this point. Some will greedily take the phone and start playing. Others will look sceptically and take it out of politeness not sure what they should expect. Now comes the interesting part. Whether polite or excited, each person gets a more and more focused as they start trying to solve each level of the game. The little sound of a completed level makes them lift the corner of their mouths and after they've played as long as they want, they hand back the phone with a smile.

These moments are what spurs Matte onwards. Being able to see that what he's created intrigues people makes him add that extra effort. It's why he carefully watches each person's play and listen to their thoughts and feedback. He's got a notebook filled with scribbles like "switch places between a and b" and "make sure to teach the player ...". He spends his time watching tutorials. He doesn't want to just make a game. He wants to learn how to make a good game!

Lab Escape is available on Google Play 

Morning Maths - or - Finding the nerdy side of Covet Fashion

My friend D spent the week-end with me and we had a wonderful time having the most girliest week-end ever with baking Nutella-bread, watching "Gift vid första ögon kastet" (Married at first sight) and playing Mortal Kombat X

During the week-end D had also introduced me to a game called Covet Fashion and on Monday morning she came to the breakfast table with a thoughtful look on her face and asked the question

"How many votes on average does my look get per event?"

Waffle Party

I am in a period of my life where all my energy is focused on work. As work is a touchy subject to write about ( all those NDA's and intellectual rights agreements have a tendency of getting in the way) I am reduced to write about the mere mundane... such as my party last week!

I turned 25 in August and wanted to do a proper celebration. Now August is not a good month to have parties so I combined it with my annual waffle party. Not being able to speak for all I'll just say that I had great fun! The blanket fortress seemed appreciated as it was rarely unoccupied and all of my prepared waffle mixture was eaten. No all time record was beaten (12 is the standing record since 3 years back I think) but B combed in the title of Waffle Eater with a tidy number of 9 waffles.

 

I always do waffle mixtures from scratch, not being a fan of the ready made mixtures so here is the recipe for those who ant to give it a go. Serves 2 normal people or 3 weaklings:
2 eggs
3-3½ dl flour
0.5 - 1 dl melted butter/margarine
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Enough milk to make the mixture smooth (somewhere around 4-5 dl)

Mix everything and pour in the milk last to avoid clumps . Count on around 1-1½ dl of mixture per waffle. It usually tastes better if the mixture is prepared the day before.

As everyone seemed too busy eating the waffles than taking pictures of them ( I deem that a success) you can get a picture of me licking a lollipop instead.

The party did however beat the record of the longest party I have held, with the first guests arriving a few minutes after 13, and the last one who was in any condition to leave exiting after 01 in the morning. Lets just say that the blanket fortress seemed to have done a good job of doubling up as a place to sleep.

New home

A lot has been happening the past weeks, which has meant that I put the blog on hold. But now there is more routine in our life so I'll be writing regularly again. I have several draft posts of things I want to write about and will gradually put them up when they are complete.

Moving
So we've finally moved in to our new apartment, thanks to help from A, R and B. The kitchen is in order and after D's help last week-end the hallway looks lovely :-) We are still missing a lot of wardrobe space and need to go to IKEA. so we still have plenty of boxes all over the place. Neither do we have a sofa so we (I) are using a mattress on the floor...which is very uncomfortable. I am trying to convince Matte that buying a purple sofa is a great idea...;-)

Midsummer
We spent the midsummer holiday with both Matte's and my parents at Matte's parent's summer place in the middle of the woods It was very nice, with plenty of good food and laughter. It is definitely a lovely place to relax. Here's a picture I borrowed (stole) from A of the garden:

Visitor
We had just spent a night in a new apartment, before we had our first guest. Our friend J, who's doing his PhD in the US, was visiting Stockholm so we didn't want to miss an opportunity to meet him before he made his way to other places. It was lovely meeting up. He and Matte was soon in deep discussion in which I could, unfortunately, only partly follow. He lent out a book by Bryan Magee called "Confessions of a Philosopher" which I'm enjoying a lot, even with my limited knowledge of philosophy. I, of course, followed J's advise and watched a Youtube video Magee, and am enjoying reading the book and hearing his British accent in my head :)

And a final picture of what I saw on my walk around where I live :)

Ascension holiday in Linköping

I've been in Linköping since Thursday and I have really had a lot of fun.

GF Reunion
The main reason for going down to Linköping was to meet up with everyone from Gudfadderiet 2010. After much consultation and changing of dates we finally settled on a date and place where all 9 of us could meet up. Having worked so much together during Nolle-P 2010 (Welcome Reception for new students) we have grown to, if not love each other, endure each other and can comfortably be ourselves in each others company. An evening of eating, talking and grieving of how it was "bättre förr" was something that was long needed and definitely lifted my spirits.

Two from our group in our uniform

Skäggetorp
While Matte chose to spend Thursday night at B's place I followed my friend D to Skäggetorp to my sisters apartment. The conversation flowed all the way there and through the night, covering topics of group conversation dynamics, future plans, sibling differences and relationship issues. Half past 6 in the morning is the last time I remember on the clock before drifting to sleep

Lunch and LinCon
Friday morning found me pretty hyped from too little sleep and too much coffee. D was going home-home to her family and I had a early lunch appointment.

I have tried to keep up the sporadic tradition of visiting K's grandparents for lunch. It started with K inviting a few classmates during the first couple of weeks at uni to lunch with his grandparents who don't live far from the campus. They are a lovely pair, welcoming with many interesting stories that they gladly share with the group of 4-8 students that now will visit them 1-2 a year. They listen with interest our stories from our studies, our political statements and sprinkle them with their own experience and thoughts making the conversation a unique encounter that I treasure. I have now received L's memoirs which I have started reading with great interest.

After, once again, a lovely lunch and visit, K, B, L and I went to the uni campus where LinCon was in full swing. Board-games, card-games, rollplay-games, costumes and loads of people was the main image that I got. K easily guided me through the rooms showing me classroom after classroom with students having miniature battles with action figures and models, discussing in deep the strategic course over a fantasy map, inviting us int to get a better look at different games and trying to explain the gist of the game without losing concentration on what the other players were doing. In one room there would be landscapes that looked like Mars, another with battlefields with tanks and military soldier figures and yet another with green fields and model dragons.

A group playing SmallWorld

Two people playing WarHammer

I didn't know what they were playing here but I liked the pyramid

I could have spent hours there but as my goal was not to be there but spend time with friends I was soon following B, our temporary lodger, back to his place where we had dinner together before I went back to Skäggetorp.

Kårtege
SOF (Student Orkester Festival) is held every other year in Linköping and is a three-day festival with orchestras from all over Scandinavia gathered and doing shows.On the Saturday there is a procession through the town which is very entertaining.as they can come on all sorts of things. Below is a selection of my favourites

"We promise, this time the world will end! We counted wrong by a few months!"

Mr Burns

Motor-driven sofa

Pride truck

Motor-driven scooter

Tjenobyl

Avatar creaturs

"Lost everything in the stock market crash, even one of my crutches"

I met up with T, a PhD student, at the procession so afterwards we went and ate sushi followed with a coffee at the newly renovated Expresso House. We decided to pre-party together later that evening with some of K's friends. I was a bit sceptic first, as it was Spex people, who have a tendency to have many internal jokes, but I was pleasantly surprised to have a very enjoyable evening before we made our way towards the SOF area.

Summer Plans

Summer plans are slowly taking shape and the required reservations are being made.

First stop will be Selcuk to attend J and K's wedding and also show my husband where I grew up. The flight to Turkey has been booked, the hotels that we'll be staying at have partially been booked and the schedule of activities have been revised. It's going to be great to return to dear Selcuk after so many years.

Selcuk Castle and part of the town

As soon as we return from Turkey it will be to pack boxes and start our move to our new apartment. This move will be much easier then last as it's "only" across the city and we don't have much left since we had to get rid of so much when we moved to Stockholm. (Loads of thanks to R,S and A for helping us last time btw) After making the best decision ever to book cleaning help when moving out of our last apartment we will do the same this time as well.

Plan of our new apartment

Unfortunately, the first festival that I've wanted to go to ever is right bang in the middle of our moving week, so I'm having trouble persuading my husband that we should go... He is right, we shouldn't go off on festivals when we're moving...but... Hoffmaestro will be there! And Timbuktu...And Green Day...

Hoffmaestro playing att Bråvalla festival in Norrköping 28th of June

July will be spent putting in our new home in order. It feels great that it will definitely be ours so I can actually move in for real!

I just got off the phone with D and we've decided a Spa-weekend 3-4 August in Gothenburg is the plan for this year which I'm already looking forward to! Now to book the train tickets, hotel and spa location...

The only thing that's missing at the moment now is a hike/bike ride. Who's interested in joining on a two day hike/bikeride somewhere? (Remember, I'm not very fit so the pace will have to be slow!)

Group Dynamics and the Outsider

Having moved 14 times in my 24 years across 4 countries I have some experience of being the "outsider" when it comes to groups. The first time I was in a group from the start was when I started university and it was then I started thinking more about this group dynamics thing. It was also then I started wondering about how groups form and why they continue. I have also been thinking about how, as an outsider, it is possible to join a group. From my own experience I have rarely been successful in this escapade, although when I have succeeded it has always felt like a great accomplishment.

Groups are formed for many reasons. It can be of similar interest, experiences or a common goal that brings the people together, although it doesn't have to be only one of these things. When I think of groups I usually split them into two main sets, natural groups and synthetic groups. The reason I do this distinction is that there are different ways to approach these types of groups when coming as an outsider.

Natural Group

Natural groups are very diversified. They are usually formed because they often meet at the same place and do the same things, such as going in the same class, having the same interest which they spend a lot of time with or of convenience. Depending on the group size there can be pairs or  smaller groups within that are rarely seen separated. These groups are mainly social and are more laid back. As an outsider it gives a feeling of comfort, belonging/acceptance being part of this type of group. Having a similar interest is, of course, a central part to being included in the group but it is far from being the crucial ingredient for belonging. My experience has lead me to always try an identify the source that ties the group together. If the group has been a singular unit for a long period of time e.g. lived in the same neighbourhood since childhood, or started of as a synthetic group, it is a difficult group to enter and I have never succeeded with this. It is not because the group is unwilling to let new people in, the reason lies in the fact that they are not aware of what they do and say that excludes others and can therefore not be observant of this.

The easiest way to get included in a group is to be introduced by a group member. I'm not talking about a formal entry here. Just that when the group meets you are invited to hang out, or you are naturally there already when the group is there. It lowers the barrier that unconsciously forms towards strangers. A feeling of "Well, she knows X, so she can't be that different as we also know X" is thought and eases the awkwardness of having the barrier broken.

The next step is much more subtle and is not something that can be controlled. It is to incorporate the idea that the outsider should also be part of activities. Once again, it doesn't have to be so advanced, just that when plans are being made, that someone in the group says "Hey, how about seeing if Natalie wants to join in?" This is only possible if the idea of the outsider and the group can be thought of at the same time. This  can take a long time as it requires a breaking of a habit of not including people outside the group. It is easier if the outsider is naturally with the group at these times as then your presence stimulates the idea. Other ways include getting to know group members one-on-one as it is easier to spend time with one person then in the already set group time. This means that several people in the group has an incentive to remember the outsider.

The final step includes active participation in the group. All groups have a set of rules/norms which everyone unconsciously follow. It can be that you are always present at a certain gathering or that you inform the group of certain things. An outsider is not always aware of the rules that seem self-evident to the other in the group. This step requires an understanding from both sides. The group members need to be forgiving and able to offer guidance to the outsider; the outsider needs to be aware and willing to follow the norms for it to work.

Synthetic Group

Synthetic groups are usual in work or project situations. The group is often predefined with a set number of members and the focus lies on fulfilling a common goal. The group will usually have clear times when they meet and what they do when they meet. It is rare that an outsider is included in such a group but there are situations when this happens, such as when a project requires a certain expertise that it was not aware of that it required from the start, or when their is a new kid in the class which needs to join one of the school groups. The group rarely has any more say in the matter of an outsider joining other than it is required. As an outsider in this scenario no more is required from you than you pull your weight and make it clear that you also have the same goal.

A synthetic group can become a more socially natural group, depending on the members and how the group continues. But it is not a rule and is something that has cause hurt to the outsider if the outsider has only the synthetic group as it's social activity. It pays to be aware of what type of group it is and also what motivation the members have in keeping the group together. If many of the members do not feel naturally drawn to the group, there is little reason to believe that the group will continue was the goal has been fulfilled. A common goal, or a common history is not enough to keep a group together. The groups needs to fulfill everyone's need in some other way.

Keeping contact

Yesterday was a day of contact. A day when I realised how many different, important people there are in my life.

It started with my friend B phoning and telling me he'd got the job he'd applied to and is now going to move to the big city.Goods new for him and good news for me :-)

I spent a few minutes chatting with my mum on facebook, followed by a quick chat with my aunt concerning marketing.

The day continued with me calling my dad to hear what's going on in his life (marking papers so not very stimulating), getting a call from my friend P and hearing how life is going with him (stressful), a long discussion over the phone with my friend D (a subject that will conern a new blog entry) and having a chat with my friend T who I haven't had a lot of contact with lately. I also tried to phone my sister and realised that she's out in the woods and surviving on what she can find there for this week so she's cut off from the world.
 

Social Networking

At lunch I met M, a friend from Linköping who now lives in Örebro. It was really nice to meet up, as it's been a long time since we last chatted. I  got the chance to ask him to join the AW's that the mathematicians in Stockholm have time to time.

The flaw with this is that a mathematician would never order less than one beer.

On Wednesday I will be meeting my friend B who is coming to Stockholm over the day. Last I saw him was in February where we sat pretty much up all night, drinking tea and chatting.

Thursday before Easter I went to an alumni event that my old high school had organised. I met several of my old classmates and also my old teachers. My Swedish teacher remembered my essay concerning the triangle drama in a book I had had to read. I wrote it from a mathematical perspective where I analyzed the distance the main characters were from each other and how this affected the angles and what effect that could have on the relationship. Pure balderdash, which was also what I though of the book. I remember him handing me the essay back with a smile on his face and saying that I could have delved a bit deeper in to the analysis and used some more geometric formulas to describe some of the finer nuances in the book.

These social meetings is what brighten my life. And it is what I probably miss the most from uni. The possibility of meeting so many interesting people even if it would only be for a short fika.