Tag: computing

Found Phone Games – Tech NO logy

Posted on by in Uncategorized

As of writing this article, I am nearing my final month at university. By the time this lockdown is lifted, I will have completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science. A terrifying concept, I know. Though after three years of study and a metric ton of coursework assignments, I still get asked the same few questions. If I had a pound for every time, I was asked one of the following questions, I would not have needed a student loan to fund my degree. What are these questions? Well:

  1. Can you set up my printer/fix my laptop/other tech support tasks (I could but I do not want to)
  2. Will computers and robots take over the world? (Only if we are stupid)
  3. Are you a hacker? Can you hack into *insert government agency here*? (No, that is illegal)
  4. Could you break into my devices and steal all my personal data? (Again, no, that is illegal)

It is this fourth question that I would like to linger on today. Growing up with technology, I have heard every story under the sun about how my online friends are a bunch of 55-year-old men hiding in bushes to spy on me. There are various TV shows dedicated to catfishing incidents and online dating horror stories, designed to act as a warning against sharing your personal information with strangers over the Internet.

Over the last couple of years, video games have started to imitate this trend. This is mostly done through games like Orwell (based on the 1984 novel) which make use of the “Big Brother” concept and found-phone games like Simulacra and Sara is Missing.

Now these games take a few liberties when it comes to what kind of information you can access on someone’s phone but ignoring those and the supernatural entities, a lot of the gameplay is accurate. Illegal, but accurate. The Computer Misuse Act (1990) forbids the unauthorised access of any individual to another’s devices that may contain personal data e.g. cell phones, laptops, secure workstations etc.

However, all that data on their social media posts, on their public blogs? That is open to the public. In the intelligence community, the investigation of this public information is known as Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT). Many of us have an incredibly strong presence online, I know I do.

For example, if you went on my personal Twitter (@CaitlinRC), and read through my tweets, you would know that I am at university in Cardiff, studying computer science. You could learn my birthday, figure out my age, find pictures of me at conventions with friends, and so on. This is all public information.

It is a scary concept is not it? There are hundreds of databases that can be accessed by the public, with personal data. For example, take a car you walk past. If you know the licence plate, you can search the DVLA’s database and find the make/colour of the car. Sites like the way back machine allow you to view what a site looked like at a specific point in time, including any information that was deleted later.

These sources of information have been crucial in solving missing person cases. Heck, I have taken part in some OSINT competitions and although the investigations are confidential, it’s a nice thought that maybe some of the information that I found, could help reunite a family or bring closure to those who need it. Found phone games try to capture that feeling. It is like an elaborate jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces begin to fit, events form a coherent timeline and you get that sense of satisfaction as it all comes together (insert Kronk meme).

Studying the contents of someone’s phone is a surprisingly efficient way to understand the owner themselves. To some, it is just a “tool” or a “screen”, but to a lot of us it is a lifeline. For those stuck in bad situations, their phone can be an escape route. I have several games on my phone that I use to calm myself down when I am feeling anxious. My phone is how I talk to my family, my friends, especially in times like these. I feel connected. I feel in control.

Excusing my obvious nerdiness for all thing’s computer science, how we choose to communicate with those we care about, is so important. No text conversation is the same. No relationship is the same. No battle with mental health is the same.

And that is okay.

Remember that.

CaitlinRC

Baba Is You – Thankfully Less Stressful Than Coding:

Posted on by in Gaming

For those who follow my Twitter (@CaitlinRC), you’ll know that I am in my final year of university and am studying Computer Science. So programming, logic and technology are a major part of my life – academically and recreationally. Despite all the programming languages that my studies have taught me, at its core – logic statements are what will make or break a program. You can have the most sophisticated interface on the planet but that does nothing if the assumptions you’ve based it all on are incorrect.

When I spotted Baba Is You on the Nintendo Switch Shop, I was intrigued. Normally, gaming doesn’t always have the most accurate grasp on the pillars of computing as an industry – focusing more on the science fiction fantasies. These are great and all, some of which forming stellar gameplay ideas and storylines but to really understand programming, you need to understand logical thinking. My university got us to do a series of logic puzzles and problems, like those you’d find in a Professor Layton game, as tutorial work for our first module. So, a game based around logical statements, gradually growing more complex and adding new variables as you progress? Right up my alley.

Can confirm this is what my speech devolves into after too long programming.

Before I get into the meat of Baba Is You, I want to talk a bit about logical thinking and its influence on our lives. Growing up, I was always told that people tend to either be logical or creative, and that the two rarely crossed over. Those who were more creative, would go on to study drama, art and humanities whilst the logical kids would be the scientists of the future. Nowadays, we all know that’s a bunch of horse shit but as a kid it really stuck with me. I was clearly logical, excelling more at maths and science than at drawing a picture of a bunch of bananas or taking on the role of Reno in a production of Anything Goes. Art, writing and drama seemed out of reach for me.

However, logic and creativity are so strongly interlinked that one cannot feasibly exist without the other. Some of the greatest accomplishments in human history have come from the combination of logical thinking and creative ideas – such as Leonardo da Vinci’s flying machine sketches, drawn over four hundred years before the Wright brothers had their first successful flight. Any problem can be broke down and overcome with a little imagination and logic. It’s an incredible feat of humanity, that has persisted across our evolution.

2nd best duo in AC, just behind Evie and Jacob (fight me world i love them)

For me, logic rules my thinking most of the time. I am an incredibly logical person, to the point where there’s a running joke that I’m secretly an android infiltrating humanity. I can neither confirm nor deny it! When it comes to emotions, relationships and social interaction, I struggle to apply this logic to other people. I’ll examine body language, tone of voice and any other cues I can find, in order to draw a conclusion from a situation. This does lead to some apparently “insightful” and “wise” observations on my part (according to my friends anyways), but it also leads to a lot of stress on my mental state.

For logic to be successful, you need all the details. You must understand every facet of the situation in order to build your set of rules. Much like an android, I strive to analyse and understand everything and everyone around me, like a ridiculously elaborate game of spot the difference. Building the rulesets is hard. You’re terrified of being wrong but the anxiety that comes from not having those rules in place to help navigate the situation can be even worse. It’s part of the reason I love programming so much. It’s the joy of finding a solution that works, solving a complex problem and knowing that the rules are set in stone for you to follow.

YOU. SHALL NOT. PASS

Baba Is You is a cute little puzzle game, that applies logical thinking and the basics of programming to create a unique world with challenges that you genuinely wish to solve. It uses “blocks” of writing to establish three different parameters that you must play with – Actions, Objects/States and Connectives. Your aim is to win each level, by touching whatever object has been defined as “win”. Each connected series of “Object -> Connective -> Action” establishes a rule that must be adhered to as long as the rule is active. However, you can change the rules! Switching out one object for another, “deactivating” the rule as a whole or finding a sneaky loophole that allows you to skip over a seemingly unbeatable section of the level, is what Baba Is You is about.

With over 200 levels, a ridiculous amount of adorable characters and creative solutions, I think it’s a game that I will come back to a lot. If you like logic puzzles and cute little characters, I’d highly recommend trying it out.

Slightly concerned that the ocean seems to end in a light blue abyss.

2019 has been a great year for Mind Games. We launched in April and have been growing from week to week, with each amazing supporter of the site being a huge inspiration for me to keep working as hard as I can. In 2020, I am planning on upgrading the site a bit, so it looks a bit more professional and you can read some of my older posts without having to scroll through nearly a years-worth of content!

Thank you all once more and I hope you had a good festive period! Keep an eye out on the site’s Twitter for announcements, updates and ideas for new content – @OurMindGames.

Till next year,

CaitlinRC.