Games & merch 13 Oct 2011 11:48 pm by David !

Volume 2 Title Cloud (and L.A. game testing!)

I made a graphic with (as best as I could manage) the titles of all 1,958 submissions to Machine of Death Volume 2. The bigger the text, the more common the title among the submissions.

Here’s a closer look:

Here’s a PDF (10MB) for an even closer look! Can you find yours?

The coolest thing about seeing all the titles laid out like this is the feeling of world that it evokes — knowing that these are all stories; that each title, no matter how strange, has an explanation, a set of characters for whom those few words mean everything… it’s incredible. It’s like looking at a map of a country you’ve never been to, and using the names of landmarks to imagine what it must be like. It feels real. And you are to thank for that.

The graphic is also available as a handsome poster print.

The MOD philosophy, so far as I’m concerned, is “don’t worry about it — just make things that are interesting.” SO FAR SO GOOD.

My favorite recent example are our Death Prediction Card Sets! There are several different themed sets, good for all sorts of different things. Our Card Games Rulebook is a good place to start!

Our diligent game testers have also been weighing in with feedback on the Game Forum — where we invite your feedback as well — and they’ve also been suggesting new and interesting games to play.

So I’d like to invite you to another game testing event, tomorrow afternoon, to try out some of the new games! Saturday, October 15, from 1pm till 3 or so, in West Los Angeles. And free pizza too!

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP in the comments and I’ll send you directions. If you came last time and would like to come again, you’re welcome to! We’ll be playing mostly different games this time around.

Look at all these happy people that came to the last game testing events!

JUST LOOK AT THEM

THEY

COULD BE YOU

23 Responses to “Volume 2 Title Cloud (and L.A. game testing!)”

  1. on 14 Oct 2011 at 6:38 am 1.Anonymous said …

    I’d like to help test the game.  I really wish I had seen the first call for testers.

  2. on 14 Oct 2011 at 1:07 pm 2.Anonymous said …

    I’ve emailed you directions!

  3. on 14 Oct 2011 at 7:23 am 3.Sad Face said …

    The pdf link isn’t working.

  4. on 14 Oct 2011 at 12:10 pm 4.Anonymous said …

    Hmm — try it now?

  5. on 15 Oct 2011 at 10:36 am 5.Happy Face said …

    Thanks.

  6. on 14 Oct 2011 at 10:52 am 6.Shea Parker said …

    I’ll help

  7. on 14 Oct 2011 at 1:05 pm 7.Anonymous said …

    I’ve emailed you directions!

  8. on 14 Oct 2011 at 11:49 am 8.William Clark Beale said …

    I’d like to participate, but do not currently own any cards. Will they be available for sale at the event?

  9. on 14 Oct 2011 at 1:03 pm 9.Anonymous said …

    We’ll provide the cards for the event, though of course if you’d like to pick some up to take home, you’re welcome to. Email us for the address! (info at machineofdeath.net)

  10. on 14 Oct 2011 at 12:58 pm 10.Chris said …

    I surprised myself by actually finding my title in that crazy, ridiculous image in less than 2 minutes.  It is surrounded by infinitely more intriguing titles.  Such as “Chased by a man dressed in a bunny suit”.

  11. on 14 Oct 2011 at 3:36 pm 11.Jim Kerr said …

    That graphic should be the cover of the book. It looks awesome.

  12. on 14 Oct 2011 at 5:30 pm 12.Anonymous said …

    Okay I think our roster is full for this round! Thanks everyone, see you tomorrow!

  13. on 15 Oct 2011 at 8:00 am 13.Alexander McClelland said …

    I found mine right in the preview image! Lucky placement I guess. Saves me the eye strain of hunting through the .pdf

    Something like this also would make for a really appropriate cover image for the book. It reflects the huge range of predictions someone can receive, and how little help that will ultimately be.

    Also, was “Machine of Death” REALLY that common a title, or did you just put it in there for aesthetic reasons? I’d think people would have been more creative than that.

  14. on 15 Oct 2011 at 9:33 am 14.Rodrigo Ortiz Vinholo said …

    Yeah, it’d be a shame if the other stories weren’t put to good use 🙂 Also, it’d make a neat app for iPhone/iPad and such. Imagine – “Machine of Death Archives”.

  15. on 15 Oct 2011 at 11:14 am 15.Chris said …

    Oh yeah, you could make a pretty cool Machine of Death app.  That’d be cool.  And for what it’s worth, I’d gladly let my story be made available.  Whether it’s selected for the book or not.  It’s not like I’ll have much use for it otherwise.

  16. on 15 Oct 2011 at 11:00 pm 16.Manuscripts Burn said …

    And…all three found.  Whew.  And it only took an hour and literally crossing out each title one-by-one.

  17. on 16 Oct 2011 at 5:58 am 17.Glenn Justice Reisher said …

    Found all three of mine. Haha, my favorite of the three is actually right next to “The Moon.” You can see the “A” in the close-up image. Ironic placement, based on the opening line of my story—I see what you did there and I like it…

  18. on 17 Oct 2011 at 8:29 pm 18.Pattom said …

    Can’t tell if I’ve found mine and there’s a typo, or if someone else submitted a story called “Home Applicances.”  😛

  19. on 17 Oct 2011 at 8:29 pm 19.Pattom said …

    Can’t tell if I’ve found mine and there’s a typo, or if someone else submitted a story called “Home Applicances.”  😛

  20. on 18 Oct 2011 at 8:28 pm 20.Jen said …

    I found all three of mine in the order I submitted them! As in, that’s how they are on the image, making a vague downwards arc from the upper-left to lower-right.

  21. on 20 Oct 2011 at 3:09 pm 21.Anonymous said …

    I tried Mr. Burns’ method and crossed out the entries one by one and….no luck! eep.

  22. on 22 Oct 2011 at 1:21 am 22.BCSWowbagger said …

    And here I was sure I’d be the only one to think of “Raptured.”

    Ah, well.  My alternate story would have been called “Epistemology,” and that’s on there, too.  Amazing ideas here.  Unsettlingly many “auto-erotic asphyxiations,” though.

  23. on 23 Oct 2011 at 12:58 pm 23.Addley said …

    Poo, I can’t find either of mine, and I’ve looked a dozen times since it was posted. :/ On the plus side though, I guess nobody else decided to try death by Ceiling Fan.