Photography

[Kreed]

Photography! Yep that’s right, not a typo or a spoof suggestion.

Here is how.
We have not surprisingly, portable machines called cameras. They could come in different designs, made with different materials and have differing levels of usefulness.
Here are three models that I’ve come up with to demonstrate;

Pinhole camera 2 kilos of wood, 20 grams of silver. 2 days build time. Hammer knife.
Has a long exposure.
Wide angle.

Box camera 2 kilos of wood, 20 grams of silver, 5 grams of iron, 20 grams of glass. 3 days build time. Hammer knife and screwdriver.
Long and medium exposure.
Wide and standard angles.

SLR camera 500grams of iron, 200 grams of steel, 30 grams of silver, 60 grams of glass. 7 days build time.
Hammer, file and screwdriver.
Short, medium and long exposure.
Wide, standard and close-up angles.
Time delayed exposure.

I’m sure some people are saying to themselves WTF, wide angle, exposure, cameras, in Cantr? So let me explain further. A camera will take a snapshot of the current location modified by the angle and exposure. The photo that results will be in the form of a descriptive text document. This will basically be a list of people, vehicles, buildings and items at the location. People will be listed first followed by objects, resources, vehicles and buildings. The document will be a special kind of note called a photo with a camera icon and a hidden timestamp as described in my suggestion, Notes TNG.

Let me show you how it all fits together.
Wide angle; this will be a shot showing all present people, objects vehicles and buildings.
Standard angle; will be a shot showing a group of people some vehicles and a few buildings.
Close up this will be a shot of two three or four people, one or two vehicles and one building.

Exposure length; this will be the project length from one to three hours. The exposure time and the quality of the camera will modify the detail of the resulting photo.
With a pinhole camera taking a picture will basically involve using the camera for a photography project for three hours. The resulting “photo” will be a list of the present people, their age, their activity/pose. Followed by a list of vehicles present followed by a list of buildings.
Taking a picture with a box camera will be slightly more involved requiring choosing between wide and standard angles and picking between medium and long exposure. Taking a wide angle shot at medium exposure would result in a picture similar to the pinhole cameras picture. Taking a wide angle with a long exposure would reveal more detail recording what each person was wearing.
The SLR would record the same wide angle as the pinhole and the box on medium but in one hour, (short exposure). A long exposure would record practically every detail including what each person was holding.

The different camera angles, wide, standard and close up determines what appears in the shot. On the standard and close up settings you would have the choice of picking anything that can be pointed at to take a picture of. So if you wanted to take a pic of your three friends in front of your new car, a close-up would be good. You would have a multiple choice selection where you pick your subjects. The wider shot would let you pick greater numbers of people/objects to include in the shot but would show less detail than the close-up.
Once you’ve completed your choices and started the photography project a notice would appear on the events page saying; Joe Some is taking a photo of Frank, Dave, Jack and The town hall. If it was a wide angle shot it would simply say; Joe Some is taking a photo. At the end of the exposure the photo would appear in your inventory.
For the astute reading this you’ll have already been wondering where the names of the people being photographed and the names comprising the list on the finished photo come from. Those names will come from the photographers own dynamical names. This will make the cameras weirdly subjective instead of the objective ones we’re used to in reality but having spent a long time considering the alternatives it seems perfectly fitting for the Cantr universe.

Now for the fun part. When its announced on the events page that, “Joe Smoe” is taking a photo, the word photo will be a highlighted link that will open a short text box allowing you to write a short description of your pose or gesture or facial expression which will appear on the photo next to your name. If your not awake while the picture is taken or you don’t use the link whatever activity your doing will be the one recorded, e.g. collecting wood. If the picture being taken is a standard or close-up you may just be a bystander while someone is taking a picture of their friends, you will still be able to get in on the picture if your one of those annoying type people…You click the link and put in your pose, (perhaps “making rabbit fingers behind franks head“), on the finished photo note it’ll show the list of people first and then beneath
that it will say, In the background you see fred making rabbit fingers behind franks head, and then the other objects in the picture. As people the poses for the picture it would generate an appropriate message on the events page.
If the photographer leaves the location, is hit or stops the photo project no photo is generated.

On an expensive camera you could have a time delayed exposure, which would make the project automatic allowing the photographer to get in the “picture”.

Why be able to do this? For the same reasons we take photos in reality, you can record events, for id purposes, to take a picture of your latest thing you built maybe even blackmail purposes.
If you’ve read the Notes TNG thread you’ll see I’m suggesting cameras create a new type of note that have a special camera icon, instead of the “eye” one, and when they are made they are stored with a “timestamp” recording the moment of creation. In all other ways they will be just the same as normal non-editable notes.
Having the camera icon is important as it will be instantly obvious that the note was generated with a camera and wasn’t just knocked up in notepad. The reason for the timestamp is because although you’ll be unable to fake a photo you will be able to stage a mock photo. You have you friends do the actions you wish and dynamically change the names. This is the advantage of a subjective Cantr camera. In this way you might be able to make it seem someone did something they didn’t, of course clothing, ages and location would have a big role also. With those factors and the timestamp, (revealed with the magnifying tool discussed in Notes TNG), there could be some interesting situations.

I think this idea along with the Notes TNG suggestion can give notes new values and new uses while keeping all the flexibility. I’m constantly thinking of news ways to use these notes and I’m sure that I’m going to be surprised with what others can come up with using this stuff.
I’ve just thought that maybe people moving while the picture is being taken may make them more blurry by removing details, perhaps if they leave the location you’ll just see “A blurry male/female figure”. Eeek, I need to finish up and post these before something else comes to me.

[tiddy ogg]

Hmm. Seems a lot of effort. The wife of one of my chars drew a (text) self portrait, which he carries round with him.
Surely a lightning artist could do the same here without mechanical contraptions. *grin*

[Kreed]

Yep, I've suggested a new form of "painting" as well, the difference with this is that it will be an actual "snapshot" of Cantr time and as such would be very hard to fake.

[Wilmer Bordonado]

I do like this suggestion. Photos could have an infinite number of uses IG, from the prove for the signing a contract to simply have fun with friends.
The matter is that I consider the act of taking a photo should use some kind of resource, not only working time. Or maybe not the act of taking in itself, but the act of revealing it, with the appropiate machines.
If not, photographers would have a very very easy way of life!

Wilmer B.

[Crosshair]

I suppose this could come in useful... but camera films require chemicals, do they not?

[Averus Wolfmaster]

but camera films require chemicals, do they not?

Its Cantr man, you'r builiding a ship here from 16kilos of wood and only a hammer and it sails!

I like this ideas, but I wouldnt like to be a guy who make these true...

[Kreed]

Yep Averus, thats exactly how I see it. It would be quite a bit of work balancing everything. My suggestion is just a rough outline of how it could work, all the levels of details and resources I kinda plucked out of thin air. Thats quite a job. Though some things are obvious like a better camera should be more expensive to build.

[Crosshair]

but camera films require chemicals, do they not?

Its Cantr man, you'r builiding a ship here from 16kilos of wood and only a hammer and it sails!

I like this ideas, but I wouldnt like to be a guy who make these true...

I'm aware, don't patronise me.

I merely meant that, although I didn't say it, it should be more difficult to take photos. Otherwise everyone would have a camera...

[N-Aldwitch]

but camera films require chemicals, do they not?

Its Cantr man, you'r builiding a ship here from 16kilos of wood and only a hammer and it sails!

I like this ideas, but I wouldnt like to be a guy who make these true...

I'm aware, don't patronise me.

I merely meant that, although I didn't say it, it should be more difficult to take photos. Otherwise everyone would have a camera...

I think he said that in jest..


Anyway, I don't like this idea. Just spend two minutes copying down the names of the buildings to your notes.. Alternatively of course you could spend what, 5+ days constructing a camera?

[tiddy ogg]

That's what I meant by a lightning artist. Just copy and paste the people and buildings lists and RP the rest.

[T-shirt]

Differences between notes and photographs would be like this:



or:

Code: Select all

Akypor: DESCRIPTION 
8 out of 15 resource slots are used 
Borders a sea.

Raw materials:     
- stone 
- potatoes 
- sand 
- soda 
- tomatoes 
- spinach 
- limestone 
- cod 
- mud 
- seaweed 
- clay 
 
Visible vessels & locations 
- The Interceptor (Longboat) - north-west 

EXITS 
- expressway to Akypor Forest North (direction: south-south-east)

Anyone can make notes, but to have a detailed description of the place (including 'tabs' for people, objects, animals, location and projects) could be totally different.
They could be written by someone in notes themselves, just like there are people who can draw almost as realistic as photographs. But that takes time, effort and skill, while photographs provide detailed descriptions of a moment for everyone with a camera.

Maybe camera's could be easy and cheap, but the projects to make pictures real expensive, just like printers and ink. Like 1, 5 or 10 grams of silver per photograph.

[Kreed]

Yes, anyone can make notes. Its the difference between a sketch and a photograph we're talking here. Photographs should be more difficult to produce, either because cameras are expensive or each picture costs. The reason they should be more costly is because they can be seen to be photographs and are almost impossible to fake, unlike a sketch!
The other good reason for cameras is the fun/rp aspect they'll add. Dare I say just as much as the recent instruments addition, with the added benifit of producing something useful/fun.

[Gran]

I'm thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading,thinking, reading and I still don't know WHY creat cameras!

[Seeker]

I like this option, it would be great for roleplaying. I guess you could probably use it to prove things and I'm getting ideas from that "blackmale" suggestion.

[N-Aldwitch]

I like this option, it would be great for roleplaying. I guess you could probably use it to prove things and I'm getting ideas from that "blackmale" suggestion.

Blackmail.