Author Archives: geoffreylong

Geoffrey Long is a media analyst, scholar, and storyteller exploring transmedia experiences, emerging entertainment platforms and the future of entertainment as the Lead Narrative Producer for the Narrative Design Team at Microsoft Studios. He is an alum of the MIT Comparative Media Studies program, a FoE Fellow with the Futures of Entertainment community, and a co-editor of the Playful Thinking book series from the MIT Press. His personal site can be found at geoffreylong.com.

Contemplating Inkblots.

Interesting statistic. If I’d kept up the numbering schematic from way back in the day, Inkblots would be up to #17 by now. We did seven print issues, and since then we’ve done ten online editions. Not a lot numerically, I suppose, but it’s still a lot of work and a lot of fun. I’m […]

How come the right thing to do is usually so darn expensive?

Today I went into an old client’s project to finish up one thing. One thing. And, no joke, six hours later I was still upgrading things here and there, redesigning the way parts of the site worked, and making it all right. Yeah, the way it was worked before, but now it’s going to be […]

Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run awaaaaaay…

Jeebus. It’s been an insanely productive day so far today, but I’m feeling downright spastic as a result. Flipping back and forth between five different client projects, trying to get ’em all wrapped up and out the door, which is great, but ay yi yi! Right. Back to work…

Design inspiration: Steve Seeley.

Wow. You guys have to check out the motion graphics demo reel of Steve Seeley, a designer based in Calgary. He’s got a couple of years on me, but that’s pretty much exactly the kind of design work I’m looking to be doing someday. Very impressive, and I love his style.

Late night thinking: Weblogs of the Famous and the Dead.

It’s a little after midnight here in Chicago. It’s cool and wet outside, and we’ve got the windows in the apartment open, so there’s a nice cool breeze a-blowin’ through. I just got back from hanging out with one of my friends from college, which was an absolute blast, and now I’m sitting here in […]

The return of an old friend.

OK, I’m going to demonstrate how much of a spaz I can be with this post, but what the hell. One of the things that’s made me insanely happy this week was a sort-of-reunion with an old friend. Kinda. When I was over at the University of Exeter, in a fit of homesickness I went […]

Chicago rain.

One of the things that’s going to take a little while to get used to is this wacky Chicago weather. Hot in the day, positively freezing at night, and really wet. Actually, I really like it – it reminds me of England or the Pacific Northwest, two of my favorite places I’ve been. A man […]

Playing catch-up.

Well, the apartment studio is definitely coming together (definitely not a studio apartment – the new place has two bedrooms, a living room, another room with a fireplace, and the kitchen and the bathroom, all for a price that’s staggeringly affordable compared to life back in D.C.), and now it’s time to play catch-up on […]

Reporting live from Chicago.

Forgive the spotty entries here lately, folks. I’m still getting the network up and running here at the new home studio in windy Chicago, Illinois! Between the packing and driving and unpacking and all the other malarkey, I haven’t had a lot of time for updates. Suffice it to say that I’m here, trying to […]

And someday, when I do something to warrant it…

My personal site will be half as cool as J.K.Rowling’s. Lots and lots of fun stuff to play with in there – hint: use the eraser!