The Driftwood #31: Gamer’s Choice

February 9, 2023

Monster Prom 3: Monster Roadtrip

Monster Roadtrip imageIn this latest installment of the Monster Prom franchise, work together with your friends to not get stranded in the desert as you bumble through wacky hijinks and meet quirky creatures. Where earlier games had a competitive focus to romancing your favorite characters, this recent installment turns up the teamwork: Players must work together to survive crazy shenanigans and get through this trip in one piece! And if you wish the game would have a little more to it behind the jokes and gimmicks, just chat up a character at a rest stop where the dialogues feel like deep, soulful conversations past midnight with a close friend. If you want to spice things up, take turns reading dialogue in accents and funny voices! With in-person or online multiplayer anywhere from one to four players, this game has it all: adventure, friends old and new—wait, bears?—and maybe your one true (fictional) love! Available on Steam. 

—Henri Lepak, Gaming Editor

The Driftwood #31: Northern Lights

February 9, 2023

Calling All Writers, Artists, and Photographers!

Sheepshead Review coverThe submission windows for the Spring 2023 editions of Sheepshead Review and Northern Lights Literary & Arts Journal are now open! Sheepshead Review and Northern Lights are print/digital journals published by the English department at UWGB. Both feature fiction and creative nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, and digital works.“The difference is that Sheepshead is published three times a year on the Green Bay campus and is open to anyone from around the world. Ergo, it’s highly competitive, and they reject excellent content from time to time for space reasons,” says Professor Tracy Fernandez Rysavy. “Northern Lights is published annually from the Marinette campus and is only open to students, faculty/staff, and alumni on all four UWGB campuses. So while it’s still competitive, you have a much better chance of getting published. I encourage students to submit to both!”The deadline for Sheepshead Review‘s spring 2023 issue is February 26th. The deadline for this year’s Northern Lights is April 2nd.

View past issues of Sheepshead Review and get details on how to submit at the Sheepshead website. You can still get copies of last year’s Northern Lights in the Marinette campus library, in Student Services, or from Professor Rysavy. Read content from past issues of the journal and submit your work on the Northern Lights websiteContact Professor Rysavy with questions.four Northern Lights covers

The Driftwood #31: Campus News

February 9, 2023

Marinette Campus Photo Contest

The library is looking for photos that capture the Marinette campus and the surrounding area. If you have pictures in, on, or around campus, send them in!  Submit your photo here.Photos entered will be posted anonymously in the library commons display case for voting, and the winning photo or photos will be made into posters for the library study rooms. The contest runs from now through March 10th, with voting beginning after Spring Break.

Marinette campus bay view(Photo by Kaitlyn O’Claire)

The Driftwood #31: Recommended Reads

February 9, 2023

Romantic Reads

Celebrate Valentine’s this year by settling in with one of these romantic reads and a cup of tea.The Love Hypothesisby Ali HazelwoodThe Love Hypothesis cover“You can fall in love: someone will catch you.” —The Love HypothesisThis adorable, tropey romance follows graduate student Olive Smith, who finds herself roped into a fake relationship with Stanford’s grumpiest young professor. It starts when Olive needs to convince her best friend Anh that she no longer wants to romantically pursue their mutual friend Jeremy, so Anh can feel comfortable dating him. So naturally, she lies, saying she’s dating the attractive, yet cold, biologist, Dr. Adam Carlson. After working out the details, they both agree to fake-date, yet as it goes on, Olive finds she may actually be catching feelings. This lighthearted novel has the feel of watching a cutesy rom-com play out in book form. Think The Proposal but set in the world of academia. This book really just allows the reader to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Its ease of reading also makes it a phenomenal study-break activity. I found myself laughing and gasping through the whole thing, always drawn back into the pages!
—Syd Morgan, Books Editor
A Room with a Viewby E.M. ForsterA Room with a View cover“By the side of the everlasting why, there is a yes.” A Room with a ViewWhat happens when a young woman in Edwardian England has to choose between buckling to societal pressures or following her heart? A Room with a View answers that question through the story of Lucy Honeychurch, a wealthy English woman who travels to Florence, Italy, chaperoned by her uptight older cousin Charlotte Bartlett. The two stay in a pensione (a small hotel), where they meet a motley assortment of fellow Brits, including lower-middle-class Mr. Emerson and his handsome son George. Mr. Emerson shocks Charlotte and company by mentioning the word “stomach” in conversation at breakfast, following up that unforgivable faux pas by offering his and George’s room to Charlotte when he overhears her complaining that they were promised a room with a view that didn’t materialize. Charlotte flatly turns him down, not wanting Lucy beholden to such a crass man (though it’s clear his greater sin is not being rich). But a clergyman in their party intercedes and talks her into accepting. And so begins a tentative friendship between Lucy and the rough-around-the-edges but exceedingly kindhearted Mr. Emerson, and her occasional bewildering interaction with brooding, taciturn George.Though haunted by her attraction to George, especially after a thunderbolt of a kiss they share in a Tuscan field, Lucy follows familial expectations once back in England and becomes engaged to rich, rather pretentious man of leisure Cecil Vyse. But guess who happens to move to Lucy’s neighborhood? That’s right—the Emersons. It’s a crazy coincidence, but just roll with it, as it’s also a delight. As her wedding date draws nearer, the Beethoven sonatas she pounds out on the piano grow more overwrought, and Mr. Emerson is the only one to notice something is amiss. He sweetly exhorts her to embrace life, even if that means flying in the face of class concerns and uptight convention. Because, he famously tells her, “By the side of the everlasting why, there is a yes.” But will Lucy say yes to George and to happiness? Or will she be left asking herself why she married damp, overbearing washcloth Cecil for the rest of her life? A Room with a View is a wonderfully written romance that, though published in 1908, still holds plenty of wisdom, charm, and gentle humor for today’s readers. 
—Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, Driftwood Advisor
The Song of Achilles by Madeline MillerAchilles and Patroclus by Kim Holm“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else by the other.”  —The Song of AchillesThe Song of Achilles is a story woven through the fates of The Iliad, following the heroic and tragic tale of Achilles, the greatest of the Greeks, and Patroclus, the disgraced prince, in their fabled deeds in the renowned Trojan War. The tale follows Patroclus, a young man troubled by circumstance who finds himself under the care of Achilles, the prophesied hero of the Trojan War. It tells of their budding companionship, their unbreakable bond, and their imperishable love for one another. Yet, their inseparable relationship is threatened as they are sent to fight in a decade-spanning war across the Aegean Sea with the city of Troy.I absolutely love this book. It is a perfect blend of romance, Greek mythology, conflict, drama, character-driven narrative, and of course, Greek tragedy. While it is a heavier read, it provides an excellent perspective on a Greek classic. As it is written from the point of view of Patroclus,  Achillies’ lover and closest friend, it shares a different standpoint than we normally associate with Greek literature. It does take its own liberties with the story, however. The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is implied to be more than close friends, but some scholars disagree. Yet, at its core, the book is about the connection they had. It is not about the glory that can be won in war, but rather, what can be possibly lost in it. The Song of Achilles is a story of two men trying to break the weaves of fate, but how far are they willing to go to break them?Art by Kim Holm, used here under a Creative Commons license. 
—Aidann Woodcock

Global Game Jam in Green Bay: Everything You Need to Know

Wondering what all the fuss is about Global Game Jam? Or maybe you’re wondering what in the world it is? We’ve got you! Global Game Jam (GGJ) is a worldwide event where people collaborate to create original video and analog games in community. And you can participate right here in Green Bay. The event starts Monday, January 30th with a “Theme Reveal” kickoff on the UWGB campus, where you can get the scoop from organizers and gaming experts, so you’re ready to participate when the weekend-long create-a-thon starts on February 3rd and runs through the 5th. (Scroll to the bottom of this post for a detailed listing of the GGJ events in Green Bay.) 

The UWGB English department “Creatives” talked to Professor Kris Purzycki, who is co-organizing the event, to find out more about what attendees can expect at both the theme reveal and the Global Game Jam weekend itself. 

UWGB Creatives: We’d love to know a bit more about how Global Game Jam works. The event on the 30th is where the Global Game Jam people announce this year’s theme, and then from Feb. 3-5, participants will have 48 hours on site to create a game with everyone else. Is that correct?

Professor Kris Purzycki: To accommodate international participants, the GGJ organizers spread the event across the entire week. Monday’s event is actually the official start of the Jam. We’re just using it as a chance to gather beforehand and maybe start firing up our creative engines. We have a Discord server where ideas can be exchanged [throughout the week], maybe even teams start forming. At the actual Jam, which will be held at the Urban Hub in downtown Green Bay, we’ll start at 5 p.m. [on February 3rd] with a brief overview before turning everyone loose. From that point, everyone has 48 hours to create an original game. At about 3 or 4 p.m. on Sunday, we’ll stop and check out what everyone has made.

UWGB Creatives: What happens at the actual Jam at the Urban Hub? Does the whole gathering work together? Or do people splinter off in their own little groups? Or do they get assigned groups?

Prof. Kris Purzycki: People are welcome to join up with a team, but there’s no requirement or assigned group. One of the amazing qualities of the jam is the collaborative, interdisciplinary spirit of the weekend. How often do artists, programmers, musicians, engineers, and writers get to work together this way?

UWGB Creatives: What if there’s a lone ranger running around feeling shy and self-conscious? Will someone help them find a place?

Prof. Kris Purzycki: Absolutely! At some point, everyone pitches an idea for a game (if they have one) and also states their interests and skills. But I would say that there’s no reason to feel self-conscious—it’s a wonderful group of folks who are welcoming (heck, they welcomed me!) and accommodating.

UWGB Creatives: What kinds of software do people use to create video games? Twine? Fancier software?

Prof. Kris Purzycki: Twine is an excellent tool—I’m actually surprised we didn’t have more Twine works last year, now that you mention it…. Many of us (myself included) used bitsy, a simple game creation tool. There are certainly those that use more professional tools like Unity, Unreal, and Godot, but you can use whatever you prefer. More importantly, however, you don’t even need to create a computer game! We had a board game as well as a role-playing game last year.

UWGB Creatives: Is there any help for people who want to make a video game but aren’t able to code one? Or can people just come to contribute ideas and leave the programming or Twine-ing to others?

Prof. Kris Purzycki: Absolutely. If someone is, say, a creative writer and wants to contribute to a team creating a videogame, there are plenty of ways to do so: script writing, dialog, plot.

I will say that one of challenges we as organizers have tried to work through is the perception that the Game Jam is only for computer games.

UWGB Creatives: (Right. So just a reminder, dear readers, you can come and create a board or role-playing game, etc.) Have you ever done this before? What was your experience like?

Prof. Kris Purzycki: I have! This is my third time—the first was at UW-Milwaukee where we used Minecraft to create a “story” of sorts. One of the first things I did when I moved to Green Bay was to see if there was a Global Game Jam site in town. That’s how I found out [Green Bay GGJ co-organizer] Ben [Geisler of Roar Studios Inc.] had organized one for several years.

UWGB Creatives: Why should people come to the theme reveal? What can they look forward to?

Prof. Kris Purzycki: Since this is the first year we’ve had a separate reveal event, we’re hoping that this reveal will give everyone a chance to start batting around some ideas. More importantly, we wanted to give everyone a chance to see what the Jam is about, ask questions, and see if it’s something they want to participate in.

UWGB Creatives: What is the 48 hours like where people create the games? Do they take breaks or is it just an all-nighter with naps?

Prof. Kris Purzycki: Folks are free to work as they see fit. Most people head home for the evening, but there are always people who work through the night. Either Ben or I will be there both nights to help out in any way. We provide plenty of food, snacks, and beverages to keep people fuelled.

UWGB Creatives: Thank you! Do you plan to have any options for people who can’t be at the theme reveal in person? I’m thinking about students at the location campuses who might find it difficult to come to Green Bay on a weeknight. 

Prof. Kris Purzycki: We will be streaming each event over the Center for Games and Interactive Media’s Twitch channel.

UWGB Creatives: Is there anything else you want people to know about GGJ? 

Prof. Kris Purzycki: One more thing: we’re planning to include games in the UWGB Academic Excellence Symposium [which showcases the best in student research and creativity], too! In part to prepare for this, we’re holding a recap session at the library, 2-3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10 to give students a chance to brag and show off their work.

————-

Media | Global Game JamHere’s an overview of the Green Bay GGJ events: 

Monday, Jan. 30th (3-5 p.m.): The Global Game Jam Theme Reveal will take place on Monday, Jan. 30th at 5:30 p.m. in UWGB’s Christie Theatre in the Student Union. Hear from event co-organizers and gaming experts, learn what this year’s theme is, and have your questions answered. If you can’t make it in person, this event will also be streamed on Twitch

Jan. 30 – Feb. 2nd: Throughout the week, participants can brainstorm ideas and find small groups to work with through the Green Bay GGJ Discord server.

Friday, Feb. 3 – Sunday, Feb. 5: Starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, come to the Urban Hub in Green Bay to start working on a digital or analog game. The event will wrap up on Sunday roughly at 3-4 p.m. If you can’t make it in person, this event will also be streamed on Twitch

Friday, Feb. 10th (2-3 p.m.): Check out the completed digital and tabletop games from this year’s Green Bay Global Game Jam at our Recap Session in the Breakthrough Studio on the third floor of UWGB’s Cofrin Library. 

Questions? Email Green Bay GGJ event co-organizers Prof. Kris Purzycki (purzyckk@uwgb.edu) or Ben Geisler of Roar Studios Inc. (bgeisler@roarstudios.com).

You can also see the following:

The Driftwood #28: Real Talk 2

May 13, 2022

A little-known secret around campus is that our professors were once students. Nervous, confused, and probably as hungry as we all are while sitting through lectures, here are their first experiences as professors and what tips they have to offer for students taking their courses.Humanizing Our Professors: Rebecca Stone ThornberryTheatre Department: Green Bay and Marinette Campuses

Rebecca Stone ThornberryIn a room considerably bigger than the classrooms she works in today, Professor Stone Thornberry had her first teaching experience as a graduate student for the Ohio State University, where she was tasked with three 30-student discussion groups twice a week (only 90 of 500 students in that Intro to Theatre lecture hall, the largest in the country at the time). She recalls being nervous as she was buried in papers for grading and classroom preparation. And who wouldn’t be if that many eyes were watching?The professor has a great way of teaching in which she strongly believes in being flexible with students’ due dates and methods of completing assigned work, blending the perfect balance of soft deadlines with hard ones. By soft, she emphasizes the ones that can be completed in a loose span of time if necessary, and by hard she means things like exams, which mimic theatre dates, that absolutely can’t be put off. To be successful in her courses, students should be able to manage both, taking her lessons to heart. Additionally, the Professor insists that no student put off what can be completed that day; that way they have time to ask for help should they need it. Above all, she wants her students to do well. And I can most certainly attest that her advice works for all fields of study.

Grace Kraniak, Profiles Editor

The Driftwood #28: Real Talk 1

May 13, 2022

Celebrity Q&A: Kevin James

Paul BlartKevin James is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Doug Heffernan on The King of Queens, and as Paul Blart (pictured) in Paul Blart: Mall Cop and its sequel. Q: Why Paul Blart: Mall Cop?A: I wanted to play a guy in a uniform. It made me laugh, the idea of me with authority. Me without authority is even funnier. They are not real police; nobody respects them.

Now Toronto

Q: How did you prepare to play a mall cop?A: It is not easy being a mall cop. You gotta know where Cinnabon is, how to find the food court and the washrooms. If there is a little liquid spilled on the floor, you have to set up pylons and direct traffic. That could take up a whole day. And they wear polyester pants that do not breathe.

—Now Toronto

Q: Were there a lot of jokes that did not work?A: Plenty. Jokes that went on too long. Sometimes when it goes on too long and you can stick with it, it becomes so ridiculous that it starts to become funny again. Like Family Guy—I love that they do that. It is literally five minutes of something, and they just commit to it. We tried that, and sometimes it never comes back to funny and you just have to cut it.

—Now Toronto

Q: Do you have an Uncut Gems in you? [Editor’s note: “Uncut Gems” refers to a movie of that name released in 2019, which garnered an Oscar nomination for comedic actor Adam Sandler.]A: I would love to be able to do something like that. It is dependent on the story. That is everything. I would hate to do a movie just to do a dramatic role, to just say, “Hey, look, I’m not falling down the steps!”

USA Today—Will Kosmal, Celebrity Q&A Editor

The Driftwood #28: Travel Tales

May 13, 2022

Camping Travel Stories

Ah…stargazing, roasting marshmallows, swimming ponds, and barbecues. Do you not love camping? This travel story encapsulates the comfort and pleasure of summer camping.Harbor VillageHarbour Village Campground & Waterpark in Carlsville, Wisconsin, north of Sturgeon Bay, has been our family destination for camping for many years. On several occasions, I have enjoyed the treasures of Door County’s countryside and its small-town attractions; planting my roots at this campground always bestows onto to me a deep connection with nature, via the plentiful stars at night, the nature trails with their bountiful buffet of blooming greens, the aroma of a roaring campfire, and the crisp morning air. Because of COVID, my family and I have not been to Harbour Village in two years, but I can recollect the travel tale of when my cousins, aunts, and uncles accompanied my family and me, and we had loads of fun. I believe it was June or July of 2019, and the campground during that time was not too packed. In its description, there was a jumping pillow, a pavilion, a swimming pond, a pool, and a nature trail. My folks and I became snug in the camper that night as we anticipated tomorrow. The next day, we spent some time at the pond. I did not quite feel like going for a swim, so I just watched over my younger cousins as they played in the water. Later, we gathered near the fire pit and prepared lunch, a bounty of bratwursts, potato salad, and cake. My favorite part of all was when we went to The Farm, which was a place where you can pet and feed baby goats. The cute little things would just run to you and put their hooves on your legs, wagging their tails. One of my cousins, who was around 3 during that time, said, “What weird looking doggies.” We went uptown to Egg Harbor after that, touring the quaint shops and buying knickknacks and exploring parks in that area. The bay appeared beautiful when we spotted a park that complemented the water in the most perfect way. That night, when we were snug at our campsite once again, I told scary ghost stories near the campfire while the frogs chirped in the distance. Good night, Harbour Village. Until we meet again.

—Conner Tuthill, Travel Editor

The Driftwood #28: Poetry Corner

May 13, 2022

Apocalyptic Lessonsfrom Molly BrodakIf a thing is alive it is weak.If a thing is weeping, may it silence.The mercy she gave to the dog came back to bite,locked away in a shed. Dead girl walking.Inches turn to miles underneath the wax sun.Thunderbirds sing out in white hot flashes.Dive and eat reddened flesh of a weasel.Dive and the burning shock of ice becomes home.In the glass, she is painted gold and singing.Spinning like all hell, never meeting a gaze.
Suffocated in thin gold leaf to cover
the ugly bits. To cover the eyes.Dead girl walking. Dead girl weeping.May she silence.

—August Wiegman, UWGB alumnus (Marinette and Green Bay campuses)

Find this poem and other written and visual works in this year’sNorthern Lights Literary and Arts Journal. 

The Driftwood #28: Storytellers 3

May 13, 2022

Writing Exercise

Life on a Deserted Island The following writing activity has you writing the tale of life on a deserted island in a second-person voice.desert-island beachYou regain consciousness and find yourself lying down on something soft and warm; the sun is in your eyes, and you are soaking wet. You come to find that that storm you were in wasn’t a dream. You look around yourself and realize that you are on an isolated island…or so you believe. Maybe there is civilization somewhere? Your attempt to stand fails as your right leg has gone limp, so you must army-crawl to the treeline. You see that there are no coconut trees like Chuck Noland encountered in Castaway, and there is no source of water as your lips begin to parch. To your left, you see a bowl. A real bowl! A sign of human life, perhaps? You reach for the bowl; it is cream corn, the only food you hate. So you throw the can away in disgust, not putting any thought on how it got there. “Hey,” you hear, “we’ve got another one.” You have been found by two men, who grab you by your weary shoulders and guide you to their “village.” You are perplexed by what you see: men and women living in huts but wearing modern clothing. “I know you must be confused. You have many questions,” the tribal leader explains to you. “Each and every one of us was confused when we washed up on this island. One after another, nobody can seem to explain this phenomenon. I was the first one. Then, the next week, a woman washed up on shore, then a man, then another woman, then a child. We have built our civilization here. Since then, nobody has ever found us.”

—Conner Tuthill